Applejack finds a starving colt hiding in her barn, one that knows a lot more about her and her friends than he should.
A starving colt is found hiding in Applejacks barn, he refuses to speak too much about where he comes from, claiming that he would be branded crazy and locked away.
Applejack doesn't know if that would happen,
But he does seem to know more about her and her friends than he should xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Okay first fiction on this site, more of a way to develop my skills before I launch into some big ideas I have so constructive criticism is appreciated as my descriptions probably suck right now
This is inspired by Oh to be Old Again by Minalkra (which you should totally check out as well)
Enjoy!
EDIT: Now with cover art by the ever talented mix-up! It is just awesome! Check out his pages here and on Deviantart!
Applejack took a deep breath as she stepped out of the farmhouse, feeling the cool crisp air fill her lungs. It was early morning and the sky held a pink tinge as the sun rose. Sweeping her gaze across the horizon the orange mare took in the sight of her family’s orchard, the apple trees stretching as far as her eye could see.
It was a beautiful sight.
‘’Well, admiring this view ain’t gonna get the harvest in.’’ she thought to herself.
“C’mon Winona!”
With a sharp whistle, she summoned a brown and white collie to her side, and the pair set off towards the large barn that sat behind the farmhouse.
Applejack’s hooves crunched into the frost coated grass, winter was still a few weeks away but there had been an early frost thanks to some wild weather from the nearby Everfree Forest and now it was a race against time to gather in the harvest.
Winona bounded around her with that infinite reserve of energy that dogs seem to possess, and as they approached the barn she suddenly stopped her bouncing and began to sniff around. Applejack noticed it but paid her no heed; some critter had probably just gotten her attention and any minute she would run off to chase it.
Sure enough, the dog zeroed in on the smell and took off towards the barn. The farm pony watched as she disappeared through a hole in the wood by the doors.
She frowned.
That hadn’t been there last night.
As she neared the barn, Winona’s barking echoed from inside, then she began to whine. Concerned that something was happening to her pet Applejack put on a turn of speed and heaved the massive doors aside.
The barn’s interior was fairly full at this time of year, hay bales were stacked in mountains around the walls and filled up the back, tools and equipment were stacked neatly by the left wall and a large apple cart filled with baskets was on the right.
Sticking out from under the cart she could see the tail of her beloved collie, but she could also hear something else under there.
“Shhh... please be quiet, maybe she’ll go away...’’
Slowly she made her way to the side of the vehicle and dropped to her knees.
Behind the wheel spokes she saw Winona cuddled up to a young colt and as soon as he saw her his eyes widened in terror.
“Hey there’’, she said softly “what’s a...’’ she never got to finish as he scrabbled from his hiding place and took off like a cake from Pinkie’s party cannon.
She made a grab for him as he passed behind her, but she just missed and landed face first in a hay bale while he went for the door. Pulling herself up she galloped after him, skidding around the side of the barn she leapt over barrels and piles of farm debris he had thrown in her path in an effort to shake her. As they rounded the farmhouse she spotted her sibling, Big Macintosh, coming out the front door.
“Mac! Stop him!’’ she yelled, causing the red stallion to turn towards the fleeing colt. Squaring himself, Big Mac blocked his intended escape, so the colt improvised.
Taking a running jump up some crates by the house he dove through the window. There was a surprised yelp from inside, followed by the sound of breaking dishes as he ran over the kitchen table and back out the door, followed by her younger sister Apple Bloom, whose red mane and yellow coat were plastered with porridge.
Following Apple Bloom, the pair spotted the colt veer left into the farmyard. Nodding to each other the two split up, Big Mac heading around the back while Applejack moved in from the side, Applebloom had already chased him in from the front and she reckoned they would be able to corner him now there were three Apples on the case.
Coming back around the farmhouse she saw him attempting to outrun Apple Bloom, only to screech left as Big Macintosh appeared and cut off his exit. The colt ran towards Applejack but veered to the right when she stepped out to block him.
He was now pinned between the three Apples and the farmhouse wall.
He scrabbled and kicked at the wood in a vain effort to make an exit, but when that proved fruitless he turned to face his pursuers and Applejack finally got a good look at him.
He looked about Apple Bloom’s age; his coat was a dark chestnut and his mane was deep black. He wore a black jacket that looked threadbare in places and she could see a few holes in the sleeves.
He was also thin, thinner than a colt his age should be and his expression was the same as in the barn, pure terror, his eyes were darting rapidly between the three ponies, searching for any possible escape route.
She turned to her siblings and motioned for them to back off; Big Mac had to put a hoof in front of Apple Bloom, who looked like she was ready to murder the poor thing for dumping porridge on her.
Cautiously, she approached the terrified foal. He was still looking for an avenue of escape, wondering how fast he could dart between her legs and make for the road, she had to calm him down.
“Easy there...’’ she began “Easy...we’re not going to hurt you.’’
The colt’s gaze snapped towards her.
“I know.’’
His voice sounded haggard and raspy and he suffered a small coughing fit before continuing.
“I know you won’t hurt me. You're too nice for that - you’d probably take me in, give me a hot meal and a bed to sleep on. But then you’d have to get a doctor and then the questions would start and ponies would ask me where I came from and who my parents were but I can’t answer those because if I did then I’d probably be put into an orphanage and adopted out to some family miles from anywhere or I’d be called crazy and end up in asylum so doctors can poke, prod and drug me and tell me everything’s okay, that I’m delusional and need help, but I don’t need help! I’m not crazy, I just, I just, I just...’’
His panicked response was cut off by another coughing fit that dissolved into wheezing gasps, which caused his legs to give way.
Applejack caught him before his head hit the ground.
Eyes snapping open, the colt sat up with a start, the nightmare fading into his subconscious. Panting and wheezing, he could feel his heart thundering in his chest and the sweat matting his coat and mane.
Taking a few shallow breaths in an effort to calm down, he took in his surroundings.
He was lying on a wooden bed with a blanket covering his small form; next to the bed was a dark oak dresser with a few drawers and a mirror hanging above it. A cupboard door was set into the opposite wall and he could see his jacket hanging from the knob. Sunlight was filtering in from between a set of faded blue curtains giving just enough light to see the room was painted a light green. The smell of wood and apples permeated the air.
Every muscle in his body ached. His legs burned like they had been dipped in acid, his gut was knotted like a length of old rope and his ribcage felt like it was constricting his heart and lungs
With some effort he took a few slow, measured breaths to try and ease it.
Pain or no pain, he had to get out of here quickly.
He tried the window, but found the room was on the second floor, and having no desire to jump, opted for the door.
Dropping to the floor, his legs immediately crumpled beneath him and he landed with a noticeable thud. He attempted to push himself up but found he simply didn’t have the energy.
“Come on man,’’ he muttered “you need to get out of here before she comes back.”
He knew he was weak, sick and possibly going to die, but he had to avoid speaking to her or any of the others, they would only want to help and that would be bad for him. With what felt like a herculean effort he managed to stagger to his hooves and stumble towards the door, pausing only to collect his jacket.
As he reached the door it was nudged inwards by a familiar looking canine. Seeing the colt up and about Winona yapped happily before bounding over and tackling him to the floor.
‘’Ah see ya’ll made a friend.”
The sound of a familiar southern twang caused him to freeze.
Nervously, he peeked out from behind Winona and saw Applejack looming over him. The fact she wore a sincere smile did little as terror welled up inside once more.
Practically shoving Winona aside, he curled into as small a shape as he could, then began to cry.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry...’’ he sobbed and over again.
Applejacks smile faltered; he was still scared of her.
Slowly, she sat down beside him.
“Shhh, it's okay...’’ she soothed. “Ya don’t need to be scared, ah ain’t mad.’’
‘’B...but, I broke into your barn,’’ he stammered ‘’I threw things at you, I covered Apple Bloom in porridge, how can you not be mad at me?’’
“Because you were scared,’’ she replied. “ah don’t get mad at folks fer being scared, though you will have to apologise to her later.’’
He took a few shaking breaths to calm down before uncurling, cautious eyes always fixed on her.
Applejack gave him a moment to compose himself before she spoke again.
“Ah’m Applejack, pleasure to meet ya.’’
“I’m.....Reiver.” he sniffed.
“Well, it’s a pleasure to meet ya, Reiver,” she smiled; he offered a nervous one in return.
There were a few minutes of awkward silence.
‘’Umm, not that you haven’t been a good host, but, can I go now?’’ asked Reiver.
Applejack’s expression dropped a little.
“Ah'm sorry, Reiver, but Ah can’t let you leave, yer sick and running a high fever. It would be wrong to just let you leave like this.”
“Please,’’ he begged. “Just let me go, if you want to help me you’ll need to get a doctor and they’ll just take me away to some forsaken lab or asylum and-’’
“Ah never said Ah was getting a doctor,” Applejack interrupted “Ah happen to have some very talented friends.”
As she finished they heard hoofsteps in the corridor and a striped head poked itself through the doorway.
“This here is Zecora. If anything, she’s much better than a doctor.”
Reiver suspiciously looked her over, from her mohawk styled mane and gold bracelets to the steaming cup she had grasped in her teeth.
Dropping so she was eye level with him, Zecora put down the cup.
“It is good to meet you, young one’’ she offered a hoof. “I heard your entrance nearly had Applejack outdone.’’
Reiver gingerly took the hoof and gave it a small shake.
Zecora nudged the cup closer to him.
“This brew will help with coughs and sleep, allowing you a rest that is both long and deep.’’
Reiver took the cup in his hooves, Applejack could see him scrutinising the contents.
“If I drink this,’’ he said “Will I wake up in a padded cell or hospital ward?’’
Zecora was a little offended by the accusation.
“I would never...” she began.
“I was asking her!” Reiver cut off.
Applejack was about to tell him off for interrupting when she remembered he had little reason to trust either of them. But he seemed to be warming to up to her a little.
“Ah can assure you, sugarcube, that if you drink that cup you will wake up in the same bed that ya did a few moments ago, and that’s the honest truth.”
He eyed the cup for a few moments longer as he weighed his options, he took a deep breath.
“I’m going to trust you,” he replied, then turned to Zecora. “Both of you, just... please don't make me regret it.”
He downed the syrupy mixture; it tasted a bit like strawberries.
Reiver immediately felt his eyelids growing heavy before he slipped into a calm, dreamless sleep.
Standing up carefully, Applejack gripped his jacket in her teeth and carried him back to the bed before tucking him in.
Zecora followed behind with a few incense sticks, which she placed around the room before lighting.
“These will ease the young one’s breath, but what do you plan to do with when he is finished his rest?’’
Applejack looked over at Reiver’s sleeping form.
“After helping him get better, Ah have no idea, he must have family lookin’ for him, maybe Ah can help find them, fer now though, Ah think it’s best if we let him sleep.”
As the two mares left the slumbering colt, Applejack had a sudden realisation.
He had said he was sorry for dumping porridge on Apple Bloom.
It started just as she sat down to breakfast, she had just made herself a big bowl of porridge with cinnamon and a few apple slices to flavour and was pouring herself some applejuice when what could only be described as a pony shaped missile flew in through the window and crashed onto the table, upending her breakfast onto her head.
By the time the colt had been caught and she finished cleaning up, she was late for school and only had time to grab an apple from the kitchen before speeding out the door.
Then at lunch she discovered that her juice carton had been crushed ruining her sandwiches, then finally, to top it all off she had forgotten her homework in the confusion of that morning.
Needless to say she was not happy at all when her sister explained that the apparent cause of her misfortune was sleeping in the guest room.
‘’But Applejack, why did ya let him stay?’’ she demanded.
‘’Because he’s scared, lost and very sick’’ her sister replied ‘’and watch your tone there missy, right now he’s our guest and ah won’t have ya disrespecting a guest of this family.’’
‘’But he destroyed mah breakfast!’’ Applebloom countered ‘’he made me late fer school, he made me ferget mah homework!’’
‘’Ah’ve told you ah’ll speak to Cheerilee tomorrow’’ said Applejack ‘’ah’ve also told him to apologise to ya.’’
‘’That’s not good enough.’’ muttered Applebloom, as far as she was concerned the colt, Reiver Applejack had called him, had just given her one of the worst days in her life.
An apology alone would not be enough.
The two Apple siblings were currently in the farmhouse kitchen; Applebloom was washing her dinner plate while Applejack was making some food to take to Reiver. Zecora recommended they don’t feed him anything too rich as he was clearly underweight and his body wouldn’t be able to handle the extra nutrients just yet.
So Applejack was making up a tray with a small bowl of applesauce and a glass of cold water to wash it down.
‘’Now ah want you to take this to Reiver.’’ she asked Applebloom.
She opened her mouth to protest but Applejack cut her off.
‘’Now let’s not have any more lip, if he’s going to be staying here ya’ll need to learn to get along, this’ll also be a perfect opportunity fer him to apologise to ya. Now if ya need me I’ll be finishing up the east field.’’
Reluctantly, Applebloom took the tray on her back before slowly walking upstairs.
‘’Táint fair’’ she grumbled ‘’he wrecks mah breakfast and gets a free room, ah’d have thrown him out as soon as we caught him, but nooooo.’’
Reaching the guest room she creaked open the door with a hoof. On the bed lay the lightly snoring colt, his jacket hung off the one of the bedposts nearest. She could see the tips of Zecora’s incense sticks glowing in the semi dark and she could taste a spicy tang in the air.
Trotting in she deliberately kicked the door closed with just a little too much enthusiasm.
The bang jolted Reiver from his slumber with such force he actually jumped a few feet into the air. Using his hooves to rub his eyes he blearily looked for the source of his rude awakening, coming face to face with the angry filly.
His eye widened in recognition.
Applebloom coldly walked over, her gaze never once leaving him. She briefly considered just dumping the applesauce on his head in payback, but Applejack was outside and she didn’t want her day getting any worse.
Sliding the tray to the floor she looked him in the eyes.
‘’Listen here’’ she said icily, ‘’ah don’t like you, you dumped mah breakfast on mah head, made me late fer school, made me ferget mah lunch, made me ferget mah homework!’’
Applebloom had practically screamed the last part, but she managed to keep her voice both low and very menacing at the same time.
She had also been advancing on the increasingly terrified colt, clambering onto the bed and forcing him to back right up until he bumped into the wall.
‘’But fer whatever reason mah sister thinks ya need help, so ah’m going ta put up with ya fer now, but one wrong move and I will have you otta here faster than a stampeding Buffalo!’’
Reiver gulped, a scant few inches separated him from the furious filly.
‘’Ya got that?’’
He nodded vigorously.
She scrutinised his face thoroughly, he could feel the sweat beading under his fur.
After a few more fear filled minutes she felt satisfied that he had accepted her terms.
‘’Good, now here’s yer dinner’’ she hopped off the bed and dumped the tray on it before trotting quickly towards the door.
‘’Wait!’’
Applebloom paused.
‘’Look’’ he sighed ‘’I get it; you don’t like me. Heck I wouldn’t like any...pony that threw my breakfast over my head. But the fact is I am stuck here until I am well enough to leave and, as much as I don’t want to ask for it, I need your help...’’
She could just ignore him and leave, the coughing fit he was having meant he couldn’t very well stop her, but she reminded herself that Applejack was outside, and she didn't want her day getting any worse.
Turning, she witnessed Reiver fiddling with the zip pockets of his jacket, first trying to use his hooves and then eventually resorting to his teeth. Pouring out its contents Applebloom saw a set of keys, a funny box thing wrapped in black cable and a few coins. Muttering several frustrated curses Reiver stuck his muzzle into the pocket completely, before pulling out a large, colourful, lollipop.
‘’This is a Tutti Fruitti, Twirly Pop. It’s made with artificial colourings, flavourings, and is loaded with things most dentists wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole.’’
He took it in both hooves and waved it.
‘’This is not an apology, it is a bribe, I will only give it up if you can get me some books, specifically, anything on magical travel, and you have to do it without telling anypony why you want them.’’
She sat there and thought for few minutes, her eyes having never left the brightly coloured treat from the moment it appeared.
‘’Why?’’ she asked.
Reiver sighed.
‘’Let’s just say it will get me out of your mane a lot faster. Please...will you get them for me?’’
The thought of him leaving sooner helped make her decision.
‘’Alright,.’’
''Thank you'' he sighed ‘’Remember the sooner you get those books, the sooner you can enjoy this dental nightmare.’’
Her sweet tooth whetted by the sight of such a colourful confection, Applebloom cantered out the door and back downstairs. Grabbing her saddlebags she quickly scribbled a note stating she had to do some ‘’crusader stuff’’ before heading out the door.
The afternoon sun was well on its way towards the horizon as she trotted along the dirt road to Ponyville. Upon entering the town she saw a few stalls were still open in the market but most were beginning to pack up for the night. She waved to Big Macintosh as she passed the Apple stall, the stallion returning the gesture with a small smile.
As she trotted to the library Appleblooms thoughts turned to Reivers request. He had asked for books on magical travel but he was an clearly an Earth pony, they would be useless to him if he wanted to cast any spells.
So why did he need them, and why he’d he offered her that lollipop to keep quiet?
Looking up she found she had arrived at a large tree with a door set into the trunk. Several windows were also visible and a balcony had been built out from the second floor while an observation platform, complete with telescope, emerged from the top of the canopy.
This was Ponyville’s own Golden Oak Library.
Rapping a hoof on the door she was greeted by a small purple dragon with green spines wearing a frilly apron.
‘’Hi there Applebloom.’’ he greeted cheerily
‘’Hi Spike’’ she replied, beaming ‘’Can ah come in, ah’d like to get a few books.’’
‘’Well you’ve definitely come to the right place, come in.’
Applebloom trotted inside, Spike shutting the door behind her.
The Library’s extensive collection loomed before her. Shelves that had been sunk back into the tree trunk heaved with hundreds of books, while lecterns displayed several large tomes, each one significant in some way to Equestria’s knowledge.
Normally the shelves would have been graced by Twilight Sparkle, the purple unicorn usually had her nose in a book or was organising the shelves, but today she was nowhere to be found.
‘’Is Twilight around?’’ she asked ‘’ah thought she was supposed to be in today?’’
‘’A letter came from Princess Celestia and she had to leave in a hurry, something about strange weather in the Everfree forest.’’ replied Spike ‘’personally I think she overreacted a little.’’
‘’Whys that?’’
‘’She took, a dozen different books, a barometer, a seismometer, a lightening rod, a rain catcher, a chemistry set, three notebooks and four quills with two inkpots each.’’ Spike finished, having ticked each one off on his claws.
Applebloom gawped a little.
‘’Well, she takes being prepared to a whole new level.’’
‘’You got that right’’ he chuckled‘’ so what kind of books were you after?’’
The farm filly scanned the rows of shelves.
‘’Ya got anything about travelling, like magically going from here to Manehatten and back?’’
The young dragon scratched his chin in thought for a moment before his expression brightened.
‘’I know just the one.’’ He said grabbing a ladder and ascending the nearest set of shelves. Running a claw along the spine of each book he read the titles carefully before eventually stopping on one near the end of the row. Pulling it out he slid down the ladder to the floor.
‘’Here we are’’ he said ‘’ The foals guide to magical travel, what you need it for anyway?’’
‘’Well the girls and I were gonna...erm...try and get our Cutie Marks in...teleporting!’’
‘’Teleporting?’’ said Spike sceptically
‘’Yeah... we were gonna be, CUTIE MARK CRUSADER TELEPORTERS!’’ she finished with a dramatic flourish.
Spike was sure his eardrums had just popped.
‘’Well just don’t go teleporting into a tree or to another planet, your sisters will kill me.’’
‘’Don’t worry Spike, we’ll be careful.’’
Spike raised an eyebrow; careful was not a word usually associated with Applebloom, or her friends.
‘’Uhhh anyway...’’ she said tucking the book in her saddlebags ‘thanks fer your help but I gotta get this to the girls, see ya.’’ and with that she zipped out the door.
Trotting back through town the yellow filly’s thoughts returned to Reiver, he had to be up to something, but what exactly?
‘’Ah guess I’ll have to keep an eye on him fer now.’’ she muttered ‘’but if he even blinks the wrong way ah’m gonna buck him inta next week.’’
Reaching Sweet Apple Acres she quickly made her way upstairs and made a beeline for the guest room.
Pushing open the door she stopped at the sight before her.
Reiver had his muzzle buried in the bowl of applesauce and was attempting to lick it up like a dog. The spoon Applejack had provided was on the floor, a few blobs of sauce indicating he had apparently tried (and failed) to use it.
The sight resulted in a snigger escaping her lips, which caused Reiver to look up, revealing his whole muzzle was covered in the sticky mess.
Applebloom could help herself and burst out laughing so hard she had to support herself against the door.
His cheeks burning with embarrassment Reiver grabbed the corner of the bedcovers, and quickly cleaned up.
‘’If you are quite finished.’’ He huffed
With a few lingering chuckles Applebloom wandered over to the bed and lay the book on the covers, Reivers eyes lit up as he reached for it, but she quickly snatched it out of reach.
‘’A-HEM, ah believe we had a deal.’’ She said
‘’So we did.’’ He replied, producing the lollipop from under the pillow.
‘’How can ah be sure this will really get ya outta here quicker?’’ she asked, giving voice to her suspicions.
Reiver gave her an incredulous look.
‘’I don’t have time for this’’ he muttered. ‘’Look, I swear that what's in that book will get me out of your life faster than if I didn't have it.’’
‘’Ya promise?’’
Reiver blinked in disbelief, then sighed
‘’Cross my heart and hope to fly stick a cupcake in my eyAH!’’ He finished, having just poked himself in the eye which elicited some more giggles from Applebloom.
Satisfied that he had effectively sworn his soul for a book, she tossed it to him. He clumsily caught it in both hooves before tossing her the lollipop, which she deftly caught in her own hooves.
As she was trotting triumphantly towards the door she paused.
‘’How did ya know how to do a Pinkie Promise?’’
She was sure she had just seen Reiver pale through his coat.
‘’I’ve uuhhhh...been watching the town for a few days...I saw a pink pony do that and I thought that was what you meant.’’
Applebloom frowned; he was defiantly hiding something, she decided to pretend to play it off, if she wanted to keep an eye on him he had to believe she was completely fooled.
‘’Well not really, but a Pinkie Promise is even better than a regular promise, ah just thought ya had met Pinkie already.’’
She continued towards the door. ‘’Good night.’’
‘’For what it’s worth, I am sorry for dumping your breakfast on your head.’’
She stopped again. Turning to see he was watching her expectantly. She hadn’t really forgiven him, but she had to at least pretend to.
‘’It’s alright.’’ She shrugged and then slipped out the door.
Shutting it behind her, she looked at the lollipop properly for the first time.
The colours were unnatural swirls of reds and orange and she could smell the sugar through the wrapper, it was defiantly a piece of candy, but what she couldn’t understand was the label. There were none of the symbols that made up the Equestrian language and there was some kind of insignia above the text, but that also didn’t look familiar.
If he really was up to something then this had to be some sort of trick, but she needed an expert on sweets to be sure.
After Applebloom had left, Spike resumed what he was doing before her arrival.
In her haste to answer Princess Celestia’s letter Twilight had managed to empty an entire bookcase onto the floor in search of the relevant texts and had asked him to tidy up. Having replaced all the books he was currently perched precariously on the top of a ladder as he ran a pink duster along the uppermost shelves, humming a small tune as he worked.
It was at this point that fate decided the door would burst open with a loud bang.
Startled, the dragon lost his footing and careened into the bookcase which, sadly, caused all the books to come crashing down on top of him.
Head spinning from the sudden literary onslaught, several of which had page numbers going into the tens of thousands, the young dragon heard a voice calling.
‘’Spike? Spiiiike!’’
Silhouetted in the doorway was a purple unicorn with a dark purple mane and tail. On her flank was emblazoned a six pointed star, showing her talent in magic.
This was Twilight Sparkle, personal student to princess Celestia herself and bearer of the Element of Magic.
She was also Spike’s adoptive sister.
Looking around Twilight saw a pair of scaly legs sticking up from under a veritable mountain of literature.
‘’There you are Spike.’’ she said ‘’Didn’t I ask you to clean this up?’’
‘’Well it’s hard to clean when your entrance would make Rainbow Dash proud’’ Spike deadpanned.
‘’Uh...oops.’’ Twilight blushed.
Flailing his limbs in an effort to get up, Spike instead found himself enveloped in a purple aura as Twilight pulled him free with her magic. Setting him down on the floor Spike turned and surveyed the damage.
The bookcase itself was fine, solid oak furniture being what it was, but all the books had spilled out and were now carpeting a large section of library floor. He could see a few of them had been bent open backwards by the fall and several others had their pages folded inwards.
‘’Ugh! This took hours the first time.’’ He groaned in frustration.
Feeling guilty that she had accidentally destroyed his hard work, Twilight trotted up and focused her magic on the mess. Books twitched and fluttered before they flew off the floor and around the room, unbending and unfolding before sliding smoothly back into place. In a few seconds it didn’t even look like there had been an accident to begin with. The duster had even finished its task with a flourish.
‘’Why can’t we do that every time the cleaning needs done?’’ asked Spike.
‘’Because then you would expect me to do all your chores for you.’’
''Would that be so bad?''
Twilight frowned.
‘’I know, I know, if I don’t do them myself then I won’t learn anything about being responsible.’’
He sighed. ‘’So, how was your trip? Did you find whatever Princess Celestia wanted?’’
Twilight's eyes lit up and she began rummaging in her bulging saddlebags.
‘’You may not believe it Spike, but I found something unusual.’’
‘’You found something unusual... in the Everfree Forest?’ he replied sceptically.
Twilight paused.
‘’Well, unusual by the forest’s standards anyway’’ she clarified before resuming her search.
‘’Well whatever it is, it’s got you excited. So what have you found? It’s not some new type of creature is it?’’ he asked with a degree of trepidation, ‘’because I don’t want some kind of mutant manticore, zombie, hydra hybrid running about here.’’
‘’Don’t worry Spike.’’ Twilight chuckled. ‘’It’s nothing dangerous, at least I don’t think it’s dangerous.’’
‘’That’s comforting; so what is it exactly?’’
Twilight rummaged for a few more minutes before levitating a small bundle out of her saddlebag and floating it over to Spike.
‘’Take a look at this.’’
Spike unwrapped the object.
It was a metal circle with some lines in the centre creating an odd symbol. It was made of some kind of silver metal and it was scuffed and scratched in a few places.
‘’Is this a medal?’’ he asked, turning it over in his hands.
‘’I don’t know Spike, that symbol isn’t like anything I’ve ever seen before, but that wasn’t all I found. There was a trail of debris that led me to this.’’
Twilight pulled out her notepad and quill and flipped the pages with her magic. Locating the relevant page, she showed Spike a sketch of her find.
Twilight was by no means an accomplished artist, but when you do enough field work you learn to draw anything with a degree of accuracy.
The picture showed what Spike at first assumed was a carriage; it was the same shape, had four wheels, seats, and the back end was open to reveal luggage space. But as he examined the picture closely he realised he couldn’t see a seat for the driver or even areas to hitch the ponies that would pull it.
The strange vehicle had collided with the trunk of a large tree and the impact had caused the front end to crumple inwards. Debris was littering the space around the vehicle and Twilight made a few notes about each one on the edges of the drawing.
‘’What is it?’’ asked Spike.
‘’I don’t know Spike, but there was an identical symbol on the back of it and there were some really strange items inside it.’’
Opening her bags again, Twilight used her magic to levitate out several objects.
One looked like a black box with a window, but the glass had been cracked, presumably by the crash. The next were two small bottles with strange writing and images of plants on the labels. There were a few smaller items, including a pile of coins and a book with some strange creature on the cover.
As Spike looked over the small collection of artefacts, Twilight pulled out the last item she had been able to fit in her saddlebags.
It was a box, made of a light wood and big enough to fit in the palm of his hand. A latch, held in place by a small padlock, kept it shut and the lid had several symbols carved in it along with what looked like some writing.
‘’What do you think they are Twilight?’’ he asked, more in confusion than curiosity.
‘’I don’t know Spike. I’ve never seen anything like them before, but that writing doesn’t look like anything from Equestria and that’s not even the strangest thing about them.’’
Twilight’s horn glowed as she cast a spell over the objects; each began to glow softly in a spectrum of colours.
‘’They’re all saturated with a magic that I can’t completely identify. It’s got traces of a teleportation spell, but it’s far more chaotic.’’
‘’So you're saying that this.... was teleported from somewhere?’’ replied Spike.
‘’It looks that way’’ answered Twilight. ‘’Whatever this is it’s definitely not from Equestria, which means we need to do some research.’’
Before Twilight could continue there was a knock at the door.
Using her magic to open it, Twilight revealed Applejack.
‘’Howdy there Twilight, Spike.’’
‘’Hi Applejack, what brings you here?’’ asked Spike.
‘’Can ah come in? Ah need your help with something.’’
‘’Sure, Spike could you get us some tea please?’’
‘’Coming right up.’’
As Spike made for the kitchen, Twilight pulled up a few pillows for herself and Applejack.
‘’Ya’ll should really clean up after your study sessions, Twilight’’ said Applejack.
Twilight followed her gaze to her finds.
‘’Sorry about that’’ she said, using her magic to carefully put them to one side. ‘’It’s something Princess Celestia had got me looking into.’’
With some space cleared for the pillows, the two mares sat down.
‘’So how can I help you?’’
As Spike returned with their tea Applejack told Twilight about Reiver; how she had found him hiding in the barn and how he had reacted. She even told Twilight about his apparent fear of doctors.
‘’Sounds like this guy’s had it rough’’ said Spike.
‘’Ya should see him Spike, he’s all skin and bones right now.’’ She sighed. ‘’And ah hate to think how long he’s been out there, especially with the weather we’ve had.’’
Twilight hummed in agreement.
‘’If it’s not too much ta ask, can ya’ll check the town notices and see if anyone reported a missing colt? Ah would do it myself but the harvest needs collecting and Big Mac can’t do it all by himself.’’
Twilight smiled inwardly as she remembered Applejack attempting to do just that.
‘’Don’t worry Applejack’’ she said. ‘’First thing tomorrow I’ll check the town notices and see if Reiver was reported missing. A colt his age will have somepony looking for him.’’
Applejack smiled.
‘’Thanks Twilight, Ah appreciate this.’’
Finishing her tea Applejack stood up.
‘’Well, I’ve got ta get back home and help with the clean up; that colt can certainly create a mess. See ya’ll later.’’
With a wave, she stepped out the door and trotted back towards Sweet Apple Acres.
‘’So what do you want to do Twilight?’’ asked Spike as he helped clear up.
‘’It’s too late to go check the town notices right now’’ said Twilight, checking the clock on the wall, ‘’but I’ll head over first thing tomorrow.’’
Levitating her finds onto the table, she picked up the strange medal.
‘’In the meantime, let’s see what we can find about this.’’
‘’So what makes you think this colt’s up to something, anyway?’’
Apple Bloom frowned at the question. ‘’Scootaloo, weren’t ya listenin’ to a word ah’ve been sayin’?’’
The orange Pegasus filly shrugged her shoulders.
‘’A little, but I zoned out after a few minutes. You have been going on about this for a few days.’’
Apple Bloom groaned in frustration.
Since her meeting with Reiver, Apple Bloom had stored the lollipop in a safe place. Sugar or no sugar, she was not touching that thing until she knew what else was in it. The colt in question was still living in the guest room and she had heard Applejack mention that he wasn’t getting any better.
Now that it was the weekend, she had enlisted her friends Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle to unravel the colt’s true intentions.
The three fillies, known as the Cutie Mark Crusaders, were speeding through Ponyville with Scootaloo pulling the other two in a red wagon hitched to her scooter.
Apple Bloom continued her explanation as they rounded a bend between two houses.
‘’He’s an EARTH pony, and he wanted a book on MAGIC. Ain’t that a bit odd to you?’’
‘’Not really’’ replied Sweetie Belle. “Just because I’m a unicorn doesn’t mean all the books I read are about magic.’’
‘’Ugh... that’s not the point’’ moaned Apple Bloom.
‘’So what is?’’ asked Scootaloo as she veered to the right.
‘’The point is that he has to be up to something. If he wasn’t, why would he give me this to keep quiet?’’ She finished, producing the lollipop.
Sweetie Belle eyed the multi-coloured confection.
‘’What’s it got on the label?’’ she asked, noticing the strange writing.
‘’Ah dunno, but Ah want Twist to take a look. Ah think it could be some kind of trick.’’
‘’Like what?’’ said Scootaloo as they sped through the marketplace. The group’s reputation caused several ponies to pre-emptively leap behind their stalls, only to sheepishly emerge a moment later when nothing happened.
‘’Ah dunno, maybe this is cursed or poisoned or maybe it’s not even a lollipop and it’ll transform into a hideous monster when we take off the wrapper.’’
The other two fillies shared a skeptical look.
‘’Apple Bloom,’’ said Sweetie Belle ‘’Don’t you think you’re letting the fact he accidentally threw your breakfast onto your head influence your opinion?’’
‘’Ah am not!’’ she retorted. ‘’Just because Ah want him thrown out fer givin’ me the worst day of mah life is not havin’ an effect on mah actions.’’
Her friends shared another skeptical look, but any thoughts they might have had were going to have to wait as Twist’s house came into view.
Screeching to a stop, the three fillies disembarked.
Twist’s house was quite large, as the ground floor also doubled as a florist. The thatched building also had a balcony on the second floor that overlooked the square.
Rapping her hoof on the door, the top half was opened by a bespectacled filly with a curly red mane.
‘’Hi, Twist.’’
‘’Hi, whaths up Applebloom?’’ She lisped.
‘’Ah need ta ask ya a favour. Can we come in?’’
‘’Thure thing, hi Thootaloo, hi Thweetie Belle.’’
‘’Hi Twist.’’ Chorused the other fillies as their group passed through the door.
The interior of the florist’s would usually have been bustling with ponies at this hour, the shelves stacked to the gunnels with seeds and flowers while gardening tools would be laid out under the glass countertop.
Today, however, it was shut for a resupply so boxes of tools and supplies were stacked wall to wall while three mares - Daisy, Lily and Roseluck, collectively known as the ‘’Flower Trio’’ - were unpacking them for the Monday rush.
Although ‘’unpacking’’ might be a bit of a stretch.
‘’I told you Lily, the violets need to be next to the roses to get maximum attention.’’ argued Roseluck, the red maned mare clearly frustrated with the current arrangement.
‘’But Rosie, they look so much better next to my lilies!’’ whined Lily. ‘’The violets’ colour positively oozes into the white, at least here they don’t stick out like that dandelion in your own bed.’’
‘’The horror! The horror!’’ Swooned Daisy dramatically.
The three fillies waved a brief greeting to them as they passed, (although it was unknown if the arguing mares even noticed,) as they followed Twist upstairs to her room.
Pushing open the door with her hoof, Twist led the group inside.
Twist’s room was painted mint green which actually suited both the business downstairs and her special talent, namely making sweets. Her bed had red and white candy canes that matched her cutie mark decorating the headboard, while against the back wall was a table covered in what could have passed for a small laboratory, but in actuality was where she made her sweets.
Sitting down the four filles faced each other. ‘’Would you like thome peppermint thticks?’’ asked Twist.
‘’We would love some.’’ Said Sweetie Belle brightly.
Apple Bloom let out a small groan; she wanted to get to the business at hoof.
Reaching inside a basket by her lab table, Twist pulled some of the red and white striped confections from inside and passed them out.
Unwrapping them, the group sucked on the sweets for a moment before Apple Bloom spoke.
‘’Thanks fer the sweets Twist, but Ah was hoping you could help me with something.’’
‘’Thure thing, Applebloom, what ith it?’’ she asked.
‘’Ah was, uh....given this lollipop, but Ah can’t read the label. It’s in some kinda freaky language.’’ As she spoke, she produced the confection in question.
‘’Ah thought that, since you’re so good at making sweets an all, y’all could help me figure out what’s in it?’’
Handing over the red and orange swirled confection, she watched as Twist scrutinised the writing on the label.
‘’Well thaths definitely not Equethtrian.’’ She mumbled, before getting up and moving towards her sweet-making laboratory.
‘’Well ah didn’t want ta eat it in case there was something bad inside.’’ replied Apple Bloom.
Scootaloo rolled her eyes. Given that most things which tasted good were deemed ‘bad’ for them or their teeth by their respective caretakers. She felt it safe to assume the same about that lollipop, which she and Sweetie Belle had been eyeing since it had been brought out.
Removing the wrapper, Twist was hit by the familiar smell of sugary, teeth rotting sweetness. Turning the lollipop over in her hooves a few times she sniffed the edges before pulling over a clamp and securing it in place.
Pulling a surgical mask over her head she turned to the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
‘’Could you pleathe put on thome mathkths, I’m going to need thome help.’’
Crunching down the last few bits of their peppermint sticks the Crusaders donned some spare masks and crowded around Twist.
Passing the wrapper to Applebloom for disposal (although she actually stored it in her saddlebags) Twist picked up a small toffee hammer and began gently tapping the lollipop.
What followed was a series of methodical tests on the brightly coloured confection. She tapped it with a hammer, rubbed it with cotton swabs which she then ran over some litmus paper, chipped off small pieces and dissolved them in various fluids, noting any change in colour or consistency before cutting off a large chunk and analysing the patterns on the inside with a magnifying glass.
She would have made Twilight Sparkle proud.
It was a few hours later that she stopped and ran a hoof across her brow in satisfaction, behind her the Cutie Mark Crusaders flopped down onto some cushions in exhaustion.
‘’Well, thath’s every tetht I can think of’'' she declared. Lifting a clipboard, from the table she ran her eyes over the results.
‘’I didn’t think anything to do with candy could be so hard’’ moaned Scootaloo.
‘’Ith’s okay onth you underthtand it.’’ Twist chuckled. ‘’If I didn’t put in all thith hard work then you couldn’t enjoy my delithious thweets.’’
Scootaloo sighed; you couldn’t argue with that logic.
Twist checked the clipboard once again before exchanging it for the chunk she had cut off earlier. Apple Bloom perked up, this was what she had been waiting for, something that proved Reiver was more than he appeared.
‘’Well, I can tell you thith’’ said Twist. The crusaders leaned in toward her in rapt attention.
Suddenly she tossed the chunk into the air and caught it in her mouth with a satisfying crunch.
‘’Thath’s one of the thweetetht thingths I’ve ever eaten’’ she said to a gasp from Applebloom.
‘’Twist, have ya lost yer mind, we don’t know what that thing is?’’ she exclaimed.
Twist pulled over the clipboard as she crunched happily on the chunk.
‘’Itth okay, Apple Bloom.” She showed her clipboard. ‘’Thee? My tethts show iths just like a pieth of rock from the beach.’’
From helping with the baking at Sweet Apple Acres, Apple Bloom was able to recognise the quantities of different ingredients on the list in front of her, but she was no expert on sweets so some items were unfamiliar and she had no choice but to defer to Twist on this occasion.
‘’Here, try it yourthelf.’’
Twist passed her another piece of the lollipop.
Apple Bloom looked at it with suspicion as Twist handed more out to Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, who immediately crunched down on their respective shares and released a simultaneous ‘’mmmm’’ of satisfaction.
She observed her friends for a few moments as they enjoyed the sweet before she decided to try her piece. Taking it in her hoof, she bit off a small section.
Twist had been right, the texture was similar to seaside rock candy but it felt a bit softer which made it easier to chew. The flavour was difficult to describe, definitely sweet, but with a small undercurrent of sour that didn’t overwhelm the original taste.
Definitely a piece of candy.
Buzzing with extra energy, the four filles quickly polished off the whole confection.
‘’Tho,’’ sighed Twist with satisfaction ‘’Who gave you thith thing anyway?’’
‘’This colt that’s staying with her family’’ said Sweetie Belle. ‘’They found him hiding in the barn.’’
Apple Bloom shot her a brief glare; she had wanted to keep that fact a secret.
‘’He’s sick and lost, so we’re lookin’ after him till we find his folks.’’
Twist’s expression dropped a little.
‘’I hope you find them, because he’th got a really good tathte in thweets.’’
After a few minutes basking in the afterglow of their collective sugar high, the four filles made their way back downstairs, past the flower trio, who were now arguing over which watering cans would be best in the window display, and back outside.
The clock struck three, they had been in there since eleven.
‘’Wow, that took longer than I thought.’’ Said Apple Bloom.
‘’You can’t ruth art’’ Twist replied with pride.
Thanking her for her help, the Cutie Mark Crusaders said their goodbyes, hopped into their transport and sped off.
‘’So, the lollipop was actually a lollipop,’’ said Sweetie Belle. ‘’Do you think you were wrong about him?’’
‘’Ah don’t know’’ replied Apple Bloom. ‘’But something still ain’t right about that colt, and ah aim to find out what it is.’’ Sweetie Belle sighed.
‘’Look, Apple Bloom, I think you really are overreacting just a little because of the whole breakfast thing.’’
‘’Ah am not!’’ she replied defensively.
‘’You kinda are’’ said Scootaloo as they swung around a lamppost and headed towards Sweet Apple Acres.
‘’Seriously, you couldn’t be any more suspicious of this colt if you tried.’’
‘’Well...maybe Ah am a mite suspicious’’ she huffed. “But you have to admit, it’s strange he didn’t want anypony to know about that book’’ Apple Bloom countered.
‘’You’re not going to let this go, are you?’’ sighed Sweetie Belle.
‘’Sweetie Belle, how can Ah let this go? He’s given me a strange sweet to keep quiet about a book on magical travel. There’s something going on with him, an’ Ah mean to find out what.’’
Screeching to a stop just outside Sweet Apple Acres, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle turned to her.
‘’Well, if you’re going to do this then we’re going to help’’ said Scootaloo in resignation. ‘’But if we don’t find anything, will you admit you were wrong and let it go?’’
‘’Ah promise’’ Said Apple Bloom with a smile. ‘’An’ ya never know, we might even get our cutie marks if we solve the mystery.’’
The statement caused the other two to brighten up immediately.
At that moment, Reiver was jolted awake by the three fillies’ rather loud declaration.
Reiver groaned as he blearily looked around the room, remembering this was not the Everfree forest and he was in no danger of becoming something’s dinner.
Turning over, he tried to go back to sleep, but the heat from his fever was getting unbearable.
Ever since Zecora’s visit, the Apple family had been bringing him food and one of her potions on a regular basis. Although he hadn’t seen Applebloom since their conversation, he suspected she was avoiding him.
At each meal, the respective Apple had talked to him, attempting to make conversation or ask questions about where he came from. He inevitably had to answer these, but made sure his responses were either short or as vague as possible.
Reiver didn’t fully trust the Apple family; they seemed nice enough ponies but for all he knew they were just stalling until they could get a ‘professional’ to look at him.
Then there was his fever, whenever she visited Applejack kept saying he would get better in an obvious attempt to re-assure what she assumed to be a naive colt. But Reiver was far from naive and he knew he was getting worse.
After a few more minutes of restless tossing and turning, he decided to take a more direct approach to his fever. Kicking away the covers, he shuffled off the bed, managing to land unsteadily on his hooves. Leaving the bedroom, he found the upstairs hallway to be relatively quiet, the only noise coming from a pair of muffled voices that drifted upstairs from the kitchen.
Finding what he hoped was the right door, he slipped inside and sighed as a wave of cool air washed over him: he had gotten lucky on his first try.
He had managed to find the bathroom.
It was decorated with pale yellow tiles covering the floor and faded white paint on the walls. A squat bathtub occupied the centre of the room with a sink and mirror by the back wall.
Spotting a wooden step by the door, he pushed it to the sink and clambered up. Twisting the old taps, he filled the basin with water and splashed the cool liquid onto his face, sighing in relief as it soothed his flushed features.
Looking into the mirror, he finally got a good look at the damage several weeks of living rough in and around the Everfree Forest had done to him. His features were gaunt to the point that his eyes actually looked like they were sinking into their sockets and they held a haunted look, like he had seen the face of death and lived to tell the tale. Grinning at the mirror, he saw that his teeth were grubby and there were definitely a few twigs stuck between them. Finally, he shrugged off his jacket and examined his body, noting that a few ribs were visible through his emaciated flesh.
‘’You look terrible,’’ he said to his reflection.
‘’You don’t look so hot yourself mate.’’
With a yelp of surprise, he fell backward onto the tiles. Taking a moment to lie there in agony, Reiver collected his thoughts before cautiously pulling himself back up to the sink.
His reflection was smiling.
‘’That wasn’t very clever you know’’ it said.
‘’Uh...’’
It sighed.
‘’You know, just telling them the truth would probably be better than pretending you’re someone else, it might even get you home, you’re not having any luck with that book.’’
‘’I can’t tell them about me, they would think I’m nuts. Heck right now I think I’m nuts. How are you even talking to me?’’ he asked incredulously.
‘’Simple’’ it replied. ‘’You're hallucinating.’’
It then pulled out a trumpet and began to play a ragtime dance while several smaller ponies danced a can can along the mirrors edge.
Staring at the somewhat humorous image for a second, Reiver's mind then shifted into panic mode and he forcefully dunked his whole head into the sink. The water abruptly muffled any noise and, for a few moments, he was content to stay as he was.
Eventually he had to come up for air, emerging with a gasp from his watery solitude.
Staring at the mirror, it looked like his reflection had returned to normal, but that didn’t stop him from pulling a few faces and sneaking his way slowly around the mirrors' edge in an effort to catch it off guard.
After a few minutes, he finally concluded that his reflection was definitely NOT going to speak to him again and voiced the first thing that came to mind.
‘’What have they got me on?’’
Deciding he would rather be as far away from any reflective surface as possible, he grabbed his jacket and a towel before making his way back to the guest room.
However, exiting the bathroom while drying his face meant he walked straight into Winona.
The collie yelped in surprise as the two collided, but she recovered quickly when she saw it was the new friend she had found in the barn and sprang to her paws with a happy yap.
Reiver pulled himself up and stared at her uncertainly as she sat in the ‘play’ posture.
‘’Uh...hey there’’ he said, offering a hoof
Winona sniffed it for a second before deciding he had accepted her offer of playtime and tackled him to the floor before affectionately licking his face.
‘’Heh, nice to meet you too.’’ He giggled as he gave her a few scratches behind the ears before extricating himself with a well placed tummy rub.
Re-entering the guest room he spied Zecora’s incense sticks glowing gently in the semi-dark, the smoke that rose from each seemed to glimmer with an ethereal light, almost like stars in the night sky. Reiver had been told by Applejack that they were supposed to help his breathing, but right now all they were doing was make the already stale air very humid. He needed air.
Fresh air.
Climbing back onto the bed, he drew back the curtains and the light of sun shattered the darkness.
Once the burning in his eyes had subsided, he braced his hooves against the window and lifted with all his might. It took a few tries, but eventually the window reluctantly opened with an agonisingly drawn out squeak.
The cool breeze that caressed his features felt like the most glorious thing in the world.
Taking a moment to savour it, Reiver then cast his gaze over the view before him. The window was on the front of the house and he could see a few of the farms other buildings including a chicken coup and what appeared to be a line of sheds just off from the barn; this assumption was confirmed when Big Macintosh emerged from one of them with a toolbox in his teeth. Directing his gaze up the path, Reiver spotted the Cutie Mark Crusaders speeding off towards the orchards before he looked even further and saw that the path connected to the main road past the farm. This then ran over the hill and down towards Ponyville.
He sighed.
From the moment he had first set eyes on it from the fringes of the Everfree Forest he had known exactly where he was, but he had never been into the town properly, and chose instead to keep as far away from everypony as possible. He only ventured into the town in the dead of night when he raided the trashcans of several businesses to find food, and had never stuck around to speak to anypony out of fear they would send him to a doctor.
Hearing a creak behind him, Reiver turned and saw Winona using her nose the push open the door, apparently curious as to why he had stopped with her tummy rub. The collie bounded over to the bed and sat down, tilting her head towards him and he swore it was like she was waiting for permission to get onto the bed.
Reiver had a soft spot for dogs as they were one of his favourite animals; they gave a friendship and loyalty that he often found lacking in other creatures and Winona’s literal puppy dog stare was just too adorable to ignore.
‘’Oh...alright then, come here girl.‘’ he sighed in mock defeat as he flopped down onto the mattress. Winona barked happily and scrambled up to join him.
‘’I don’t know if I should be mad at you or thank you’’ he said as he started scratching her behind the ears with a hooftip.
‘’I know I’m sick...but I just couldn’t just ask for help. Help would mean awkward questions, which would inevitably lead to suspicions and then before you know it, I’d be getting shipped off to some forsaken asylum in the wastelands of who knows where.’’
He gave another sigh and laid his head on the pillow as Winona snuggled herself closer to the source of the ear scratching.
‘’Then again, if you hadn’t found me, I might have died in that barn and then I would never find a way home. So I guess I do have to thank you for that at least.’’
Winona just gave a contented whine and he gave a tiny smile.
‘’You’re a lot like my old dog.’’
Lying next to Winona, Reiver could feel his eyes dropping as the warmth from her body acted like a furry blanket.
‘’We used to lie like this at home, he would fall asleep and I would just... drift off next to him.’’
xxxxxxxxxx
As Reiver drifted off to sleep, Applejack was in the kitchen preparing his afternoon meal.
It was no secret that the Apple family was one of the largest in Equestria, having relations in just about every corner of the nation. A consequence of this was that Applejack was a highly sociable pony and had quite a few friends.
But from her brief time in Manehatten with her Aunt and Uncle she also knew what it was like to be alone in a strange place and wanted to make Reiver feel welcome, but his own efforts to keep them at arm’s length made that process difficult.
He seemed a bit more at ease with her so she held out some hope, but she wondered what could have happened to make him so distrustful of others.
‘’He’s a strange one that’s fer sure’’ she mused.
‘’You thinkin' about our guest upstairs?’’
Applejack looked up from the counter to see Granny Smith hobble into the kitchen. The eldest of the Apple family, Granny Smith had a pale green coat and grey mane and was often seen as eccentric by others, although there was often a method to her apparent madness.
‘’Ah’m just concerned is all’’ replied Applejack.‘’ A colt his age shouldn’t be tryin ta distance himself from everypony around them.’’
The elderly mare chuckled.
‘’Not everypony is the social type Applejack, he’s probably just scared, what with bein in a strange place an all.’’
She placed a hoof on her granddaughters' shoulder.
‘’If something is wrong then he will tell ya when he’s ready, just give him some time. No pony is going to trust somepony they just met off the bat, ya need to talk to him first.’’
Applejack sighed.
‘’But that’s just it Granny, we’ve all been talking ta him and he just keeps pushin us away.’’
‘’So ya try again, and again, and again. Ya show him ya’ll can be trusted. Just because he won’t talk ta me doesn’t mean he won’t talk ta somepony else. Like ah said just give him time.’’
Applejack sighed in frustration. Granny was right. He had to know he could trust her before he would talk to her in more than short sentences.
‘’Alright Granny, Ah’ll give him some time.’’
‘’Glad ta hear it’’ she replied.
Finishing her preparations, Applejack tidied up while Granny Smith finished loading up the tray.
''One more thing Applejack.'' said Granny Smith as she passed her the tray.
‘’Ah know it's frustrating that Twilight's search didn't find anything, but if ya must ask him a question, don’t push him too hard.’’
Making her way upstairs, Applejack opened the guest room door and felt the cool breeze from the open window. She mentally slapped herself. Zecora had told her that Reiver had to keep out of the cold if he stood the best chance for a swift recovery, but she had forgotten to inform the colt of that fact, probably because the guest room window was so stiff many simply refused to open it.
Making her way to the window, her eyes were drawn to the bed and she stifled a giggle.
Winona was curled up on the mattress with her head resting on her front paws while she dozed in the sunlight. She was snuggled up to Reiver, who had his forehooves wrapped around her furry shoulders like she was a teddy bear.
They looked adorable.
Taking care to shut the window she gave him a few nudges.
‘’Come on now partner, its dinner time.’’
The colt groaned softly and snuggled deeper into Winonas fur.
‘’Mugh...five more minutes Mom,’’ he muttered.
Applejack stifled another giggle before poking him a few times with her hoof.
‘’Come on now, ya can sleep all ya want when you’ve eaten.’’
Winona, disturbed by Applejacks actions, lifted her head and yawned. She looked at Applejack poking the colt before shuffling out of his grip and dropping down to the floor. Bereft of his fluffy pillow, Reiver finally began to stir.
With a yawn he sat up, stretching out a few kinks in his spine as he did. Spying Applejack and the tray she carried, he shuffled until he was on the edge of the mattress. Taking the tray from her he carefully took the spoon in his hooves and began to eat.
Applejack sat by the bed waiting for him to finish.
‘’Ah still don’t know how ya’ll do that, Ah’ve only ever seen Lyra sit that way.’’
She was referring to the fact he was sitting on two legs and not four, as most ponies did.
‘’Like I said before, I’m double jointed.’’
That was his excuse the first time and he was sticking to it.
‘’Still looks a mite uncomfortable.’’
They sat in silence for a few moments while he ate.
‘’So...ya feeling any better?’’ she asked
‘’Not really.’’
‘’Well don’t worry, Ah’m sure ya’ll will be up an about in no time.’’
Again there was silence.
‘’Ah should probably tell you that ya need ta keep the window closed from now on. Zecora says it’ll help ya get better much quicker.’’
‘’It was stuffy.’’ He clipped.
‘’Ah’m afraid ya will just have to put up with that fer now.’’
Silence once again.
Applejack racked her brain. She really wanted to make Reiver feel welcome but she was running out of ideas. Then her gaze settled on Winona, who was sitting by his hooves waiting for something to drop to the floor.
‘’Ah see ya’ll like Winona’’ she said.
Reiver stopped and looked down at the dog.
‘’I like dogs and she seems to like me.’’ He offered a hoof to Winona and she affectionately nuzzled it.
‘’Ah can see that’’ replied Applejack as an idea formed in her head.
‘’Let me show ya something.’’
Getting up she whistled for Winona to join her, and the collie obediently ran to her side.
‘’Sit’’ Applejack commanded, and she obeyed.
Stepping back a few paces she pulled her lasso from under her hat and began to spin it slowly with her tail. Taking a moment to get it up to speed she began jumping over the rope as it ran the length of her body.
Suddenly the knot unraveled from her tail and she caught it in her teeth, still managing to keep up the spin.
The action seemed accidental, but Applejack had deliberately tied the knot loosely so it would happen. It was a hidden cue that Winona recognised.
Leaping forward, she bounded through the lasso as Applejack kept it moving before spinning on her paws and repeating the motion back and forth; now both her and Applejack were jumping the loop. Then the loop began to shrink, which forced dog and pony closer and closer until they were practically touching, but Applejack kept increasing the speed of the rope until it was practically a blur, yet neither dog nor pony seemed bothered as they danced around it.
Sparing a glance at Reiver, Applejack saw that the colt was mesmerised by the display.
Slipping her muzzle under Winona, Applejack flipped her upwards. As she passed her owners' Stetson Winona grabbed it in her teeth and flipped it up along with her.
Reiver gasped as she went towards the ceiling.
Quickly Applejack leapt clear of the rope and lassoed Winona around the waist. With a tug she pulled her down and the collie twisted in the air, landing perfectly on Applejacks head while the rope coiled by her hooves. A few seconds later the stetson landed on Winona’s head.
Reiver was slack jawed at the display. The pair had shown an amount of co-ordination that he didn’t think was even possible between a pet and its owner.
He clapped enthusiastically as they took a bow.
‘’That. Was. AWESOME!’’ he exclaimed as Applejack sat down.
‘’Thought ya might like it’’ she huffed ‘’We won a couple rodeos with that one a while back, course ah had ta modify it fer indoors.’’
‘’But...how did you do it?’’ he asked ‘’I’ve never seen anything so in sync before.’’
‘’Heh heh.’’ chuckled Applejack. ‘’Ah’ve had Winona as long as ah can remember, when ya’ll have a pet that long ya tend to get the ability ta predict each other. Helps that she’s a workin dog too, she knows how ta listen and look fer the cues so it aint really that much different from when we’re herding the sheep or cows.’’
‘’Wish I could have taught my dog some tricks like that’’ he replied. ‘’We would have been the envy of everyone at school.’’
They were silent for a few moments before he gave a small chuckle.
‘’Heh... closest thing he did to a trick was when I used to move his food and watch as he’d follow me until I put it down again.’’
Applejack smiled a little as she listened. She had hit on something and now that she had a hoof in the door she didn’t want to lose the opportunity.
‘’Ah did something similar with Winona when I was a filly. Ah used ta make her chase me for her dinner, course Ah’d give it to her whether she caught me or not.’’
She scratched Winona’s ear affectionately as she spoke.
‘’Course it was all one big game ta her. Pa said it helped ta make her the fastest dog in Ponyville. I know for a fact there aint no pet in town that can keep up with her. Course Rainbow Dash, she’s a friend of mine, says that she’s training Tank, her pet tortoise, ta beat her one day. But ah think he’s more concerned with food than any kinda fancy trainin.’’
‘’I dunno, that whirligig she got him could give him an unfair advantage.’’
‘’Ah don’t think so, Tank can’t keep up with anypony without it so we’ve agreed he can use it. But he can barely control that thing most days, so ah’ve made it clear if she wants Tank ta race Winona he’s got ta be able ta fly in a straight line first.’’
They both shared a laugh at the image of Tank spiralling off to his dinner while Winona raced to victory.
‘’So,’’ she continued ‘’what’s yer dog like?’’
‘’Well his name was Rebel, and he was a Golden Retriever’’ he began. ‘’ He was a big dog, but he was so laid back he didn’t care if you moved his dish or gave him a hug... or when my cousin put ribbons in his hair.’’
Reiver gave a short chuckle as he recalled the incident.
‘’He could be really protective too. If you wanted to hurt me, or anyone he loved, then he would stop you.’’
He trailed off and Applejack noticed his shoulders sag.
‘’He was so loyal... I used to look forward to the end of school every day just so I could play with him. Even when things changed around me, places, p...onies, he was always there...and then one day he wasn’t.’’
Winona whined as she sensed the change in tone and gave his hoof a comforting nuzzle.
‘’He got sick one day’’ he sniffed, ‘’and he... never got better.’’
Reiver sat there in a depressed silence; his shoulders slumped as he fought back the urge to cry. He felt a pair of hooves wrap around his him and it took a moment for him to realise Applejack was giving him a hug.
Inwardly he cursed himself; Applejack had tapped into one of his most precious memories and he had almost let it get to him. He had never had problems hiding emotions around others in the past but for some inexplicable reason, this time it had been difficult.
He had to be strong, he couldn’t do that again or she would only try to be friendly and he couldn’t get too close to her or anypony.
As she released him he took a deep breath.
‘’Shouldn’t have done that, sorry’’ he said as he composed himself.
’It’s no bother sugarcube. It’s clear ya’ll loved Rebel very much but Ah’m sure that he wouldn’t want ya getting upset over him...’’
He held up a hoof to stop her.
‘’I know what you’re going to say, but I’ve heard it all several times before... I trust you’ll keep that little moment to yourself.’’
‘’Ah won’t tell a soul’’ she replied with a smile.
‘’Thank you.’’
Satisfied that his moment of weakness would be kept under wraps, Reiver returned his attention to his dinner. Applejack attempted to make further conversation a few times but it was clear that he was done talking for the moment. This didn't really bother her as the silence between them was more comfortable than before.
In a few minutes Reiver was finished and he let out a wide yawn.
‘’If you don’t mind I think I’ll just lie down for a bit,’’ he said, lying back onto the bed.
‘’Sure thing sugarcube, Ah’ve gotta work the fields, but Granny Smith will be downstairs if ya need anything.’’
She made to leave when she saw Winona scramble up into the bed and settle down next to Reiver, apparently unwilling to abandon her new friend.
Applejack went to call her away but she got the literal puppy dog eyes from the collie; once that dog got an idea she could be as stubborn as a mule.
‘’Fine’’ she sighed. ’but we’re gonna have ta work twice as hard tomorrow ta make up fer this.’’
Winona just yapped in response as she snuggled up against the colt.
Taking care to shut the door quietly, Applejack made her way downstairs.
She had made progress, but now she had more questions than answers. That comment about Tank was the second time he had shown knowledge that he shouldn’t have, but how did he know? It was possible he had seen Tank and Rainbow Dash around the town, but that didn’t explain how he also knew Appleblooms' name.
She paused for a second; when did she become so suspicious?
Here was a colt, sick, alone and lost. One who had clearly had a tough time and she was wondering how he knew things that were common knowledge amongst the Ponyville population. Even if he had been living on the fringes of the Everfree Forest he would have seen Tank and Applebloom whenever they were outside and he probably heard their names in passing when they were with others.
Concluding that her suspicions were unfounded, her attention returned to his unwillingness to talk to them. She had gotten him to open up a bit today and she had wanted to ask him outright about his fear of doctors, but Granny Smith’s words about trust made her reconsider.
With a sigh Applejack decided she just had to be patient, if he was going to say anything he had to know she could be trusted; and right now the best way to do that was to be a good host and help him get better. She just had to be careful that she didn’t do anything to jeopardise his trust in her, as that was the fastest way she could lose him.
Pausing by an open window she could have sworn she just heard somepony whisper: ‘’Foreveeeeeeer.’’
In a secluded field on Sweet Apple Acres there was a tree house. It had originally belonged to Applejack but when Applebloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle had formed the Cutie Mark Crusaders she decided to present it to them as their new clubhouse. Having been abandoned for so long it needed a bit of renovating, but the three fillies proved more than up to the task and had even extended it by adding a lookout tower.
Currently, the Cutie Mark Crusaders were huddled around a telescope inside that very tower; their gaze was firmly directed at the guest room window.
‘’See anything yet?’’ asked Applebloom.
‘’Nothing since your sister shut the window,’’ replied Scootaloo as she squinted through the eyepiece.
‘’Ugh! How can we spy on him if we can’t even see him, who knows what he’s planning in there,’’ groaned the farm filly.
‘’You do know he could just be sleeping right?’’
‘’No he’s not!’’ huffed Apple Bloom. ‘’He’s planning something I know it!’’
‘’Well if he is planning something we’re not going to see it from here,’’ replied Scootaloo.
With a frustrated sigh Applebloom exited the tower and dropped into the tree house proper, her friends following behind.
‘’So we’ve spied on him for most of the afternoon and nothing’s happened,’’ said Sweetie Belle as they sat down. ‘’Maybe he really is just a lost colt who accidentally ruined your day.’’
‘’Don’t say that!’’ exclaimed Applebloom. ‘’That’s exactly what he wants ya’ll ta think, he’s just waiting for the right moment ta strike.’’
Her friends just sighed.
‘’Not that I think he’s planning something, but we’re not going to solve this mystery from here,’’ said Scootaloo. ‘’We need to get closer.’’
Nodding in agreement the three crusaders thought for a moment, then Sweetie Belle brightened.
‘’Maybe one of us could hang under the window and eavesdrop on him.’’
‘’Ah don’t think so,’’ said Applebloom. ‘’Applejack locked up all the climbing gear after we tried to be Cutie Mark Crusader Base Jumpers.’’
‘’How could that have been too dangerous?’’ Replied Scootaloo incredulously. ‘’I’d double checked everything, I even fixed those old bedsheets we were using as parachutes.’’
‘’I guess she just has no sense of adventure,’’ replied Applebloom.
They thought for a few more minutes before Scootaloo spoke up.
‘’How about one of us hides in his room?’’
‘’Too risky’’ said Sweetie Belle. ‘’We’d have to sneak in when he’s asleep and even if he didn’t wake up, how would we get out without being seen by anypony else?’’
‘’Maybe we could use the periscope from when we were Cutie Mark Crusader Submariners to see around the door?’’ ventured Applebloom.
‘’Uhh...I think it’s still at the bottom of the lake with our sub’’ replied Scootaloo sheepishly.
Sweetie Belle facehoofed.
‘’I still don’t understand why you thought it was a good idea to open the door?’’ she muttered.
‘’Hey! I thought I saw a seapony.’’
‘’Seaponies don’t live in lakes, they live in the sea, that’s why they’re called SEAponies.’’
‘’Ah think we’re getting a little distracted’’ interrupted Applebloom. ‘’If we want ta find out anything we need ta do something quick and easy, it’s not like we can just ask him at dinner...’’
She trailed off as realisation dawned on her features.
‘’Ah’ve got it!’’
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Applejack was returning to the farmhouse to prepare Reivers final meal of the day when she saw the door was wide open. Thinking there was an intruder she galloped inside, but stopped when she realised her fears were unfounded.
Instead she saw the Cutie Mark Crusaders were in the kitchen preparing something, spying the jar of applesauce she concluded that it was Reivers meal, although she was slightly surprised that the three fillies were making it as Applebloom had said they would be crusading all day. Bounding energetically around their hooves was Winona, the collie, having finished napping with her new friend, was now trying to sabotage their efforts so she could get a free snack.
‘’Howdy there Cutie Mark Crusaders’’ she said, causing the three crusaders to jump in surprise.
‘’Applejack!’’ exclaimed Applebloom. ‘’Ah thought you were on the west field today?’’
‘’Ah came back ta get Reivers meal ready, but ah see ya’ll are already on it.’’
‘’Well...uh...we thought you would be busy for a mite longer.’’
‘’Yeah’’ said Scootaloo, as she poured the sauce into a bowl. ‘’So we...thought we would help out and try to get our cutie marks as...Nurses at the same time.’’
‘’Nurses?’’ Replied Applejack with a raised eyebrow, ‘’Ya’ll do remember what happened when ya tried ta be doctors?’’
‘’That was different’’ said Sweetie Belle. ‘’We didn’t know our cold cure would make Big Macintosh react like that.’’
‘’Ah told ya we used too much hot sauce’’ chipped Scootaloo.
''Besides, we're being nurses this time, that's totally different'' finished Applebloom.
Applejack turned her gaze to the bowl of applesauce; she knew her sister and her friends wouldn’t intentionally harm Reiver. Unintentionally was a different matter entirely as their eagerness often overrode common sense.
‘’Please Applejack,’’ begged Applebloom. ‘’Ah know ya’ll are busy because of this early frost and ah thought we could help out.’’
Applejack knew her sister was right, if it weren’t for this cold she would have more time to devote to their sick guest. But as it was all the adult Apples were busy doing their part to get the harvest stored before winter set in properly, even Granny Smith was doing what she could.
‘’Just so we’re clear, ya’ll are not to try another one of your ‘cures’ on him.’’
Applebloom beamed as she gave her older sister a hug.
‘’Thanks Applejack.’’
‘’No problem little sis’’ she replied with a chuckle.
Ensuring that Reivers dinner was properly prepared by the fillies, Applejack then called Winona to her side with a sharp whistle before heading back outside.
Reaching the guest room Applebloom motioned for them to stop before pressing her ear to the door.
‘’Hear anything?’’ whispered Sweetie belle.
‘’No’’ replied Applebloom.
‘’He could be sleeping’’ ventured Scootaloo.
‘’Stupid bucking hieroglyphics!’’
Applebloom jumped back as the book slammed into the door with such force that the wood buckled slightly.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders stared at each other in silence, and just the slightest bit of fear.
Cautiously, Applebloom pushed open the door.
The book was lying on the floor surrounded by splinters, its pages splayed open. Across the room Reiver was unsteadily standing on his hooves at the foot of the bed; one forehoof still outstretched and a look of surprise on his face.
‘’If anyone asks you didn’t hear that from me,’’ he said quickly.
‘’Um...okay’’ replied Applebloom awkwardly. ‘’We brought your dinner’’
‘’Oh, uh...thanks’’ he said.
Shuffling forward, Reiver took the tray from Applebloom and sat down by the bed as the three fillies sat in a semicircle, an awkward silence persisted as he began to slowly eat.
‘’So....’’ began Sweetie Belle hesitantly. ‘’What did that book do to make you so mad?’’
Reiver stopped, the spoon halfway to his mouth.
‘’I...didn’t understand something I read and I... just lost my temper.’’
Applebloom turned to where the book lay in the heap of splinters near the door; she recognised it as the one she had retrieved from the library a few days earlier. Maybe something didn’t match up with whatever fiendish plan he had in mind.
‘’What was it exactly?’’ asked Sweetie Belle.
‘’It’s not important’’ shrugged Reiver, this action quickly turned into a wobble and he had to lean back onto the bed to stop falling sideways.
‘’You okay?’’ asked Scootaloo.
‘’I’m fine’’ he replied, shaking his head in an effort to clear it. ‘’Just feeling a little bit dizzy.’’
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle shared a concerned look before Applebloom ploughed on with the questions.
‘’Are ya’ll getting enough ta eat?’’ she asked
‘’Yes I am for the moment, I don’t normally eat this much applesauce.’’
‘’So what do ya normally eat?’’ Asked Applebloom, mentally wondering if he was a Changeling.
‘’Most things, but I have food allergies so I have to be careful.’’
‘’Really, what are ya’ll allergic to?’’ Now she was considering if he was a Vampony
‘’Wheat.’’
Maybe he was suspicious about her questions.
‘’So you can’t eat bread?’’ asked Sweetie Belle.
‘’Or anything else made from wheat flour, like pies or cakes.’’
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Somewhere in Ponyville a certain pink mare spasmed like she had been stuck by lightening.
‘’Something really bad just happened.’’
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
‘’So what do you eat?’’ queried Sweetie Belled.
Appleblooms ears pricked up as she listened intently for his answer.
‘’Vegetables mainly, I have to make a lot of my own food.’’
They dropped in dissappointment; he was definitely on to them.
There was silence as he went back to eating, although Applebloom noticed he was moving much slower than when she last saw him. Whatever energy had been used to throw the book had clearly been used up. As Cutie Mark Crusaders struggled to find something else to talk about, Sweetie Belle spotted the colts’ blank flank.
‘’Hey, you don’t have a cutie mark’’ she exclaimed.
Reiver paused and looked down at his flank before closing his eyes and giving a frustrated sigh.
‘’No...I don’t’’ he said slowly.
‘’How about you join us? We’ve got a club to help us find our cutie marks’’ said Scootaloo. ‘’Together we are THE CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS!’’
Reiver was convinced he had just felt his eardrums burst.
‘’We’ve been meaning to take on more members since we let mah cousin join’’ said Applebloom. ‘’Plus, it means ah can keep a closer eye on you’’ she muttered.
‘’Thank you for the offer but I don’t think I’ll accept’’ he said. ‘’If I wanted to be covered in tree sap on a regular basis I would make maple syrup for a living.’’
‘’Hey that doesn’t happen all the time!’’ snapped Scootaloo.
‘’I know about your work, trust me it does’’ countered Reiver. ‘’You guys couldn’t be more blind to your own talents if you were sitting in the dark wearing blinkers.’’
‘’Well at least we’re trying to get our cutie marks’’ she replied defensively. ‘’Everypony always tell us that Cutie Marks appear when its time, but we don’t want to wait our whole lives to find our special talent!’’
‘’Yeah’’ chipped in Sweetie Belle, ‘’we’re being proactive by trying different things!’’
‘’Proactive or not, the three of you are still blind if you think sky-diving, water-skiing and tiger taming are your special talents. Heck, when Applebloom drank that cutie pox potion she tried practically everything in one day, and yet you still haven’t realised that true talent comes from within.’’
‘’That’s what the grownups keep saying and we still don’t know what it means’’ huffed Scootaloo.
Reiver sighed, these fillies really were dense.
‘’Wait a minute’’ said Applebloom. ‘’How’d you know about when ah had cutie pox?’’
‘’Word gets around’’ he said quickly ‘’when you spend weeks sneaking in and around Ponyville, you can’t help but hear about the Cutie Mark Crusaders latest disaster.’’
‘’Those aren’t disasters, those are...experiments!’’ replied Scootaloo.
‘’An experiment requires you to have some understanding of what you’re doing and from what I hear, you three do not.’’
Insulted and looking like she might kill him, Scootaloo made to get up, but Applebloom stopped her with a hoof on the shoulder.
‘’You’re a very rude colt, you know that,’’ said Sweetie Belle.
‘’Quite frankly my dear, I couldn’t care less what you think so long as you leave me out of your little schemes’’ he replied, putting aside the applesauce and gulping down the water.
‘’Thank you for the food and drink’’ he said, struggling unsteadily to his hooves. ‘’But I’m feeling a bit dizzy and would like to get some sleep if you don’t mind.’’
Retrieving the tray, the three Cutie Mark Crusaders left the room, Scootaloo sticking her tongue out once the door shut.
‘’Now do you girls believe me?’’ said Applebloom as they descended back into the kitchen.
‘’I’m starting to,’’ replied Scootaloo.
‘’Ah don’t care what he says about hearing things, he’s been watching us.’’
‘’Appleblooms right,’’ agreed Sweetie Belle. ''He can’t have known about the potion unless he saw you make it.’’
‘’We need more proof, and starting tonight we’re going to keep a much closer eye on him.’’
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
It was the middle of the night when a single shadow stole its way through Ponyville.
Slipping stealthily between buildings and along alleyways, the shadow did it’s best to ensure that it remained out of the pale light from Luna’s moon. Sliding along the wall between two houses the shadow paused to spot its target before darting quickly across the open space to its objective: Carousel Boutique.
Taking cover under a tree by the door the shadow turned its attention to one of the upper windows, grabbing a few pebbles it threw them at the glass until the impacts caused it to open.
‘’Cack-caw, Cack-caw’’ it squawked.
‘’What was that supposed to be?’’ hissed Sweetie Belle.
‘’The signal, duh’’ replied Scootaloo.
‘’I thought we agreed on an owl?’’
‘’Yeah, but a raven is much cooler.’’
Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes.
‘’Just stay there I’ll be right down.’’
Scootaloo watched her shut the window and disappear inside, sitting nervously in the shadow cast by the tree as she waited for the unicorn filly to emerge from the boutique. After a few minutes of tense silence the front door opened and Sweetie Belle, with her saddlebags slung across her back, slipped out.
Pressing an ear to the door, Sweetie Belle made sure that her exit had been undetected. When she was certain she hadn't been heard, the two fillies stealthily made their way back through Ponyville to where the Pegasus filly had hidden her scooter and the crusaders cart. Climbing aboard, Scootaloo revved her wings and the pair sped towards Sweet Apple Acres.
Upon reaching the farm they hid the scooter and cart in a bush before moving up to the farmhouse door, knocking on the aged wood caused the doors lower half to slowly creak open as Applebloom revealed herself.
‘’Were ya followed?’’ she whispered.
‘’No,’’ replied Sweetie Belle.
Taking a quick look around to be sure, Applebloom let the pair inside.
‘’Did anypony hear you?’’ asked Sweetie Belle.
‘’No, ah peeked in on Reiver before coming down just ta be sure. He’s sleeping like a log.’’
‘’Great,’’ said Scootaloo. ‘’Then let’s get the listening device set up.’’
‘’Scootaloo, I don’t think two cans and a piece of string counts as a listening device’’ Replied Sweetie Belle.
‘’Then what would you call it?’’
‘’Can we just get on with it, ‘’interrupted Applebloom. ‘’We gotta get it upstairs before anypony...’’
She was cut off by the sound of hoofsteps from above.
‘’...wakes up.’’
Freezing, the three fillies listened as the steps moved towards the staircase, realising they were about to be discovered they quickly took cover behind the sofa. Anxiously holding their breath, the Cutie Mark Crusaders listened as the steps moved downstairs into the living room where they stopped completely.
Risking discovery, Applebloom poked her head out.
The source of the hoofsteps was revealed to be Reiver, their arguing must have woken him. Currently he had his back to them and was looking at the pictures on the mantelpiece, his gaze moving across the photographs of the Apple Family and Sweet Apple Acres, occasionally lingering on specific images before moving on.
Eventually he finished with the ones on the mantelpiece and turned towards the kitchen, only to stop as he noticed another photograph sat by Granny Smiths rocking chair. Moving across he gently lifted the picture in his hooves to take a better look.
Applebloom knew which picture he was looking at. It was taken after her last birthday party and showed a close up of her, Applejack, Big Macintosh and Granny Smith crowded around a picnic bench smiling and laughing as Pinkie Pie ambushed them with the camera. She saw him trace a hoof over the image as he studied it, he was muttering something but she couldn’t quite make it out. Leaning out a bit further from their hiding place for a better look, she saw he had begun to shake a little, his hooves pressing hard against the picture frame.
CRACK!
Reiver snapped out of whatever daze he had been in as the glass cracked sharply in the silent farmhouse, Applebloom covered her mouth to muffle a gasp.
He had just broken one of their pictures, more than that it was one that reminded her of one of the best days of her life. A fury built in her gut and she moved to confront him but was quickly dragged back behind the sofa by her friends.
‘’Do you want to give us away?’’ hissed Scootaloo as she pinned her to the floor.
As her friends’ advice sunk through her anger Applebloom stopped struggling and shook her head, causing Scootaloo to slowly release her.
Once again peeking out from their hiding spot they saw that Reiver was gone, slowly sneaking to where the broken picture was now lying face down on the table, Applebloom lifted it up and saw the spiderweb of cracks had distorted the image underneath. She knew the photo would be fine, but he had effectively disrespected the Apple family by breaking the image of a precious memory. There was no doubt in her mind now, he was a monster and she would expose him.
They were about to continue upstairs when Sweetie Belle spotted shaft of light coming from the kitchen. Curiosity compelling them to investigate they saw the door was ajar, cautiously the three fillies peered inside.
The light was coming from the fridge which was wide open in front of them. Reiver was rummaging inside and they could hear the clinks and clatters of jars and cans moving around.
‘’Apple sauce, apple juice, apple cider, apple fritters, apple pie...geez does this family eat anything other than apples?’’ he muttered to himself. ‘’Ah orange juice, that will do.’’
‘’I don’t think he’s going to do anything suspicious,’’ whispered Scootaloo.
‘’Maybe we should just set up the cans and leave,’’ replied Sweetie Belle.
‘’It a listening device!’’ hissed Scootaloo.
‘’But that’s what they are!’’ argued Sweetie Belle.
As her friends began to argue their attention was taken off the colt in the kitchen, Appleblooms however was not.
She watched him take the carton from the fridge, pour the juice into a glass and drink it down. He then took it to the sink and was in the process of rinsing out the glass when his ears pricked and his head snapped in her direction.
Stifling a scream Applebloom quickly leapt back from the door, causing the other two to abruptly stop arguing.
‘’You alright?’’ asked Scootaloo.
‘’His eyes’’ she said shakily. ‘’His eyes.’’
‘’What’s wrong with his eyes?’’ asked Sweetie Belle.
‘’Th...they...were...’’
‘’Were what?’’
‘’They were yellow!’’ she nearly screamed.
Checking that they hadn’t been heard the other two crusaders crowded around their friend.
‘’You sure? They looked normal when we saw him earlier.’’ Said Sweetie Belle.
‘’Ah know what ah saw! He had yellow eyes!’’ snapped Applelboom.
‘’Maybe it was a trick of the light?’’ ventured Scootaloo. ‘’A pony can’t change their eye colour.’’
‘’Unless he isn’t really a pony at all!’’ exclaimed Applebloom.
‘’Quiet!’’ snapped Sweetie Belle. ‘’Do you want him to-‘’
She was cut off by the kitchen door opening behind them.
‘’-hear us.’’
The door opened to reveal Reiver leaning unsteadily on the door frame; Applebloom immediately looked at his eyes, expecting them to be yellow like before.
They were not; in fact they looked completely normal.
‘’Can I help you?’’ he asked.
‘’Uhhhhhh...’’ stammered Scootaloo.
‘’You three aren’t exactly quiet,’’ he said. ‘’Next time you spy on someone, don’t argue quite so loud. Why are you here?’’
‘’We were...having a campout,’’ said Sweetie Belle ‘’and wanted to see if you could join us.’’
Reiver looked them over.
‘’You are aware that Applejack has confined me to this house until further notice because of my condition right?’’
‘’Uh...yeah, course we did’’ replied Scootaloo. ‘’so we thought we could move it indoors instead.’’
‘’Doesn’t that defeat the point of a campout?’’ he replied.
‘’Well, it was Appleblooms idea, she wanted to see if we could start over’’ said Sweetie Belle, ignoring the look of horror that Applebloom gave her. ‘’You were very rude to us you know.’’
Reiver sighed.
‘’I guess I was, but I do have a headache, high fever, weak legs and a general feeling of illness about me, so I think you can understand why I might be somewhat irritable.’’
‘’Maybe, but that’s still not an excuse for how you behaved’’ she replied.
He sighed again.
‘’No, I suppose it wasn’t. But I meant it when I said I wanted to be left alone, if I apologise will you respect that?’’
‘’Yes!’’ quickly squeaked Applebloom, causing everypony present to look at her.
‘’Oookay...I’m sorry that I was rude to you,’’ said Reiver as he turned towards the stairs. ‘’I’m going back to bed now, please don’t try to spy on me with that ridiculous can device.’’
He made to leave, but began to wobble after only a few steps. Steadying himself on the kitchen door frame once more, Reiver struggled to move on as a wave of nausea washed over him and he felt bile rising in his throat. Unable to hold it down he threw up on the carpet, ignoring the noises from the three disgusted filles. Attempting to move on again, Reivers balance finally failed and he fell crashing to the floor, narrowly avoiding the puddle of his own vomit.
He was vaguely aware of somepony turning him on his back and he could make out the blurry colours of an orange coat an purple mane.
Twilight Sparkle groaned in frustration as she slammed her face into the pages of yet another book, such had been the pattern for the last few days.
Ever since she had brought in those strange artefacts, the unicorn mare had been trying to find out what they were. She was especially interested in the medal she had recovered from what she had dubbed ‘the crash site’.
Unfortunately, every avenue of investigation she tried had come back with nothing, the unicorn had been through every single text, book, and academic journal in Golden Oaks and had even requested a few ancient scrolls from the Canterlot archives in the hopes they would reveal something new.
Sadly, they had not.
Currently, she was where she had been for most of her research, sat at a table in the Library’s main room with books piled high all around her, some teetering at precarious angles.
Unsticking her face from the pages, Twilight stared at the medal with such intensity one might think she was trying to will it to give up its meaning.
‘’How is it I can’t find any sort of clue to this thing anywhere?’’ she said aloud.
‘’Well it is an alien symbol Twilight, that’s probably the reason it isn’t in any books?’’ yawned Spike, he should have been in bed hours ago, but his caretaker insisted they work late, again.
Twilight mentally gasped Something that wasn’t in a book? That was madness!
‘’Don’t say crazy things like that Spike, even if it’s not in a book we should at least be able to find clues which would enable us to make an educated guess.’’
Spike just rolled his eyes.
‘’I mean, we managed to find out a few things, comparing the images on those bottles with a botanical journal revealed they’re some kind of herbal extracts and we can theorise the creature on the coins must be some sort of ruler as she’s depicted similarly to Princess Celestia on the gold bit.’’
Twilight looked at the remaining objects that still refused to give up their secrets, specifically, the book and the wooden box.
‘’But we still can’t find any clue to what language that book is in, or what that creature on the cover is, and I still don’t have a clue what’s in that box.’’
‘’Why don’t you just open it and find out?’’
Twilight’s head snapped in the dragon’s direction and Spike briefly considered diving for cover.
‘’Are. You. CRAZY! We have no idea what’s inside! What if those symbols are some sort of binding spell? We could release a demon that destroys Equestria just to satisfy our curiosity!’’ she yelled in frustration.
Spike wilted under the verbal assault, and Twilights expression softened as she suddenly realised what she had just done.
‘’I’m sorry Spike,’’ she sighed. ‘’It’s just, I’ve never been at such a dead end before. This whole thing is driving me up the wall.’’
‘’I know Twilight,’’ said Spike. ‘’But you’ve been up late for nearly three days straight, you need to sleep.’’
‘’But I can’t just abandon my investigation-‘’
‘’Twilight!’’ interrupted Spike. ‘’You, need sleep, I, need sleep. You’re not thinking clearly and I can’t stay up like this every night to send messages to Canterlot for more books, so, for the love of Celestia please go to bed! This will still be here in the morning!’’
Twilights exhausted brain processed Spike’s argument and reluctantly admitted, he did have a point.
‘’You’re right Spike,’’ sighed Twilight. ‘’I need to rest.’’
Spike blinked, his own tired mind struggling to process that he had just convinced Twilight to stop studying. When the cogs finally clicked into place, he let out a quiet victory cheer.
‘’I’m going to clean up a little, I’ll let you know when the bathroom’s free.’’
Twilight made her way upstairs, leaving Spike alone with the mountains of literature. Looking at the mess occupying the Library floor his shoulders sagged. Deciding to tidy up a little, the dragon picked up a few books and began to stack them neatly on the shelves; reaching for several on the table Spike felt his claw contact the last artefact from the Crash Site, the black box with the cracked window. Spike watched as it appeared to slide in slow motion towards the edge of the table and off it.
With a panicked burst of speed, he threw the stack of books to one side and dove towards the object, sliding the last few feet along the floor he shut his eyes, not wanting to watch as the artefact hit the floor and smashed into a thousand pieces.
He felt something metallic hit his palm and his fingers instantly snapped shut, nervously peering out from under his eyelids, he found that he had caught it.
With a sigh of relief Spike sat up, curious, he looked over the box, turning it over in his claws. There were buttons on the side and what looked like an apple stamped on the back, but other than that, it didn’t have many distinguishing features. As he inspected it, Spike accidentally pressed down on one of the buttons near the top of the device and the window lit up.
He jumped in surprise and the black box flew out his hand, scrabbling desperately, he managed to catch it for a second time. Wiping his brow in relief Spike turned the box over and looked at the now lit up window.
There was more of that strange writing on it, but Spike did recognise and arrow that was pointing to the right side of the window. He carefully tapped it a few times with his claw, not wanting to make the cracks get any worse, but nothing happened. The he swiped his thumb across it and the window changed as groups of symbols appeared. Eyes wide with wonder, Spike began to experiment, and realised he could make them move by swiping a claw across the broken glass.
He tried tapping a few of them and found they changed what was in the window, sometimes he saw more writing, others showed maps and charts, one looked a little like a bird so he decided to tap that one next.
The image flipped sideways and it began to play some music as Spike turned the box sideways to see it correctly. The window now showed a bird and a catapult, there were also some pigs under some flimsy scaffolding. Spike watched as one of the birds jumped into the catapults sling, he tried swiping the glass one more time and watched in fascination as the bird was catapulted towards the pigs, crashing through the wooden scaffold like a boulder. Some numbers appeared at the top of the screen and then a new set of birds and pigs appeared.
Spike sat down as he played with the box, his previous exhaustion temporarily forgotten. With some more experimentation, he found that different birds did different things. Some exploded while others could speed up mid-flight, meanwhile the pigs built better and more complicated buildings and he found himself getting frustrated when he couldn’t knock it down in one move.
‘’Spike!’’
The dragon jumped and the box flew out of his claws for the third time that evening, only for it to get wrapped in a purple aura as Twilight caught it.
‘’I told you not to touch this thing,’’ she said disapprovingly. ‘’It could be dangerous.’’
‘’But Twilight it’s not dangerous at all’’ protested Spike as he reached for the box, only for Twilight to lift it out of his reach.
‘’I saw the way you were staring at it, this thing had you under some sort of spell.’’
‘’It did not!’’
‘’Then tell me, what you were doing?’’
So Spike did. He explained to Twilight how he had knocked it off the table, how he had caught it and how it had lit up when he touched the glass. He told her about the different symbols and the bird’s game that he had been playing before she arrived, all the while Twilights expression shifted from one of annoyance to curiosity.
She cautiously levitated the box to eye level and saw it had gone dark one more, scrutinising it closely she slowly lifted a hoof towards it and lightly tapped the glass, causing it to light up. Jumping slightly at the box’s activity, she quickly composed herself and dragged her hoof across it, although this time it didn’t respond. She tried again, and again, getting increasingly frustrated with each failed attempt.
She heard a small chuckle from Spike.
‘’Alright Mr Smarty Scales, how did you do it?’’
Levitating the box over to Spike, she watched as he ran the flat of his thumb across the surface and the image changed.
‘’Amazing’’ she marvelled.
‘’You think that’s cool, look at what else I found.’’
Spike showed her how the images changed when one was tapped by his fingers, her previous weariness forgotten for the moment, Twilight sat down with Spike as they explored the strange device.
‘’Those look like numbers’’ said Twilight as Spike pressed a symbol that brought up a keyboard, similar to the one found on a typewriter. ‘’And those look like basic mathematic symbols, this might be some sort of adding machine.’’
‘’Weird,’’ replied Spike as he tapped a few more images. ‘’That looks like a clock, but what’s with those numbers underneath.’’
‘’That’s a twenty four hour clock Spike,’’ replied Twilight as she leaned in for a better look. ‘’You sometimes get them on stopwatches or even in train stations.’’
She studied the image for a bit longer, rubbing her chin in thought.
‘’If that’s a clock,’’ she pointed to a string of numbers underneath, ‘’then these numbers could be a date.’’
Using her magic to pull a few books from the various piles, Twilight skimmed several volumes before she settled on one in particular.
Running her eyes over the pages, she occasionally glanced back to the strange device as she analysed it.
‘’Ah-ha!’’ she exclaimed. ‘’This thing is using a variation of the Late Romane Calendar!’’
‘’Uhhhh...come again?’’ asked Spike.
Twilight sighed.
‘’If we assume the numbers at the end are a year, then that means the ones before are a month, and a day. So this thing is dated to the third of the second month of the year two thousand and fourteen,’’ she finished, feeling just a little bit chuffed at her deduction.
‘’Hang on a second, this thing is from the future?’’ exclaimed Spike.
‘’Well, I wouldn’t go THAT far’’ scoffed Twilight.
‘’But you were visited by future Twilight, who’s to say this isn’t from her, or somepony else?’’
‘’Because Spike, the Time Travel spell only allows a unicorn to go a few days back in time, and even then only for a few seconds. These things would have vanished long before now if that were the case.’’
‘’Okay...so maybe they’re not from the future, but then why is it using an old Equestrian calendar?’’
‘’I don’t know Spike, this device is far more advanced than anything I’ve ever seen before, maybe we should-‘’
Twilight was cut off by the library door slamming open with a loud bang, huffing and panting in the doorframe was Applejack.
‘’Ah woke up ta a rukus downstairs so Ah went ta investigate,’’ huffed an exhausted Applejack. ‘’When Ah got downstairs there was Applebloom and the other Crusaders standing around, Ah was about ta ask ‘em what they were doing there in the middle of the night when Ah saw Reiver lying on the floor.’’
‘’Was he alright?’’ asked Twilight from her seat at the kitchen table.
Applejack shook her head. ‘’According to the fillies he threw up and then collapsed, when Ah checked his temperature, he was burning up something fierce. Ah got him back ta bed before Ah woke the rest of the family and came straight here.’’
‘’What about Applebloom and the girls?’’ she asked.
‘’Got Big Macintosh rounding up Rarity and Rainbow Dash right now, can’t imagine they’ll be happy when they find out what those fillies have been up to this time. Ah sent Applebloom back ta bed, told her we would have a talk about this later"
‘’It sounds like we were lucky those three were there,’’ said Spike, who sat between the two mares.
‘’Ah agree with ya’ll there Spike,” replied Applejack, ‘’But it don’t get them out of trouble for sneaking out in the middle of the night.’’
She turned back to Twilight.
‘’But it wasn't just his fever that was getting worse, when Ah carried him upstairs Ah could feel him start ta shiver and sweat through mah coat. Zecora left some potions in case he got worse but they aren't enough, Ah need your help.’’
‘’My help?’’ questioned Twilight.
‘’You've got to know some kind of healing spell, something that will help.’’
‘’Applejack, while I’m flattered that you have that much faith in my magic, I’m not a doctor,’’ she replied. ‘’I know plenty about healing magic and pony anatomy, but I’m not a trained professional.’’
‘’But ya do know something?’’
Twilight sighed.
’Yes, and they can help with symptoms and even some physical injuries, but they are no substitute for professional skill. They are more like a bandage or a painkiller, something to manage symptoms until a pony can get proper treatment. They might work for a time, but eventually he will need to see a doctor.’’
‘’Ah can’t do that Twilight,’’ replied Applejack with a shake of her head. ‘’Ah told ya'll how he pleaded that Ah didn't get one involved, if Ah bring a doctor over now, Ah’ve no idea what he’ll do.’’
Twilight frowned; she knew what Applejack was trying to do, which was why she had come to her instead of going directly to Ponyville General Hospital, but at the same time her actions may have put him at risk.
‘’What if it was Applebloom in this situation?’’ inquired Twilight.
Applejack bit her lip; Twilight had hit a soft spot. She continued, pressing her advantage.
‘’If Applebloom was sick and needed treatment, but refused to see a doctor, you would go get one anyway. Because you wouldn't want anything to happen to her, you would want somepony that knows what they are doing to treat her so she had the best chance of recovery.’’
She placed a hoof on Applejacks shoulder and looked her in the eye.
“We don’t know if this is just a passing symptom or a sign of something much worse. If you still don’t want to get a doctor, then I will go with you and do what I can. But at the very least, think about what would help him the most.”
Applejack was torn. Twilight made a good point, even if she was one of the most intelligent mares she had ever met, that didn’t make her a qualified to practice medicine. But at the same time, she had just begun to get Reiver to trust her; if she brought in a doctor he could overreact like he had when she found him, then who knows what could happen.
She took a deep breath.
‘’Alright Twi,’’ she conceded. ‘’But we’ll need ta be quick.’’
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
You’re useless!
I failed them, I failed them all...
Where are you?
Why...oh god, why did this happen?
Reiver shivered restlessly as a cold sweat matted his mane and coat, his eyes were scrunched shut as the nightmare repeated over and over. Granny Smith dabbed a damp cloth over the colts’ forehead in an effort to cool him down, but despite her efforts his fever continued to rage uncontrollably. The door to the guest room creaked open behind her as Big Macintosh entered with a bucket of cold water, setting it by the bed he took one look at the helpless colt and his stomach tied into a worried knot.
‘’You settle things with the young un’s?’’ asked Granny Smith.
‘’Eeyup.’’
‘’Rarity and Rainbow Dash are downstairs right now?’’
‘’Eeyup.’’
‘’You talk ta Applebloom?’’
‘’Eeyup, but she seemed a mite jumpy.’’
‘’What makes ya say that?’’
‘’She was acting like she was scared of something, Ah think it was me.’’
The elder Apple sighed.
‘’Ah’ll talk with her later, can’t have our little sapling scared of her big brother, ya can be pretty intimidating when you’re mad.’’
Plunging the cloth into the bucket of water, Granny Smith wrung it out before resuming her ministrations.
‘’How’s he doin?’’ asked Big Macintosh.
‘’Not good at all,’’ replied Granny Smith. ‘’Hand me one of Zecora’s potions would ya.’’
The red stallion rummaged through the bag of vials that their zebra friend had provided after they first contacted her, producing a one that had a snowflake on the label. Hoofing it to Granny Smith she popped the cork with her teeth and poured a little onto the cloth before dabbing it onto the colts’ lips.
‘’Ah hope this one works, but Ah’m out of mah depth here’’ sighed Granny, ‘’Ah got skill, but this is too serious fer me alone.’’
Big Macintosh could only nod sombrely in agreement, Granny Smith had been tending to injured ponies before there had even been a Ponyville, but even she had her limits. He glanced at the door, hoping that Applejack would be back soon with whatever help she could find.
Somepony must have been listening to the stallion’s worries because there was a sudden pop and flash of light from outside, followed by the sound of somepony crashing through the farmhouse door, causing a few indignant cries of alarm, and racing upstairs.
The guest room door burst open to reveal, Applejack, Twilight Sparkle and Nurse Redheart; Big Mac couldn't help but notice that Applejack was a little green.
‘’Warn me next time ya do that would ya Twi,’’ groaned Applejack.
‘’Sorry AJ,’’ replied Twilight. “But you did say we had to be quick.”
‘’Where’s the patient?’’ asked Nurse Redheart professionally.
Shuffling to one side, Granny Smith made room for the white mare. Opening her saddlebags, Nurse Redheart removed a stethoscope and placed it on the colt’s chest.
‘’His heart rate is a little high,’’ she said. ‘’And he’s definitely got some mucus built up on his chest, I need more information on his condition. Miss Twilight can I ask for your help?’’
‘’Of course’’ replied Twilight and her horn lit up with magical power. A lavender aura surrounded Reivers body as a screen materialized in the air displaying his vitals.
Removing the stethoscope she ran her gaze over the screen.
‘’His temperature is rising at an increasing rate, we need to cool him down and quickly.’’
She turned to Big Macintosh
"Fetch some more water, and any bags or towels you can find.’’
The red stallion nodded and quickly left to carry out her request.
‘’His body wouldn't be acting like this unless there was a good reason,’’ she said, this time facing Applejack. ‘’At the hospital, you said he was underweight.’’
She nodded.
‘’Then he could have eaten something that was too rich for him to tolerate.’’
‘’Applebloom said he’d had some orange juice before he fainted,’’ said Applejack. ‘’Could that have done it?’’
‘’Depending on how malnourished he was, then it’s entirely possible,’’ replied Redheart. ‘’But without a medical history we can’t be certain, there is the possibility it was an allergic reaction.
They were interrupted by the return of Big Macintosh with the requested bucket of water, several cloth bags and towels were also laid across his back.
‘’Excellent,’’ said Redheart, before turning to Twilight.
‘’I need you to make bags of ice, as many as you can.’’
Twilight’s horn lit up once more as she levitated the water out of the bucket before freezing it solid, several blades of magic then sliced the block of ice neatly into small cubes before she dropped them back into the bucket.
Under Nurse Redheart’s direction, the assembled ponies packed the ice into the bags and stuffed them under Reivers neck and forelegs. When they had finished the nursemare rummaged in her saddlebags and produced a bottle of sleeping potion, which she slowly fed to him on a cloth. As he drank, Reiver’s shaking began to grew less and less until it had stopped altogether.
‘’Good job everypony,’’ congratulated Redheart. ‘’But he’s not in the clear just yet.’’
She looked at Twilight's projection once again.
‘’His temperature is still high and he’s going to somepony to change those ice bags. He’ll also need watching in case it gets any worse.’’
‘’Ah’ll do it,’’ replied Applejack without hesitation.
‘’We’ll all do it,’’ interrupted Twilight. ‘’I’ll go first, then we’ll take turns every few hours.’’
Applejack opened her mouth to protest but Twilight silenced her with a raised hoof.
“Applejack you ran clear across Ponyville in the middle of the night, if you don’t get some rest Nurse Redheart will have two patients to deal with.”
Applejack looked like she was about to protest, but she could feel the strain of the night rapidly catching up to her.
“Fine,” she conceded. “But don’t think Ah’m going ta sit this out.”
‘’It would be best if I stay as well, at least until his symptoms ease’’ added Nurse Redheart. “If he gets worse I want somepony to come and get me.”
‘’Okay then, sounds like a plan’’ said Granny Smith. ‘’Me and Big Mac will get the spare sheets out, hope ya don’t mind sleeping on the sofa.’’
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The next morning
Applejack snapped bolt upright.
She had been on edge all night, despite Twilight's advice that she should get some rest, but the poor mare just couldn't sleep, at least not until she knew that Reiver was going to be okay. Blearily looking around, she saw she was still in the guest room and realized that she must have fallen asleep during her shift, Reiver, in a stark contrast to last night, was curled up under the duvet sleeping soundly.
She gently tested his temperature by laying her foreleg across his brow and found it had gone down; he still felt warm, but it was a fraction of what he had been before. Letting out a breath she didn't know she had been holding, the farm pony looked up at the window and realized that the sun was shining through a gap in the curtains. She couldn't tell how long she had been asleep, but she usually got up at dawn to begin her chores, so it was clear she had overslept.
She mentally chided herself for not going to get Big Mac for the dawn shift, but at the same time she also knew it was her own stubbornness, combined with the fact she felt responsible for the colt, that had made her stay.
Yawning, she retrieved her hat from the bedside cabinet, quietly slipped out the door, and headed downstairs for breakfast. Passing through the living room she saw Twilight asleep on the couch, lightly snoring from under the blanket Granny Smith had provided, she had explained the situation to Rarity and Rainbow Dash last night and they would have stayed to help, but they had to get their wayward sisters home. She didn't see any sign of Nurse Redheart, but a few noises from the kitchen suggested she was already awake.
Sure enough, entering the kitchen revealed that she was indeed awake and in the process of making several cups of coffee.
“Morning, Redheart,” yawned Applejack.
“Good morning, Applejack” she replied. “I thought everypony could use some coffee this morning, I hope you don’t mind that I went through your cupboards.”
“Nah, Ah don’t mind” said Applejack as she sat herself at the kitchen table. “After last night Ah think we could all use a pick-me-up.”
A steaming mug of fresh coffee soon sat in front of her; Nurse Redheart sat opposite with her own mug and took a tentative sip.
“Interesting blend, it reminds me of spiced apples.”
“That’s because Ah added some to the grinds, Ah’m going ta give out samples at the next market and see if it’s worth selling full time.”
“I’ll have to buy some more then, this is something I would definitely want to have in the hospital, the coffee there tastes like mud most of the time.”
They shared a brief chuckle as they drank.
“So…” said Nurse Redheart, “you found him in the barn.” It was more of a statement than a question.
Applejack sighed, she knew this was coming.
“Eeyup, Ah found him there.”
“And you didn't think to contact the hospital, or social services?” she asked.
“Ah would have”, she replied. “But he asked me not to.”
“He is a child; he doesn't know what he wants” she said dismissively. “If he’s lost, then we need to find his parents. If he ran away, we need to know why.”
“Ah’ve already got Twilight helping me with that.”
“There are official channels for this situation Applejack,” replied Nurse Redheart as she massaged her temples with a hoof. “You cannot just go over our heads with Princess Celestia’s protege, I’m going to have to get a social worker sorted for him and make arrangements to have him moved to Ponyville General, and do you know how much trouble-”
“He’s afraid of doctors.”
Nurse Redheart stopped in her tracks, which gave Applejack the opportunity to continue.
“When Ah first found him he ran from me, when Ah finally caught up he was nearly mad with panic. One of the first things he said was that he didn't want to see a doctor, it could have been a lie, but Ah know a liar when Ah see one.”
She looked the white mare in the eye.
“He said that if a doctor found him then he would be sent away, or drugged and locked up. Now, Ah don’t know what’s happened to him, but Ah am NOT letting ya’ll take him somewhere that'll just scare him to death.”
“Be reasonable Applejack,” implored Redheart. “He is only a foal; we can treat him much better at the hospital than you can here.”
“And what would ya do when he panicked? Hog-tie him? Drug him? Ya’ll would just be validating his fears, Ah’m sorry Redheart but he ain't leaving, and that’s final.”
“Do you mean that?”
They were interrupted by a small voice from the direction of the living room. Slowly turning their heads, the two mares saw Reiver trembling in the doorway. His breathing was shallow and erratic, and it was clear from the way he kept an eye on Nurse Redheart that he was terrified.
“How long were you standing there?” asked Applejack.
“Long enough” he replied, voice cracking as he struggled to contain his panic. “You left the door open and I could hear voices.”
He pointed at Nurse Redheart with a shaking hoof.
“I heard what you said, if you try and take me I’ll run. Applejack can tell you I run pretty fast, I don’t care if it means that I don’t get better or if I die, you won’t catch me.”
He turned to Applejack.
“You brought a doctor here,” he said, still trying to keep his voice level, but it was rising with each syllable. “You broke your word. I didn't want any doctors involved and yet you still brought one here! Why should I still trust you!” he screamed.
Applejack had to be careful, Reiver was on the verge of a panic attack and she didn't want to be the one to set him off. Slowly, she set down her coffee and approached the small colt, sitting on the floor so she could better look him in the eye.
“Ah know Ah broke mah word” she began. “Ah don’t like ta break mah word, it makes me a liar, and Ah don’t like ta be called a liar. Ah wouldn't have got her involved at all If Ah could have helped it.”
She placed a gentle hoof on his shoulder and felt him flinch slightly at the contact.
“Last night ya took a turn for the worst, Ah went ta get Twilight,” she nodded towards the unicorn, who had been jolted awake by the noise and was watching the exchange, “but she reminded me that while she’s good, she’s not a doctor.”
River looked over at Twilight, who gave a nervous wave, and then back at Applejack.
“But why not just get Zecora, or use one of her potions?”
“Zecora lives in the Everfree Forest sugarcube, going there in the middle of the night ain't something Ah could have just done. We did try ta use her potions, but these one just weren't strong enough. Ah thought Twilight could use her magic to make ya'll better, but that wouldn't have helped ya'll in the long run. In the end, Ah had ta make a difficult choice.”
She gently tilted Reivers face upwards so he could look her in the eye.
“Ah would rather be known as a liar, than the pony that let an innocent colt die when she could have done something.”
Reiver scrutinized her face, searching for any signs that she could be deceiving him. A twitch of her eye, a bead of sweat on her brow, anything. But the more he looked, the more he realized that she was telling the truth.
“You really would, wouldn't you?” he said as realization dawned on him.
Applejack nodded with a smile.
The pair looked over at Nurse Redheart, who had been watching the scene unfold.
“Ugh, fine” she relented. “He can stay here, but I am going to have to get some paperwork done that will designate you his guardian.”
“Glad ta see we finally see eye to eye Nurse Redheart,” replied Applejack with a slightly smug tone.
“Yes, well,” replied the indignant nurse, “There are somewhat unique circumstances, if you don’t mind I shall return to the hospital and take care of this myself, I should have it sorted by tomorrow. Good day Applejack.”
Grabbing her bag from the living room, Nurse Redheart exited the house, Reiver keeping an eye locked on her at all times.
As soon as the door clicked shut, he gave Applejack a grateful hug.
“Thank you.”
“Think nothing of it, sugarcube,” she replied. “Now how’s about Ah introduce you to Twilight over there?”
Twilight watched as Applejack led the nervous colt over; she couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty at her part in what had happened, despite its necessity. So she decided to do her best to make amends.
“Reiver, Ah’d like you ta meet Twilight Sparkle.”
“Nice to meet you,” said Twilight, trying her best to sound friendly.
“Um….hi,” he replied hesitantly. “Applejack said you were the one who convinced her to get that doctor?”
Twilight mentally winced, if his previous near hysteria was any indication she would have to be careful with her response. She glanced at Applejack for any help she could offer, but the best she got was a nervous grin.
“Well… Applejack came to me first…” she rubbed the back of her neck nervously. “She did tell me about your phobia, but I didn’t want to take the chance that something was seriously wrong with you.”
“Twilight…I…” Reiver hesitated as he struggled to form a response. “I put Applejack in a difficult position, I know my fear is irrational, but sometimes I just can’t control it. I could have been dying and I still would have begged and screamed for you to keep any doctors as far away as possible.”
Stepping away from Applejack, Reiver approached Twilight.
“You took a big risk, and… no one's ever done something like that for me, I…um, I guess what I want to say is...”
He struggled to find the right words, so instead he did something unexpected. Taking a step forward, he bowed to her.
Twilight felt awkward, the only pony that anypony ever bowed to was one of the princesses, and she certainly wasn’t royalty.
“You’re welcome, but I think Applejack deserves most of the credit,” she replied, putting a gentle hoof on his shoulder. “She did sprint across Ponyville in the middle of the night.”
“Shucks Twilight,” replied Applejack. "Ah just did what Ah had to; but Ah might not have found ya’ll if the Cutie Mark Crusaders hadn’t made that ruckus.”
“Either way, I’m grateful for what you both did,” said Reiver, rising to face the farmer. “Applejack, I’m sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused. You probably should have just left me in the barn.”
“Now Ah don’t want ya’ll thinking like that sugarcube,” replied Applejack firmly. “Ya’ll were a bit unexpected, but it would have been downright wrong if Ah just left ya to fend for yourself, that ain't the Apple Family way.”
What should have been a touching moment was interrupted by the sound of Reiver's gurgling stomach; he smiled sheepishly causing Twilight and Applejack to start giggling, and then rolling into full on laughter, with Reiver following soon after.
“Oh, Ah really needed that,” chuckled Applejack wiping a few tears from her eye.
“I think we all did,” replied Twilight with a smile. “It was a long night for everypony.”
“Then Ah’d say we need something extra special for breakfast, How’s about some apple fritters, with pancakes and syrup followed by oatmeal with cinnamon and sliced Red Delicious with some cold apple juice to wash it down?” replied Applejack as they moved into the kitchen.
“That sounds delicious,” said Reiver, as he and Twilight took their seats at the table.
“Sorry partner,” replied Applejack. “After last night, best I can make you is some more applesauce.”
“Urgh,” groaned Reiver as he smacked his face on the table top.
“Don’t worry,” said Twilight. “I’m sure when you get better Applejack will let you sample some of her famous baking.”
“Darn tootin',” replied Applejack as she gathered the ingredients. “Apple Family grub is some of the best in Equestria.”
“With what I’m eating, I’ll be sick of apples by the time I’m better.”
“Trust me partner, by the time you're well, you’ll still be craving some of Sweet Apple Acres finest,” replied Applejack, as she started making breakfast.
While they waited for their food, Twilight gave Reiver a proper look over. Applejack wasn’t kidding when she said he was skin and bones, his face in particular looked like it had sunk into his skull. He was wearing the threadbare jacket she had described and Twilight couldn’t help but wonder how Rarity would react if she saw just how desperate it looked.
“So Reiver,” she began. “How do you like Sweet Apple Acres?”
“It’s alright,” he shrugged. “I’ve not really had a good look around yet, but I’ve liked what I’ve seen so far. It’s definitely better than sleeping in a cave.”
“Ya’ll slept in a cave?” said Applejack as she pulled some fritters from the fridge.
“For a while, then the Ursa Major and its cub came back.” He shuddered at the memory, “I don’t think I’ve ever been so scared in my life.”
Twilight laid a comforting hoof on his back, remembering the time that Snips and Snails had led the Ursa’s cub into town.
“After that I stayed away from caves for a while,” continued Reiver. “I slept in trees, hollows, even a ruined farmhouse. The days were safe enough, but the nights...” Twilight and Applejack shared a concerned look as Reiver shuddered once more under her hoof.
“It was always quiet, not the peaceful quiet you get here, more like the type when a predator is stalking its prey. All the animals just…stop, then you feel the hairs on your neck prick and you know something is out there.”
He trailed off as he remembered the many sleepless nights he had spent in the Everfree Forest , snapping out of it when he felt Twilight wrap her hooves around him in a comforting hug.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bring this up,” she said. “I can’t imagine what you went through out there.”
“Something that I don’t ever wish to re-live,” he sniffed. “Don’t blame yourself Twilight; it’s just that those…particular memories are a bit vivid for me.”
“We’ll ya don’t have ta worry about anything like that anymore,” said Applejack, flashing him a reassuring smile before going back to whisking a bowl of pancake mix. “Yer under the Apple Family’s roof now.”
Reiver looked over the farm pony as Twilight released him, with everything that had happened to him in recent days he hadn’t really considered his situation until Applejack practically spelt it out for him. He had spent weeks avoiding contact with ponies, making sure that every move he made was done secretly out of fear that he would be branded crazy and sent away. Yet now here he was sitting in a pony’s home, having breakfast with two of them no less.
Maybe it helped that initially he didn’t have a choice; he had been, and to an extent still was, too sick to put up any resistance if they decide to take him to a doctor. But when Applejack had brought Zecora instead, he decided to take a leap of faith and trust her.
He had done his best to keep his distance and shut himself off from the Apple Family, but she had managed to get through his defences with a single act. Although he had to give credit to Winona for playing a major part in that one, that dog was more like Rebel than he cared to admit.
Now Applejack may have just risked arrest by arguing with Nurse Redheart, he hadn’t had anyone go out on a limb like that for him in a long time.
Looking over at Twilight as she chatted with Applejack, Reiver thought about her part in recent events. He shouldn’t really be as relaxed with her as he was, given she did convince Applejack to bring Nurse Redheart in the first place, but her actions may have just helped to save his life. Maybe he really could trust these ponies.
“Something on your mind?” she asked him, and Reiver realised he had been staring.
“Sorry, just thinking.”
“About what?”
“…what’s happened lately. It all just seems a bit surreal.”
“Don’t worry,” replied Twilight, “when you’re better, we’ll find a way to get you home.”
“yeah…” he muttered.
“Soups on everypony!” cried Applejack. “A full Apple Family breakfast, that’ll take care of yer hunger pangs.”
Trotting over, she served up a delicious spread that made Reivers mouth water, and then he was brought back down by his own serving of water and applesauce.
Looking at his meagre portion in comparison to the plates of fritters, pancakes and oatmeal, he heard Twilight giggle to his left.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “But you had the most adorable pout on your face just now, I couldn’t help myself.”
“I don’t pout,” he replied, crossing his hooves defensively.
“Partner, if you were pouting any harder, you could give Applebloom a run for her bits,” said Applejack with a few chuckles.
“Urgh…mares, you're all against me,” replied Reiver, attempting to look annoyed, but all that did was make him pout even harder, which caused the two mares to break into giggles.
Digging into their respective breakfasts, Twilight and Applejack made small talk, with Reiver chipping in occasionally, but the meal was mostly ate in a comfortable silence. When they were finished Twilight cleared away the dishes as Applejack and Reiver went back into the living room.
“You feeling better now partner?” she asked.
“Yes, much better,” he replied.
“Well if there’s anything ya’ll need, feel free to ask.”
As Reiver considered her offer, he looked over to where he had fallen the night before.
Applebloom wrung her hooves anxiously as she sat on her bed; the image of Reiver’s yellow eyes burned into her mind.
She was terrified when he had caught them, and she fully expected him to turn into a monster right there, but instead of turning into a five headed, six legged, monster, he had collapsed. Then Applejack had come running in and the Crusaders had been whisked away before she could say anything.
Right now she knew that Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo would be more concerned about what their respective families would do to them, but she was far more concerned about those eyes. Even when Big Macintosh took her upstairs to lecture her she barely paid attention, those eyes were all she could think about.
When she was finally alone she had turned all the lamps up to full and hid quaking under her duvet, now it was morning and it was eerily quiet. All she could do was sit there and wait anxiously while her suspicions about the colt ran into the realms of dark fantasy, yellow eyes were not natural and she had only seen them on Discord, the spirit of chaos himself, but her sister and the other Elements of Harmony had reformed him. But that didn’t mean he was the only draconequus in Equestria…right?
She was so engrossed in her thoughts that she jumped at the sound of somepony knocking on her door, only to rush over as Applejack pushed it open.
“Applejack!” she exclaimed as she tackle-hugged her sister. “Ah ya’ll right?”
“Ah’m fine little sis but if ya keep squeezing me like that Ah might not be fer long.”
“Oops, sorry,” blushed Applebloom as she released her.
“It’s okay sugacube,” replied Applejack before adopting a more serious tone. “Now Applebloom, ya know ya’ll are in trouble fer last night.”
“Ah know,” she replied, hanging her head.
“But that’s not why Ah’m here,” replied Applejack. “If ya’ll hadn’t been downstairs last night Reiver might not have been found until sun-up, and he wants ta thank you.”
Applebloom paled.
“Th…thank me?”
“That’s right, he wants ta thank you and yer friends fer saving him,” replied Applejack, motioning for her to follow.
Applebloom hesitated.
“Uh…ya know Applejack, Ah’m feelin a mite tired right now, can’t ah just see him tomorrow?”
“Now Applebloom” replied Applejack sternly. “He’s trying ta be friendly, least ya’ll can do is come an listen ta what he has ta say.”
“But Applejack-”
“No buts Appleboom, ah don’t know what's got into ya lately but ah won’t have ya insulting a guest.”
Knowing she could never win this argument, Applebloom nervously followed her sister downstairs and into the living room.
“Scootaloo? Sweetie Belle?”
To her surprise, sitting on the sofa were the other Cutie Mark Crusaders, with Rarity and Rainbow Dash either side of them. Their faces lit up when they saw Applebloom and they ran over greet her.
“What are ya’ll doing here?”
“Dunno” replied Scootaloo. “Rainbow Dash picked me up from home a few minutes ago, and then Sweetie Belle showed up just before you did.”
“Do you think this is about last night?” questioned Sweetie Belle. “I’m already in a lot of trouble, are they going to yell at us some more?”
“Nothing of the sort Sweetie Belle” said Rarity, apparently hearing the fillies’ conversation. “We are here because somepony wants to thank you.”
“Thank us?” replied the unicorn filly.
“Why yes,” she continued. “You actions, though morally questionable, may have saved a young colt's life, and he wants to thank you for it.”
“Their talking about Reiver,” whispered Applebloom, pulling the other Crusaders into a huddle.
“We thought so,” replied Sweetie Belle. “But why would he want to thank us? We didn’t do anything.”
“Except maybe get in the biggest trouble we’ve ever been in,” said Scootaloo.
“What about that time with Cheerilee and the love poison?” chipped in Sweetie Belle.
“…the second biggest trouble we’ve ever been in”.
“Or the time that-”
“Okay we get it, geez!”
“It’s got ta be a trick,” suggested Applebloom, “Ah tell ya, he can’t be just a normal pony.”
“Applebloom,” replied Scootaloo, “not that I think you didn’t see something, but are you absolutely certain about what you did see?”
“Course Ah am!” she replied, keeping her voice low. “He had yellow eyes; no pony in Equestria has yellow eyes!”
“Should we, you know,” replied Sweetie Belle, subtly gesturing to the adult ponies, who were talking amongst themselves. “Let them know what you saw? They could help.”
“Bad idea,” said Scootaloo. “We’re already in enough trouble, if we start accusing him of something we’ll just get in even more trouble.”
Applebloom stole a glance at Applejack, who was talking with Rainbow Dash about the next Iron Pony competition.
“Scootaloo’s right, if we say something now we’ll just look like we’re trying ta blame him. We need something that proves he ain’t normal.”
“You sure about this Applebloom?” replied Sweetie Belle. “You could have just imagined he had yellow eyes.”
“But what if Ah didn’t Sweetie Belle?” she snapped back. “He could be some kinda Changeling out to take over Ponyville.”
“Don’t you think that’s a bit of an exaggeration?”
Applebloom was about to reply that it was a perfectly reasonable explanation when she was cut off by the sound of the back door opening; looking up, the three crusaders saw Twilight enter with Reiver close behind, the colt looking visibly queasy.
“You feeling better now?” asked Twilight
“Yes, thank you Twilight,” he replied. “I‘m sorry I ran out like that, but better I throw up out there than in here.”
“It’s okay Reiver,” replied the lavender unicorn, gently rubbing his back. “But we’ll need to keep you inside from now on if you want to get better, we can look at something to manage these bouts of nausea after you’ve seen the Cutie Mark Crusaders.”
Looking up, Reiver saw that the three fillies had arrived, along with their respective big sisters. Both Rarity and Rainbow Dash were looking at him with concerned expressions, although he was certain he saw Rarity’s eye twitch at the state of his jacket.
Moving over to the Cutie Mark Crusaders, he failed to see Applebloom take a step back, before Applejack subtly nudged her back into place. Taking a minute to clear his throat he spoke up.
“I’m…um…not used to having ponies save me, there’s a sentence I didn’t think I’d ever say out loud,' he said. “But from what I’ve been told, if it weren’t for you three I may have been on that floor last night until goodness knows when. I know I was rude to you before, and I really gave just a half-hearted apology…so I guess what I’m trying to say here is…”
He took a deep breath in an effort to relax.
“Thank you, for saving my life, if it’s not too much to ask, could we…start over?”
He offered them a hoof.
“I’m Reiver; it’s nice to meet you.”
They stood there nervously, after their muffled conversation the Crusaders weren’t too eager to come forwards, in fact Applebloom was actively trying to hide behind Scootaloo.
Seeing their reluctance, Applejack gave them a sharp nudge. Glancing back at her and then the colt's offered hoof, Sweetie Belle took the initiative and made a slow step forward. Reaching out, she gingerly bumped her hoof against Reivers' like she expected him to burst into flame. When he did not spontaneously combust on contact, she looked from their connected hooves to his face and scrutinised his features, making the poor colt feel a bit awkward. She was, in actuality, checking his eyes in case they changed like Applebloom said, when they did not, she relaxed and smiled at him.
“Nice to meet you Reiver, I’m Sweetie Belle,” she said, turning to the other Crusaders and waving them forward.
“A…Ah…Ah’m Applebloom,” finished Applebloom nervously, still not convinced that Reiver was safe to be around.
“I’m sorry I was rude to you before,” apologised Reiver.
“No biggie,” replied Scootaloo.
“At least you apologised,” said Sweetie Belle. “I hope you’ll re-consider our offer from before, it would be great to have another Crusader.”
“Yeah,” replied Scootaloo. “It’d be cool to have another pony join us.”
“NEW CUTIE MARK CRUSADER YAY!”
All ponies present were certain they heard a window shatter.
“I’ll…uh, think about it,” he replied, shaking his head in a vain effort to stop the ringing. “Do they always have that much energy?” he asked Applejack
“They do get a mite enthusiastic when they're all together." She chuckled a little at the colt's reaction.
What everypony present had failed to notice was that Applebloom hadn’t been part of that declaration; instead she looked horrified that her friends were even suggesting the idea. She had only brought it up earlier because she thought Reiver wasn’t dangerous, but her experience last night had rapidly changed her mind and the idea had lost its appeal.
“Well, now thats out of the way I think we should introduce ourselves, wouldn’t you agree?” said Rarity, approaching the group of foals.
“My name is Rarity, I’m Sweetie Belle’s sister, and the Pegasus sitting next to me is-”
“Rainbow Dash, the most awesome Pegasus in Equestria!” interrupted Rainbow Dash, gaining her a sharp look from Rarity.
“It’s a pleasure to meet both of you,” replied Reiver, bumping hooves with the two mares. “I hope I didn’t cause you too much trouble with my request.”
“Don’t worry my dear it was no trouble at all,” said Rarity.
“Although you did get me up way earlier than I’m used to,” replied Rainbow Dash, which earned her another sharp look from Rarity. “But it means I got to spend time with my number one fan so I can complain too much,” she finished, affectionately rubbing Scootaloo’s mane.
“So, Reiver darling,” said Rarity. “If I may ask, what happened to your garment?”
“You mean my jacket?” replied Reiver, looking over the threadbare item. “It’s...kinda been through a rough spot lately. I don’t know if Twilight told about my previous living arrangements.”
“She did explain you had been, ‘roughing it’, as it were, if you like I can fix it up for you.”
“Umm, please don’t take this the wrong way, but right now I’d like to keep my jacket.”
“But dearie it looks like it was dragged through a hedge-”
“It was, backwards, by a Cragadile, while I was in it,” interrupted Reiver, which caused Rarity to stop talking.
“Sorry,” he replied, suddenly aware of the awkward silence he had just caused. “I didn’t mean to interrupt, it’s just, this jacket was a gift from somepony very important to me, and after everything that’s happened I don’t want to lose it. Please Rarity; ask me again some other time.”
Rarity wasn’t used to her generosity being refused, but from the way he looked at her it was clear that he really didn’t want to give it up, so she backed down.
“Of course my dear, just bring it to me whenever you’re ready.”
“Thank you for understanding,” he replied with a yawn.
“Tired?” asked Rainbow Dash.
“Just a little,” he replied.
“I hear that, getting up that early should be a crime,” she replied.
“Rainbow, it was ten o’clock in the morning,” said Twilight.
“Like I said, way too early,” replied Rainbow offhandedly, which got an exasperated groan from Twilight.
“So, you lived in the Everfree Forest huh?” continued Rainbow. “What made you decide to move in with Applejack?”
“She wasn’t trying to eat me on a regular basis.”
Yet another round of silence.
“Uh…” stammered Rainbow Dash as she awkwardly rubbed her neck.
“Sorry, but those aren’t pleasant memories for me Rainbow Dash.”
“Sorry kid, I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“It’s alright,” he replied, waving her off. “You didn’t know, but my answer to Rarity should have tipped you off.”
“Indeed,” chipped in the white unicorn. “You should have been more considerate Rainbow Dash.”
“Alright, geez I already said I was sorry,” replied Rainbow.
“So Rainbow Dash,” said Reiver, deciding to change the topic. “You uh, said Scootaloo is your number one fan.”
“That's right!” she replied, grinning at Scootaloo, who returned the gesture. “I’m even teaching her some of my skills, you know, so she can be as awesome as me.”
“No pony is as awesome as you Rainbow Dash!” replied Scootaloo enthusiastically.
“Yeah, I know,” she replied.
Reiver rolled his eyes; Rainbow didn’t lack confidence that was certain. It was then he realised the room was still rotating and he had to steady himself on the nearest pony, which happened to be Scootaloo.
“Uh…you okay?” she asked.
“Not really, the room is a little wobbly, if you don’t mind I think I’ll lie down for a bit.”
“Come on, I’ll take ya ta bed,” replied Applejack.
With a few goodbyes to the assembled ponies, including a promise to Rarity that he would let her fix his jacket, Reiver allowed Applejack to take him upstairs to the guest room.
“Ya’ll going to be okay sugarcube?” she asked, tucking him in.
“I’ll be fine Applejack, but thanks for asking.”
“Okay, but if ya’ll feel any worse then you just holler and Ah’ll come running,” she replied. “Sleep tight now.”
With one last look at the colt as he settled down, Applejack slipped quietly out the door. In the silence that followed Reiver adjusted himself under the covers and waited for sleep to claim him.
“That went well I think.”
Reiver jumped out of his skin as a voice shattered the calm, looking around desperately he tried to find its source.
“Over here mate, on the wall by the chest of drawers.”
Following the instructions, Reiver scanned the wall before his eyes spotted something near the base. It was him, or rather a representation of him made up of the natural knots and patterns that made up the wood grain, and it was smiling in a rather disturbing manner.
“Wha…who…?”
“Still the master of conversation I see,” replied the image as it moved along the wall. “Hopefully you won’t cut me off like you did last time, although I suppose my little show may have been too much for your small mind.”
Reiver snapped out of his stupor, had that thing just insulted him?
“I thought hallucinations were supposed to stop after you splashed cold water on your face?” he replied.
“Under most circumstances yes,” replied the image, idly inspecting one of its hooves.
“Then you have to be a result of Zecora’s potions!”
“Zecora’s potions don’t cause hallucinations; at least, I don’t think they do, then again would you believe me either way?” it replied, this time testing it’s hooves on the top of the skirting board. “Couldn’t you have found a mirror or some other reflective surface? I don’t like being all knotty,” it complained.
“We’ll I’m sorry, we can’t all be picky about how our fevered mind chooses to torture us” he retorted.
Apparently ignoring the last remark, the strange image walked along the wall and disappeared behind the chest of drawers, only to ‘climb’ up onto the beds' headboard, its appearance changing to resemble a pastel painting.
“This isn’t quite what I wanted but it will do,” it said taking a seat opposite Reiver. “Go on, ask the inevitable question?”
“I would, but I think I’ve already figured you out.”
“Oh,” replied the image nonchalantly. “Then please, enlighten me.”
“After I dunked my head on the sink, I assumed you were a hallucination, but what you just did just proves that you can’t be a produce of my fevered mind because there’s only one being in Equestria who can pull that off. Furthermore, for my reflection you don’t act like me at all. So therefore you have to be Discord, he’s the only one who likes to mess with ponies like this,” replied Reiver smugly, only to be surprised when the image began to laugh.
“Discord? Really, that’s your answer.” It replied, laughing hard. “Sorry mate, but I’m something else entirely.”
“Wha…but...you have to be Discord,” stuttered Reiver. “You're messing with me the way he does to everyone around him.”
“Mmmm, you do have a point, I may need to get a new schtick,” said the image, tapping its chin as if contemplating Reivers answer. “But that still doesn't make you right you know. He's 'reformed' now, still a jerk mind you, but reformed none-the -less.”
“But, if you’re not Discord, then what exactly are you?”
“No idea,” it replied flippantly. “I think I’m you, but then again, you could be me, I remember things about your life like I was there, but at the same time I know they aren’t my memories. I know things about this world, just like you, and it feels like I‘m part of Equestria, when I know I can’t be. All I can say for certain is that I didn’t exist until you looked in that mirror the other day.”
“So I created you? That sounds a little far-fetched.”
“Mate, you’re in a magical land of talking ponies where mythical creatures are the general fauna and two princesses raise the sun and moon on a daily basis,” it replied with a raised eyebrow. “If anything this is next season’s pilot episode.”
It began to pace back and forth in front of him, almost like it was in deep thought.
“Which brings us to your current dilemma of returning home, you could always ask them for help, but then again that would mean explaining to them that you’re a-”
“Stop!”
“-human being.”
“Urgh,” groaned Reiver. “Do you have any idea what could happen if that gets out? This is the town that freaks out over a zebra in a cloak!”
“So?” it replied casually. “Why not tell them?”
“It’s not that simple, how would you react if a ten year old colt suddenly said "by the way I’m actually a twenty seven year old alien from another planet where your world is a fictional show for children".”
“And young people,slash,adults,” it finished.
“Yes, point made. But tell me, how would you react if somepony suddenly told you all that?”
“Hmmmm, I would probably invite him over for tea, it would make an interesting conversation topic.”
“That’s not the point!” retorted Reiver in frustration.
"So what is the point?" it replied. "Make them believe you, there is car full of evidence currently wrapped around a tree that can back up your claim."
“Yeah, and if that information gets out what then? If I don't tell them I’m safe, safe from doctors, safe from harm, safe from him! If you really have my memories then you must remember he was in the car about to pull my head off! If he finds out where I am he might decide to come back and finish the job!”
“Ah yes, I can see why he would be a problem, especially in your current predicament,” mused the image.
“I’m just lucky that he wasn't in the car when I woke up, hopefully whatever brought me here vaporised him.”
“Even so, just what are you going to do should he ever surface?”
“I…I don’t know, I guess I’ll just have to cross that bridge when I come to it.”
“Hopefully before he burns it down,” replied the image as its ears pricked up. “Somepony's coming, I suggest you get some sleep.”
It turned and began to walk away; shrinking like it was walking towards the horizon.
“Wait, what should I call you? I can’t keep thinking of you as some sort of hallucination if you’re really a living being.”
The image turned its head, and smiled slightly.
“I guess you’ll just have to figure that one out, after all I was just born yesterday, you could always think of me as you’re conscious, but that’s a little cliché, I’m really just here to add a little bedlam to your time here.”
It paused.
“Bedlam, I like it. Reminds me of our mismatched friend, call me that, now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go before somepony thinks you’re crazy.”
When Applejack pushed open the door a few minutes later, it looked like Reiver was sleeping peacefully. What she couldn’t have known was that the colt was silently wondering if he really was crazy.
Sleepily rubbing his eyes, Reiver awoke from a restless slumber. Groggily extracting himself from the warm embrace of his duvet, he brushed his mane out of his eyes before freezing at the sight of the headboard.
He eyed the painted wood cautiously for several minutes, half expecting Bedlam to reappear and continue their conversation from last night, however when the strange being failed to materialise he sighed in relief. He did not need another conversation with his own image right now; all it did was remind him how surreal everything was, as well as the possibility that his own sanity might be dwindling.
Deciding he’d had enough sleep for now, Reiver dropped to the floor and made his way downstairs to the living room, he wondered which Apple he would run in to but when he reached the bottom of the staircase he found it completely empty.
“Hello, anypony there?”
Silence, given his condition he had expected at least one of the Apples to be in the house but no pony was forthcoming. Scanning the room his eyes settled on the broken picture frame from the night before. Carefully lifting it into his hooves he gingerly tapped the cracked glass, confused as to how it had broken in the first place.
He remembered picking it up last night and seeing the smiling faces of the Apple family staring back at him had made him smile at first, but as he continued to look at it he felt something else take over. He remembered a tear running down his face as those smiling faces started to mock him with their happiness and joy, flaunting the perfect family that they were right in front of him. His mind seemed to blank out at that point and it was only the glass breaking that had snapped him back to his senses.
How on earth was he going to explain this to the Apples? Even before his transformation he would have had difficulty breaking the glass in a picture frame. It shouldn’t matter that he now had the strength of an Earth Pony; but he was still weak after his time in the Everfree Forest. For the moment they seemed to have overlooked the picture in the wake of last night’s incident, but they would find out eventually and it could lead back to him.
Suddenly somepony kicked the back door open, causing it to slam into the wall with a loud crash. This resulted in Reiver nearly jumping out of his skin in fright and losing his already tenuous grip on the picture frame, causing it to fall to the floor with a sickening crunch. As Reivers mind raced to think of an acceptable excuse, an imposing shadow fell across him.
Nervously, he turned to see that towering over him was Applejacks brother Big Macintosh. He had met the stallion before when he was bedridden, the bed making him somewhat less intimidating as they could see eye to eye. But now he was at ground level the already large stallion seemed almost titanic, he was a workhorse through and through; muscles built by years of farming covered in a shaggy red coat, marred only by his half apple cutie mark. Looking down at the frightened colt, he saw the broken frame on the floor and went to retrieve it.
“I didn’t mean to,” Reiver blurted out. “I was just looking at it and then there was a bang and I jumped and I…I…” He looked desperately from the broken picture to Big Mac as he tried to think of something to say.
“It’s alright young un,” replied Big Mac as he inspected the damage. “Accidents happen; the photographs fine I just need to replace the glass.”
“You’re…not mad?” Reiver asked tentatively.
“Nope,” he replied, slightly confused.
“It’s just…never mind,” replied Reiver nervously. “Why were you outside? I thought somepony was supposed to stay with me right now?”
“I was watching ya, but I can’t sit still fer long when there’s chores ta do, so I went ta get mah tools.” He indicated the metal toolbox that was balanced on his back, the thing looked like it weighed a ton but the red stallion moved like it was nothing.
“Ya’ll were sleepin when I went ta check,” continued Big Mac. “Ya feelin any better?”
“A little” he replied.
“Good ta hear,” said Big Mac with a smile. “Applejack has been worried about ya all day.”
“She was?” questioned Reiver.
“Eeyup, kept asking everypony how ya were, I think she’s taken a shine to ya.”
Reiver was silent; after Applejack brought him in he hadn’t planned to stick. Just get better and leave, now…now he wasn’t so sure, especially after she stuck her neck out for him with Nurse Redheart.
“If ya don’t mind Reiver I have ta get on,” said Big Mac as he turned towards the kitchen, curious as to what he was doing, Reiver decided to follow. In the kitchen he saw some cut lengths of wood stacked against one wall, along with a pile of hinges. Setting down the toolbox Big Mac flipped the catch, causing it to open out into a series of shelves. Using his muzzle to rummage inside the red stallion pulled out a screwdriver and a pack of screws which he set to one side, he then opened the door of one of the lower cupboards. Taking the screwdriver in his hooves he started removing the hinges.
“Umm…do you mind if I watch you for a bit?” asked Reiver. “I don’t really feel like going back to bed just yet.”
“Nope” he replied, taking off the door completely.
So for the next few minutes, Reiver sat and watched the stallion work. It wasn’t the most interesting of activities but Reiver found himself giving it his full attention, observing how Big Mac effortlessly manipulated the tools in his hooves.
As a human he was used to having hands and fingers, so suddenly finding both absent made things very difficult for him, when he first tried to lift a rock he had tried using both hooves but found he couldn't get any traction on its surface. It was only after a few days experimenting that he realised a pony’s hooves had some type of latent magical field surrounding them, this allowed them to hold and manipulate objects It had taken some practice but he had managed to get it so he could pick things up…he just couldn't hold onto them.
“You make it look so easy,” he muttered.
“Pardon?” said Big Mac.
“That” he replied, gesturing at the cupboard. “I can barely hold onto a spoon with one hoof and have to use both of them for anything bigger.” He sighed and tried to pinch the bridge of his nose in frustration, only to pop himself with a hooftip.
“Ugh! Hooves suck!” he groaned, rubbing his nose.
Big Macintosh couldn’t help but chuckle a bit at the colt’s action.
“I wouldn’t say that now young un,” he said. “I’m sure once yer better yer control will recover, I remember when Fluttershy got the feather flu, had ta spoon feed her mahself ‘cause she couldn’t grip anything.”
Reiver smirked as the red stallion managed to somehow go even redder, he knew who Fluttershy was of course, he just wanted to test a theory, and possibly embarrass the poor stallion a bit for laughing at him.
“Is she speeeeeeecial?” He asked in a sing song voice, giggling as Big Mac tried to hide his blush and stammer out a response. “Sorry Mac,” he said. "But when you blushed like that I couldn’t resist, don’t worry I won’t say anything.”
Brushing a small tear from his eye, Reiver decided that the stallion had been embarrassed enough for one day and moved to change the subject.
“So are you just replacing the hinges or the whole door?” he said, gesturing to the cut wood.
“Just the hinges on this one” replied the stallion, grateful to be getting away from the topic of Fluttershy. “Some of the others need a new door, that’s why I made those up last night.”
Crossing the kitchen, Reiver took a closer look at the cut wood and saw they were indeed new doors. Like most of the furniture in the Apple household they had an apple design carved into them, in this case it was a weaving pattern of lines expertly carved into the shape of the fruit.
“These are really good” said Reiver, running a hoof across the design.
“Eeyup, I was taught by the best.”
“Who taught you?”
“Pa did, he taught me all sorts of things.” replied the stallion, “He was a crafts-pony, knew how ta build and decorate anything.”
Stopping for a moment Big Mac pulled a picture out from under his halter and passed it to Reiver. It was an old image, the edges were worn and there was no colour to it. It depicted a stallion and a mare standing in front of the Apple home, from the image Reiver saw the stallion was easily a head taller than the mare and built much like Big Mac. He had a familiar looking Stetson perched on his head and was wearing a pair of overalls and a tool belt that was crammed with everything a good crafts-pony would ever need. In comparison the mare had a delicate frame that was offset somewhat by her obvious pregnancy, she wore a wide brimmed sunhat and Reiver could see her cutie mark was falling apple blossom. The stallion had a hoof affectionately draped across her shoulders and both of them were smiling happily.
“That picture was taken shortly after the house was built, till then the family had been living in a small homestead, but after Ma got pregnant Pa decided he wanted something more than a rickety old cabin ta raise his foals.”
“He built this whole thing?” asked Reiver.
“Eeyup, with a little help from the family.”
“What was his name?”
“Macintosh Senior.”
“...so your full name is…”
“Big Macintosh Junior.”
Reivers was sure his eyes just bulged in shock.
“Wow…umm, you’re big for a junior.”
Big Mac chuckled a bit as the colts’ bemusement.
“Wasn’t always this big, I used ta be the smallest pony on the farm, Granny says it was because Ah was early.”
Reiver looked up from the picture, finding it hard to imagine the burly stallion as a weak and helpless foal.
“But you’re not like that now,” he said.
“Eeyup, that’s thanks ta the both of them. Ma looked after me until Ah could barely walk, then Pa made me some braces so Ah could get around.”
“Wow,” replied Reiver. “So, how did you go from braces to having legs like tree trunks?”
“It was Applejack,” he replied. “When she was born I went to the hospital ta see her, she looked so small and helpless that I said to mahself ‘Macintosh Junior, yer a big brother now, an big brothers take care of their little sisters.’ Right then I decided ta make myself the strongest pony I could be. So I started exercising and taking extra chores, it was tough at first but I had Pa and Ma ta help. Ma wasn’t a workhorse but she knew a thing about cooking thanks ta Granny, she made me all sorts a’ meals that helped build me up. Pa made sure I didn’t wear myself out from doing too much work, he taught me how ta pace myself and recognise when a job was too much fer one pony. But he also encouraged me ta push through my barriers, reminding me why I was doing this in the first place”
“Wow" replied Reiver, slightly in awe. “They sound like loving parents.”
Big Macintosh paused.
“They were,” he said, suddenly very quiet.
Reiver realised he had may have just inadvertently upset him; quietly, he walked over and gently put a sympathetic hoof on Big Mac’s leg. Looking down, the stallion was greeted by a small smile from the colt, he returned it before giving Reiver a gentle pat on the head.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“It’s alright young'un" he replied, "Sometimes it's just a mite hard fer me ta talk about."
“Here, you’ll probably want this back” said Reiver as he offered him the photo.
“Thanks,” replied Big Mac, returning it to his halter. “So what about you, yer Pa, he teach ya anything?”
Reiver face fell.
“Oh...he not the teachin type?” replied Big Mac, seeing the colts’ reaction.
“No…not really,” said Reiver sullenly. “More like the ‘walk out on his family type’”.
Big Mac was surprised at this, family was one of the most important things to the Apples, especially with one as large as theirs. Having somepony walk out on their own family was something of a rarity among them.
“Sorry, Ah didn’t mean ta bring it up” he replied.
“It’s alright Mac,” replied Reiver as he slumped down by the kitchen door.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Not really, mentioning my dad always brings back…bad memories.”
Reiver started to talk and before he knew it, he was pouring his heart out to the stallion.
“My dad was…in the Royal Guard, had been before he met my mum. After they got married she went with him wherever he was posted, and after I was born I had to go to. We never spent too long in one place, longest I think we were anywhere was a year and half. Made it difficult to make friends I can tell you.”
He looked up at Big Mac.
“He was hardly at home and rarely came to my birthdays; I remember one year we were going to go to the movies, we waited and waited for hours but he never came home. When he finally did come back I overheard the argument he was having with mum, he hadn’t come home because he had gone to some fundraiser with his superior just so he could get a chance at a promotion.”
Reiver sighed.
“That wasn’t the first time he did that. He would always put his needs over ours, his career always came first, his friends were more important than his wife and children. We thought things might change after he retired, but he had been in the military so long that he just couldn’t cope with civilian life. He got angry when we didn’t do things to his high standards and he hated it when we talked back, he would even tease me for my interests and hobbies. Maybe he thought it was funny, but I certainly didn’t!”
The colt slammed a hoof into the wall in frustration.
“Then one day…one day he just… left, told my mum he had accepted a job abroad and was leaving that day. He didn’t even try to talk about it; he didn’t even tell us that he wasn’t happy with being retired; heck we didn’t know he had applied for a job. I never really got along with him, but I put up with it because my mum loved him, but his leaving….”
He trailed off and Big Macintosh saw him begin to cry.
“She got depression, sometimes wouldn’t leave her room for weeks. Then one day I hear this crash in the kitchen and…and…”
He broke into sobs.
“At first I thought she had slipped, that maybe she was stunned…but…but…”
He couldn’t continue, it was all too much and he broke down.
“Do you know the worst part?” he sniffed. “He didn’t even shed a tear; he just blamed her for making me a ‘softie’. Dad never liked that I didn’t go shooting or hiking and he hated that I didn’t want to join the Guard, I had my own dreams but that didn’t matter to him, he wanted me to be in the army and that was that.”
Big Macintosh couldn’t stand by and leave him like this, so he left his task and wrapped his hooves around Reiver as he wept.
So...the colt was a runaway; he lost his mother and had a father who cared more about his own needs over his son, the thought such a stallion existed made his blood boil. Throughout the Apple family’s’ history they had supported one another through thick and thin and he was no exception, every time he saw his cutie mark he was reminded of that.
“I’m sorry,” sniffled Reiver. “You must think I’m a wimp.”
“Young'un, it’s okay ta cry over yer mother,” he replied. “I must have cried enough tears ta fill a lake when we lost Pa and Ma.”
“I never really got the chance to cry for mum, Dad didn’t tolerate cry babies,” replied the colt as he wiped his eyes with a hoof. “Thanks for listening.”
“No bother” replied the stallion softly. “If ya’ll want ta talk again, I’ll be willin ta listen.”
Releasing Reiver, Big Macintosh went to the counter and passed him a cloth so he could dry his eyes.
“How about you help me with the cabinets,” said Big Mac deciding to get the colts mind off his mother. “It would make the job go faster.”
“Are you sure?” asked Reiver as he dried his eyes. “You know I’m not very good with my hooves.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll just take it slow and I’ll help ya with some of the fiddly bits, what do ya say?” he finished with a grin.
Reiver looked from his hooves to Big Mac and found himself smiling as well, walking over, he slowly picked up one of the screwdrivers in his hooves.
“Okay, you take the lead.”
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Nurse Redheart had finally finished typing the last document in what had been a long and tiring day for her, pulling it from the typewriter she double checked her work before adding it to the stack of paperwork that had steadily grown during the course of the day. With a final, exhausted look over the pile of papers that she would inevitably have to sign and then meticulously file, she decided there was only one course of action: a cup of coffee.
Leaving her office she trotted down the sterile hallways of Ponyville General to the staff room, nearest source of caffeinated goodness, pushing open the door she saw Nurse Tenderheart was sitting one of the small tables near the back, a cup of steaming coffee already in her hooves. The smell of the freshly made blend tickled her nostrils, she didn’t care that it tasted like mud, after a long shift coffee was always a welcome relief. Returning to the mission at hoof, Redheart walked straight to the coffee machine that sat on the counters by the back wall.
“You done all your paperwork then Red?” asked Tenderheart as she took a sip.
“Everything is collated, corrected and in the proper order” replied Redheart as she rummaged in the cupboards. “Now if only my visit to the Apples could have been so smooth.”
“So it is true?”
“Whats true?”
“That rumour floating around the hospital that they found a colt in their barn?”
Redheart turned and glared at her fellow nurse, Tenderheart visibly winced as the slightly psychotic eyes of a pony that had a night with little sleep followed by a long day of paperwork was bored into her brain.
“I thought I told you not to tell anypony about that until I had the papers done?”
“I didn’t tell anypony, I…may have vaguely mentioned it to a few colleagues in a passing conversation but I never actually told anypony. Honestly Red, you lock yourself in that office after last night’s emergency teleport from Twilight Sparkle and rumours will start even without my help.”
“I suppose there is no point in denying anything is there,” sighed Redheart. “The Apples did indeed find a colt; he’s malnourished and may have an allergy to something that I can’t determine unless he’s in here. But Applejack won’t let him leave because he’s apparently afraid of doctors, honestly if it were up to me I would have him sedated and moved for his own good.”
Tenderheart frowned at that statement.
“Red, you need to lighten up. If he’s afraid of doctors then maybe Sweet Apple Acres is the best place for him, I’d rather not have you thrown out of medicine for traumatising a small colt. The Apples are good ponies, they’ll look after him.”
“Urgh,” groaned Redheart, mostly because she still hadn’t found the coffee grounds. “Good ponies or not, he is, for all intents and purposes, a homeless colt. I’ll need to assign him a social worker.”
“Any idea who that should be?” asked Tenderheart. “If he’s afraid of doctors then a social worker will probably frighten him, maybe you could get one of the Apples to help?”
“That won’t be necessary,” replied Redheart with a sly grin. “I have the perfect pony in mind for the job, he won’t even know she’s a social worker.”
She would have continued but at that moment their conversation was interrupted by Doctor Stable barging into the staff room, mane and coat matted with sweat. Huffing and panting he staggered past Tendeheart and flopped down on the ragged sofa completely exhausted.
“Rough shift?” asked Tenderheart.
“Only the last hour,” he replied.
“Sorry to hear that” replied Redheart. “I’d make you a coffee but I can’t find the grounds.”
Stables horn glowed weakly and a bag of grounds levitated out from underneath the sofa cushions, Redheart glared at him incredulously.
“That’s my private stash,” he said. “Don’t tell anypony or it’ll disappear as quickly as the regular packets.”
“So what happened?” asked Tenderheart.
“An utter nightmare that’s what happened,” he replied. “I was in my office doing some paperwork when I hear somepony kicking up a storm, next thing I know security and the orderlies come galloping past like Nightmare Moon herself is biting at their hooves!”
“Gracious!” replied Tenderheart.
“So, far from calming down I can actually hear it get worse. Then, just as I get up to investigate, one of the orderlies comes and without so much as a hint to what’s happening, grabs my hoof and drags me full pelt down to the lobby where I see a half starved, maddened stallion thrashing and kicking out at anypony that tries to subdue him.”
“Sweet Celestia, was anypony hurt?” asked Tenderheart.
“Some of the orderlies will have severe bruises and I know of at least one broken limb on the security team,” he sighed. “I’ve got one in for observation after he received a nasty kick to the head.”
“So what happened to him?” asked Redheart, as she finished brewing the coffee.
“I had to use the strongest sleep spell I could think of to sedate him” replied Stable. “I didn’t want to but he was threatening to crush the head of one of the nursing staff with his own hooves, I nearly blacked out myself after using it. I'll tell you he was ranting and raving all sorts of nonsense.”
“Where is he now?” asked Redheart, hoofing the doctor his coffee before taking her own cup.
“Restrained, properly sedated and under observation in intensive care,” he replied. “He is severely dehydrated and malnourished so I suspect he was completely delirious when he entered the hospital.”
“Makes you wonder how he managed to get here in the first place if he’s attacking everypony on sight,” replied Redheart.
“Poor guy,” said Tenderheart. “I wonder what could have happened to him?”
“At this stage I couldn’t tell you,” replied Stable as he took a sip of his coffee. “I will assess his condition further in the morning but right now I could use something to eat and a lie down.”
“Sounds like we both had exhausting days,” replied Redheart thoughtfully. “How about I go into town and get some doughnuts?”
Twilight Sparkle trotted up the road to Sweet Apple Acres, Spike riding atop the saddlebags on her back. In his claws he held a large china bowl with a lid. Lifting it slightly, he inhaled deeply, smelling its steaming contents.
“I’m telling you Twilight, this casserole has to be my best work yet,” he said proudly.
“If it tastes as good as it smells then I have to agree,” replied Twilight as the delicious aroma drifted her way.
“Well, I am a pretty talented chef,” he replied smugly. “Before I learned to cook, all you ate were instant noodles and dried vegetables.”
“Hey,” she replied indignantly, “I’ll have you know I am an excellent cook.”
“No offense, Twilight, but you couldn’t cook anything without magic or a kettle.”
Twilight huffed a little at the dragon’s statement, although he did have a point. She could cook, but compared to Spike what she created was about as interesting as a cucumber sandwich. In fact, until the young drake had learned to cook, she would sustain herself with caffeine and instant foodstuffs. Her research (and stomach) would later confirm this was not the best diet for a growing filly.
Spike, however, could create culinary masterpieces with just about anything, which was good considering he was in charge of the shopping when one project or another occupied her attention. She had seen and tasted just what the young dragon was capable of creating, and, if the smell was anything to go by, she had no doubt whatever was in the bowl would taste delicious.
Arriving at Sweet Apple Acres, Spike hopped down from Twilight’s back as she knocked on the farmhouse door. Over by the barn they spotted Big Macintosh, Applebloom and Granny Smith loading up a cart with baskets. The three Apples took notice of their visitors and waved to them, which the two returned. A moment later, the farmhouse door was opened by Applejack.
“Thanks fer coming Twi, Spike,” she said, throwing on a scarf. “I’m grateful yer able ta watch Reiver while we get some more of the harvest done.”
“It’s no problem Applejack,” replied Twilight as she set her saddlebags on the kitchen table. “Glad to be of service.”
“Ordinarily I’d have Granny watch him, but she’s insistin’ I need every available farm hoof right now, an’ I have ta agree.” Applejack took a nervous look at the grey clouds that were currently hanging ominously over the farm. “It shouldn’t be getting this cold at this time of year; Granny reckons we might have snow.”
“Maybe it’s blown in from the Everfree Forest?” suggested Twilight. “There has been some strange weather there lately; Princess Celestia even has me studying it.”
“If it has, then I’m gonna talk ta Dash about it,” replied Applejack. “The weather team need ta get a lid on this pronto or I’m gonna have ta deal with ruined crops.”
“I’m sure it will pass,” reassured Twilight. “But, if it would help, I’ll share any results I get with you.”
“I would appreciate that Twi,” replied Applejack. “Well, I’ve got ta get goin’. Ya’ll take care, an let me know how he’s getting on. Big Mac had a talk with him an’ said he got a mite upset.”
“Don’t worry Applejack,” replied Twilight. “We’ll keep an eye on him.”
“You can count on us,” chipped in Spike.
With a nod of affirmation, Applejack disappeared out the door and trotted towards her family.
“Applejack, move yer caboose!” cried Granny Smith. “We gotta git those apples inside afore those clouds decide ta freeze tha whole orchard solid!”
Shutting the door behind their departing friend, Twilight started unloading her saddlebags while Spike took the bowl to the kitchen. Out of the first she levitated some of the mysterious artefacts she was studying, along with reference books and notes on the Everfree’s weather and laid them out neatly on the coffee table. She had been planning to do conduct her research that afternoon at the library, but with Applejack’s request she had to move her studies to the farmhouse.
Opening the second, she looked over the items Spike had brought along. Normally, Spike would have stayed at the library, but he had insisted he come along with the dinner he had spent all afternoon cooking. She suspected he wanted to meet Reiver in person as he had even offered to bring some books to help entertain him; of course, he had failed to mention they were comic books.
“Hey, Twilight? Do you know where Applejack keeps the plates?” asked Spike, popping his head out of the kitchen.
“They should be in one of the top cupboards,” she replied. “Let me help you with that.”
Lighting her horn, Twilight Sparkle opened the top cupboards and levitated out three bowls and glasses while Spike located the cutlery and helped her set the table. Setting the casserole dish on the table, he lifted the lid, releasing a delicious cloud of steam into the farmhouse. Grabbing a ladle, he spooned out portions of the casserole for himself and he was about to do the same for Reiver when Twilight stopped him.
“Sorry, Spike, but Reiver’s condition means this is too rich for him to handle right now.”
“Come on Twilight, can’t the guy have something nice?” grumbled Spike. “He must be sick of apples by now.”
“Spike,” replied Twilight firmly, “Reiver is severely malnourished, if he had some of your casserole it could very well kill him.”
“Whoa,” replied Spike, wide eyed at the thought. “I guess when you put it like that…”
“Don’t worry; he’ll have the chance to sample your cooking once he’s well enough.”
“So where is he anyway?” asked Spike, replacing the casserole dish lid.
“He’s probably sleeping,” she replied. “I’ll go and get him. Would you mind getting some applesauce and glasses of water ready?”
“Sure thing,” he replied.
“Thanks Spike, I don’t know what I would do without you.”
Exiting the kitchen, Twilight made her way upstairs to the guest room, the floorboards creaking under her hooves. Reaching the door, she listened for any sound from within, but hearing nothing she decided Reiver must be asleep. Gently, she rapped her hoof on the wood.
“Reiver? It’s Twilight. May I come in?”
“Mgh...huh?” was the muffled reply.
Slowly opening the door, Twilight saw the colt’s small shape snuggled under a cocoon of bedcovers. Applejack’s faithful collie was likewise snuggled into the colt’s sleeping form and she saw Reiver had a foreleg wrapped around the dog’s furry shoulder.
With a small smile at the adorable scene, she lit her horn and gently pulled the covers away from the colt.
“Come on now you two,” she said gently. “Dinner’s ready and it’s getting cold.”
The mention of food was enough to cause Winona’s nose to twitch, and as soon as she got the scent of Spike’s casserole she scrambled out of Reiver’s grasp and bounded down the stairs, leaving the weary colt sleepily rubbing his eyes.
“Huh,Oh, hi Twilight,” he yawned. “Where’s Applejack?”
“She has to work in the fields today with her family,” she replied, “so she asked me to watch you.”
“Okay, cool,” he replied, still a little tired. “I should probably find a hobby; all I seem to do right now is sleep.” He tried to flatten his mane, which stuck up like a porcupine, but it kept springing back, causing Twilight to giggle.
“Maybe hairdressing,” muttered Reiver.
“I think I can help,” replied Twilight, using her magic to open the dresser. A few items floated out until she found what she was looking for, a comb. Before Reiver could say anything, it had floated over and started gently combing his mane.
“Do you mind if I try?” he asked, just a little bit indignant that she hadn’t just given him the comb.
“Oops, sorry,” she said sheepishly. The comb stopped moving and levitated in front of the colt, yet, as he gripped it with his hooves Reiver could feel it slowly sliding out of his grasp, almost like it was falling through molasses. Nevertheless, he tried to comb his mane by himself, except it slipped out of his hoof at the first knot. He tried a second time but it happened again, and then a third.
“It’s just a comb, why can’t I be given that at least?!” he groaned in exasperation.
He tried one more time, very slowly lifting the comb and dragging it through his mane, but again he couldn’t keep a firm grip and it fell to the floor. Frustrated, he slammed a hoof into the floorboards.
“Are you okay?” asked Twilight, concerned.
“No…I’m not alright,” he replied, taking a deep breath as he tried to calm down. “I can barely lift a comb with my own hooves Twilight, even practicing with Big Macintosh didn’t help. This would have been so much easier if I was a unicorn, but I had to be an earth pony.”
“There’s nothing wrong with being an earth pony,” replied Twilight.
“Oh…of course,” he replied, suddenly aware he might have said something wrong. “But it’s just you make all that levitation look so easy, how do you do it?”
“With time and a lot of study,” replied Twilight. “Magic isn’t something unicorns are naturally talented in, we have to learn control. I had difficulty turning the page of a book before Princess Celestia taught me how to control my magic.”
She gently put a hoof under his chin and tilted his head so she could look him in the eye.
“You’ll get better,” she said with an encouraging smile, “even if you have to practice before regaining full control. I’m sure Big Mac won’t mind helping you again.”
“…Yeah, he’s a nice guy, um stallion,” he replied. “Thanks Twilight, I tend to get a bit wound up in my own problems”.
“You’re welcome,” she replied. “Now, how about we forget the comb and get some lunch?”
“Sounds good,” said Reiver as the pair exited the guest room.
“Now, there’s something you should know,” said Twilight, pausing at the top of the stairs. “My assistant Spike is here with me.”
“Oh…” replied Reiver.
“He’s not a pony,” continued Twilight. “He’s a dragon.”
“Okay,” replied Reiver. He already knew this of course, but decided to feign ignorance.
“Soooo…is he nice?”
Twilight giggled a little at the colt’s question.
“He’s very nice,” she replied. “I just wanted to let you know so you wouldn’t be scared of him.”
“Scared? Why would I be scared?” he said. “I can’t be scared of someone I haven’t met before.”
“I guess not,” replied Twilight, remembering the incident with Zecora. “Come on then, dinner's getting cold.”
Descending the stairs and moving into the kitchen, Reiver spotted Spike by the back door. The dragon was with Winona, the collie lying on her back while he rubbed her belly with his claws. Upon seeing the pair, he left Winona and walked over.
“Come on Twilight, it’s getting cold,” he moaned. “I’m not having a repeat of the time you went to get an egg from the market and came back six hours later with no egg and eight new books.”
Twilight blushed and sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck while Reiver just laughed at the story, causing Spike’s attention to shift to the young colt.
“You must be Reiver,” he said, holding out a claw. “I’m Spike.”
“Nice to meet you,” replied Reiver, accepting the claw. “I’ve never met a dragon before; this is quite exciting.”
“Well, I can be an exciting person,” replied Spike as he shook the offered hoof.
“I can’t wait to hear about it. I see Winona likes you.”
The collie had righted herself and bounded up to the group and was currently rubbing her muzzle affectionately against the dragon’s side.
“Yeah, but I think she’s just after some of our dinner.”
As soon as he said the word, Winona barked happily and bounced over to her food bowl. With a roll of his eyes, Spike took the dish and spooned out another portion of casserole. Sure enough, as soon as the bowl hit the floor once more, the collie immediately began tucking in with doggie gusto.
“Told ya,” said Spike.
“I guess dogs are the same anywhere,” observed Reiver, Spike giving him a quizzical look.
“They always think with their stomach.”
The comment earned a few chuckles from the dragon as he scratched Winona’s ears.
“Come on you two,” said Twilight. “Like Spike said, it’s getting cold.”
Taking their seats at the table, Reiver saw once again that he was limited to a portion of applesauce and water. Meanwhile, the delicious smell of vegetable hotpot assaulted his nostrils and made his mouth water.
“I can’t believe this,” he groaned, faceplanting on the table.
“I’m sorry Reiver,” replied Twilight, “but you know why we can’t give you anything rich.”
“I wonder if this is karma for my exotic tastes,” he muttered quietly.
As the three began to eat, Spike turned to Reiver.
“So…Twilight says you lived in the Everfree forest.”
“Spike!” exclaimed the unicorn. “Sorry, I should have explained that you don’t like to talk about that.”
“It’s fine Twilight,” he replied. “Yes Spike, I did live in the Everfree Forest, but I really, really don’t want to talk about it.”
At Reiver’s tone, Spike took the hint and the group fell into an awkward silence before speaking up again.
“Sorry you can’t have my casserole,” he said. “I think I really outdid myself with this one.”
“It’s okay Spike,” he replied. “I honestly wish I could try your cooking, might give me a few ideas.”
“You cook too?” replied Spike
“Yup, I love cooking. I had to learn when I found out I was allergic to wheat.”
“Wow, dude that’s harsh. I don’t know what I would do if I couldn’t eat my favourite gem cakes.”
“So what do you cook?” asked Twilight, wondering how somepony so young would even be allowed near an oven. But then again she let Spike cook, although the main difference between him and Reiver was that the dragon was fireproof thanks to his thick scales.
“Actually, I like to bake.”
“But I thought you said you were allergic to wheat?” said Spike.
“Yes, but that doesn’t mean I can’t bake things. I love improvising things or adapting recipes to suit me, like I would use corn flour in cakes or soy milk in hot chocolate.”
“Soy milk, blegh,” replied Spike in disgust. “That stuff’s gross.”
“I know,” replied Reiver, “but add enough chocolate powder and it makes a really sweet drink.”
“So…your parents let you cook things by yourself?” asked Twilight.
“…Kinda,” replied Reiver, suddenly aware that his current age made quite a few things off limits. “I would…get the ingredients together and my mum would help mix them up, then she would put them in the oven.”
He smiled nervously at Twilight who, thankfully, looked relieved rather than suspicious. They ate for a bit in comfortable silence before Spike spoke up again.
“You like comics?” he asked. “Only, I thought you might be bored so I brought a few over.”
“What you bring?” replied Reiver, his face lighting up.
“Some Power Ponies, a few Marevengers, I think there’s a Supermare in there as well.”
“Cool,” he replied, genuinely excited about Spike’s comics. Back home he was a big comic book nerd, but more than that, here was something that he might be able to actually read…well, look at. As he couldn’t understand Equestrian (and was consequently getting nowhere with the magic book), and with no TV or internet to speak of, he had found himself starting to get bored.
As Reiver started asking Spike everything he could about the different comics, Twilight couldn’t help but smile. Spike had few friends outside Twilight’s own circle; the fact he had insisted on coming along was now bearing fruit as he connected with Reiver.
The rest of their lunch passed quite quickly as the pair’s conversation shifted between a few different topics, Twilight chipping in every so often, but she mostly just listened as they debated heroes, villains and just about everything in between.
“You were right about outdoing yourself Spike,” complimented Twilight as she finished her portion. “That was delicious.”
There was a happy bark from the corner as Winona agreed with her, the collie having licked her bowl clean.
“Thanks Twilight,” replied Spike before turning to Reiver. “Sorry you couldn’t have any Reiver.”
“Don’t worry,” he replied as he finished his own meagre meal. “I’m sure I’ll have another opportunity.”
As Spike started clearing the table, Reiver did his best to help the dragon, explaining to Twilight that he felt like he had been a burden on the Apples and wanted to try and pay them back for their kindness.
“I can understand you wanting to pay back the Apples,” she said, levitating a few plates into the sink with her magic, “let me help at least, we don’t want to break any plates.”
Reiver reluctantly agreed with the unicorn; the last thing he needed was to smash the Apple’s dinnerware. With the three of them working together it took no time at all to finish cleaning and clearing the dishes, and as Twilight levitated the last few dishes back into their cupboards she turned to Spike.
“Now I’ve got some work to do. Spike, why don’t you show Reiver those comics you brought?”
The drake’s face lit up at the prospect of not only getting some time off, but that he could do it with one of his favourite pastimes.
“Thanks Twilight! Come on Reiver,” he said, grabbing the stack of books and heading upstairs, the little colt scrambling after him, pausing only for a second to allow Winona, who had been resting on the living room sofa, to bound up after them.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Once upstairs, both dragon and colt rummaged through Spike’s selection before settling down against the bed's headboard with their chosen literature. Spike had an issue of Power Ponies in his claws while Reiver had found a comic called ‘Justice League of Equestria' and settled for that. Meanwhile, Winona had settled herself between the two and was sleeping off her lunch in the combined warmth of the two bodies.
“That was a good find,” said Spike, noticing Reiver’s choice. “I didn’t even know that was in there, must have missed it when I was packing up.”
“I’m glad you did,” replied Reiver. “This is awesome.” He finished by showing Spike the page he was looking at. In typical comic book fashion it depicted several ponies fighting a larger than life villain in a giant robot centaur. Reiver had immediately recognised the one swinging through a cloud of smoke as The Mysterious Mare Do Well, but the other five were completely new to him. Yet, despite having to subtly trick Spike into telling him the title and being unable to read the speech bubbles causing some frustration, he was able to pick up the gist of the action
“Yeah, they are pretty awesome,” replied Spike. “The JLE is a bit of a new comic book but they’re already getting quite popular.”
“The only one I really recognise is Mare Do Well, all the others are new.”
“Not really,” replied Spike, leaning across Winona so he could see. “In fact, the rest have existed in one way or another for years.”
“This one,” he pointed to the lead mare in the image, she had a shield on her costume like Superman, but it depicted a Sun and Crescent Moon similar to the Equestrian Flag.
“She’s Supermare, she’s existed since comics first started but her new shield was introduced after Princess Luna’s return. This seapony with the trident at the bottom of the page is Whirlpool. Until recently her creators wouldn’t allow her to be published outside the seapony kingdoms…”
As Spike pointed out the various heroes and the main villain in the image, Reiver listened with rapt attention, it was clear the dragon had been reading comics for a long time if he had this depth of knowledge. Reiver himself had his own extensive collection of comics and fantasy novels back on earth. They were mostly DC and Marvel, but he did have a few pulp fiction comics in there along with some anime. He smiled a little as he realised that he would be behaving exactly like Spike right now were the situation reversed.
“…and finally the robot is called Workhorse. He hadn’t been in a comic for about ten years and then he was bought back by Enchanted Comics specifically for the JLE.”
“…wow,” said Reiver. “You really know your stuff.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t like to brag,” replied Spike smugly before turning back to his own comic.
“Sometimes I wish I could be a hero like these guys,” he said wistfully.
“I thought you already were a hero,” asked Reiver, looking up from his own comic. “Didn’t you save The Crystal Empire? Isn’t that kinda like being a superhero?”
“…yeah…I guess so,” he replied, “but it’s not like I have powers like these guys.”
“So?” replied Reiver. “Being a hero is not about having powers; it’s about doing the right thing, like you did when you saved The Crystal Empire.”
He held up his comic again to show Spike, and ran a hoof over the characters as he spoke.
“It’s comics like this that shaped my moral code, these ponies help others because, ultimately, that’s who they are. They have all this strength and special power but they know that such power is best used to help others, they even throw themselves into danger if they lose their power because at the core of it all they are good ponies. They inspire others to do the same and at the end of it all they never give up hope, so that’s how I try to live, I never give up hope and I never forget to be a good man, er colt.”
There was a stunned moment of silence as Spike took in what Reiver had just said, even Winona had woken up and had apparently been listening to the colt’s speech.
“Wow…” said Spike, finally. “That’s deep, dude.”
“I have my moments,” Reiver chuckled, “and I meant all of it, you don’t need powers to be a hero Spike, just be yourself. I mean, you’re Twilight’s assistant, you keep her grounded, and I doubt she could save the day without you.”
“Yeah, she tends to overreact sometimes,” chuckled Spike. “You know, she once had the entire town chasing after an old toy of hers.”
“So I heard,” replied Reiver.
The two read in silence for a few minutes before Spike spoke up again.
“So how did you hear about me saving The Crystal Empire anyway?”
“I once found some old newspapers to sleep under,” replied Reiver. “I remember the headline was something like ‘Dragon saves Lost Empire’, but I didn’t make the connection until I realised you were the one in the picture.”
“I remember that,” replied Spike. “You know, I had ponies mobbing the library wanting autographs.”
“Did you like the attention?”
“At first, but then it just got annoying. I couldn’t leave without getting cornered by somepony or other,” replied Spike with a hint of irritation.
Reiver chuckled a bit.
“That’s fame for you Spike.”
“I was actually kind of glad when the hype died down, I don’t know how Twilight and the others put up with it.”
“They probably bribe the papers; I wouldn’t be surprised if Princess Celestia was involved somehow.”
“All I can say is, I’m glad I don’t have to deal with the press on a daily basis.”
Reiver grinned a little at the dragon’s statement as the two settled back into their selected comics, Winona snoozing between them.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Meanwhile, Twilight was busy looking through the notes she had brought, after their breakthrough with the black box she had been dividing her time between the artefacts and Princess Celestia’s weather assignment. But when the Princess had asked for a progress report, Spike had insisted she tell her mentor about the mysterious objects as there was probably a connection between them and the strange weather, and Twilight found herself in agreement as her most recent weather data showed an increase in the same type of chaos magic that saturated the Crash Site. So after a concerned letter from the Princess asking why she hadn’t told her sooner, followed by reassurances that she was fine and the artefacts seemed to be harmless (although the locked box still caused a few concerns), the Princess had granted her full access to the Canterlot Library and Archive, including the restricted sections, to hopefully speed her research.
Currently she was focusing on the first part of the puzzle, the strange weather patterns coming from the Everfree Forest. Since discovering the Crash Site she had set up several monitoring instruments in the forest nearby and, in typical Twilight fashion, she had set up machines to record just about any relevant data she could think of, including one to monitor the background magic levels.
It was these readings she was meticulously poring over and comparing with the other meteorological data she had collected.
“Let’s see,” she muttered. “In recent months the level of magic has been increasing slowly which could be related to the rise in rainfall as it also coincides with a drop in the ambient temperature of the forest. But the recent frost is indicative of a rapid decrease in days, not months, which doesn’t make sense, unless…”
Switching to the magical data, she skimmed the chart, noting that the magic was increasing at a steady rate. However, when she checked the last few weeks leading up to the present she saw a spike in the magic levels, which coincided with her discovery of the strange vehicle.
“The Everfree Forest has always been affected by magic,” she muttered. “But this is a massive increase in a short space of time. What could be causing it? And how does it relate to that vehicle? Did it cause the increase, or was its coming here a result of that?”
Magically pulling over a scrap of parchment, she floated her quill over the page and began making notes. The more she thought about the rising levels of magic, the more she worried about what could happen if it kept increasing, they might end up with a storm that could threaten Ponyville, maybe even the whole of Equestria.
Pausing, the unicorn mare looked over to the artefacts she had brought with her, one of which was the black box. Out of the rest she had brought the wooden box with the strange symbols as well as the silver medallion and a book on symbols and sigils. Deciding she might find some sort of clue in the artefacts; she levitated the black box over along with a blunted quill Spike had made so she could manipulate the device.
Activating it, she scrolled through the images with the quill for anything she could recognise before checking the machines clock, smiling slightly as she recalled confirming her initial suspicions about its dating method.
Her assumption had proved correct when she done some more detailed calculations along with some more research into the Romane calendar, the traditional Equestrian calendar was divided into seasons, with a hundred days for spring, summer, autumn and winter. However the Romanes had used a calendar of thirty or so days, divided into individual periods named after their rulers or gods. Resulting in a roughly three hundred and sixty five day year, some further investigation into the machine’s functions had confirmed that it used a similar system when she had found a way to view its entire calendar. She also saw more of that strange writing, suggesting something had been using it.
While she scrolled through a few more of the images on the device she pushed a little too hard on the button near the base of the glass, in a moment the screen had blurred and more writing had appeared near the top. However, Twilight didn’t have time to dwell on this because then it did something completely unexpected.
“Hello, what can I help you with?”
It spoke.
With a startled yelp the unicorn jumped back, somehow managing to keep the device in her magical grip. After a few seconds she pulled it close once more.
“Umm…hello?”
“Hello, what can I help you with?” it said again, in what was clearly a male voice.
Twilight was stunned. Up till now this thing hadn’t shown any signs of being anything other than some sort of machine. She hadn’t considered the possibility that it might be able to talk.
Then she started to wonder, was this thing intelligent? Had it been in some kind of hibernation? What if this thing was sentient? Would it be angry that she had been experimenting on it?
Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she looked at the facts; this thing had previously shown none of the traditional signs of being a living thing. In fact, it had not so much as twitched when she conducted her experiments, so she could therefore assume it was not alive in the traditional sense.
So what was it?
“Um...hi,” she said to the device. “I’m Twilight Sparkle, nice to meet you.”
“Searching for Twilight Sparkle,” it replied. “Sorry, I’m having trouble connecting to the Network.”
Twilight cocked her head, what was it talking about? What network?
“Who are you?” she asked, deciding she might have more luck asking it about itself.
“I, Siri, was designed by Apple in California,” it replied.
Siri, she finally had a name for the device, and now she knew it wasn’t a living being. It had been created by this ‘Apple’ in somewhere called ‘California’, she would have to check an atlas later, but that definitely didn’t sound like anywhere in Equestria. Magically pulling over her quill and some parchment, she decided to document the conversation.
“So…why did Apple make you?”
“For one reason only: to make your life easier, and more fun. (I guess that’s two reasons, huh?)”
Scribbling a few notes, Twilight wondered how anypony could consider how such a small device could possibly make their life easier. Admittedly the bird game was pretty fun and the calendar would be useful, but she wouldn’t qualify that as making her whole life easier or fun. She decided to ask it something else.
“If I may ask, are you male?” now she knew it had been created, normal gender rules might not apply despite the male voice.
“I was not assigned a gender,” replied Siri, confirming Twilight’s suspicions.
“Do you…eat?” she asked. Clearly something like this had to get power from somewhere. If it was created then it might be similar to a golem. One of her professors in Canterlot had owned a small one made of gems that kept itself running by eating coal.
“I’m not really good with food, because I’ll be too busy stripping.”
Her mind screeched to a halt.
“Excuse me?”
“I’m sorry, could you repeat that?” replied Siri, innocently.
Twilight’s brain struggled to process what just happened, and the thought crossed her mind that Siri might be a bit smarter than it let on.
She would have pressed on with her questions, however the sound of somepony on the staircase interrupted her. Quickly using her magic, she swept the artefacts into her saddlebag as Reiver descended the staircase, followed by Spike. She failed to notice that Reiver had not only seen the artefacts, but recognised them for what they were.
“See, I told you there was no pony else here,” said Spike.
“Are you sure?” replied Reiver, mentally noting where Twilight’s saddlebag was lying. “I could have sworn I heard another voice down here.”
“Well, unless Twilight has some secret coltfriend hiding around,” replied Spike. “But I don’t think that’s likely.”
“Hey!” said Twilight.
“No offense,” he added hastily.
“So, how are you both doing?” she asked.
“Great!” replied Spike. “I was just showing Reiver my comic books.”
“Spike’s got an awesome collection,” said Reiver. “He’s told me that he’s got some rare issues back at your house.”
“You know it,” replied Spike. “I’ll show them to you the next time we’re over, or if you get well enough to visit, whichever comes first.”
“Good to see you both getting along so well,” said Twilight. “Now, I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve still got some work to do.”
“No problem Twilight,” replied Spike. “I’m just gonna get a drink, you want anything Reiver?”
“Just water for me please,” said the colt.
As Spike disappeared into the kitchen, Reiver turned towards Twilight and saw she had gone back to the reams of parchment that coated the coffee table. With her attention focused on her work, he saw an opportunity and slowly crept around the unicorn to her saddlebags, carefully reaching in and quickly pulling out the first thing he felt, stuffing it into his jacket pocket before he lost his grip.
As Spike returned with two glasses of water, the two headed back upstairs, with Twilight unaware she had just been robbed.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
A few hours later the Apples returned from the fields, glowing in the satisfaction of a full day’s work well done. As Twilight and Spike prepared to leave, Reiver came to say goodbye as he had honestly had a good time talking comics with the dragon.
“Thanks again fer lookin after Reiver, Twilight,” said Applejack.
“It was no problem Applejack,” she replied, watching Spike say goodbye to Reiver. “If you ever need somepony to watch him again, just ask. He’s become good friends with Spike and I think they would love to spend more time together.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” replied Applejack, smirking slightly when she saw the pair go through a hoofshake ritual that only children seem to be able to understand.
“Come on Spike, we’ve got to go.”
“Coming Twilight,” he replied.
As they moved towards the door, Reiver put his hoof on Twilight’s own to get her attention.
“Thanks for coming Twilight,” he said gratefully. “And thanks for bringing Spike as well, he’s great fun to hang out with.”
“It was no problem,” she replied with a smile. “Get well soon, Reiver.”
“I will, see ya later.”
With a quick wave to the pair, Reiver watched them slip through the front door and out into the sunset.
“Applejack, if you don’t mind I’m going to go for a lie down,” he said with a yawn. Apparently, talking comics had been more exhausting than he realised.
“Sure thing sugarcube,” replied Applejack. “I’ll call ya down later fer dinner.”
“Thank you,” he replied as he climbed the stairs to his room. Once inside, Reiver took off his jacket and sat on the floor by the dresser. Unzipping one of the pockets, he rummaged inside and removed what he had taken from Twilight earlier.
It was the olive wood box.
Taking a moment to gently hold it in his hooves, he studied the tiny lock and sighed in relief when he found it hadn’t been tampered with.
“You know, she’s going to come back for it when she realises it’s gone.”
“You know, I REALLY hoped you were a two-time hallucination,” replied Reiver in frustration.
“Tough luck mate,” replied Bedlam from his position on the dresser. “Like I said, I’m not a hallucination. But you know I have a point, once Twilight’s had her initial freak out, she’ll retrace her steps back here and then we’ll both be in hot water.”
“Don’t you mean I’ll be in hot water?”
“Same thing mate, talking to you will lead to me and I’d rather not have the prised pupil of the sun on my back.”
Reiver looked from his water painted clone to the box in his hooves and sighed in resignation; he did have a point.
“I’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” he replied. “You know this is all I have left of mum.”
“That I do mate,” said Bedlam soberly. “But without the key we can’t get inside.”
“That doesn’t matter,” replied Reiver as he got up and pulled himself onto the bed, the box still between his hooves. “What matters is that it’s safe with me again.”
Settling down, Reiver drifted off to sleep; Bedlam disappearing as soon as it was clear the colt wasn’t going to wake up. What neither of them knew however was that their entire conversation had been overheard by Applebloom, who happened to pass by at just the wrong moment.
The next day Apple Bloom was in school, although her attention wasn’t on the lessons as her thoughts remained primarily on what she had overheard from Reiver the night before. Currently it was recess and she was sitting in a secluded area of the school playground with her friends, having explained what she had heard.
“So…last night, you heard Reiver talking to somepony else,” said Scootaloo.
“Eeyup,” replied Apple Bloom.
“…and overheard that he’s stolen something from Twilight, something that was his already and is all that he has left of his mum?”
“Eeyup.”
“Are you sure he wasn’t just talking to himself?” asked Sweetie Belle. “Ponies sometimes do that when they need to think.”
“I don’t know, Sweetie Bell,” replied Apple Bloom. “It kinda sounded like he was talking to himself, but it was like if ya tried ta impersonate somepony but couldn’t get their voice quite right.”
“Are you sure you’re not hearing things? Maybe you just really want him to have been talking to somepony.”
“I’m not hearing things!” she snapped.
“Okay, okay!” replied Sweetie Belle, raising her hooves defensively.
“Um, Apple Bloom,” said Scootaloo cautiously. “You have been holding a grudge against him for a while now. Maybe it’s time you stopped? It’s not like you to be angry at somepony for this long.”
“I know!” she snapped back, only to deflate when she saw her friend wince at the action. “I know…it’s not like somepony ta rub me the wrong way, but this guy gave me the worst day of my life.”
“We know,” replied Sweetie Belle.
“Then he bribed me fer a book on magic? Ya got ta be soft in the head not ta be suspicious of that.”
“But we didn’t find anything suspicious when we tried spying on him.” replied Scootaloo.
“‘Cept fer those eyes,” shuddered Apple Bloom.
“Which we can’t really explain,” continued Sweetie Belle. “They could have been a trick of the light.”
“…Maybe,” replied Apple Bloom, still a little unconvinced.
“Have you even talked to the guy?” asked Scootaloo. “Like, properly? He seems like a nice colt, maybe you just need to give him a chance.”
Apple Bloom went silent as she thought over her friends words, it was true that she had only really talked to Reiver once on her own, but she hadn’t really learned anything about him as a pony. In fact, she hadn’t really gotten to know the colt at all and had come to a lot of her own conclusions based off her grudge. If she ever wanted to have some sort of closure on who he was, then she would have to talk to him pony to pony, an idea she did not relish.
“Yer right, Scootaloo,” she admitted reluctantly. “It’s not like me to hold onto a grudge like this.”
“So you’re going to talk to him?”
“I am,” replied Apple Bloom.
“Good to hear,” said Sweetie Belle. “Maybe you can convince him to come crusading with us. I wish we could be there, but we’re still grounded.”
“Yeah, but I’m gonna play it safe and take some precautions.”
“Precautions?” replied Sweetie Belle nervously.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
While the three fillies debated the type of precautions that didn’t include a wooden stake and mallet, Nurse Redheart was trotting up the path to the schoolhouse, a set of hospital saddlebags over her back. Reaching the entrance, she rapped her hoof on the door in a business-like manner.
“Come in,” replied a cheerful voice.
Pushing open the door, Nurse Redheart entered Ponyville’s schoolhouse, it wasn’t a large building and its interior consisted of only one large classroom with a few smaller back rooms for storing equipment and supplies. To her left was a line of desks suited for the fillies and colts playing outside, while to her right was the blackboard and teachers desk. Currently seated behind it was Ponyville’s resident teacher, Cheerilee. Anyone that knew the purple mare could tell you she was as cheerful as her name suggested, especially when her students were involved. Her mane was two soft tones of purple and pink while her cutie mark was three smiling sunflowers, a sign that she hoped to make her students bloom.
As Redheart made her way to the desk, Cheerilee looked up from a pile of work she had been marking.
“Hello there, Redheart!” she said brightly. “It’s been a while since we last saw each other.”
“It has, hasn’t it?” replied the nurse. “How is Featherweight doing these days?”
“He seems much happier now you took off his cast; it threw off his balance whenever he was flying.”
“Better he endure some wonky flying in the short term, then an infection in the long run. But he’s not why I’m here.”
“Oh?” replied Cheerilee.
“I don’t know if you’re aware, but recently the Apples took in a colt they found starving in their barn.”
“My goodness!” she exclaimed. “Is he alright?”
“He’s as alright as any colt that lived homeless in the Everfree Forest can be,” replied Redheart bluntly, causing Cheerilee to gasp.
Reaching into her saddlebags, Redheart pulled out a file and passed it to the teacher.
“I wasn’t able to get his name, but this is everything I could find out, and it isn’t much beyond his physical condition and an apparent phobia of doctors.”
Opening the folder, Cheerilee read through the information, her heart sinking at the extent of the colt’s condition. However, she took solace that it had been the Apple family that had found him, if anypony could help him get better, it was them.
“Which brings me to my current predicament,” continued Redheart. “Due to his phobia I have been advised that moving him to the hospital is out of the question. Therefore, his welfare is left to the Apples. However, I still need somepony to observe and report on his condition, as well as aid in his psychological recovery.”
Cheerilee could sense where this was going and looked up from the file.
“Why not assign a qualified Social Worker? I’m sure they are far more qualified than me.”
“That’s the problem,” sighed Redheart. “As he is afraid of doctors, then he might panic if he even suspects we have him under observation. You have experience in looking after colts and fillies of his age and you are not associated with the hospital.”
Redheart moved closer and put a hoof on Cheerilee's shoulder causing the mare to look her in the eye.
“Please, Cheerilee, if I had my way he would be under observation in a hospital wing, but thanks to the Apples that’s not going to happen. We’ve already had a near miss and I need to monitor his recovery somehow to ensure this doesn’t happen again. I won’t lose a patient while there’s a single thing I can do to help them, even if that help has to be long distance.”
Cheerilee re-read Reiver’s file, musing over this information as she picked out the ‘near miss’ from the information. From what Redheart had said, she was in a bit of a bind as her desire to help a patient in need conflicted with her professionalism, especially since file described several possible health problems based on her observations. The teacher smiled a little at the thought that despite her professional attitude, Redheart ultimately cared for her patients, even if she came off as a little cold.
“Alright,” she said, closing the file. “I’ll help, but I don’t want you hounding me for daily updates on his condition.”
“Thank you,” sighed Redheart in relief. “How soon can you see him?”
“I’m going to see the Apples tonight, actually,” replied Cheerilee. “Big Macintosh has a woodcarving I commissioned ready for collection, so I’ll see how he’s doing then.”
“Perfect”, replied Redheart as she gathered up the file. “I’ll get out of your mane in that case; come see me after your visit and let me know how he’s doing. I’ll have a copy of this file made up for you.”
“Thank you. I’ll call at the hospital when I’m done.”
With a wave of farewell, Nurse Redheart exited the school and trotted back to Ponyville General.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Back at the Apple household, Reiver was having problems.
After sleeping for most of the day he had gotten up with a mouth like sandpaper and went for a drink, but while swilling the cool liquid around his mouth he experienced an intense stab of pain.
Further investigation now had him now standing in front of the bathroom mirror examining the grubby mess that was his teeth, he had attempted to clean them up with a spare toothbrush the Apples had provided, but the clearly rotten stump that stuck out near the back of his mouth indicated that he had not been successful.
“Great,” he muttered. “I can’t hide this at mealtimes; I’m going to have to go the dentist.”
He hadn’t raised the issue of his teeth with Applejack after she found him and it was clear that Nurse Redheart hadn’t seen fit to tell her anything after his little fainting spell, probably because she was more concerned with his survival at the time. When he brought this up it meant he would have to actually leave the house and go into Ponyville, this type of work wasn’t something that could be done in a house call.
He sighed, dentists weren’t so bad but they still made him nervous, he shuddered as the thought caused a memory to surface of his final ever visit to a hospital.
“Not again,” he said to himself. “I won’t be used like that again.”
Burying it as best he could, the colt left the bathroom and returned to his bed. Slumping down onto the mattress, he listened to the subtle creaking of the building timbers as they settled in the cold weather.
He almost wished he had somepony to talk to but Granny Smith, who had been left to watch him, was napping in her rocking chair downstairs and with Winona back out helping Applejack and Big Macintosh, he was very bored.
Then his mood brightened as he remembered something.
Emptying his pockets, he retrieved his IPOD from the tangle of its earpiece cables. He hadn’t been using it out of a desire to keep its existence a secret as well as to preserve the battery. However, with the knowledge that he was (somewhat) secure in the Apple household, he decided to risk a few songs.
Slipping the earpieces into his new pony ears proved a challenge, but he eventually managed it after several tries. Activating the device, he gently scrolled through the music selection with a hooftip, as the device was a few years old it still had a scroll wheel that responded to his hoof better than the touch screen on his IPhone had to Twilight’s.
Selecting a piece he knew well, Reiver decided to settle in and listen. It didn’t take long for the music’s infectious nature to take over and he found himself singing along quietly to a few songs. Soon he was so wrapped up in his own little concert that he didn’t hear the door open and was startled out of his headspace by the sound of hooves rapping on the wooden door.
Standing in the doorway was a nervous-looking Apple Bloom. She also had a ring of something around her neck.
“Are those…carrots?”
The farm filly blushed.
“Garlic was too expensive,” she mumbled.
“Oookay…was there something you wanted?”
Apple Bloom paused; this was it, the point of no return. She could just run back to her room and slam the door and forget why she was doing this, but she knew if she didn’t stand her ground then she would regret it. So, taking a deep breath to calm herself, she started talking.
“Last night ya left yer door open and I heard ya talkin ta somepony.”
Reiver froze, silently panicking as Apple Bloom started to pace, always keeping the door within easy sprinting distance if she needed to make a hasty exit.
“I don’t know who it was, but ya mentioned yer ma and something about a box she gave ya’ll, now I don’t know exactly what’s going on with you, but I have ta know, right now.”
She stopped and pointed a hoof at him.
“I’ve tried ta be nice ever since ya’ll got here, but the truth is I’ve been holding a mighty grudge against ya after ya threw my breakfast everywhere, ya’ll caused me ta have the worst day of my life. Then ya bribed me ta get that magic book, which got me wondering why ya needed it if ya’ll can’t DO magic, and then ya eyes turn yellow right in front of me. My friends and family think ya’ll are some lost colt, but I think there’s more to ya. Right now I think yer some kinda monster, but my friends don’t. So tell me who ya’ll really are and who ya were talking to or I swear I will find out by myself, and if ya’ll try stopping me I will scream so loud Granny WILL wake up.”
As the filly finished her rant, Reiver was dumbstruck, he had been sure the door was shut last night but he must have forgotten to confirm it in his haste to check the box. Now she had him by his neck and he wasn’t sure how to get out of it. He could always lie, but at this stage, with what she knew, it might not make much of a difference.
“Cat’s out of the bag now,” said a voice that Reiver really didn’t want to hear.
He turned to see Bedlam’s watercolour on the wall, but what surprised him was that Apple Bloom was also staring at it in panic. Faster than he thought possible, he closed the distance between himself and the frightened filly and clamped his hoof over her mouth right before she was about to scream.
“Don’t,” he whispered frantically. “Please, don’t. If you do we will be in so much trouble that I don’t even want to imagine what will happen. Give me a chance to explain and I swear I will be nothing but honest with you from now on.”
He looked Apple Bloom in the eye, whether it was fear or curiosity that drove her he wouldn’t know, but she nodded in affirmation.
Slowly removing his hoof, Reiver turned to face her.
“Wha…wha…what is that?” she stammered.
“I don’t know,” sighed Reiver. “But more to the point, you can see him?”
“Of course she can see me,” replied Bedlam. “I keep telling you that I’m not a hallucination.”
“You don’t get to talk!” he snapped. “I wouldn’t be in this mess if you hadn’t decided to show up, so keep quiet and let me talk to Apple Bloom you half-baked work of fiction!”
Bedlam recoiled slightly at the sudden forcefulness of the declaration, composing himself the strange being sat back and gestured for him to continue.
Turning back to Apple Bloom, Reiver started his explanation.
“To answer your question, I’m not sure what he is, and neither does he.”
“What do ya mean ya’ll don’t know?” replied the farm filly in confusion.
“He just appeared one night,” he replied. “I thought he was Discord playing a trick but apparently that’s not the case. Even he doesn’t know what he is and I’m inclined to believe him despite the fact he’s something of an insufferable jerk.”
“Hey!” said Bedlam.
“Shut it!” Rever snapped. “As for me, it would take too long to explain everything, but I am not here by choice. There was a storm…and I got caught in it. I don’t really remember much, there was…a lot of colours, like I was in a tornado made of rainbows. Then I hit something, hard.”
He sat wearily against the bed.
“I remember waking up to pain and a lot of rain; I staggered out into the forest and spent the next few weeks in a living hell.”
He turned to the farm filly, who was still sat by the door listening to his story.
Applejack was busy dragging several barrels of cider to her apple cellar when she heard an unexpected voice from above.
“Hello, anypony there?”
Pulling herself up the stairs the farm pony popped her head through the door and saw Cheerilee standing by the farmhouse door wearing a set of saddlebags.
“Over here, Cheerilee!” she cried.
“Ah, hello there, Applejack,” she replied trotting over to the cellar doors. “I was afraid I had missed everypony.”
“Don’t worry Cheerilee, there’s always one Apple on the tree round here,” replied Applejack with a chuckle.
“I suppose there is,” replied Cheerilee with a laugh of her own.
“So what can I help ya’ll with today? I hope Apple Bloom’s not in any trouble?”
“Actually, I’m here so talk to you about the colt that was recently taken into your care. Nurse Redheart came by the school today and asked if I would act as his social worker.”
Applejack tensed slightly; Redheart hadn’t mentioned a social worker when she had said she would make Applejack Reiver’s guardian. But it would make sense that she would get somepony else to monitor Reiver with the Apples, with the farm to run they couldn’t monitor him all the time. Though she was still sceptical of Nurse Redheart’s motives in getting somepony else involved, she knew and trusted Cheerilee which is probably why she had been asked over one of the hospital staff.
“Really?” she replied. “Didn’t know ya’ll were a social worker and a teacher.”
“It’s not something everypony knows about,” she replied. “I did an internship at Ponyville General when I was young, working with social services. It’s actually where I got my cutie mark.”
“That sounds like an interestin’ story” replied Applejack.
“It certainly was for Dr. Stable,” chuckled Cheerilee. “Redheart explained to me that Reiver has a phobia of doctors, so she thought I might be of help as he might react negatively to social worker.”
“But…aint that what ya’ll are now?”
“Only in an unofficial capacity,” replied Cheerilee. “I am a teacher first and foremost; Redheart just wants me to make sure he recovers properly and that there are no issues.”
“Issues?” replied Applejack.
“She told me he had been living in the Everfree Forest, she wants to make sure he is recovering properly, both physically and mentally.”
“Now, hold on,” replied Applejack. “He’s been here fer a week or so now and apart from one major incident I haven’t seen anything wrong with him. I sleep just down the hall and if there were anything wrong I would know.”
“Applejack,” replied Cheerilee disapprovingly. “You know that foals don’t always tell their parents everything. I’m sure Apple Bloom hasn’t immediately told you about every problem she’s faced.”
The farm pony rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly; Apple Bloom had indeed done just that on a number of occasions, and the most recent had been when her cousin Babs came to stay, although that had thankfully ended with the pair as firm friends.
“All right, I see yer point.” she replied, hauling herself out of the apple cellar. “I can trust ya’ll not ta be too direct with him? Nurse Redheart was a little forceful.”
“Don’t worry, Applejack" she replied. "You know how much I love seeing my students happy, he has nothing to fear.”
Reiver had just finished telling his story to Apple Bloom, who now sat there silently with an expression that would probably be somewhere between fear and curiosity. He hadn’t told her everything; the knowledge that her world was a work of fiction where he came from might just break the poor filly’s mind, and so he had instead given her a partial truth, explaining his species and going into how he had arrived in more detail. Right now all he could do was sit silently and hope that she didn’t scream and/or run off to find her sister.
“So…let me get this straight,” said Apple Bloom after an uncomfortably long silence. “Yer from another world and yer not a pony”
“Yes.”
“Ya normally look like a shaved bear and are called ‘hoo-mans”, but you were turned inta a colt.”
“Yes.”
“Ya’ll were brought here by some kinda magical storm with yer cart-”
“Car.”
“Car, sorry.”
“Yes.”
“Yer not sure why it happened, but ya want ta find out.”
“Yes.”
“Ya also want ta find a way home, but ya can’t do that without magical books.”
“Yes.”
“But ya’ll can’t read them, so ya need somepony who can.”
“Yes.”
“Okay…but there’s one thing I don’t get.”
“Which is?” asked Reiver.
“Yer eyes, I saw you in the kitchen the other night and they were yellow, but now they’re not.”
“That I can’t explain,” replied Reiver. “It could have been a trick of the light; it was dark and the fridge door was open behind me. But I am telling you now; I cannot change my eye colour nor am I some kind of daemon.”
Bedlam, who had been as silent as the watercolour he resembled, opened his mouth to speak, but thought better of it and remained quiet. There was a reason that Reiver’s eyes had changed colour. The truth is that the strange creature had attempted to manifest himself for the second time, the first being the bathroom mirror. But instead of ‘projecting himself’, he had instead almost possessed the poor colt. For a brief second he had been able to see with Reivers eyes and he knew that his attempt was what caused Reivers collapse, privately he suspected that their respective lives were tied to each other somehow as almost as soon as the colt experienced his blackout, Bedlam had been severely drained to the point that he felt like he was fading into nothing, almost like somepony had just sucked out all his energy. He probably should have told Reiver this, but right now he was trying to get Apple Bloom to be sympathetic so he had remained silent and watched as the filly digested Reiver’s explanation.
“Okay, say I believe ya’ll,” she said. “Ya said that box of yours was part of some other stuff that Twilight was looking at. Why not just tell her who ya’ll really are? With all of that stuff she’s sure ta believe ya.”
“It isn’t that simple, Apple Bloom.” sighed Reiver. “Twilight is a genius, but she’s also a little unstable. I used to listen in on conversations when I was scrounging for food and I know about the ‘want it, need it’ spell.”
Apple Bloom blushed a little in embarrassment; she and her friends had been the first victims of the aforementioned spell. Twilight had tried to set up a friendship problem so she could solve and then report it to Princes Celestia. The end result had been nearly the entire town chasing the doll she had used a focus.
“I am not having someone like that poke around with me until I am ready to come forward on my terms.” he finished resolutely.
“But ya know she’ll come after the box eventually, right?”
“I do, which is why I said ‘my terms’. If she comes here to see me then there’s less risk she’ll do anything rash; this is her friend’s house after all. If I decide not to reveal myself then the most I get is a scolding for stealing something from her, but I’d rather it not come to that. You already know this box was from my mum, I’d rather keep it close.”
“I…guess I can understand that.” she replied. “Applejack never goes anywhere without Pa’s old hat; she fixed and patched it so many times over the years but ya could never tell, ‘cause she’s actually quite good with sewing.”
“Really?” replied Reiver with a raised eyebrow. “Your ‘rough and ready’ sister is an expert seamstress?”
“I wouldn’t go that far; Rarity would have a fit if she saw the types of stitching I’ve seen.” giggled Apple Bloom. “But she always takes her time with that hat, never rushed herself and always made it look brand new.”
“Kind of like me with this,” he replied, showing her the box. “It’s made from olive wood; the symbols on the lid represent her religion but they’ve been worked into my family’s crest. But the writing is what I love most about it.”
“Why’s that?” she asked.
“It’s a saying that’s been in our family since its birth, “Virtue alone ennobles.” That phrase has always stuck with me because it means virtue is the only trait you need to be noble.”
“Wow…” replied Apple Bloom, slightly stunned. “So...if ya’ll don’t want ta go ta Twilight just yet, why not somepony else?”
“Because if I do I will either be branded a crackpot to be ignored, or a threat to be dealt with.” He gestured at Bedlam, who showed a notable lack of interest at this point. “Besides, with him floating around after me the latter is more likely, especially now I know he can be seen by others. Besides, would an adult believe you if you suddenly came home spouting stories of aliens and other dimensions?”
“Probably not,” replied Apple Bloom.
“There’s also something else to consider, “replied Reiver. “My father was in my car and we had a …disagreement. I don’t want to chance that he somehow could be here looking for me, although I personally hope he was vaporised when he flew out the door.”
“…That bad, was it?”
“You have no idea.”
“But what about him,” said Apple Bloom, gesturing at Bedlam. “Ya’ll say he showed up shortly after ya got here, ya must know something.”
“Unfortunately, no,” replied Bedlam, attentive now he had been mentioned. “Neither of us know what I am or where I came from. Heck I didn’t exist until a few weeks ago.”
“And it’s not like we can go to somepony for advice; remember what I said about being viewed as a threat. There’s no telling how others would react and I’d rather be able to offer some sort of explanation that might stop me being carted off to a dungeon cell or laboratory. So please, Apple Bloom, don’t tell anypony else.”
Apple Bloom looked from Reiver to Bedlam. Until now had anypony told her a similar story she would have dismissed it as fantasy, but Bedlam’s appearance had made her more susceptible to Reiver’s tale. He could still be lying, but something told her that this wasn’t an attempt to deceive her; being the sister of the Element of Honesty did have some advantages.
“Okay, I won’t tell no pony.”
“So you believe me?”
“Yes, I do,” she replied. “It all sounds crazy, but I believe ya.”
“Thank you,” sighed Reiver in relief.
“But, if I’m gonna help ya’ll get home, then we’ll need some extra hooves.”
Reiver was about to protest, but realised he had to concede that point to her, she was unlikely to know or be able find out everything he might need.
“Okay, but keep it small; I don’t want word getting around.”
“I can manage that,” she replied. “I’ve already got some ponies in mind.”
“Really?” replied Reiver “Who?”
As soon as the words left his lips the colt realised exactly whom she meant and promptly facehoofed while Bedlam burst out laughing.
“You want me to tell your friends, don’t you?”
“Eeyup.” she replied, slightly smug.
“…Fine, but you are all to Pinkie promise that you won’t tell a soul.”
“Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye” replied Apple Bloom, going through the motions.
“...How do you do that without poking out your own eye?” asked Reiver, remembering his own attempt.
“Ya just get used to it after a while; helps ta live near Pinkie Pie.”
“I’ll bet,” he replied with a smirk.
“So, what was that thing ya’ll were listening to before?” she asked. “Kinda reminded me of DJ PON3’s headphones.”
“You mean this?” he replied, extracting his IPOD from his pockets. “It’s called an IPOD; it’s a portable music player.”
“Why’s it so small?” she asked. “I’ve seen records before and they are way bigger than that thing.”
“Well, where I come from we found a way to record music on smaller devices; do you have cassettes or CD’s here at all?”
The confused look on her face told him all he needed to know, but then again they might have something else that was their equivalent.
“Do you have anything that lets you listen to music when you’re out and about?”
“Uhhh…not really, although now I think about it Diamond Tiara was showin’ off some new crystally thing that played music last week, and by showing off I mean rubbing absolutely everypony’s face in it.”
“Okay, well this is something like that; I can store hundreds of music tracks on it and listen to them whenever I want.”
“That’s so cool! Can I hear some?” she asked.
“Sure, I’ve got some good ones on here.”
Trotting over, Apple Bloom sat by Reiver and took one of the earbuds, after a quick demonstration about how to wear it correctly, Reiver scrolled through the music tracks.
“Here one you might like" he said, pressing PLAY. "It’s a bit of country and western with a rock twist to it.”
Apple Bloom winced a bit as the guitar build to a crescendo that nearly deafened her, but she quickly found herself nodding along to beat with Reiver as the lyrics started.
“This is really cool!” she replied, just a little louder than normal.
“I know!” he replied with a smile. “This version was mixed for a movie about a Ghost Rider.”
“Really? That sounds awesome.”
“Not as awesome as you might think,” he muttered as the song came to a close.
Removing the earbud, Apple Bloom turned to face the colt as he put away the IPOD, there was a brief moment of silence between the two where she rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly.
“I’m sorry fer treating ya so cold like; I don’t normally hold a grudge like that.”
“It’s okay,” he replied. “I might have acted the same way if somepony had just dumped my breakfast on my head.”
“So…friends?” she said, offering a hoof.
“Friends,” he replied, bumping it with his own.
“Sorry to break up this heart-warming scene”, Bedlam’s voice cut through the moment. “But there’s somepony coming.”
Indeed the pair could hear the sounds of approaching hoofsteps from the hallway and quickly hid the IPOD. With a spash of colour Bedlam also dissappeared just before the door opened to reveal Applejack and Cheerilee.
“Hey there, young’uns” said Applejack cheerfully. “Nice ta see ya’ll getting along.”
“Hi, Applejack,” replied Reiver nervously. “We were just talking about-”
“I was apologising,” interrupted Apple Bloom. “I’ve been kinda a jerk ta him since we met and I wanted ta apologise.”
Applejack smiled.
“Glad ta hear it Apple Bloom; I didn’t like seein’ ya be so suspicious of somepony else. Now maybe ya can get ta know him a bit better.”
Apple Bloom smiled back at her sister; right now she knew probably knew the colt better than she did.
“So, what’s Miss Cheerilee doing here?” she asked.
“I came over to pick up a wood carving I commissioned from Big Macintosh.” said Cheerilee.
“Applejack mentioned that she was looking after a sick colt, so I asked if I could meet him.’
She looked over at Reiver with her warmest smile, causing him to tense up yet again. He wanted to believe she was being sincere, but his gut was saying that her visit was more likely because Apple Bloom was grounded, or she had been speaking to the Nurse from a few nights ago. But there was only one way to find out.
“I’m Cheerilee, Apple Bloom’s teacher.” she continued, moving closer to where he sat. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“H…Hi,” he stammered nervously. “Did that nurse send you to take me away?”
To her credit Cheerilee did not react, she was used to dealing with children and as Redheart had made him aware of his phobia, she decided to leave her out of the equation for now. She was here as a teacher and a concerned pony, not one of the hospital staff. A half-truth, it was better than scaring the poor colt in their first meeting.
“Sweetie, I’m not here because somepony ordered me to be, if you’re going to be at Applejack’s for a while then you might have come to school. I just wanted to get to know you like I do all my students, just ask Apple Bloom.”
Reiver glanced over to the farm filly, who was smiling broadly.
“It’s true; Miss Cheerilee is the best teacher ever! She wouldn’t lie to ya’ll.”
Reiver looked back to the teacher who was waiting expectantly for him to speak.
“Okay…” he said quietly. “I’m Reiver.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Reiver. Are you enjoying your stay with Applejack?”
“Yeah,” he replied. “I like it out here, the farm is really quiet and I like Winona a lot.”
“Aint that the truth,” replied Applejack with a chuckle. “I don’t think I’ve seen her so eager ta finish work in my life.”
“Are you sleeping all right?” asked Cheerilee. “Applejack said you had been living in the Everfree Forest before she found you?”
“…not every night,” he confessed. “I keep waking up because something was usually out to eat me at night so I had to keep moving. I sometimes get nightmares too.” He shuddered.
“Nightmares?” said Applejack. “Why didn’t ya’ll tell me?
“…I didn’t want to bother you any more than I already have,” he replied. “You already feed me and have put a roof over my head; I just feel like such a useless burden right now.”
“Now look here, young un,” said Applejack as she sat beside him. “Ya’ll aint a burden and ya certainly aint useless. Ya helped Big Mac with those kitchen cabinets and Twilight told me how ya helped Spike with the dishes. I can get not wanting ta be useless, but nopony thinks that and if ya’ll can’t sleep because of some nightmares then ya gotta tell me.”
“…I’ll try Applejack, but I’m not used to relying on somepony else.”
“Well yer gonna have to until yer better,” she replied with a softer tone and smile that Reiver returned, she was a good mare, firm but fair, kind of like his mum had been.
While this was happening, Cheerilee observed the way the two interacted. The farmer had definitely decided that the colt was her responsibility, and it was clear that he seemed to like her. But he had problems relying on others, which was probably a result of his time in the Everfree Forest but she couldn’t be certain.
Her thoughts were interrupted when she noticed something poking out from under the bed, reaching over she pulled it out with a hoof and saw it was a book on magical travel.
“I see you’re already studying,” she chuckled a little at her own joke, but stopped when she realised that Reiver was looking a little nervous.
“Are you alight dearie?” she asked.
“Y…yeah of course I’m alright, why wouldn’t I be,” he stammered.
“Is this something you’re interested in?”
“…Yes, but I don’t quite understand it.”
“I would imagine so; this is meant for Unicorns rather than Earth Ponies. Even simple books like this can become complicated when it comes to magic. Where did you get this anyway?”
She strained her ear as Reiver muttered something quietly.
“What was that dearie?”
“I…um…asked Apple Bloom to get it for me, I wanted to-”
“-he wanted to help us get cutie marks in teleportation,” interrupted Apple Bloom. “But he got frustrated with something so we gave up.”
“Really, what was it exactly?” asked Cheerilee. Once more Reiver mumbled his answer at such a volume that he could give Fluttershy a run for her money.
“I’m sorry dear, but I can’t hear you,” she said gently.
“….Applejack, would you mind backing off a little? This is kind of personal.” he said.
With a gentle nod Applejack backed away as Cheerilee slowly approached the colt, he motioned for her to lean in a bit closer and he whispered something to her which caused her to nod slowly in understanding. When she sat back, Reiver’s posture had become slumped and defeated.
“There’s nothing to be ashamed of,” she said, gently placing a hoof on his shoulder.
“But it is,” he replied. “I don’t have one of the most basic skills needed and it’s driving me crazy!”
“Would you feel better if I taught you? I have some free time on weekends right now if you would like.”
As the pair talked, Applejack looked to her sister for an answer, but all she got was a shrug in return. Clearly Reiver had told Cheerilee something important that the teacher was willing to come back on a regular basis. It was also something that he didn’t feel comfortable sharing with her, and that made her a little sad. She watched as the colt said something quietly to Cheerilee, who then motioned for Applejack to follow her back out into the hall.
“Well young’uns, I reckon we’ve taken up enough of your time,” said Applejack. “We’ve got ta collect that carving so we’ll se ya’ll later.”
With a wave to the pair, the two ponies made their exit and headed downstairs,. When they reached the living room, Cheerilee turned to Applejack with a serious expression.
“Reiver can’t read.”
What?!” replied Applejack, her mind briefly blanking out from the statement. “How can a colt his age not know how ta read?”
“He wasn’t willing to say,” replied Cheerilee. “But he was so ashamed that he asked me to tell you instead of admitting it himself. I think he might have some confidence issues but this is a good opportunity for me to get to know him and keep an eye on his condition for Redheart.”
“Ah guess,” replied Applejack. “But ain’t you got lessons to prepare for?”
“Normally,” she replied. “But I seem to have gotten ahead of myself this year and have got a lot of free time on my hooves. This should also let me assess his current educational state and prepare him so we can avoid any misunderstandings when he starts attending school.”
“Whoa there,” replied Applejack. “Aint that getting a bit far ahead of ourselves? He’s still gotta get well enough ta go outside, might be a few months before we can even consider sending him ta school.”
“Why Applejack, are you being a little protective of Reiver?” replied Cheerilee in mock admonishment.
Applejack blushed in embarrassment, confirming the teacher’s earlier suspicions.
“I just don’t want ta take any chances,” she replied.
Cheerilee put a concerned hoof on her shoulder.
“Applejack, I understand you’re concerned for him, but he will get better and he will have to attend school. You can’t keep a foal cooped up inside all day; they’ve got too much energy.”
“Speaking from experience?”
Cheerilee chuckled a little at the joke.
“Okay,” sighed Applejack. “But we’ll need ta co-ordinate this with the family. I should be able ta do it this weekend and we can discuss longer term details then.”
“That’s fine,” she replied. “I’ll prepare some activities and bring over a few basic reading books you can keep here. By the time he’s well enough to attend school he will know everything he needs.”
“Thanks Cheerilee,” replied Applejack. “I’m glad that ya’ll care enough ta do this.”
“What type of teacher would I be if I didn’t care about my students’ well-being?” she replied. “Now, if you excuse me, I’ve got to get going: there’s a lot to do before the weekend.”
The stallion lay silently on the hospital bed, the silence broken by his weak breathing and the sound of the heart monitor. Nearby, Dr. Stable checked over a clipboard while Nurse Tenderheart checked the machines that were keeping him alive.
“His vital signs are very weak, but they’ve finally stabilised,” she said.
“Very good,” muttered Stable as he read through the patient’s notes. “It’s a pity we had to sedate him a second time; there are risks to a stallion in his condition.”
“I’m aware of that,” replied Tenderheart. “But he attacked the nurse as soon as he came round; I had to take a leaf out of Red’s book for this one I’m afraid.”
“So I heard,” said Nurse Redheart as she entered. “How is he?”
“In need of care,” replied Stable as he handed Redheart the clipboard. “Severe dehydration and malnourishment are just the tip of the iceberg.”
“Any luck on finding out who he is?” asked Tenderheart.
Redheart shook her head.
“I’m afraid not; he had no identification of any kind and he doesn’t match anypony in either the hospital or town records.”
“Mmmmm…” mused Stable, scratching his chin as he thought. “Contact the local guard station and see if they know anything. In the meantime his treatment is to proceed, but I want him monitored closely. He may die if we are not careful.”
“Understood,” replied Redheart.
“Never a dull day in Ponyville,” said Tenderheart.
“Sometimes I wish there were,” muttered Dr Stable.
It had been a few days since Reiver had told Apple Bloom about his true identity, furthermore, since the Cutie Mark Crusaders had finished their punishments, she had invited Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle over so he could tell them as well, Bedlam had even put in an appearance to help drive the point home. Right now the two fillies were sitting in front of him with looks equal parts confusion and astonishment. In contrast to her friends, Apple Bloom was sitting to one side with a slightly smug grin on her face.
“Ya’ll believe me now?” she said, still smug.
“Wow…” said Scootaloo, starting at Reiver dumbfounded. “Well…you were right about there being something strange about him…but technically he’s not a monster so you’re also still wrong.”
“What! Was not!”
“You thought he was a monster, but he’s an alien.”
“He says that he’s meant to look like a shaved bear, that’s close to a monster?” replied Apple Bloom incredulously.
“Bears aren’t monsters; just look at Harry.”
“Mean bears can be monsters!”
“No, they can’t!”
“Yes, they can!”
“Can we argue semantics later?” Reiver forcefully interrupted. “Right now, you three are the only ones who know about me and Bedlam. Cheerilee is going to teach me to read, but I can’t be expected to wait while there may be a way for me to get home in the pages of this book.” He finished by producing the library book Apple Bloom had gotten him on his first day on the farm.
“Yeah,” said Bedlam from his position on the wall, “I would quite like to know what the heck I’m supposed to be as well.” He paused as his attention was drawn to something behind the fillies. “Uh, is she alright?”
Looking up, all present realised that Sweetie Belle was still sitting with a dumbfounded expression. Moving to her side, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom each waved a hoof in front of her face.
“Is this normal?” Bedlam whispered to Revier.
“You know as much as I do,” he hissed back. “Is she alright?” he asked the other Crusaders.
“I don’t know,” replied Apple Bloom. “I think she’s in some kinda shock.”
“Well I have that effect on ponies,” replied Bedlam, nonchalantly polishing a hoof. The others just gave him some odd looks, with Apple Bloom looking at Reiver for an explanation, but all he could do was shrug his shoulders.
“Maybe we should try cold water?” he suggested.
“I might have an idea,” said Scootaloo. “But she’s not going to like it.” Slipping up beside her stunned friend she reached a hoof up and flicked the tip of the unicorn’s horn.
The effect was instantaneous as purple sparks erupted from Sweetie Belles horn, bringing the white unicorn out of her trance with a startled yelp.
“Ow! What the hay Scootaloo?” she snapped.
“Sorry, but you were starting to worry us.”
“I was?” she replied, confused.
“Yeah,” replied Scootaloo. “After that guy appeared you just sorta…stopped,” she said, gesturing to Bedlam.
“…sorry, it’s just a little hard to take all this in at once,” replied Sweetie Belle.
“I’d say you’re all doing better than most given the circumstances,” replied Bedlam, a little huffed he had just been called ‘that guy.’
“I agree,” said Reiver, “I’d half expected at least one of you to run off screaming by now.”
“Yeah, well, we’re made of tough stuff,” replied Scootaloo, proudly puffing out her chest.
“Indeed,” replied Bedlam with a snicker. “How else would you survive getting covered with tree sap on a daily basis?”
“Hey!” she snapped.
“Please don’t antagonise anypony, Bedlam,” groaned Reiver as he facehoofed.
“You’re no fun,” he replied, pouting and sticking his tongue out.
“Moving on,” said Reiver, “Apple Bloom has said she’ll help, but we need more than just her if this is going to work. So I have to ask, are you two willing to get involved with this?”
The three fillies looked at each other as if they were deep in thought, and then smiles slowly spread across their faces until they couldn’t contain themselves.
“CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS ALIEN INVESTIGATORS!” Reiver saw stars, while Bedlam was blown into a cloud of colour so intense it looked like somepony had just spilled an entire paint shop onto the wall. Taking a moment to clear his hearing, Reiver and the Crusaders watched as the mass of colours rapidly sorted itself back into the strange creature.
“Do you mind?” snapped Bedlam, “It’s hard enough coalescing from nothing; I don’t have enough practice sorting myself out when I’m whole.”
“Clearly,” replied Reiver, while stifling a snicker.
“Yeah,” said Scootaloo while she and the Crusaders stifled their own snickers.
“Okay, what’s funny?” asked Bedlam, knowing he was going to regret the answer.
“I think you need some more practice,” giggled Apple Bloom.
It took Bedlam a second to contemplate the meaning of her words, as he ran a hoof through his ample mane…wait a second.
Removing the hoof he took a moment to look himself over and realised his mane was indeed significantly longer…and thicker. He also appeared to have gotten thinner, and then the penny dropped.
“Oh good gravy,” he sighed in exasperation. In his haste to reform, the strange being had accidentally turned himself into a filly.
Reiver and the Crusaders couldn’t help themselves anymore and burst into fits of laughter, tears streaming down their cheeks while Bedlam swirled his colours once more and managed to restore himself.
“Yeah, yeah, that’s it, laugh it up.” He muttered sourly as the group tried to compose themselves.
“Sorry Bedlam,” giggled Sweetie Belle. “But you have to admit it was kinda funny.”
Bedlam pouted as the other ponies continued to laugh, eventually the laughter proved infectious and a smile graced his features.
“Heh…okay, maybe it was a little funny,” he admitted. “I didn’t even know I could do that.”
“Neither did we,” said Reiver. “Maybe it’s got something to do with what you are,” he theorised.
“Possibly,” mused Bedlam. “But what’s our next move?”
“Reiver said you showed up after he looked in a mirror,” said Sweetie Belle. “So maybe that’s a clue.”
“It’s not a lot to go on, but it is a start,” said Revier. “Any idea where we could find info on strange creatures?”
“The Library has a section on wildlife,” suggested Apple Bloom. “We’ve used before for school projects.”
“Good idea,” replied Reiver. “But I’m not going to be much help, at least not until I can read Equestrian AND leave the house.”
“Well, how about we look for you?” suggested Sweetie Belle. “If you can tell us what you want to know, then we can bring it back here instead.”
After retrieving some pens and paper, Reiver and Bedlam explained what they needed. Having never seen any ‘real’ magic before, books about basic spells and magic theory were at the top. Second, were books on magical creatures, if anything remotely similar to Bedlam existed then it might have been recorded. The final items were books on travel and teleportation. He had told them what he remembered before waking up in the Everfree Forest and hoped a reference could be found somewhere. He also gave them the travel book to return as, despite his confidence that it could be useful, he wanted to keep Twilight away for as long as possible, it was a bloody miracle she hadn’t found the missing box yet.
“Okay Cutie Mark Crusaders!” declared Apple Bloom as she rolled up the list. “We have a stranded alien who wants to get home and a strange creature with no idea what he is. Are we going to leave them helpless?”
“No way!” chorused the other fillies.
“Then we, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, declare that we shall leave no stone unturned, no lead unfollowed, no meal uneaten, until we have succeeded in our quest!”
“CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS ALIEN INVESTIGATORS ARE GO!”
With a speed that would make Rainbow Dash proud, the three Crusaders galloped out the door in a multi-coloured blur.
“They certainly are enthusiastic,” said Bedlam, removing his hooves from his ears.
“It’s something else to experience that enthusiasm up close,” replied Reiver. “Why do I feel like we just unleashed something that should have remained leashed?” Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx The three fillies made quick time across Ponyville; Scootaloo could pull them faster than any of them could gallop. En-route they talked excitedly about the possibility of getting alien-related Cutie Marks.
“I think it would be cool having an alien for a cutie mark,” said Apple bloom.
“Yeah, but what if it looked like Reiver, y’know, when he wasn’t a pony?” replied Scootaloo as she sped around a corner towards the library. “Who’d want a shaved bear on their flank for the rest of their life? I want a ray gun or a spaceship like in Spike’s comics, I could be all, ‘Pew! Pew!’ Take that evil alien!” she pretended to enthusiastically blast some hostile aliens to dust with her imaginary weapon.
“Well, I’d like to talk to them,” said Sweetie Belle. “Imagine how fun it would be to talk to a real alien?”
“Uh…didn’t we just do that?” replied Scootaloo.
“No, I mean, yeah, but…he looks like a pony. I’d like to see a strange alien. Maybe with pointy ears or a blue coat, or how about really big eyes that sparkle like stars; it would be sooo cute. ”
“Maybe Reiver can help us,” replied Apple Bloom enthusiastically. “He might be able to help us meet some aliens; maybe we could be ambassadors for all ponykind.”
With an equally enthusiastic agreement from her friends, the three fillies skidded to a stop outside Golden Oaks. Dismounting, Apple Bloom knocked on the library door and it was answered promptly by Spike.
“Hi girls,” he greeted happily.
“Hi Spike,” replied Apple Bloom. “How ya’ll doing?”
“Not bad, it’s kinda quiet here with Twilight’s out checking her gadgets.”
“Gadgets?” said Scootaloo.
“Oh yeah, she’s investigating that strange weather drifting in from the Everfree Forest. She thinks it might be something to do with a build-up of magic and some kinda planetary alignment.”
“Uh…is that a bad thing?” asked Sweetie Belle.
“…honestly, we don’t know. Right now all it seems to be doing is make things colder. Anyway…how did that teleportation cutie mark work out?” “Teleportation?” said Sweetie Belle, confused. Then she caught the look from Apple Bloom. “Oh, THAT teleportation...it uh didn’t work.”
“We think it might be because we didn’t understand something from the book,” replied Apple Bloom. “We were gonna do some more research before trying again.”
“Okay…when you say didn’t work; you didn’t unleash some monster from the fifth dimension and now need to send it back?” asked Spike, nervously.
“No of course not, it just…didn’t work that all,” replied Scootaloo.
Spike, slightly relieved they didn’t end the world, but concerned that they were still trying to break the fabric of reality, escorted them into the library, leading them to its impressive collection of magic books.
“This is it,” he said. “Take a look and see what you find, but please, don’t destroy reality until Twilight gets back.”
“Psh, like we would do anything like that,” said Scootaloo.
Spike gave her a deadpan look.
“I’m serious; if you get sucked into a parallel universe your sisters will kill me. Now, I’ve got some things to do, but please come and get me before you try anything,” pleaded the dragon.
“You have our word Spike,” said Apple Bloom. “We won’t try teleporting unless you’re present.”
“Thanks girls,” he sighed in relief. “If you need me, I’ll be upstairs.”
With that, the young drake turned and ascended the stairs, closing the door behind him.
“Okay, where do we start?” asked Sweetie Belle.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx After a few minutes, the three fillies gathered their findings in the library’s lounge; Apple Bloom had managed to find a text on basic teleportation while Sweetie Belle had been to the children’s section and found some kids spell books. Meanwhile Scootaloo had been through the Wildlife books and brought back a few texts on strange and magical creatures. Seating themselves around a table, the three fillies had started looking through their selections when Spike returned with a tray of cookies.
“You want some?” he asked, setting down the tray. “Twilight doesn’t know I figured out where she hides these.”
“Thanks Spike,” said Scootaloo, helping herself to a cookie. “We were getting kinda hungry.”
“Yeah, thanks a lot,” said Apple Bloom.
“Glad to be of service,” he replied with a bow, causing the three fillies to giggle. “It looks like you three have been really busy.”
“It’s just a little…preparation so nothing bad happens,” said Sweetie Belle.
“Heh...now there’s a sentence nopony’s ever going to hear again,” muttered the dragon, taking a seat next to Scootaloo he looked over the books on animals she had acquired.
“If you’re going to be testing this on animals, I’d think about Fluttershy’s reaction, it took a lot of persuasion to let Twilight use her animal friends when she performed for the Saddle Arabians.”
“Mmmgm”replied Scootaloo, through a mouthful of cookie.
“Uh…what she meant to say was, when you said about strange creatures, we decided to prepare for that too,” lied Apple Bloom. “We might even get cutie marks for discovering a new animal.”
“…Do you mind if I help?” he asked, silently wondering what was taking Twilight so long.
Let him help, he does work with Twilight.
The text hadn’t been there a second ago, in fact, the page she had been looking at was previously covered with words, now it only had a single sentence. Looking up she saw confused looks on her friends faces and realised that they must have similar messages in their own books.
“Sure thing Spike,” she said. “Grab a book and help the girls, I’ll be back in a second.”
Getting up, she trotted to a more private corner of the library and opened book.
“Bedlam?” she whispered tentatively.
The text slowly faded into view.
Yes, it’s me.I tried appearing but it was too difficult, all I managed to alter was the writing on a street sign…probably should have fixed that before coming here, hang on.
Apple Bloom watched in astonishment as the text faded and thousands of unused letters seemed to glide across the page and retake their original positions. She rubbed her eyes and shook the book a few times just to make sure she hadn’t been hallucinating, and then the text started moving again.
There were go, hopefully nopony fell into that hole while I was gone.
“So…are you here, or are you still at the farm?”
A bit of both, I’m with Reiver right now, Cheerilee’s here too by the way. She’s doing quite well teaching him to read, he’s managed to get some of the basics already.
“Miss Cheerilee’s an awesome teacher,” she replied with a hint of pride. “But how can you be there and here?”
I…have no idea…it’s like I’m dreaming. I can ‘see’ you, but it’s like you’re just out of reach.
“Apple Bloom?” Spike appeared just over the top of the book, causing her to suddenly slam it shut.
“Yeah Spike,” she replied, a little flustered.
“Uh…were you talking to a book?” he asked.
“Nope, I was just…reading out loud, it helps me think.”
“Alright, I was just getting some drinks, did you want any?”
“Some apple juice would be great Spike, thanks.”
“No problem, back in a minute.”
As the young dragon left, Apple Bloom re-opened the book to find the text had smudged, like somepony had run a cloth over wet ink. A set of shaky letters formed out of the mass.
That hurt!
“Sorry” she hissed.
…never mind. I’ll fix this mess, you help your friends. When I’m done I’ll go back to Reiver. Good luck.
Gently closing the book this time, Apple Bloom re-joined her friends just as Spike returned with a platter of drinks. Sitting down by the group, she selected another book and the research began in earnest.
“We got everything, Scoots?” asked Apple Bloom as she packed her own saddlebags.
“I think so, A.B.,” she replied, packing a few books into her saddlebags. “This should help a lot.”
“Just don’t destroy the world in the process,” said Spike as he stretched a few kinks out of his spine. “I really don’t want to have to explain that one to Twilight.”
“Don’t worry, Spike,” said Sweetie Belle. “You can count on us.”
“That’s what I’m worried about,” he muttered.
The study session had gone well for the small group; with Spike’s help they had managed to make some notes on magic and magical travel, and had even made a few notes on some creatures similar to Bedlam. Having returned the travel magic book, and checked out a few new ones, the three were preparing to return to Sweet Apple Acres with their findings. As they were leaving, the door opened to reveal Twilight Sparkle.
“Hi, girls!” she said brightly.
“Hi, Twilight! Bye, Twilight!” the three fillies chorused as they passed, closing the door behind them.
“They were certainly in a hurry; I wonder what they’re up to?”
“Something about teleportation cutie marks,” replied Spike as he quickly cleaned up the trays and cookie crumbs.
“…I think I’d better warn Applejack and Rarity before this gets out of hoof.”
“No argument from me. So, find what you were looking for?
“I think so, Spike, “replied Twilight. “I won’t know for sure until I analyse this properly, but the data suggests a link between the magical build up and the current position of the planets. I’m going to send a letter to Princess Luna to see if she can help.”
Helping her assistant to clean up, Twilight spotted the book Apple Bloom had been using to talk to Bedlam and pulled it over with her magic. Lifting it to eye level she checked it for scuffs and marks before re-shelving it and heading upstairs to analyse her data. Had she remained for a moment longer, the unicorn might have noticed the ink slowly oozing from between the pages.
Back at Sweet Apple Acres, the Cutie Mark Crusaders arrived to find they had missed Cheerilee by a few minutes. However, the slight disappointment at not seeing their favourite teacher was quickly forgotten when they started showing Reiver their findings.
“This is interesting stuff, what little of it I can read at least,” said Reiver as he looked over their notes.
“I know,” replied Bedlam reading from his position on the wall. “I wish I could have been a bit more helpful.”
“Don’t worry about it,” replied Apple Bloom. “Spike was a big help. There’s got to be something useful in there.”
“Oo, oo, I found something,” said Sweetie belle eagerly, flipping through one of the books. “Here it is, I think you might be one of these.” She finished by showing Bedlam a page with a crude drawing at the top.
“You think I’m a…business pony?”
“It’s a Slenderpony,” she replied. “They make ponies see things to drive them crazy, then they feast on their souls.”
“Well you got the driving crazy part,” muttered Reiver. “But Bedlam looks nothing like that.”
“I have a face for one thing,” he replied.
“But do you eat pony’s souls?
“Uuh, no.”
“How can you be sure?” asked Scootaloo.
“I just know, okay.”
“Alright, we can check that one off,” said Sweetie Belle.
“I’ve got one,” said Apple Bloom as she flipped through another book. “Maybe he’s a kind of changeling.”
Reiver tensed slightly as Apple Bloom showed them the image of the insectoid shapeshifters.
“Ewww, I remember them,” said Scootaloo, grossed out at the sight.
“But they’re 3D, and I’m not” replied Bedlam from his perch. “Although it says here they once infiltrated an art gallery by impersonating the sculptures. Wonder how they went to the bathroom without anyone noticing.”
“Maybe they left a sign on the podium,” said Revier, shrugging his shoulders.
“Okay, so not a Changeling,” replied Apple Bloom.
“I’ve got something,” said Scootaloo as she looked through her notes. “Maybe he’s from a parallel dimension that can only be entered through mirrors. He appeared in the bathroom mirror after all.”
“And continues to do so,” sighed Reiver in exasperation.
“What? How was I to know that you were in there? Although, your reaction was priceless,” Bedlam snickered, bursting into giggles.
“Applejack had to fish me out of the bowl!” replied Revier, blushing as he remembered the embarrassment of that encounter.
“I tell you girls, I’d never heard a guy squeal like a filly before that,” continued Bedlam as his giggles evolved into full blown laughter. Try as they might the Crusaders couldn’t keep their own reactions under control and ended up laughing along with the strange creature, while Reiver blushed beet red.
“Are you all quite finished?” he huffed.
“Sorry, mate,” said Bedlam. “But you do have to admit that it was pretty funny.”
“Maybe for those of us that didn’t have to explain to Applejack how he fell into a toilet,” he huffed.
As the laughter died down, the ponies ran through their research and suggested a few more possibilities for Bedlam’s origin. By the end all that they had discovered was that he was not a ghost, goblin, ghoul or indeed any other horrific creature. It was then that Bedlam posed a question.
“Did you just look up evil creatures?”
“I did,” said Apple Bloom. “But I thought Scootaloo was looking at other critters.”
“Not me,” replied Scootaloo. “Sweetie Belle?”
“Um…,”
The silence was so thick you could have cut it with a knife.
“So you all just assumed I was some sort of daemon from the depths of Tartarus?” he snapped.
“Sorry Bedlam,” said Apple Bloom. “We didn’t really know what to look for.”
“Regardless, the up-side is they’ve helped us narrow down the possibilities,” replied Reiver. “I’m sure they didn’t mean anything by it.”
“…fine,” replied Bedlam. “But they better look at nice creatures this time. I don’t want to find I’m related to some ancient dark lord or something.”
“Don’t worry,” replied Sweetie Belle enthusiastically. “We’ll go back to the Library and have another look.”
“But that’s probably going to have to wait until tomorrow,” interrupted Scootaloo, pointing out the window. “The Sun’s starting to go down and I don’t want to get into trouble with my parents again.”
“Yeah, me too,” replied Sweetie Belle as she gathered up her things.
“Reiver,” said Apple Bloom. “If ya’ll don’t mind I’d like ta keep looking for a mite longer.”
“Okay,” he replied. “I’m up for a little late night research.”
“You’ll have to do it without me I’m afraid,” said Bedlam with a yawn. “I’m going to retire for the night, I think I’ve wore myself out manifesting for this long. I’ll catch you two tomorrow.” He finished by disappearing into a swirl of colour.
“Where do you think he goes?” asked Scootaloo.
“Dunno,” replied Reiver. “I guess wherever unknown cosmic beings go to relax.”
Heading downstairs, the group of foals passed Granny Smith, who was napping in her rocking chair. Taking care not to wake the elderly mare, Reiver and Apple Bloom said goodbye to their friends.
“Thanks for the help today,” said Reiver, hoof bumping with Scootaloo.
“It was no problem.” she replied. “If you need our help again just let say so. The Cutie Mark Crusaders never abandon a member.”
“So…you still want me to be a crusader?”
The three fillies looked at one another, and then nodded in affirmation.
“Yer a friend, Reiver,” replied Apple Bloom. “Even if we got off on the wrong hoof, the Cutie Mark Crusaders would love ta have ya on board.”
Reiver looked at the three sets of pleading eyes and knew he wasn’t going to win this battle, the combined adorableness was just too much.
“Fine,” he replied. “But I’m not skydiving anytime soon okay. I’ve heard what you three get up to remember.”
“Yeah, yeah we know,” replied Scootaloo. “Besides, skydiving is so last week, we’re going for tiger taming next.”
“…I’m going to regret this, aren’t I?”
“Nah, you’re going to love it!” she replied enthusiastically. “Anyway, we gotta go before our parents get worried, see ya later!”
With a wave, the two fillies left and Apple Bloom closed the door, sitting in the silence broken only by Granny Smith snoring softly, and she turned to Reiver.
“If I know my family, Applejack and Big Macintosh will be out there until dark, let’s get back upstairs and see what we can find.”
“My thoughts exactly,” replied Reiver, and the two trotted back upstairs for a long night of research.
It was morning and the Apples were preparing breakfast before going out into the fields, Applejack was slicing some Golden Delicious to put on her porridge while Granny Smith was adding some Zap Apple Jam to her toast. Big Mac was quietly munching on a fritter while his sister briefed them on what needed to be done around the farm.
“Okay, we got most of the harvest in these last few days, but we need to work harder if we want to beat this frost.”
“Darn tootin,” replied Granny Smith. “Those clouds look like they could cut loose any minute.”
“Shouldn’t even be snow this time of year Granny. If Rainbow Dash doesn’t get a lid on this pronto, I’m gonna lasso her to the nearest tree and buck it until she cries uncle!”
“Weather schedules been all mixed up these last couple weeks, in my day, when the pegasai said it was gonna be sunny then it gosh darn was!”
“Eeyup,” interjected Big Mac.
“All I can say for sure Granny, is it’s gonna take all the Apples ta pull this off,” replied Applejack.
“Speaking of all the Apples, where’s Apple Bloom and Reiver? They’re going to miss breakfast,” said Granny Smith, waving a hoof at two empty chairs.
“Don’t worry Granny, I’ll go see what’s keeping them,” replied Applejack, rising from her seat.
Making her way upstairs, the farm pony knocked on the guest room door first.
“Reiver, ya’ll up? It’s time for breakfast.”
Nudging open the door, she stifled a snicker at what she saw.
The floor was covered in open books and papers, with a liberal sprinkling of pencils and crumpled notes. In the centre of this mess Reiver and Applebloom were sleeping soundly, Revier was lying on the floor, his head resting on his hooves, while Applebloom was snuggled up close to him, her hooves wrapped around his barrel.
Navigating the mess of papers and books, she nudged the adorable pair with a hoof.
“C’mon you two, breakfast is waiting for ya.”
Reiver stirred, but when he tried to move he felt the hooves wrapped around him. Twisting in the fillys’ grip, he saw Applebloom wake and the two locked eyes for a moment while their brains attempted to register their current position. As soon as the information clicked they responded on the only way they possible could.
“EYAH!”
With a yelp, the two abruptly sprang back from one another, Reiver slipping on a book and into the wall, while Applebloom flailed on sheets of loose paper before falling flat on her face.
“Ow,” groaned Reiver, rubbing the back of his head.
“What hit me?” moaned Applebloom.
“Sorry ta disturb ya’ll” replied Applejack, who was struggling to keep a fit of giggles in check. “But breakfast is on the table and if ya’ll don’t hurry up. Big Mac and Granny will have eaten it all.”
“Urgh, thanks Applejack,” said a dazed Reiver.
“I’ll see you downstairs,” replied Applejack, heading back to the kitchen.
Reiver and Apple Bloom picked themselves up, taking a look at the mess of papers and books all over the floor.
“Guess we should clean this up,” she said.
“After breakfast,” replied Reiver.
“Yeah...uhh, about what we were doing…”said Apple Bloom sheepishly.
Reiver held up a hoof.
“If anypony asks, we fell asleep while studying, there was no cuddling, agreed?”
“Agreed.”
With their mutual agreement in place, the two ponies headed downstairs, arriving to the sight of Big Macintosh and Granny Smith laughing to what they suspected was Applejacks recollection of recent events.
“Morning,” said Revier, taking his place at the table.
“Nice ta see you’re finally up young uns,” said Granny Smith. “I don’t blame ya fer sleepin in like that, Apple Bloom can be a might possessive of her pillow.”
With an embarrassed groan, Apple Bloom attempted to bury her face in a bowl of porridge.
“It true,” said Applejack with a mischievous grin. “I once found her snuggled up so close ta Big Mac that she wouldn’t wake up for anything.”
“Can we move on from that please,” said Reiver.
“Sure thing partner,” replied Applejack as she placed a bowl of applesauce in front of the colt.
“Yummy,” he replied sarcastically. “More brown mush.”
“That’s a lot more than mush there,” replied Granny Smith. “That’s fine, one hundred per cent, Sweet Apple Acres brand applesauce.”
Reiver poked it with his spoon.
“Still looks like a bowl of mush to me.”
“Eeyup,” replied Big Mac.
“Don’t you go supporting him,” replied Granny Smith, slightly offended that her apples were being called ‘mush’.
“Granny’s mighty proud of what we got here on the farm,” said Applejack. “I think she’s trying to say that there’s more to that ‘mush’ than you’re giving it credit for.”
“I know that,” replied Reiver with a sigh. “Its just...I’ve been eating it since I got here and it’s nice and all, but it’s getting to the point where I just don’t want it anymore.”
“Keep your head up high partner, once your better I’ll personally serve ya some of Sweet Apple Acres finest,” replied Applejack with a wink.
“Eeyup,”
“Is that all you’re going to say today?”
“Eenope,” replied Big Mac with a smirk.
Rolling her eyes at the antics of her brother, Applejack turned to Apple Bloom, who was now eating her porridge rather than attempting to hide in it.
“We’re gonna need your help today little sis, with the weather going the way it is we need all the hooves we can get.”
“But Reiver and I were gonna hang out some more,” she protested.
“Well, that’s quite the change of tune there missy,” replied Applejack. “Wasn’t that long ago you were trying to stay away from him.”
“Well, uh, we talked it out. It...kinda made me realise how much of a jerk I had been and we made up.”
“I saw that first hoof this morning,” snickered Applejack. “I forgot how gosh darned cute you could be little sis.”
“Applejack,” groaned Apple Bloom in embarrassment. Reiver just decided it was his turn to bury his face in his breakfast.
“Sorry I couldn’t help myself,” she apologised. “But, while it’s nice to see the two of you made up, I still need your help in the fields today.”
Apple Bloom shot an apologetic look at Reiver.
“Sorry,”
“It’s okay,” he replied. “We can hang out later tonight, but if you are all going to be working outside, who is going to make sure I’m okay? I thought I wasn’t to be left alone.”
“And you ain't,” replied Applejack, just as a set of soft knocks interrupted the conversation. “I asked Rarity and Rainbow Dash if they could watch you today but they were busy, so I called somepony else.”
Opening the back door, she revealed who was going to be watching him that day.
“Umm, hello, I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”
“Not at all Fluttershy, come right on in.”
Reiver looked past Applejack to the butter yellow Pegasus that entered the farmhouse, she had a long pink mane and tail as well as three pink butterflies on her flank.
“Classic Fluttershy,” he thought to himself.
He also saw that Fluttershy wasn’t the only creature that was at the door; by her hooves was a huffy looking white rabbit with a picnic basket.
“I hope you don’t mind, but I brought Angel with me today. When you told me you were looking after a sick colt, I thought he might help cheer him up.”
Angel just huffed, apparently he didn’t think it was good idea.
“Howdy miss Fluttershy,” said Big Macintosh. “It’s nice to see ya’ll again.”
“Oh, umm, hi Big Mac,” she squeaked, turning a soft shade of red. “It’s, um, nice to see you too.”
There was a moment of awkward silence between the two and Reiver noticed that the fur on Big Mac’s face was definitely turning a darker shade of red. Deciding to break the tension, he hopped down from his seat and went to introduce himself.
“Hi, I’m Revier,” he said, offering a hoof to Fluttershy.
Reiver had expected her to squeak and hide behind her mane at the sight of a new pony, he was therefore not expecting her to take one look at him and practically tackle him into a tight hug.
“Oh, you’re the poor colt that was starving in the Everfree Forest, I can’t imagine how scary that must have been.”
“It was…not something...I would like to repeat,” he wheezed.
Much to his relief, Fluttershy released him so she could give him a proper look over, taking in how he was noticeably thinner than a colt his age should be.
“You poor dear, you’re all skin and bones.”
“But, getting better all the time,” replied Big Macintosh, patting Reivers back with a shaggy hoof.
“Big Mac has been really helpful,” said Reiver. “He talks about you all the time you know.”
“Really!” exclaimed Fluttershy, before ducking behind her mane in embarassment, but not before Big Mac blushed in response to her outburst.
“Alright that’s enough chit chat,” interrupted Applejack, although Reiver noticed she had an amused grin on her face. “We've got to get going if we’re gonna get all the jobs done before sundown.”
“See ya tonight Rever,” said Apple Bloom.
“Likewise Apple Bloom, it was…fun hanging out with you,” Reiver really meant it; now the filly wasn’t trying to avoid him like the plague, he found he enjoyed her company. She hed also been really helpful with their research into Bedlam and they had compiled a list of new ideas about the strange creature.
After saying farewell to the Apples, the colt soon found himself alone with Fluttershy. An awkward silence descended on the pair, as the Pegasus earlier burst of confidence evaporated. Thankfully it didn’t last long, because Angel decided to let his opinion be known by thumping her foreleg with a foot.
“He doesn’t look happy to be here,” commented Reiver.
“Oh?” Fluttershy looked down at her lapine companion as he turned his back on her with a huff.
“Now, now Angel, that’s not nice. I brought you all this way to help cheer up Reiver so no frowny faces.”
Gently scooping up the rabbit in her hooves, she presented him to Reiver.
“Now, be nice and say hello.”
Reiver looked the thoroughly non-plussed bunny over and offered it a hoof, only for Angle snap at it with his teeth.
“Angel!” exclaimed Fluttershy sternly. “We do not bite ponies hooves, is that understood?”
Cowed by his owners sudden display of force, Angels ears drooped as he nodded.
“Good, I’m sorry for that, he’s just grumpy because I got him up early today.”
“It’s okay, but maybe we could do something else until he’s a bit more co-operative?”
“Okay,” replied Fluttershy as she scanned the room. “How about we talk while you finish your breakfast”
Reiver looked back to the kitchen table and realised that the Apples had cleared away their plates but left his alone.
With a sigh, Reiver pulled himself back onto his chair as Fluttershy took the one next to him at the table. As he ate, the Pegasus mare looked through the picnic basket, pulling out a thermos and pouring herself some tea, before giving a small carrot to Angel, who started grumpily munching on it.
“You sure he’s going to be alright?” he asked, gesturing to Angel.
“Oh, he’ll calm down eventually, I’m sorry he tried to bite you,”
“Like I said, its okay, but I wish he would stop giving me the stink eye.”
Fluttershy glanced at her rebellious pet, which was indeed giving Reiver a one eyed glare. But one look from Fluttershy’s famous ‘stare’ cowed him.
“He’ll come around once he’s calmed down,” she said. “How are you enjoying your breakfast?”
“It’s…apple mush, I’ve been eating it since I got here and I really don’t know what else to say, it’s good, but I just want something a bit more…solid.”
As he finished, the spoon slipped out of his hooves and clattered to the plate.
“Then there’s that,” he groaned. “I’ve been practicing with Big Mac, but I’m still having difficulty with my hooves, I just want to be able to hold things properly.”
“Maybe I could help? Umm, that is, if you want me to,” she asked.
“No, I can manage,” sighed Reiver.
“Are you sure? I could hold the spoon if it helps.”
“I said no!” he snapped, causing the timid pegasus to recoil and immediately making him feel guilty.
“I’m sorry Fluttershy,” he apologised. “I just…It’s frustrating when every time you go to pick up a pencil, or a spoon, or anything, I have to be extra careful I don’t drop it.”
He sighed.
“Big Mac has been a big help, but doing the smallest of tasks is still a challenge for me.”
Fluttershy looked over the colt as he slumped in his seat. Getting up, she moved around the table and hugged him, gently this time.
Now she wasn’t trying to suffocate him with affection, Reiver returned the embrace, enjoying the comfort she had offered. It reminded him of how his mother used to do this when he was young, he sniffed a bit as the memory surfaced, but managed to keep his composure.
“Thanks,”
“You’re welcome,” she replied. “How about after we’ve eaten, we practice hoof control. I can help show you how to properly hold an object so it won’t fall.”
A short while later, the colt was sitting at the coffee table in the living room slowly attempting to draw a passable representation of a pony, Fluttershy sat behind him, using her hoof to help him grip the pencil as it moved across the page. Across from the two of them, Angel was napping on the sofa.
“Now,” said Fluttershy. “I’m going to let go, remember, don’t force the pencil to stay in your hoof, just let it sit naturally.”
She pulled back her hoof and Reiver tried to just let the pencil ‘sit’, but the problem was, it was difficult to hold something that you really needed fingers to do so. He had no physical fingers to stop the pencil simply dropping out of his hoof, and those magical ‘phantom fingers’ still felt weird every time he used them. However, despite this, the pencil was staying in his ‘grip’.
“I think I’m getting it,” he said finally. “It isn’t slipping.”
“No, it’s not,” replied Fluttershy. “You see, you can do this.”
The colt smiled a little.
“If you don’t mind me asking,” he said. “You seem a bit more confident than when you came in; I thought you were shy?”
“Oh, umm, well I am shy,” she replied. “But, helping you is kind of like when I help my sick animal friends.”
“So…I’m like an ill bunny or squirrel?” he said, looking up at her.
“Umm…yes,” she replied with a blush.
Reiver glanced at Angel and didn’t know if he should be complimented or insulted.
Getting back to his hoof practice, Reiver took a deep breath and attempted to let his hoof behave as if he still had a hand. He ‘felt’ the pencil through the latent magic and slowly started to move it, but as he gained speed it started to slip, so he slowed his pace until it was once again ‘gripped’ by his 'fingers'. It looked like so long as he moved it slowly, then he was able to keep some control. However, it would take a while before he could properly ‘hold’ something.
As he practiced, he heard Fluttershy start to hum a familiar tune. He had heard her sing before on the television, but to actually hear it from the source, it was difficult to describe.
Her voice was as soft and gentle as the show portrayed it, radiating a warmth that hadn’t come across on screen. Like when she had held him, it stirred old memories of when his mum used to sing and he unconsciously found himself joining in with the Pegasus.
“You have a lovely voice,” he said.
“Thank you,” she replied.
“It reminds me of my mother; she used to sing when she was happy. Sometimes we would even sing together.”
“Really? What did she like to sing?” asked Fluttershy.
“Anything really,” chuckled Reiver. “But she used to like this daft pop song, let me see if I can remember how it went.
He hummed a few notes to see if he could remember the exact tune, it took him few tries, but soon the little colt was singing his heart out.
“I'm walking on sunshine, whoa oh! I'm walking on sunshine, whoa oh! I'm walking on sunshine, whoa oh! And don't it feel good, HEY! Alright now! And don't it feel good, HEY! Alright now! All right now yeah! HEY!”
Fluttershy giggled as he got up and started dancing around the living room, the invisible beat infecting his very soul. She managed to pick up the tune and started singing along, which earned them both an unsavoury look from a rudely awakened Angel.
Finishing the song with a flourish, Reiver was huffing and panting as the sudden burst of exercise caught up with him. He looked over at Fluttershy who was softly applauding and he couldn’t help but smile in happiness.
“Thanks,” he said. “You were great too, how did you pick up the song like that?”
“I love to sing, I do it with my animal friends all the time. The birdies just love it when we all sing together; we were even asked to perform at the Royal Wedding in Canterlot.”
She gave an adorable squee and Reiver was certain he might die from the ensuring cuteness.
“I bet the other ponies love to hear your voice,” he replied.
“Ummm, actually…” Fluttershy’s confidence again disappeared and she muttered something that Reiver couldn't hear clearly.
“Pardon?” he asked
“…..”
“Sorry, I didn’t hear that either,”
“….”
“Just a bit louder please.”
Fluttershy took a deep breath.
“I…have stage fright,” she finally replied, hiding back behind her mane.
“But…you just sang with me, and you said you sang at the Royal Wedding?”
“Oh…well, it’s okay when there’s just one or two ponies I’m comfortable with, and the wedding…I really just conducted the choir, I didn’t actually…sing.”
“So…you’re comfortable singing around me? A colt you barely know.”
“Applejack asked be to help you feel better,” she replied. “I help my animal friends feel better however I can, and if singing makes you feel better, then I don’t mind at all. Besides, I babysit the Cutie Mark Crusaders, it’s helped me get used to being around younger ponies.”
“If you can survive them I can see why you wouldn’t be nervous around me, being here must be easy compared to what they get up to.”
“They’re not that bad…at least when I’m around,”
The two ponies giggled as they recalled their own experiences of the CMC.
“Would you like to keep practicing?” asked Fluttershy, gesturing to the pencil.
“Actually…could we sing a bit more?” asked Reiver. “I used to sing with my mum until…well I haven’t had a good singing partner for a long time.”
Fluttershy picked up on pause in his speech, but decided not to pry, he was so happy and she didn’t want to spoil it.
“Okay, do you have any songs you like?”
Reiver racked his brains for a moment before he remembered something they both knew the words for, taking a deep breath he hummed the opening bars before launching into the first verse.
“Trot outside and you see the sunshine Something's in the air today Sky is clear and you're feelin' so fine Everything's gonna be a-okay!”
Fluttershys face lit up, this was one of her favourites and she joined in without a moment’s hesitation.
“If you listen carefully On every corner there's a rhythm playing Then it happens suddenly The music takes you over and you'll Find you’ve got the music Got the music in you Find you've got the music Got the music in you!”
Unknown to the two ponies, Applejack had returned to collect more baskets from the barn. Deciding to check on Reiver, she was passing by the living room window when she heard the singing from inside. Peeking through the glass, she was treated to the sight of Reiver standing on the coffee table, singing along with Fluttershy. She even caught a glimpse of Angel bunny angrily trying to bury his head in the sofa pillows.
With a smile she ducked back down and headed back out into the fields.
Later that evening, the Apple family returned home, glowing in the satisfaction of a job well done.
“Yeehaw!” Exclaimed Applejack. “Good job everypony, I reckon we got the harvest in lickedy split!”
“Eeyup,” chipped Big Macintosh.
“Good thing too,” said Granny Smith. “Those clouds look ready to give us the blizzard of the century.”
Indeed, the grey clouds still hung ominously over Ponyville like a thick blanket, somehow managing to get even darker throughout the course of the day.
“At least everything’s done now,” said Apple Bloom, exhausted. “I don’t think I could take another day of apple bucking.”
“Really, I’m still raring to go,” replied Applejack.
“That’s because you’ve been apple bucking since before Pa and I could teach ya,” replied Granny Smith with a grin. “But Apple Blooms getting better all the time, saw her nearly clear a few of the bigger trees myself, she’s setting herself up to be a great apple bucker.”
“She sure is,” replied Applejack, ruffling her sisters’ mane affectionately.
Reaching the farmhouse, Applejack pushed open the front door and found Fluttershy reading a book on the living room sofa. Angel Bunny was curled up against the Pegasus’ barrel, fast asleep.
“Howdy Fluttershy,”
“Welcome back Applejack, did you get all your work done?”
“Yup, couldn’t have asked for a better team,” she replied, gesturing to her family as they filed through the door behind her. “Was Reiver okay?” she asked, already knowing the answer.
“Oh, I think we got on well,” replied Fluttershy with a small smile. “He’s sleeping upstairs, poor little guy tired himself out.”
“Singing will do that to ya,” replied Applejack with a wink, causing the Pegasus to let out a small ‘eep’.
“It’s okay Fluttershy, ya’ll got an amazing voice, and I’m happy it helped Reiver feel better.”
“Yes…he was much happier when we were singing. Did you know he likes the Ponytones?”
“Didn’t know that,” replied Applejack. “Hey! Big Mac, apparently Reivers a fan of yours!
“So I hear,” replied the stallion, popping his head around the kitchen door. “Maybe I can get Rarity to arrange it so he can come see us rehearse, bet that would make his day.”
“I’m sure it would,” replied Applejack. “Maybe Fluttershy can come as well, just to keep an eye on him.”
Fluttershy immediately flushed a deep red.
“Oh,ummm,my…I really, if it wouldn’t be…too much, I don’t want to be a burden,” she stammered.
“It’s no trouble at all, right Big Mac?”
The stallion in question was now even redder, the blush amplifying his crimson coat while he attempted to stammer out his own answer.
“Then it’s settled,” replied Applejack. “Maybe ya’ll would like ta stay for dinner?”
At this statement, Angel Bunny, roused from his nap by the assorted ponies, drummed his foot against Fluttershy’s Barrel, causing her to look down at her pet, who was rapidly shaking his head and pretending to check a watch.
“I’m sorry Applejack,” said Fluttershy, getting to her hooves. “But Angel’s right, I need to get back and feed the animals, but thank you for the offer.”
As the Pegasus gathered her things, she noticed a scrap of paper sticking out from underneath her picnic basket. Moving it, she saw it was a crudely drawn card that showed herself and Reiver singing together. In shaky letters the words “THANK YOU”, were scrawled at the top of the page.
“I think you made an impression on him,” said Applejack as she spied the card.
“I guess I did,” replied Fluttershy with a smile of her own. “He’s a wonderful colt Applejack,”
“I know,” sighed Applejack. “I just wish the harvest hadn’t been taking up so much of my time. I ain't seen much of him since Winona and I showed him our rodeo tricks.”
Then she brightened.
“But now, the harvest is done and I should have some more free time to help him. I think I’ll show him some more tricks Winona and I performed on the rodeo circuit.”
“I’m sure he’d like that,” replied Fluttershy. “I’m glad I could help Applejack.”
“Me too sugarcube.”
The two shared a hug before Fluttershy said farewell to the Apple family and headed back home, Angel riding inside the empty picnic basket.
While the Apples started preparing their dinner, Reiver slept on, the quiet of the bedroom broken only by his soft snores. The door was slightly ajar and a shaft of light speared its way in from the hall, highlighting the specks of dust that gently danced through the air. Whirling around in an invisible gust of wind, they eventually coalesced into a ghostly, but familiar, figure, who cautiously checked the hallway before turning to the sleeping colt.
“That was quite the show,” said Bedlam. “I don’t think you’ve sung like that since mum died, I’m sure if you were awake you would have made the card yourself.”
Sitting by the foot of the bed, the strange creature faced the door and lifted a hoof towards some of the pencils that were still scattered on the floor from that morning. After a moment, one of them began to unsteadily rise into the air and float towards him.
“I’ll have to practise a bit more before I get this down, we’re just lucky I spied on a few of your lessons with Cheerilee. It’s funny, but I didn’t know I could affect solid objects, I thought I was restricted to pictures. I wonder what else I’m capable of?”
Making sure he was out of sight, Bedlam started to practise levitating objects, all the while Reiver slept on, unaware that he wasn’t the only one getting stronger.
Twilight yawned as she descended the stairs to the library floor. After a long night of research and study, she felt the pleasant exhaustion of progress. Her research into the Everfree Forest and the strange weather they had been experiencing lately was finally bearing fruit. She just needed to write up her findings, and then she could give her full report to Princess Celestia.
Her analysis of the readings she had taken indicated there was definitely a correlation between the massive build-up of wild magic currently taking place within the Everfree forest and the unusually cold weather that Ponyville was experiencing. As there was nothing to indicate anything within the forest was the cause, it backed up her suspicions that an outside force was responsible.
It was some nights ago that she had her breakthrough. While staring at the stars through her window, she realised that several were out of their normal alignment. After confirming this with her star charts and penning a short letter to Princess Luna (Spike had not been pleased about that), she now knew that the planets were shifting into a rare alignment. With such events known to affect magical locations and artefacts in sometimes extreme ways, she believed that the wild magic build-up and strange weather were the result of this occurrence.
She was curious to see if previous events had similar effects on Equestria’s weather and was going to go back over her journals and books to give her some idea how to prepare for what was to come. Her instruments showed that the ambient magic was still increasing, and that, if this continued, they might end up with a Storm of Magic on their hooves.
Yawning again, she made her way into the kitchen and fired up the percolator, rewarding herself minutes later with a fresh cup of coffee that she sipped gratefully. Returning to the library, she prepared to start work for the day. She needed to order some new books, and a few older ones had to be sent off for repair. This inevitably meant a mountain of paperwork, but she was nothing if not efficient, having already sorted the various forms into the appropriate piles. Overall, she predicted it would take about ten minutes to have them completed, after which she could get back to examining the artefacts recovered from the forest. She was especially keen to try and communicate with Siri once again.
Passing by a line of bookshelves, she gave them a cursory glance, only to completely stop in her tracks. The middle shelves closest to her were coated in thick, black ooze that was running down from about halfway up one of the library’s larger bookcases. It coated everything underneath right down to the floor.
As Twilight looked in dawning horror at the mess of ruined books, she spied the source of the ooze and immediately recognised it as the teleportation manual she had put away a few days earlier. Using her magic to extract it from the shelf with a disgusting squelch, she stared as the black liquid seeped out from between its pages, splatting on the floor in thick globules. Examining the book up close, she tentatively sniffed it for any sort of aroma and immediately recognised the familiar smell.
“Ink?” she questioned, before doing the only thing that came to mind.
“SPIKE!”
In seconds, the young drake stumbled out the bedroom and down the stairs, still wrapped in his blanket. He might have untangled himself given more time, but he had heard that yell often enough to know what it meant. Twilight was about to have one of her ‘little moments.’
“I’m here, Twilight. Are we out of parchment and quills again?”
“No, but have you seen this?” she replied, indicating the book.
Finally extricating himself from the blankets, Spike looked up at the book, his eyes widening in surprise. His gaze was then drawn up the shelf to where the ink was oozing down to the floor.
“What happened?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” replied Twilight. “I came downstairs after a long night of research to discover this book was leaking ink down the shelves. At least a dozen others have got to be ruined by this; we have to find out what happened. Was this somepony’s idea of a prank? Some kind of joke? Because if it is then It’s. Not. Funny!”
Spike swallowed nervously. Twilight was liable to go into full freak out mode at the sight of so much destroyed knowledge. He had to choose his next words carefully.
“Twilight,” he replied, “we can worry about whether this is somepony’s idea of a joke later. Right now, we need to clean this up before it permanently marks the shelves and ruins any more books.”
The idea of more ruined books was enough to make Twilight pause. Raising a hoof to her chest, she took a deep breath, stretching it out as she exhaled. Spike recognised it as the calming technique that Princess Cadance had taught her.
“You feeling better?” he asked nervously.
“A little,” she replied. “Sorry, Spike. I know I can overreact to situations like this sometimes.”
“Sometimes?” he replied sceptically.
“Okay, maybe more than that,” she said sheepishly.
“Just, think before you act, okay?” said Spike.
Reassuring Spike that was exactly what she would do, Twilight gingerly pulled the book open with her magic to look for signs of a prank, maybe an ink pouch or some kind of spell that had made the text run. Unfortunately, there was nothing inside the ruined pages, and even her detection spell turned up nothing that suggested foul play.
She thought back to see if she could remember anything relevant from the last few days that might indicate what had happened. She remembered that the Cutie Mark Crusaders had been leaving the library the same day she found the book on the floor. While she liked to think they were well behaved fillies, she was also aware of the amount of accidental trouble they got into with their ‘crusading.’ Perhaps this book was the result of one such crusade.
“Spike, what were the Cutie Mark Crusaders doing here the other day?”
“They were doing some research.They wanted to get Time Travel Cutie Marks this time,” replied Spike. He had retrieved a mop and bucket as well as a variety of cleaning supplies while Twilight was examining the book.
“Time Travel?” she repeated nervously.
“Yeah, they wanted to look up things they might see.”
“Spike, do you think this could be a side effect?” she suggested, gesturing at the black mess. “What if they managed to break the fabric of reality? This could be the beginning of something catastrophic! What if the walls start to melt as time fold inwards and we are all dragged into a dark oblivion!” She waved her hooves wildly in panic.
“TWILIGHT!” snapped Spike. “You of all ponies should know they can’t actually time travel without Star Swirl's spell. I suppose they could do something like enlist Discord, but he’s currently off surfing in the Gallopagos.”
“…really?”
“Yes, Fluttershy mentioned it yesterday when she returned a book on grooming.”
While Spike set about cleaning up the ink, Twilight was forced to concede his point. As much trouble as Applebloom and her friends could get into at times, even they couldn’t do something like time travel without Star Swirl’s coveted spell or help from the Spirit of Chaos.
With her mind at ease for the moment, she began using her magic to encase the ink-stained books in bubbles so she could pull them free without creating any more mess. With the two of them working together, it only took a few minutes to clean the shelves and dispose of the ruined books. Once that was done, Twilight went upstairs to collect the forms she needed to order replacement books. Meanwhile, Spike was left to put away the cleaning supplies. He had just finished stacking them neatly when her voice called down to him.
“Spike, have you seen the wooden box from the crash site?”
“Isn’t it with the rest of the artefacts?” he replied, heading upstairs.
“No, it’s not.”
As he entered Twilight’s room, Spike’s gaze moved over to the nearby table, where Twilight had the artefacts all laid out neatly so she could properly observe and catalogue them according to her own system. He could see the book, Siri, the coins and the bottle of plant extract. But the box was nowhere to be found.
“I thought I had it with the other artefacts,” she said. “Could you please help me see if it fell out somewhere?”
She started levitating the furniture with her magic as she searched for the wayward artefact, with Spike checking among her books and other equipment. However, what started as a slow and methodical search grew increasingly frantic as it expanded from Twilight’s room to the library floor and even the basement.
“It’s not here! What if somepony opens it? We don’t know what’s inside!”
“TWILIGHT!” snapped Spike for the second time that morning. “Calm down! We don’t want another ‘Smarty Pants’ incident!”
The mere mention of the infamous moment forced its way through the haze of panic. Twilight took a calming breath.
“Okay, if the box is not here,” she said, “where is the last place we saw it?”
She thought back. When she had initially secured the artefacts in her room she had not been paying full attention, as her research into the Everfree Forest was taking up much of her time. In fact, the last time she could say for certain she had seen the box was when they had been at Sweet Apple Acres.
“I must have left it at Applejack’s when she asked us to look after Reiver.”
“That was days ago,” replied Spike. “Wouldn’t she have found it by now?”
“Maybe not. Between Reiver and the sudden frost, she’s probably rushed off her hooves. Even with her family lending a hoof, she might not have noticed something that small. I’m going to head over and take a look. If it is there, let’s hope Apple Bloom didn’t find it first.”
Preparing a teleport spell, Twilight stepped into a clear part of the library, and disappeared with a flash of lavender light.
Reiver was working through some exercises for Cheerilee when he heard raised voices from downstairs. Curious, he slipped quietly into the corridor and snuck to the top of the staircase. He immediately recognised the voices of Twilight Sparkle and Applejack, the latter trying to calm her friend.
“Twilight, I swear I’ve not found anything since y’all were here last.”
“Are you sure? It’s only a small wooden box; you might have picked it up and forgotten about it.”
“I thought we would have more time,” Reiver muttered.
“You and me both, mate,” replied Bedlam as he appeared along the opposite wall. “So, what are we gonna do?”
“I said I would explain on my terms when she found out,” sighed Reiver. “I’m not quite sure how to do this.”
“Well, if you need me, I’m going to hide until this blows over.”
“What?! You said we were in this together!”
“I know, but that was before I realised I have a secret pocket dimension. See ya!”
With that, he vanished in a swirl of colour, leaving Reiver alone and angrily cursing the strange creature. As he listened to the back and forth between the two ponies downstairs, his mind raced through as many excuses as he could think of.
“I could always lie. Tell her I didn’t know what it was, that might work… No. I’ve put this off as long as possible and I can’t do it any longer.”
His ears pricked at the sound of hoofsteps as Applejack’s voice faded. She had probably gone into the kitchen. If he was going to make a move, it would have to be now.
Taking a deep breath, he descended to the living room. Twilight was seated at the coffee table, doing a breathing exercise. He had to get her away from Applejack, somewhere they wouldn’t be disturbed.
“Twilight?” he said, faking a yawn. “What’s going on? I heard voices.”
“Reiver?” she replied, surprised at his sudden appearance. “I’m sorry, did we wake you?”
“Is that Reiver?” asked Applejack from the kitchen.
“Yeah Applejack, it’s me.”
“Sorry we disturbed you. I’m just making some drinks; y’all want anything?”
“No thanks,” he replied.
“So, what were you yelling about?” he asked Twilight.
“I’ve lost something,” she told him. “I think I left it here when I came over with Spike.”
“Huh…” he said, pretending to think.
“You might have seen it,” she continued. “It’s a small wooden box-”
“-with symbols and funny writing on it?” he finished.
“You’ve seen it? Do you know where it is?!”
“It’s upstairs-” Reiver didn’t even have time to finish as Twilight bolted up the staircase.
“-in my room…”
“I take it you found what she was after?” asked Applejack as she returned with a tray of drinks.
“Uh, yeah. She kinda ran off before I could finish speaking.”
“You better get after her. She sometimes gets a mite obsessed over things like this.”
“I noticed.”
Ascending the stairs, Reiver hoped that he hadn’t just sent Twilight into a full-on freak out. Reaching the top, he found her wildly pulling towels out of the linen cupboard with her magic.
“Uh, Twilight?” he said cautiously. “It’s not in there. If you come to my room, I’ll get it for you.”
Anxious to retrieve what could possibly be a dangerous artefact, Twilight followed him into his room. She noticed the workbooks from Cheerilee laid out on the floor, along with several sheets of paper. They showed his shaky hoofwriting had started to improve.
The door clicked shut behind her, and she turned to face the colt. He had sat down in front of it, and she noticed that he was taking deep breaths, as if to keep himself in a state of calm.
“Reiver?” she asked, her anxiety over the missing box briefly forgotten. “Are you alright?”
“…No,” he replied quietly. “I’m scared, Twilight.”
“Scared? Why?”
“Because you’re the most powerful unicorn in existence, and I don’t know how you’re going to react when I tell you this.”
He produced the wooden box from his jacket pocket.
“You didn’t lose it, Twilight. I stole it from you.”
“What?” she exclaimed. “Why? You have no idea what this is! It could be dangerous! Why on Equestria would you steal it?”
“It’s all I’ve got left of my mum!”
Her mind screeched to a halt.
“She gave this to me the day before she died,” he continued. “I should have known something was wrong; she never parted from this thing under any circumstances. I should have said something, suspected something. But I didn’t…I could have saved her… if I had known.”
He blinked away his tears and took a deep breath.
“I lost it…while I was in the forest. When I got a glimpse of it that day you were over, I had to have it back. The writing is not some kind of curse or spell. It’s a language called Latin and it means ‘Virtue Alone Ennobles.’”
Twilight was silent as the gears of her mind started to turn. Reiver had just claimed the box was his. More than that in fact, that it was the last memento he had of his mother. But she had found it inside the wrecked vehicle. Its contents were alien to her and Equestria as a whole. From the signs at the crash site, she had estimated it to have been abandoned for at least a month, as vegetation was starting to reclaim the area around it.
She recalled when she saw the state of Reiver’s body during his collapse. Nurse Redheart had her fill out a report for his file, and she had estimated he must have been living rough for at least one month to reach that state of malnourishment. Reiver had also never fully stated where he was originally from. She had thought it was because he was a runaway who didn’t want to go back to his neglectful father, but now…
Reiver had been sitting quietly while she thought, watching as she made the connections. It was clear he had her interest. However, there was still that element of doubt in her mind that had to be overcome. He just had to think of how to do it.
Thankfully, she did it for him. Twilight knew that wild magic saturated everything at the crash site. The vehicle, artefacts and even the clearing had all absorbed it to some degree. If Reiver had been present, then he would show signs of it as well. Lighting her horn, she cast a detection spell.
At the sight of Twilight’s horn igniting, Reiver braced himself for the worst- only to be surprised when nothing happened, at least visibly. To Twilight, the box and Reiver both glowed with wild magic, the colt even more so than she had expected.
“You…” she said, finally seeing him for what he really was. “You were in that vehicle?”
“Yes. It’s called a car, and I was driving it.”
“How? You’re barely older than Apple Bloom.”
“Something happened to me when I arrived,” he replied. “I don’t know what it was. But the last thing I remember is hitting a tree and then waking up like this.”
“But… why hide?”
“Would you have believed a colt if he ran up to you and said he was an alien from another world?” he replied.
“…probably,” she said with a blush, to which Reiver raised a sceptical eyebrow.
“So, why are you telling me this now?”
“I knew you would notice that the box was gone, which meant I could use any search you undertook to take you somewhere private and tell you the truth on my own terms. If you found out some other way, then it could lead to all sorts of complications that would end with you hooking me up to some machine in your basement.”
“I would never do that,” she protested. Reiver gave her a suspicious look, knowing full well she had said machine in her basement.
“At least, not for long…” she relented. “So… how did you get to Equestria?”
“I… honestly don’t know,” he said, sighing. “I was caught in some kind of storm. It literally sucked my car off the road and into the sky. I remember falling and tumbling over and over in this weird rainbow of colours before slamming into that blasted tree.”
Twilight dearly wished she had her notepad and quill. Here she was, actually talking to a real live alien from another world. The opportunity to learn so much had her listening to Reiver with rapt attention.
“Twilight, I want to offer you a deal,” he continued. “I will answer any and all questions about the objects you have from my car and about my world. In return, you must keep the truth about me secret from everypony. Even Princess Celestia. Please, I don’t want to become some freak in a lab or hospital for ponies to poke and prod.” He shuddered a little at the last part. “You saved my life, Twilight. I trust you. Please don’t make me regret it.”
Twilight thought for a moment. The idea of learning about an alien world had her tingling with excitement, but keeping it from Princess Celestia made her pause. Something like this was groundbreaking and deserved her attention. But Reiver had been slow to trust anypony up until his collapse, and if she told anypony, there was a great risk of breaking that trust. She remembered the state he had been in when they had first met. If he ran off again, there was the possibility that something serious could happen to him, something he might not survive.
Then there was Applejack. She had been so afraid for his life she had galloped across Ponyville in the middle of the night to get help. She had insisted to Nurse Redheart that she be the one to take care of him. Big Macintosh had told Twilight that she was always asking about how Reiver was doing when she was in the fields, and how she wished she could spend more time getting to know him after their first conversation. It was obvious that she cared for Reiver like her own kin.
Finally, there was also her own involvement. She had helped when he was sick and continued to look after him when Applejack requested it. The colt was rapidly becoming part of their lives, and she found herself caring about him and his fate. If keeping him safe meant she had to keep him a secret from her mentor, then so be it.
“Alright,” she replied. “I’ll keep your secret. But you have to answer me one thing. Does Applejack know about you?”
“No… just the Cutie Mark Crusaders-”
“What?!” she exclaimed. “How could those girls know?”
“Apple Bloom found out by accident,” he protested. “I could only get her to be quiet if I brought the other Crusaders on board. But getting back on topic… do we have a deal?”
“Fine,” muttered Twilight, clearly sore that the Crusaders knew the truth before she did.
“Thank you,” he replied.
“Just don’t tell them anything else before me.”
“Can do,” he said with a smile.
“Good. Now how about you join Applejack and me for some drinks. Then you can tell me how to properly operate Siri.”
Reiver smiled in amusement as Twilight left. If she thought Siri was impressive, he would definitely 'wow' her with the other apps he had installed.
“Well, that went well.” Bedlam’s voice cut through his thoughts.
“Sometimes I wonder if you just show up for key events in my life,” he sighed.
“Listen… thanks for not mentioning me.”
“She will have to know about you eventually,” he replied. “But you never crossed my mind during the conversation. In hindsight, it might have made my story seem outlandish.”
“Yeah, because being an alien from another world in a fairy tale land of cartoon horses and magical princesses wasn’t that strange to begin with.”
Reiver just laughed.
“This is Ponyville,” he said. “For them, this is classed as normal.”
With that, he headed after Twilight.
“Wish I could apologise for what I did just now,” muttered Bedlam. “There was a reason why I didn’t cross your mind.”
As the strange creature spoke, he was unaware that his eyes were glowing bright yellow- the same yellow that Reiver’s had been right before his collapse.
“After all, a little insurance is always worth it.”
Twilight and Reiver returned to the living room, the former's mind buzzing with questions. Applejack was sitting on the sofa waiting for them, a mug of cold cider in her hooves.
“Welcome back,” she said. “Glad to hear y’all found what you were looking for.”
“So am I,” replied Twilight. “Reiver was quite helpful.”
“It was no problem,” he replied, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.
Twilight took a seat on the sofa and drew over the mug of tea with her magic. Applejack shuffled over to let Reiver sit with them.
“How’s are Cheerilee's exercises coming along?” asked Applejack. Having looked after Apple Bloom for so long, she knew that foals sometimes needed a push to finish work.
“Slowly,” replied Reiver. “But it is helping my hoof control. I can just about manage to keep the pencil in place.”
“That’s good to hear, partner,” she said with a smile. “Are you still nursing that toothache of yours?”
Reiver winced. He’d had to tell her about his rotten tooth after it sent a spike of pain through his gums during dinner the previous night. She had scolded him for keeping it a secret for so long that it had become a problem.
“It’s not sore right now,” he replied.
“Good. I managed to get you an appointment with the dentist.”
Reiver's expression became apprehensive.
“Th..thanks,” he replied.
“Are you alright?” asked Twilight.
“Just…nervous,” he replied. “Dentists remind me too much of the doctor’s office.”
“We might need your help for this one Twilight,” said Applejack. “Reiver can’t go outdoors, but that tooth needs to come out. Would you be able to use your magic to get us to Colgate’s office and back?”
“Certainly,” she replied.
“Don’t worry partner,” said Applejack as she put a hoof around Reiver. “I know how y'all feel about doctors, so I’ll stay by your side for the whole thing.”
“Thanks, Applejack,” he replied, putting his hoof over hers.
Applejack gave him a reassuring squeeze and a smile and Reiver returned it. Something about her just made him feel safe. The group were interrupted by Big Macintosh pushing open the farmhouse door.
“Howdy, Twilight,” he said. “Didn’t expect to see you here.”
“Hi, Big Mac,” she replied. “I forgot something important when I was last over; I just came over to collect it.”
“Reiver helped her find it,” said Applejack, affectionately ruffling the colt's mane.
“Applejack,” he whined. “When did you get all touchy-feely?”
“Since you sat there in hoof's reach,” she replied. “After all, this is the first time I’ve been able to sit with you since Winona and I showed off.” She finished by rubbing his mane even harder, causing the colt to squirm in embarrassment.
“Sorry to interrupt,” said Big Mac, grinning at his sister’s antics, “but I need some help; you know, that big oak tree by the fence in the east field?”
“The one that’s as rotten as the Flim Flam brothers?”
“Eeyup, dang thing toppled over onto a cartload of apples while I was hitching myself up.”
“Sweet Celestia! Are you alright?” she exclaimed.
“Eeyup, can’t say the same for the cart. It’s been smashed to firewood and the apples are all squished. I need your help to shift the dang tree or the bugs living there will infest the whole field.”
“Sorry Big Mac, I’d like to help but I’m watching Reiver while Granny is in Canterlot for the day. Can’t you move it? Apple Bloom said you moved a house when she gave you that love poison.”
“I thought we agreed not to talk about that,” he muttered. “This is different, AJ. The thing’s too unwieldy to just lift. I need you to help me chop it into pieces that can be moved safely.”
“Maybe I could help,” Twilight blurted out.
Both Apple siblings suddenly looked at her as she awkwardly rubbed her neck.
“Well, if it’s that important,” said Twilight sheepishly, “I could watch Reiver while the two of you work.”
“Are you sure Twi?” said Applejack. “I wouldn’t want to impose on y'all.”
“It’s no problem at all,” she said with a dismissive wave of her hoof. “I just need a moment to get some things from the library. There’s some work I need to do today.”
Placing her tea down on the coffee table, she moved to a clear part of the room and teleported out in a flash of light. Applejack quickly chugged down her cider in several large gulps before turning to Reiver.
“This is a mite unexpected, so I’m asking you to be good for Twilight,” she said.
“I’ll be on my best behaviour, Applejack,” he replied. “Pinkie Promise.”
The farm pony chuckled as she gave his mane another ruffle.
“It’s nice to see you like this,” said Applejack.
“Like what?”
“Happy.”
Reiver couldn’t think of a response. Surely he hadn’t been that much of a sourpuss since his arrival. His thought processes were interrupted a moment later when Twilight Sparkle re-materialised in a pop of lavender light, now wearing a set of saddlebags.
“That was quick,” he said in astonishment.
“It is when a pony is as organised as I am.”
“Got everything y’all need Twilight?” said Big Macintosh.
“I think so,” she replied. “Now, you two get going. That tree won’t move itself.”
“Sure make our job easier if it would,” he replied. “Come on AJ.”
“I’ll see you two later tonight,” said Applejack. “Reiver, be good for Twilight.”
“I Pinkie Promised, didn’t I?” he replied.
With a brief wave from the two Apple ponies as they left, Reiver found himself alone with Twilight Sparkle. Emptying her saddlebags, he recognised a few items from his car, including the IPhone Twilight had referred to as ‘Siri’”. It took the unicorn a few moments to lay out the artefacts and parchment pages in an orderly manner on the coffee table. Alongside she placed several bottles of ink and a few quills.
“Now,” she said, uncorking a bottle. “I think I have enough material to record our conversation.”
“Definitely,” he replied. “So…what would you like to know?”
Twilight paused as a million questions ran through her mind. Should she ask about his culture? His people? What they ate? What they looked like? It reminded her of her first days as Celestia's pupil, so many questions and unsure where or even if she should start.
“Where are you from, really?” she asked, a quill and notepad at the ready. “What's your world like?”
“It’s called Earth. It’s not that different from Equestria. If you were to stand in a field or forest on Earth and then do the same here you wouldn’t see much difference.”
“What sort of magic do you use?” asked Twilight as she made notes.
“We...don’t use magic,” he replied. “We have no magic at all.”
“But, if you don’t have magic,” she replied. “How does something as advanced as Siri work? Anything this advanced must have a magical power source.”
“Siri is just a function. The device is actually called an IPhone,” he replied. “It runs off a battery. I thought you would have figured out that it ran on something other than magic.”
Twilight blushed in embarrassment.
“We have batteries and electricity, but they are quite large and don’t run anything like this, so I had dismissed it as a possibility.” she said
“What exactly is it?”
“It’s a phone,” replied Reiver.
“What?” she exclaimed. “It’s too small to be a phone.”
“But it is,” he replied. “It’s what we call a ‘smartphone.”
“How can a phone be smart?”
“I can show you, but I may need a little help.”
Taking a seat on the couch, Twilight levitated the IPhone into his hooves. She also pulled the blunted quill out of her bag for him to use. Doing his best to hold onto the damaged device, Reiver carefully took the blunted quill and started scrolling through the phone's applications. Opening the camera app, he took a photograph of her and showed it to Twilight.
“Amazing,” she muttered. “Cameras can be so bulky. This would let a pony carry one around in their saddlebags without any trouble at all.”
“Let me show you some pictures,” he replied. “They should help answer a few more questions.”
Using the quill, Reiver scrolled through his apps and opened the picture gallery. Reiver explained they were called ‘humans’ and, to Twilight, they resembled hairless apes. Although that might be a bit unfair as it was obvious they had some hair on their heads. A few images had it done into different styles so Twilight concluded this was their ‘mane’.
“This is me,” said Reiver as he opened another picture. “Or at least, how I’m meant to look.”
Twilight looked over at the tall creature in the photograph. It was kind of strange for her to see the colt's features in the mature face of this alien. His mane was cut in a shorter style and he was very pale. Reiver explained that this was his natural skin tone, describing how humans from hotter climates usually had darker skin. The image also had him wearing the ragged jacket that he had been found in, although it was in much better condition on his adult body.
“I can see what you meant earlier,” she said. “You definitely look a lot older in these.”
“I’m supposed to be twenty seven,” he replied “You wouldn’t happen to know what could have changed me into a colt?”
“I’m sorry, Reiver, I don’t,” replied Twilight. “But, there are spells that can artificially alter a pony's age. I’ll look into them for you and see if they can offer any clues.”
“Thank you,” he replied.
Returning their attention to the phone, Reiver pulled up another picture.
“What type of creature is that?” she asked, pointing to some sort of furry monkey. It was standing next to Reiver and had a coat of red and white with what appeared to be flames coming out of the top of its head.
Reiver laughed.
“That’s not a real creature, it’s a costume.”
“Really? It looks so real.”
“That’s what I said,” he replied. “It’s for a convention, people were dressing up as their favourite characters from fiction and just having fun.”
“Reminds me of when Dash went to that Daring Do launch event,” she replied smirking at the image of Dash hassling Rarity to finish her costume a month before the event.
“Did you go to many of these conventions?”
“Not as many as I would have liked,” he replied. “I had a poorly paying job so anything like this was a real effort for me to save for. I wanted to work in a museum or Heritage Site, do something that paid well, but would also be interesting and exciting. So, I studied long and hard for a degree in History.”
He sighed.
“I was confident that when I got my degree I could find any job I wanted in that field. Except everywhere I applied it was the same excuses. ‘Need more experience, not what we’re looking for, overqualified.’ So, after five years of unemployment, the only job I could get was stacking shelves. I had no prospects, long hours and a rude boss. It makes me wonder if that blasted degree was worth three years of study and over nine thousand pounds of debt.”
He slumped down, sad and depressed.
Twilight wrapped a hoof around his shoulders. From a pony perspective, it was like he had found his special talent, and then been denied the chance to use it. She felt a little guilty at bringing up these memories and decided to take his mind off it. Thankfully, she knew exactly what would cheer him up.
“You said you had a History degree? Would you tell me about the history of your world?”
His face brightened.
“Absolutely!” he exclaimed, practically leaping from the couch. “What do you want to know?”
So, Twilight asked and he talked. They went back and forth as he spoke about the ancient empires of his world. Places called Rome, Greece and Egypt. He spoke about the rise of new nations and leaders with names like Justinian, Richard and Saladin.
He went through ages of war and revolution, discovery and strife. He told her the story of the kingdom of Britain, and how it created an empire that spanned a quarter of his world. How a place called America fought for its independence and became one of his world’s most powerful nations. He spoke about two world wars that ended after the deaths of millions, and how his people swore ‘never again’. He told her how humanity pushed the boundaries of technology and skill to walk on the moon, explore the ocean floor, and discover cures and treatments for diseases that would have once been fatal.
In the course of her questioning, Twilight could see that Reiver had a great deal of knowledge. He didn’t know everything, and there were some questions he couldn’t answer. He admitted that he wanted to know more about the countries of ‘China’, ‘Japan’ and ‘India’. It was clear his knowledge was more focused in some areas; he knew the most about the place called Britain, and explained this was his home. By the end of Twilight’s questions, they had filled nearly all of her notepads and parchment. He had even drawn very rough maps and sketches of buildings and places he had described.
“Thanks, Twilight,” said Reiver, noticeably happier. “No one has asked me about history in years; it’s nice to talk to someone who is genuinely interested.”
“I can empathise,” she replied. “Sometimes I catch my friends zoning out if I get too technical. Unless I’m talking to Rainbow Dash about the Daring Do books.”
“Sounds like she’s quite the fan,” he replied with a smirk.
“You have no idea,” replied Twilight and the two shared a laugh.
“If I might ask, is there any magic on your world at all?”
“In all honesty, I couldn’t tell you,” he replied. “We have stories of magicians and powerful magic going back hundreds of years, but most will tell you that they are just that.”
He sighed wistfully.
“But there are some things on our world we can’t explain. I like to think Earth had magic once, that the stories of Merlin and Camelot are recollections of some distant time we have long since forgotten. That people were afraid of what they didn't understand, so they called it 'illogical' and pretended it didn't exist, and the world is just a little bit poorer for it."
“That’s a very short sighted way to look at things,” said Twilight. “Magic and logic are not so different from one another. Both form an integral part of life. The telephone was inspired after the spell for long distance communication. Even the steam train was created when a pegasus witnessed lava lizards using their magic to fuel great engines of power. Magic inspires and works in tandem with logic.”
“I think I once read something similar,” replied Reiver. “But from our perspective, we lived in a world that appeared supernatural and dangerous. So, at some point, it was decided to dispel these fears through knowledge and understanding. Magic became something of fiction, but despite this, it still inspires us. People read about Merlin performing great spells and sought to re-create them with science. There are even those who actively look for evidence of places like Camelot, because they believe them to have existed. Magic may be lost to us, but its legacy never disappeared.”
Twilight was silent as she scribbled some more notes.
“I take it this ‘Merlin’ you’ve mentioned twice now, is somepony of importance when talking about your world's magic?”
“Definitely, he’s a legendary wizard,” he replied. “I can tell you the whole story if you want; he is part of my country’s heritage.”
“Go right ahead,” replied Twilight as she readied another notepad.
Twilight listened in rapt attention as he told her the story. How he was a trusted friend to a young King called Arthur, who proved his right to rule by pulling the sword Excalibur from a stone. She paused to make notes as Reiver described the city of Camelot and how it was eventually brought low by the treacherous Mordred.
“Wow…” she said in awe as he finished the story. “Your world sounds fascinating.”
“It’s not perfect,” he replied. “But we are getting better.”
“If might ask, I am curious about that wooden box you have. You said it was precious, but would you mind telling me why?” Reiver pulled the box out of his pocket and held it gently in his hooves.
“…I could show you if I still had the key,” he said quietly.
“I can help with that,” he replied.
Calling on her magic, the unicorn cast a simple spell on the small padlock. With barely audible ‘click’, it opened.
“How do you keep out thieves?” asked Reiver, astonished at how easily her magic had handled the task.
“The key components of Equestrian locks have magic nulling properties. Since that isn’t an Equestrian lock, I deduced that it might not be made of the same materials.”
“That…makes a lot of sense,” he replied.
Opening the lid, Twilight got a good look at the inside of what she had been assuming was some sort of magical prison. Now she knew the truth, it seemed a little anticlimactic that the source of her stress was a keepsake box.
There were three small objects inside. The first was an expertly cut gemstone that reminded her of a Fire Ruby. The second was a silver cross with a small ring at the topmost point, indicating it had once been part of a necklace. However, the final item confused her a little. It was a plastic ring that resembled those unicorns sometimes wore on their horns, either for marital purposes or as a sign of status. It was a deep blue, with a symbol similar to a lantern embossed on the thickest part.
Reiver smiled sadly as he laid them on the table.
“This box has been in our family since my great grandmother,” he said. “It’s made from olive wood and it’s what my great grandfather used to present her wedding ring.”
Gently lifting the Silver Cross, he showed it to Twilight.
“My grandma took great comfort in her faith after she lost grandpa. She wore this cross as long as I can remember. Before she passed, she gave it to my mum along with the box. She said we should fill it with memories that give us comfort.”
Allowing Twilight to take the cross in her aura, he removed the gemstone heart.
“This was my mum’s wedding gift from dad… funny that there was a point when they were genuinely in love. She put in in here not long after he left. When I asked why, she told me that it was to lock away the good memories she had of him.”
He sniffed a little, tearing up as the memory of his mother surfaced again and Twilight laid a comforting hoof on his shoulders. Wiping his eyes, Reiver put down the heart and picked up the plastic ring.
“You’re going to laugh when I tell you why I put this in here,” he said. “I got this free with a comic book. In it, there was a group of heroes called Blue Lanterns that spread hope throughout the universe. They would always preach that ‘All will be well’ and there was something about that which struck a chord with me.”
He turned the ring over in a hoof before replacing it in the box.
“I put that ring in there to remind me that no matter how bad things get, eventually ‘all will be well’.
“Why would I laugh at something like that?” replied Twilight as she gently set the silver cross back inside the box. “To have something that makes you hope is actually quite beautiful.”
“It’s been difficult to do that lately,” he replied. “Since mum's passing, I’ve had very little to hope for.”
“Well, I think you have plenty to hope for,” she replied. “You may be far from home, but you couldn’t have been found by better ponies. Applejack's family is kind and generous and it sounds like you’re already friends with Apple Bloom and the Cutie Mark Crusaders. I’d say that if you have anything to hope for, it’s to keep making good friends like them.”
Reiver thought about what she said for a moment. A consequence of his military family meant he found it difficult to make friends, as they would just move away and he would never see them again. Back home, he tended to keep to himself. He usually saw people at conventions or events, but never really spoke to them once they were over. Since coming to Equestria, he had been in a position where he could actually make friends, and see them on a regular basis. He couldn’t go outside, but that didn’t mean they stopped visiting him. He lived with Apple Bloom and she was hanging out with him more and more since he told her the truth.
“I…never thought about it like that,” he said. “Thanks, Twilight.”
“Anytime,” she replied. Then she saw the piles of parchment that were spilled all over the floor.
“Would you mind helping clear up, we made quite the mess.”
“No problem,” he replied. “Twilight, would you mind keeping my things for the moment? I can’t exactly hide them here.”
“It would be my pleasure,” she replied. “It’ll make studying them easier.”
Rolling up the parchment, the two ponies packed them into Twilight's saddlebags along with Reiver's belongings. They were just finishing when the door was opened by Applejack.
“Whoo-wee, that tree was a stubborn as a mule,” she exclaimed.
“Welcome back,” said Twilight. “Did you manage to move the tree?”
“Eeyup” she replied. “Had to chop it into pieces before we could do anything, darn thing was just too big to move. Everything alright here while I was gone?”
“Just fine,” replied Twilight. “It turns out that history is one of Reiver’s favourite subjects, so we were having a discussion about it.”
“Well, you're living with history here,” replied Applejack with a smile. “The Apple Family helped build Ponyville from the ground up. Ask Granny about it; she’s got some stories that you won’t find in any history books.”
“Cool,” he replied. He knew about Ponyville's history from when he watched the cartoon. However, he was genuinely intrigued about talking to the mare that actually lived through the town's development.
“You want to stay for dinner Twi?” asked Applejack.
“Thanks for the offer but I have to get back to the library, Spike is probably wondering where I’ve been all day,” she replied.
“Thanks for listening Twilight,” said Reiver, hugging the unicorn's leg. “I haven’t had an opportunity to talk history like that in a while.”
“You’re welcome,” she replied, returning the hug. “I’ll see you both later.”
“Don’t be a stranger,” said Applejack.
Moving to a clear section of the floor, Twilight cast her teleportation spell and vanished with a POP.
“Sounds like you two got along like a caterpillar in an apple cart,” said Applejack with a grin.
“It was fun,” he replied before yawning. “I think it tired me out more than I thought.”
“It’s going to take me a while to cook dinner for the family, so why don’t you go lie down for a while?”
“Okay,” he said, heading back upstairs.
As he pulled himself into bed, Reiver felt a sense of relief. He had told Twilight Sparkle the truth, and had not immediately been confined to a basement laboratory. She had been willing to listen when he had fully expected her to go into a full blown freak out.
“Maybe, I should have given her more credit,” he muttered. “When she’s not obsessing over something, she can be quite level headed. I think I’ll talk to her again...she was...nice.”
He trailed off as exhaustion overtook him, and he slipped into a blissful slumber.
Reiver fidgeted nervously in the plastic seat, really wishing he still had thumbs to twiddle, if only to relieve the tension.
The waiting room of Ponyville’s dental practice was about what you would expect, plastic chairs, white walls, out of date magazines, and a carpet that had been out of fashion on earth for about thirty years.
He tried to focus on his breathing just like his therapist had taught him, visualising the fear nestling in the pit of his stomach as a gold mist before exhaling it and inhaling a blue smoke of calm. In, and out, in, and out, no matter how many times he repeated the exercise it did little to help him.
“You alright there, Reiver?”
Reiver looked up at Applejack, who sat to his left.
“Not really,” he replied. “I’m trying to stay calm, but this place reminds of a doctor’s office.”
Applejack took his hoof and gave it a reassuring squeeze.
“Don’t worry partner, I’m with you every step of the way.”
That thought actually comforted the colt. He had been nervous about this visit ever since he told Applejack about his toothache. That morning he had barely spoken a word as his phobia welled up from inside him. He had been tempted to run and hide when Twilight teleported in to take them to his appointment. It was only Applejack’s presence that kept him from having a full blown panic attack, as she kept reassuring him and holding his hoof when his fear got too much for him to bear. It reminded him of how his mother used to act when he got scared.
“When did Twilight say she would be back?” he asked nervously.
“After your appointment,” she replied. “Don’t worry, Colgate is the best dentist in Ponyville. You’ll be okay.”
Reiver just sighed, and tried to return to his breathing exercise. However, he was interrupted by a nurse poking her head around the door.
“Applejack, Reiver. Colgate will see you now,” she said.
“Time to go,” he muttered, reluctantly getting to his hooves. Applejack, seeing the colt’s reluctance, gently laid a reassuring hoof across his shoulders, and he tried to relax as they entered the examination room.
The room wasn’t that different from those on earth, it had a dentist’s chair, desk, and the instruments that might be required for a tooth extraction. Reiver rubbed his cheek nervously as he tried to remain calm. This was not a doctor’s office, it was a dentist. Applejack was here, and would not leave his side, he would be fine.
“If you would like to wait a moment, Colgate is just washing up before we start”, said the Nurse.
Looking across the room, Reiver saw the mare in question by a small sink, and was surprised to see that it wasn’t the pony he expected. The Colgate he was familiar with had a light blue coat and a dark blue mane with white streaks, giving the impression of toothpaste. This pony was completely different; her coat was white as snow, and her mane was toned in stripes of red, white and blue. Her cutie mark was a toothbrush crossed over a tube of toothpaste, set against a pearly white molar. She was wearing a set of blue scrubs and Reiver could see a horn poking out from her mane.
“Howdy Colgate,” said Applejack.
“Hello Applejack, it’s so nice to see you again,” replied Colgate. “I trust everything is going well at the farm?”
“Darn tootin,” she replied. “Thanks again for helping Big Mac the other day.”
“It was no problem, that type of wear and tear is typical of a farm pony. Just make sure he uses the grind guard when ploughing from now on.”
Colgate moved over to Reiver and lowered herself so they could speak eye to eye. She gave him a friendly smile as a way to set him at ease, but that just caused him to swallow nervously.
“You must be Reiver,” she said. “I’m Colgate, it’s nice to meet you.”
Reiver remained silent as he tried to hide behind Applejack.
“He’s afraid of doctors,” she explained. “This place is making him a bit nervous.”
“Ah,” replied Colgate. “Don’t worry Reiver, there’s nothing to be afraid of. I’m just going to take a look at your teeth.”
“And pull one out with a set of pliers,” Bedlam's voice echoed in Reiver's mind.
“Not helping”, he hissed angrily.
Taking a deep breath, he came out from behind Applejack and stood in front of Colgate.
“…hi,” he practically whispered, as all his energy was going into remaining calm.
“Hi,” she replied. “Applejack said you’re scared, it’s okay, everypony gets scared now and again. You don’t have anything to worry about; it’s just a simple operation. Once that tooth is out, you’ll feel much better.”
Reiver remained silent; he really didn’t want to be here.
“If you would like to take a seat, we can get started,” said Colgate, gesturing to the dentist’s chair that seemed to embody Reiver’s darkest nightmares. He swallowed hard, why couldn’t he keep a lid on his feelings? Back home he might still have been scared of the dentist, but at least he could control himself so that it didn’t interfere with his appointments, whereas right now he could feel himself shaking like a leaf in a storm. Maybe it had to do with his sudden change from man to colt, he simply didn’t have the maturity to keep his feelings in check anymore.
Right now it didn’t matter either way; he wasn’t going to leave until that rotten tooth was out. With a look up at Applejack, who smiled reassuringly, he took his seat in the dentist’s chair.
“Hold still now," said Colgate. "I'm going to use a spell to numb your lower jaw.”
She lit her horn and a white glow enveloped the affected area, Reiver felt all feeling leave it a moment later.
“It works wonders on little colts that are afraid of needles,” she replied.
Reiver just smiled nervously. He had to remain still, but that was like asking a puppy to stop chasing its tail. It wasn’t Applejack’s hoof touched his own that he felt even the slightest measure of calm.
“Don’t worry Partner; I’m right here with you.”
Reiver looked at her gratefully before turning back to Colgate, and paled at the sight of several dentistry tools in her magical grip.
“Okay then, open wide for me and we’ll have that tooth out lickety split.”
“I can’t do this,” he muttered.
“Don’t worry mate, I’ve got this,” replied Bedlam, before Reiver’s world went white.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Reiver was adrift in nowhere, he couldn't feel anything around him, just infinite nothing. No noise at all, yet there was a strange warmth that enveloped his body.
“Shhhh, it’s alright,” said a soft voice.
He knew that voice, there was no mistaking it or the love that it held. Opening his eyes, he looked up, and saw that he was in the arms of his mother.
“It’s okay,” she soothed. “You’re safe now.”
This had to be some sort of dream, but the colt knew that it couldn't be. It was definately her, the delicate features, the soft blue eyes, and the chestnut brown hair were unmistakable. She had her arms wrapped around the colt’s body in a comforting embrace, running her fingers along his back like she did when he was little, the tension he felt evaporating as the familiar action made him relax.
“This is a dream,” he said, finding his voice.
“What makes you say that sweetie?”
“Because I’m still a pony, because all around us is a white void…and because you died,” he sniffed. “You died because I didn’t do anything to save you.”
She sighed.
“It was always one of your best qualities, taking things to heart. It helped you grow into a man who wanted to help and inspire others. But it was always something of a weakness, wasn’t it?”
She gently caressed his cheek, wiping away a tear.
“Your confidence could get undermined so easily at times over the littlest of things, yet you always found a way to let it go and grow as a person. Please, don’t blame yourself for what happened to me.”
“But if I had just seen the signs, noticed that your depression was getting worse. I could have taken that blasted pill bottle and locked it away for good. I’m your son; I was supposed to look after you after dad…left.”
He started to cry, wrapping his hooves around his mother as he buried his face into her shoulder.
“My beautiful child, you did not fail me. I failed you.”
Reiver looked up at his mother, seeing the tears that brimmed in her eyes.
“I wanted to keep you from seeing me at my worst, so I buried it as deep as I could. There were nights I would cry over what your father did to us, sometimes I wouldn’t cry at all, I’d just think about if I had been a good enough wife? Had I offended him somehow? I went over a hundred scenarios and in the end, I just gave up.”
She pulled him close, and Reiver returned the gesture.
“I’m so sorry; I wasn’t in my right mind. Please, don’t blame yourself for my mistake.”
Reiver held his mother tightly in his hooves as she began to cry as well. The colt soon joined her as the weight of her confession hit him and in this strange white void, mother and son wept until they had no more tears to shed.
“I miss you,” croaked Reiver.
“I know,” she replied. “I miss you as well.”
“Is this where I wake up now?” he asked, looking up into her eyes.
“It is, I’m sorry,” she replied.
“I don’t want to wake up yet,” he sniffed.
“I know, but you have to.”
Reiver started to tear up again and threw himself against her as his vision started to go white once more.
Applejack pushed open the door to the waiting room, to find Twilight sitting on one of the chairs, her face buried in a magazine. She looked up as the two entered and saw Applejack was holding Reiver close, the colt was shaking and tear tracks scarred his face.
“Is everything alright?” she asked.
“No,” replied Applejack, seriously. “Twilight, get us home, now.”
Wordlessly, Twilight obeyed, and the three ponies vanished in a flash of lavender light.
Winona had been snoozing on the living room couch when she was startled by a flash and a POP. The collie yelped in surprise and bolted through the flap in the back door. If anypony had noticed, then they did not acknowledge it as both Applejack and Twilight were too focused on the shaking colt. His hooves remained tight around Applejack’s middle as she gently stroked his back in an effort to calm him down.
She gave Twilight a look that asked for some privacy and the unicorn excused herself to the kitchen, leaving her alone with Reiver. She held him in a comforting embrace, even as he buried his face in her chest and silently wept.
The two ponies remained like that until Applejack lost track of time. Twilight would poke her head in from the kitchen every so often to check on them, but she would always signal for her to leave. Reiver needed time to recover, and having two ponies crowd him might have made things worse.
“Shhhh…,” she soothed, running a hoof through his mane.
“I’m weak,” he finally said, voice barely above a whisper.
“You’re not,” she reassured.
“But I am,” he snapped. “I tried to stay calm, but that whole experience…”
He hugged Applejack tighter as he sought some form of comfort and security.
“It brought back too many memories, too many bad things, too many…I couldn’t save her Applejack, I should have seen the signs but I didn’t. How can I move on from that? I was her son, I should have protected her…I should have saved her…”
He started to cry softly into her chestfur once again, Applejack continuing to hold him while he worked out this latest bout of tears.
Reiver was a mess, the anaesthetic spell would at least ensure he wasn’t in any pain for a while, but that was small comfort for the farm pony. It seemed that the colt’s phobia had gotten the better of him while he was in the chair and she wished she could do more than just hold him, even though this was what he needed most right now. She tightened her grip on the colt in an effort to reassure him that she was there, that she would never leave
While she might have been outwardly calm, her mind was running a mile a minute. She knew from Big Mac that Reiver had found his mother's body, that event alone could traumatise anypony his age. But what she hadn’t expected was that, for somepony so young, he had recognised what had happened, and continued to blame himself for what happened, believing that he had failed in his role as a son.
A whine near the kitchen caught her attention, looking up, she saw Winona had returned and was cautiously peering around the door into the living room. Twilight had also reappeared and was gently restraining the collie with her magic, but Winona’s whines had become increasingly anxious. However, her appearance had also given Applejack an idea. Signalling to Twilight to release Winona, she opened a hoof and let her beloved pet run to the sobbing colt.
Reiver was a bit startled by the cold wet nose that pushed its way between himself and Applejack’s warm body. As the collie gently nuzzled against his face, using her tongue to try and lick away his tears, he did not push her away. Instead, he started hugging her like he had been doing to Applejack,.
“It’s been a long day for everypony,” said Applejack. “I think you could do with some rest.”
Reiver sniffed a little as he allowed himself to be led upstairs and tucked into bed, Winona jumping onto the mattress and settling down beside him. As the colt wrapped a hoof around his furry guardian, he felt Applejack place a soft kiss on his forehead.
“Good night,” she said.
“…night,” he said quietly.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Reiver awoke a few hours later to a dull ache in his jaw, he had expected it to hurt more than it did, but pony magic was clearly more effective than the most powerful painkiller.
He shifted under the bedcover as he snuggled into Winona, the dog’s warm body providing some comfort. He just wanted to forget the whole day, the...'vision', of his mother combined with his near freak out had left the colt feeling emotionally drained.
“You feeling okay there mate?” echoed Bedlam's voice.
“Not really,” he replied. “What did you do back there?”
“Something I thought would help,” said Bedlam. “I can’t tell you exactly ‘how’ it was done, I just wanted to do something, so I looked into your memories and…that happened.”
Reiver remained silent.
“So…was that really her, or was it you?”
“Heck no, that wasn't me, who do you take me for?” huffed Bedlam indignantly. “She’s my mother too you know…well, kind of, you know what I mean. I just wanted to help.”
“So, was it her?”
“I...don’t know,” he replied. “When I looked at your memories, it was like...something looked back. I couldn’t tell you what it was, only that it reached out and...took my place for a moment. All I can say for certain, is that it wasn’t me.”
Reiver remained silent for a moment.
“…sorry…I didn’t mean to upset you, and thanks.”
Bedlam sighed.
“Don’t mention it mate, get some rest, goodness knows I am.”
Reiver heard the strange entity yawn as his voice faded into nothing. Settling back into the mattress, the colt tried his best to go back to sleep, however, his rest was fitful at best. He tried his breathing technique and even snuggled closer to Winona, but it didn’t help as the events of today kept surfacing in his mind.
Tossing and turning for the best part of an hour, Reiver was shaken from his state by the door creaking open. Turning over, he saw Apple Bloom tentativley poking her head through the gap.
“Reiver?” she said, cautiously. “You okay?”
“No,” he replied.
“Oh…um...okay.”
She started to close the door.
“Wait!” he exclaimed, raising a hoof. “Could you please stay for a bit? I really don’t want to be alone right now.”
The farm filly nodded and the door was pushed slowly open to reveal that she wasn’t alone, her fellow crusaders stood by her with concerned looks.
“Applejack told us about your appointment,” said Scootaloo as they approached the bed. “Colgate really sucks, I swear she’s part mad scientist.”
“Maybe she’s just bored being a dentist,” suggested Apple Bloom.
“Can we talk about something else, please,” asked Reiver, just a little bit desperate.
“Sure,” replied Sweetie Belle. “What do you want to talk about?”
“Anything…” he replied. “School! How was school?”
“Great, we went on a nature hike!” replied Apple Bloom happily.
“Of course Diamond Tiara was complaining the whole time,” said Sweetie Belle.
“But did you see her reaction when that giant beetle got stuck in her hair, priceless,” added Scootaloo with a laugh.
“I know,” giggled Sweetie Belle. “The look on her face, it was hilarious!”
“She was all ‘AHHH, it’s going to eat my brains!”, said Scootaloo, uncannily impersonating the spoilt filly.”
The Cutie Mark Crusaders dissolved into fits of laughter, even Reiver cracked a smile.
“That must have kept her quiet for the rest of the trip,” he said.
“Meh, kinda,” replied Scootaloo. “It didn’t stop her complaining, but she did stick to the back of the class with Silver Spoon.”
“It’s funny, I never really liked hiking,” he replied.
“Why's that?” asked Apple Bloom.
“I’m just not the outdoors type,” he replied. “It also didn’t help that I was never very fit.”
“Maybe if you got out more, then you would get fitter.”
He gave her a deadpan look.
“I’m housebound right now, remember?”
“You know what I mean,” she replied, lightly swatting his shoulder. “When you’re all better you should go hiking with us,” she replied, “You might grow to love it.”
“I’m not saying I didn’t try, it’s just that my…my dad. He treated every outdoor activity like a military exercise. We went stomping for miles along obscure routes, through mud and twigs and things I would never want to step in given the choice.”
“That type of thing will happen on a hike,” replied Sweetie Belle.
“That’s not the point, these things are supposed to be fun, but he would not stop to rest, not show sympathy to exhaustion and he would constantly remind me that ‘if I got out of those useless books more often I would be able to make something of my life!’ Well I’m sorry; you can’t make me into something I’m not by forcing your interests on me, DAD!”
Reiver was huffing a little as finished his rant, and as his sense cleared he realized that he had not only stood up, but had been practically yelling at the Cutie Mark Crusaders, who looked taken aback by the scorn that laced his words. Even Winona was awake and looking at him with concern.
“Dude, calm down!” said Scootaloo. “You just got out of the dentist; I don’t want you going to the hospital because you busted a vein.” Reiver took a deep breath and slumped to the mattress.
“Sorry,” he replied.
“So…” ventured Apple Bloom cautiously. “I take it your daddy wasn’t that great.”
“You don’t know the half of it. He was never around for most of my life, always doing something to help that career of his. The few times that he was home were a nightmare. He never understood my interests and never cared about my dreams. I could never enjoy the smallest things without him mocking it or creating some kind of exercise.”
“But…you can’t have been with your dad all the time, what did you do when he wasn’t around?”
“Read, listen to music, I even used to write.”
“Really?” said Sweetie Belle. “What did you write?”
“Science Fiction, fantasy, I even did a few crime stories. But I prefer old fashioned adventures the most, where evil doers are thwarted by good guys who never give up. I may not have had a large fan base, but I am proud to say that people enjoyed my work.”
“That sounds awesome!” said Scootaloo excitedly. “Maybe you could write a story about us?”
“Yeah!” replied Apple Bloom. “We could be Cutie Mark Crusader Action Fillies!” She struck a dramatic pose, like the heroines in comic books.
Reiver smirked.
“Maybe, but aren’t you already the heroes of your own story?”
“You just had to make it cheesy didn’t you?” she deadpanned
They all laughed, Reiver’s mood having been brightened by the conversation.
“Speaking of books,” said Sweetie Belle. “We went to the library on our way home and had some more ideas about Bedlam.”
“Really?” he replied.
“Yup,” replied Scootaloo.
“After ruling out Changelings, Slendermane and generally evil creatures,” said Sweetie Belle.
“We started looking at good guys and made a list based on what we talked about last time,” continued Apple Bloom as she produced a roll of parchment.
Reiver gently took it from her hoof and unrolled it.
“Wow,” he said, scanning the list of creatures. “I didn’t think you three were this thorough.”
“It was SO boring,” groaned Scootaloo. “I’m just glad we didn’t get a cutie mark for list making.”
“Well, there’s a few we can rule out immediately,” he said, handing the list back to Apple Bloom. “Bedlam isn’t a physical being, so anything with a body is out.”
The farm filly took a pencil from the bedside desk and promptly scribbled out several names.
“I also learned recently, that he’s got a pocket dimension he can hide in.”
“Really?” said Scootaloo
“Yeah, so anything with reality bending powers is a possibility.”
Apple Bloom crossed out most of the list, reading the few names that remained.
“That’s definitely made this a bit easier,” she said. “I wish we could get Twilight to help, she’d have this figured out in a second.”
“Actually,” said Reiver, rubbing his neck sheepishly. “There's something I should tell you, Twilight already knows who I am.”
“What!” she exclaimed. “How?”
“She found some of my belongings in the Everfree Forest. I…kind of took one of them when she was watching me the other day.”
“And when she found out, she freaked out and you had to tell her to calm her down?” finished Scootaloo, already aware of how scary Twilight’s ‘freak outs’ could be.
“Something like that,” he replied. “I would have thought she told you herself, she did ask if anypony else knew and I had to tell her about you three.”
“We have school and crusading to do,” replied Sweetie Belle. “It’s not like we see Twilight on a regular basis every few weeks.”
“I should have guessed,” muttered Reiver. These ponies had lives outside of what he saw on the television, and in life, children don’t really hang out with grownups.
“So…did she say if she was going to do anything?” asked Sweetie Belle.
“She’s not going to report me to the Princess if that’s what you’re asking,” he replied. “She also doesn’t know about Bedlam and I’d like it kept that way for the moment. However, in return for her silence I have to help her understand my home and the belongings she found in the forest.”
“Hold on!” said Scootaloo. “Why does she get to know about your planet when we knew about you first?”
“Yeah,” replied Apple Bloom.
“You never asked,” he replied.
The three fillies deflated a little as they realised he was right.
“But, I can tell you about it now if you like?”
“That would be cool,” replied Sweetie Belle. “Does your world have ponies too?”
“How do you control the weather?”
“Do you ride everywhere in spaceships?”
Reiver chuckled a little as the fillies bombarded him with questions, this was going to be fun.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
As the Cutie Mark Crusader were leaning about earth, Applejack sat downstairs, apprehensively sipping a hot cup of tea. Twilight Sparkle sat next to her, having decided to remain with her friend until she felt everypony had calmed down sufficiently.
“Worried about Reiver?” asked Twilight.
“He did his best, but I think that trip took a lot out of him”, replied Applejack. “I’m glad I left Winona to keep an eye on him while he slept. I would have stayed with him myself if it weren’t for this darn weather threatening the crops.”
“Still, I wonder what could frighten a colt to such a degree?”
“Let’s not push him for an answer until he’s better. Frankly, this whole incident has gone and worn me out faster than a piece of cheap string. At least he won’t have to worry about that tooth any more, but I’m worried about the effect this will have on the poor guy.”
“If you don’t mind me saying, when he came out of the dentist it looked like he had been crying.”
“You don’t know the half of it Twi. It took a lot of effort to for him to calm down and get into the chair in the first place, but then Colgate went and brandished her tools at him like some sorta mad scientist. I expected him to start screaming to the high heavens, but instead he kinda…shut down.”
“Shut down?”
“He just, froze up, wouldn’t respond to anything except Colgate’s instructions. When she was pulling the tooth out the tears started, but he didn’t even sniffle, they just quietly rolled down his face like a river. It wasn’t until he got out the chair that he started acting normally again.”
“Foals are known for being more open with their emotions, it’s possible his mind was overwhelmed and that was its way of coping,” she suggested.
Applejack sighed.
“Hopefully seeing Apple Bloom and her friends will help. It’s nice to see them getting along after their ‘introduction’.”
Indeed it was, Twilight had overheard Apple Bloom and her friends talking about Reiver when they visited the library. From the sounds of it, he was helping them with one of their crusades, one that involved a lot of reading and research. It was nice to see them doing something that didn't involve inherent danger or explosive chemicals, yet she wished it hadn't taken an alien-turned-pony to do it.
From a psychological persepctive, she found it interesting that regardless of his apparent adult mind-set, Reiver was still a colt. He acted like a colt when around Spike and the Cutie Mark Crusaders, however, when she confronted him, he showed adult levels of maturity and understanding. Armed with this knowledge, along with what she knew from the Apples, it was clear that Reivers 'colt' was dominant in situation of excitement or stress. When he was calm, the 'adult' side took over, but it could never shake off the emotions and energy that came with being a child.
Which could mean that his recent experience might traumatise him like a child. Therefore, what he needed right now was some cheering up, and she knew just the pony for the job.
Usually there was some sort of background noise, Granny Smith cooking in the kitchen, Apple Bloom doing her homework down the hall, muffled conversations between Big Macintosh and Applejack from downstairs. It gave the place a warmth and comfort that put the human turned colt at ease.
But now it seemed like even the timbers of the farmhouse had fallen silent, and as he climbed out of bed he prepared himself for anything. Pushing open the bedroom door, its squeaky hinges echoing throughout the darkened hallway, Reiver looked around.
“Hello…Big Mac? Applejack?” he called out nervously. “Where is everypony?”
“Heck if I know,” replied Bedlam. “But this makes me feel uneasy.”
Mentally agreeing with the strange entity, Reiver cautiously made his way through the hall and down the stairs. Reaching the darkened living room, he called out once again.
“Hello?”
The lights suddenly flicked on as over a dozen voices yelled:
“Surprise!”
Blinded by the bright light and sudden noise, Reiver nearly jumped out of his skin as nearby cannon went off with a loud bang, showering him in confetti. The colt barely had time to recover his senses before a mass of pink pony completely took over his field of vision.
“Hi, I’m Pinkie Pie! You must be Reiver! Twilight told me about you! I can’t believe there was a new colt in Ponyville all this time and I never got to throw you a welcome party! But then Twilight told me you were sick and feeling down, so I decided to throw a welcome/get better/cheer up surprise party just for you! Were you surprised? Huh huh huh?”
“Uh…” Reiver hesitated as his brain tried to process the mass of syllables, and apparently slashes, that had just poured from the party pony’s lips. “…yes…” he finally finished.
“Yay!” cheered Pinkie. “I knew it would be a surprise! Pinkie Pie makes the most surprising surprises that ever surprised a surpriseee! But what’s the one thing better than a surprise? A Surprise PARTY!”
She punctuated that last statement by throwing her hooves dramatically into the air, which triggered two more bursts of confetti.
Reiver, slack jawed and bewildered, sat down, snapping back to reality when a familiar laugh reached his ears.
“Careful partner, you’ll start catching flies,” chuckled Applejack, gently closing Reivers mouth with a hoof.
“Does… she always have that much energy?” he slowly replied, his brain finally starting to shift into gear.
“Never known her not to,” she said with smile.
“Yepperoony,” interjected Pinkie. “I always have lots and lot and lots of energy, some ponies say it’s because I work at Sugarcube corner, but I don’t see what they’re talking about. All I do is the baking, but sometimes I like to try the cakes, cupcakes, eclairs, batter, sugar and frosting…creamy, creamy frosting…”
Reiver and Applejack shared a look as Pinkie Pie started to drool.
“Anywhooo,” she said, pushing thoughts of frosting to one side. “I hope you like the party. Twilight told me you’ve been so sick you haven’t been able to leave the house, and that made me sooo sad because it meant you must be sooo lonely, so I invited plenty of colts and fillies so you can make lots and lot and lots of friends!”
She gave a sweeping gesture at the party with this last declaration. Reiver could see that the living room’s furniture had been pushed against the walls, and it was decked out in balloons, banners and other party paraphernalia. Snacks, cakes and a bowl of apple punch lay out on several tables occupying the vacated space.
The room was also full of ponies, and, true to Pinkie’s word, most of them were foals around his age, his current age anyway. He quickly picked out the Cutie Mark Crusaders s underneath one of the tables; Sweetie Belle using her magic to slowly lift plates of snacks down to her friends.
He spied the lanky form of the Pegasus Featherweight, fluttering around with his camera while near the back, playing ‘Pin the Tail on the Pony”, were Snips and Snails, although it looked like they were trying to pin it on themselves instead of the picture.
Standing apart from the crowd he saw a pink filly in a tiara and a grey filly in glasses doing their best to stay out of the party, but not make it too obvious. He recognised them as Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, the ‘enemies’ of the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
Reiver had never been the most sociable of individuals; in fact, at this point he had definitely interacted with more ponies than people. It was a little overwhelming to think that most of these ponies had come here to see him, a complete stranger.
His thoughts were interrupted when a plate of was levitated under his nose, upon which was a piece of cake. Unusually for a Pinkie Pie Party, it hadn’t been decorated at all and it was thinly sliced.
Looking up, he saw that Twilight Sparkle had joined them, the confection held in her magic.
“Here,” she said. “A party’s no fun without cake.”
“But I can’t eat it,” he replied.
“Yes you can,” said Twilight with a smile. “I’ve spoken to Nurse Redheart, and based on your progress, she has decided you can move onto small, controlled portions. I’m afraid icing is still off the table and you’ll still have to drink water, but at least you won’t have to eat ‘mush’ anymore.”
“Hey now Twi, that’s prime Apple Family mush,” said Applejack, responding to the good natured insult.
As the two ponies shared a laugh, Reiver just stared at the plain cake that he had been offered, after eating applesauce for so long it might as well have been a four course meal.
“Go on, try it,” whispered Pinkie Pie conspiratorially.
“I can’t” he replied, sadly. “It looks delicious, really it does. But I’m allergic to gluten; this is going make me sick if I eat it.” “What!” exclaimed Twilight. “Why didn’t you say anything to me before?”
“Because I didn’t think it was relevant, I was eating applesauce and water. If I had known you would throw me a surprise party then I would have said something.”
“But then it wouldn’t have been a surprise!” said Pinkie Pie. “Everything about this party is a surprise, even the cakes. I made them all with my new flour that’s gluten free.”
“Wait, what?” stuttered Applejack. “How’d ya’ll know to do that?”
“Something triggered my Pinkie Sense a while back, and it made me think that something bad had just happened. Which meant there was a pony out there that couldn’t enjoy cake, so I got out my extra special flour and made cakes that anypony can enjoy!” replied Pinkie with a beaming smile.
Reiver looked down at the cake once again, processing what the party pony had said. Given what he knew, the ‘Pinkie Sense’ was worth trusting, and if that were still the case, it meant this cake was safe for him to eat. But he also knew that suffering an allergic reaction would definitely not help his recovery.
Lavender light enveloped the slice as Twilight scanned it with her magic.
“Pinkie is right,” she said. “I’m not picking up any traces of gluten or wheat; I think you should try it.”
Looking up, he saw the three looking at him expectantly as he debated the merits of an allergic reaction against actual food. Then his stomach growled hungrily, and he promptly devoured the cake with gusto, the sweet taste setting his taste buds alight after having nothing but apple sauce for so long.
“That was delicious!” he exclaimed, joyfully. “Can I have another one please?”
“Just one more,” replied Twilight, smirking. “You don’t want to make yourself ill.”
“Yeah,” chipped Pinkie Pie. “Cause if you eat too much then your tummy gets all, blech, ugh, blaaah!” she dramatically lurched around to emphasise her point. “Now, go have fun, I’m going see if everypony else is having fun, then we can all have fun together!”
With that, the perpetually bubbly party pony bounced off.
“Why don’t you and mingle while I get that slice of cake?” said Twilight.
“That sounds like a great idea,” he replied, handing the unicorn his plate and heading over to where he had seen the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
“Hi Reiver,” said Apple Bloom cheerfully as he approached. “How are you feeling?”
“Much better,” he replied happily. “Especially now I’m being moved onto solid foods. No more mush for me.”
“Hey, that’s quality Apple Family mush!” teased Apple Bloom.
“Applejack just said the same thing, I still think its mush though,” he deadpanned, and the group shared a giggle.
“So, are you guys still grounded?” he asked.
“Yeah,” sighed Scootaloo. “But Pinkie Pie persuaded our parents to let us come to the party. I think they gave in just to stop her from talking.”
“Given what I just experienced, it wouldn’t surprise me.”
“Hey, I’ve got an idea,” said Apple Bloom. “Since ya’ll have been stuck inside, you haven’t met any of our other friends. So, how about we introduce you?”
“Sure,” replied Reiver, having been cooped up with very little company for so long, he was actually looking forward to meeting other ponies.
Moving away from the table, the three fillies escorted Reiver through the throng as they went towards the other foals. As they approached, his ears pricked up at the sound of something he had not expected to hear in Equestria, at least outside of an arcade.
Eight Bit Video Game music.
Scanning the crowd, he spotted a foal with a brown coat sitting alone at a table. On his head was a beanie with a spinning propeller and in his hooves was a small device that reminded him of a Game Boy. From the intense look on his face, Reiver could see that he was completely engrossed in whatever he was playing.
Sweetie Belle must have also heard the music, because she started heading towards him almost as soon as Reiver made eye contact.
“Button,” she groaned. “You’re not just going to play that thing for the whole party are you?”
Reiver blinked in surprise, after the incident with Colgate he hadn’t expected somepony like Button Mash to match his fan given name. He knew that the character existed in the series, but beyond his physical appearance no one knew if that was his official name.
“Mgh,” mumbled Button. “Will…party…later…just got to, YEAH!”
He jumped up in elation, punching the air with a hoof as he did.
“Take THAT high score!”
He then seemed to take notice of unicorn filly.
“Oh, hey Sweetie how’s it going?”
Sweetie Belle facehoofed.
“Are you seriously just noticing me now?”
“No, wait, yes, wait, I mean…how long were you standing there?” he stammered nervously.
“Not long…this time.”
The colt groaned in frustration before slumping to the floor.
“Augh! I did it again!”
“Does that happen a lot?” Reiver whispered to Scootaloo.
“Oh yeah,” she replied. “One time, we tried getting his attention with trumpets, drums and a heavy metal guitar album; he didn’t even look up from his controller.”
“I’m sorry Sweetie Belle,” said Button, tearing up. “It’s just, this is the new Super Mareio and I wanted to beat that one level, then a few more, then mum said we had to come to the party and I just…kinda…” he trailed off, he gaze fixed on the floor.
Sweetie Belle sighed and sat by his side, draping a hoof over his shoulders.
“Button, I’m not mad, but you need to stop doing this.”
“I know,” he sighed. “But, it’s just that I don’t know anypony here and that made me nervous. You know I’m not the best at talking to other ponies.”
“I know,” she said. “But that why I’m here, to introduce you to new ponies.”
Button Mash lifted his head and saw Reiver standing between Scootaloo and Apple Bloom.
“This is Reiver,” said Sweetie Belle. “He’s new in Ponyville, and he doesn’t know many ponies”.”
“Hi there,” said Reiver.
“Uh…hi,” nervously replied the colt.
Reiver could see Button Mash was nervous and he found himself empathising with the colt. Moving around when he was younger meant he hadn’t socialised like a child would normally have. He used to get nervous around new people, and he still found himself getting anxious in social settings. So he decided to try something he had learned to help cope with such an event, pointing out a shared interest.
“I see you have a…is it a Joyboy?”
Button Mash gasped like Reiver had just committed some sort of felony.
“This isn’t just a Joyboy! It’s a Ninvento, limited edition, Platinum Joyboy!”
The colt’s excitement caused Reiver to inwardly grin; they were going to get along just fine.
“So, what were you playing?”
“Super Mareio! It’s this game where you run and jump through levels to rescue Prince Mushroom from an evil dragon lord!”
“Okay Button, enough geek talk,” interrupted Scootaloo. “We’ll be here all day if Reiver gets sucked into playing one of your games.”
“Although, I didn’t hear Sweetie complain about that time we spent an entire afternoon on Wonderbolt Derby,” replied Apple Bloom.
A blush bloomed on the unicorns cheeks.
“It…it was just really fun to play.”
“Sure it was,” said Scootaloo with a knowing look.
“How about ya’ll come along Button,” said Apple Bloom. “We’re introducing Reiver to some of our other friends.” “Uhh…I don’t know,” he replied, nervously.
“Please,” said Sweetie Belle. “I know you’re nervous around new ponies, but Reiver is really nice. It would mean a lot to me if you were part of this.”
She finished by taking one of Buttons’ hooves in her own, and Reiver saw the colts perpetually spinning beanie go into overdrive.
“S…sure Sweetie Belle,” he stammered.
“Great!” she exclaimed.
Reiver and the other fillies shared a chuckle as the blushing colt was enthusiastically pulled past them.
“So…do they like each other?” asked Reiver.
“Oh yeah,” said Scootloo. “They’re just too nervous to admit it out loud.”
“I find it kind of sweet,” said Apple Bloom.
“Meh,” replied Scootaloo. “I don’t really go in for these mushy feelings.”
As they followed Sweetie Belle towards another group of foals, Reiver and Apple Bloom saw a brown and white pinto pony in a pirate outfit attempting to show off his swashbuckling as he widely swung a plastic sword through the air. As Reiver recognised many of these ponies from the TV series, he wasn’t really surprised when the Crusaders introduced him to Pipsqueak, who boasted that he had been promoted after a great battle with the Equestrian Admiralty. Which Sweetie Belle clarified was just a massive water balloon fight they had around the Crusaders Clubhouse.
Featherweight was next, as he practically pushed his camera in front of the group as they spoke to Pipsqueak, the flash temporarily blinding them. Once the spots had cleared from their eyes, Scootaloo explained that photography was one of the pegasus’s hobbies, and Reiver spent a moment watching him flit back and forth between ponies as he looked for the best angles.
Scootaloo found Dinky Doo next and brought her over to the group. Speaking to her revealed that the unicorn wanted to study magic in Canterlot, and that she had been practicing a lot in preparation and she decided to demonstrate by levitating some punch out of the bowl in a liquid orb. However, the strain was too much for the filly’s magic and the spell broke, accidentally drenching the group in apple punch.
This got the attention of an adult unicorn, Sparkler, if Reiver recalled correctly. Dinky immediately started apologising frantically for what happened, however, instead of being angry like she had expected, Sparkler gently reassured Dinky that her magic would get stronger someday, before using her own power to dry them off.
As they went from pony to pony, Reiver looked around for Spike, rasoning that if Twilight were there then he would be as well. He finally spotted the little dragon munching happily on a bowl of jewels near Rarity, every so often shooting a lovesick look towards the alabaster mare. He seemed happy enough, and Reiver decided it might be best to leave him be for the moment.
With his attention elsewhere, he was surprised when the small Pegasus, Zipporwhill, whizzed up to them, rapidly introduced herself, then sped off to get some cookies, her frantic father vainly calling out that she should cut down on the sugar.
As the growing group of ponies chatted to one another, Twilight reappeared with his requested cake slice, causing many of the foals to break off and get their own sugary treats from the buffet. With Twilight following them to ensure they didn’t eat too much sugar, Reiver and the CMC found themselves alone for a moment.
“Having fun mate?” said Bedlam, manifesting discreetly in the shadows.
“You bet,” he replied, munching on the cake slice. “So where have you been?”
“Just feeling things through your mind and body,” he replied. “That cake is delicious by the way.”
“What do mean feeling things through him? That sounds really creepy,” said Scootaloo, as the Crusaders took notice of Bedlams appearance.
“Take it how you will mate, but he and I are linked and so I experience what he does.”
“Not vice versa?” queried Reiver.
Bedlam shook his head.
“Apparently not,” he replied. “Although I don’t want to try and force a connection.”
“Yeah, it might do something bad to us both if you do…” Reiver shuddered, unaware Bedlam was speaking from experience.
They continued eating and talking for a moment longer, with the Crusaders explaining they might have an idea about what Bedlam is, but they wanted to find out some more information first as it had to do with Moon Ponies.
Reiver was listening for the most part, but as they explained how Moon Ponies used light to appear and disappear, he found his mind wandering away from the topic.
“Bit for your thoughts?” said Apple Bloom.
“Sorry, Apple Bloom,” he replied. “It’s just that, looking around here, it’s occurred to me just how nice you and everypony I’ve met has been, even when I was trying to keep my distance.”
“It’s no big deal,” she replied. “Apples are some of the friendliest ponies around.”
“And Ponyville is the friendliest place in Equestria!” said Sweetie Belle.
“Which puts you in the friendliest place in this world,” finished Scootaloo.
They all grinned at Reiver, who returned a small smile of his own.
“Speaking of friends,” said Apple Bloom. “How about we go and get some food before everypony eats it all.”
Getting up, the foals headed off towards the buffet, where Dinky was once again levitating punch out of the bowl, although she was doing much better this time. As they left, unknown to them, Bedlam remained hidden in the shadows.
“I thought they’d never leave,” he sighed. “Now…where was I?”
He casually swept his gaze across the room and locked onto a house plant in the corner.
“Just a little bit now, not too much,” he muttered to himself.
Focusing on the plant, Bedlam reached out with, something he couldn’t quite identify, although it felt like he was pushing against a fabric pulled tight over a frame. As he applied pressure, he felt it slowly flex, and the plant began to slowly grown as a new green shoot emerged from the stem, before blooming into a deep red rose.
“Perfect,” he said to himself. “Now what else can I do?”
He scanned the room once again and settled on an unattended glass of punch.
“Okay, now let’s try this.”
Reaching out once again, he grasped the fabric and slowly twisted it to one side. He felt it pull taught once again, but as he kept twisting the liquid in the glass changed from golden yellow, to deep purple.
Releasing his grip, Bedlam watched as Snips and Snails wandered over to the glass and Snails took a sip, his expression immediately contorting into one of disgust as he reflectively spat it straight into the face of his companion.
“Hey! What was that for?” cried Snips.
“If you tasted that you would know,” coughed his companion.
Bedlam chuckled to himself as the two began to bicker; he had successfully changed the apple punch into sour grape juice.
“Whew,” he sighed, rubbing an ethereal hoof across his brow. “That one might have been too much, but it was so worth it.”
Bedlam took a moment to recover some of his energy, and as he looked out across the room for a target, he saw Reiver and his new friends enjoying themselves by the buffet table, Dinky had even managed to get the punch into glasses this time, although she looked exhausted from the effort.
However, as they were laughing and joking among themselves, Bedlam took notice of Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, who had apparently grown bored with staying out of the party, and were now making their way over to the group.
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the Cutie Mark Crybabies.”
The haughty tone cut through the air like a knife.
Reiver looked up from his seat next to Button Mash and Sweetie Belle to see the pair of spoilt fillies seizing up the group.
“Go away Diamond Tiara,” said Scootaloo. “We just want to enjoy this party in peace.”
“So do I, but then I saw a few blank flanks and the tone was lowered considerably,” replied the pink filly, haughtily.
“So who’s the pony this party is supposed to be for anyway?” asked Silver Spoon.
“I heard he’s some sort of savage from the Everfree forest,” replied her cohort, “You think it would be easy to pick up his smell, but then again, we are in a hick pony’s farm after all.”
Apple Bloom made to rise, but Sweetie Belle stopped her.
“For your information, Reiver is not a savage.”
“Who’s Reiver?”
“I am.”
The two fillies looked over as Reiver got to his hooves, the colt had spoken up to get attention off Apple Bloom, only now he was regretting that decision. The two fillies brought back unwanted memories of being picked on at every school he went to.
He swallowed nervously, had he been an adult then the scrutinising gaze of the two bullies wouldn’t have bothered him. However, as he was, he had to fight with all his self-control to remain calm.
“What are you wearing?” sneered Silver Spoon.
Reiver reflexively looked at his threadbare jacket; he still hadn’t taken Rarity up on her offer to fix it.
“I’ll bet he hasn’t had a bath is years, and look at how unkempt he is. It’s no wonder he’s living on a farm, you couldn’t tell him from the animals.”
The two laughed wickedly and Reiver felt his ears fall flat against his skull in humiliation.
“Look,” Scootaloos voice cut into the bullies’ twisted merriment. “We all came here because Pinkie Pie invited us, so how about you two go enjoy yourselves elsewhere.”
“Fine with us,” replied Diamond Tiara. “We just wanted to see what all the fuss was about, turns out it was little more than another scraggly blank flank.”
The pair shared a shrill laugh and a high hoof, before turning to swagger off to another part of the party.
As Reiver sat down amongst the other foals, he felt Sweetie Belle laid a hoof across his shoulders.
“Are you alright?” she asked, concerned.
“I’ll be fine,” he replied, taking a deep breath to calm himself. “I just…don’t do well with bullies.”
“I know how you feel,” replied Dinky Doo. “Those two are always making fun of me for my magic.”
“Or my games,” said Button Mash
“Or my accent,” finished Pipsqueak.
“Just, try not to let them get you,” said Sweetie Belle. “Besides, we have one thing they don’t.”
“Let me guess,” replied Reiver, with a small smile, “friends.”
“Exactly!” exclaimed the group.
As the foals went back to their merry making, Bedlam watched Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon as they made their way across the floor, heads held high in a disgustingly superior manner. Just as they rounded the table, the entity pulled sharply with his power, and the two fillies cried out in surprise as the floor beneath them briefly turned to ice, causing them to slip straight into one another.
As they struggled and flailed in an effort to untangle themselves, Bedlam cracked a devious smile, before vanishing like smoke.
A few hours later, the party was winding down and as ponies started to leave, Reiver found that he was sad to see them go. Despite the incident with Diamond Tiara, he had genuinely had a good time.
“I’m sorry about Diamond Tiara,” said Apple Bloom.
“I’ll get over it,” he replied. “But I think I’ll stay out of her way if I can.”
He turned to his new friends.
“So, I’ll see you later?” he asked Button Mash.
“Definitely,” replied the colt. “I’ve never really met another pony who appreciates video games like me.”
“Just promise me you won’t overdo it,” said Scootaloo. “I don’t want another friend to become a total recluse.”
“Button isn’t a recluse,” interrupted Sweetie Belle.
That got a few nervous whistles from the other foals; thankfully any follow up questions were cut off as Buttons mother collected him. Soon, the other Crusaders had joined up with their families and headed out as well.
As Reiver said goodbye to Pipsqueak and Dinky, Applejack came up beside him.
“Well partner, how do you feel?”
“I feel, great,” he replied. “I think this might have been what I needed.”
Applejack chuckled.
“Glad to hear it, I’ll invite them over regularly if you like, just to keep you company if nopony is available to watch you.”
“I’d like that, thank you.”
The farm pony tousled his mane.
“No problem partner. Now, it’s late, and I’ve got more harvesting to do in the morning, time for you young uns to be in bed.”
Reiver found himself joining Apple Bloom in expressing his disappointment, but Applejack gently hushed the pair and sent them upstairs.
As he reached the top, Reiver heard the bathroom door slam shut as Apple Bloom called dibs. Chuckling to himself Reiver returned to his bedroom and lay down on the mattress with a contented sigh.
He had never really had friends in the traditional sense, his family moved too much and he got tired of leaving those he got to know behind. So he decided to just stop making them altogether, reasoning it was better to be lonely than have to experience the pain of leaving yet another group of friends behind. As a consequence, he had never really had friends, proper friends he could see regularly and hang out with, for years.
The thought that he would have to leave these new friends behind when he found a way home made his heart ache. This wasn’t his world and he had no idea what effect his presence could have on Equestria, especially when he knew about certain events in advance. However, something was chipping away at his resolve, and as he lay there he finally spoke aloud the question he didn’t yet know the answer to.
“Very good Reiver,” said Cheerilee. “Your hoofwriting is much better than when we started.”
Reiver put down the pencil as he stared at the Equestrian script. Despite his tutoring they still looked like squiggly lines, although now he could partially understand them. The exercise he had just completed was one that helped develop his hoof control, reading and writing abilities. It was thanks to these lessons that he could now pick up and hold objects firmly, as well as read, albeit with a little difficulty.
It undoubtedly helped that he had been gaining strength since being put back onto solid foods. His gluten intolerance still kept him from eating everything, but thanks to the Apple Family, and Pinkie Pie, he no longer looked like one of the walking dead, although he was still skinny.
He looked up at Cheerilee as the mare inspected his efforts, he had been incredibly nervous around her when they started, it was also somewhat humiliating for him to have to learn these basic skills all over again. Thankfully, Cheerilee had been both patient and understanding during as she taught, patiently explaining the Equestrian language to the colt. He could see why the Ponyville foals loved her so much.
“It's still not neat,” he replied, a little disappointed.
“Maybe it isn't neat, but it is clear and readable,” she replied. “Remember, I’m going to be continuing these lessons after you join my class on Monday.”
Reiver inwardly groaned, school had been difficult enough the first time around, plus there was the fact he hadn’t really left the farmhouse ever since his arrival, in truth he was a little scared of going out into Ponyville. His time in the Everfree Forest had left some mental scars that weren't healing as easily as his body. The nightmares had thankfully subsided, but he had never left the house because he was still afraid of being attacked by something.
Thankfully he wasn't going in blind, or alone. Cheerilee had also been tutoring him on the basics of the Equestria curriculum, Reiver was grateful for that because at least he wouldn't look like a fool if called on to answer a question. Furthermore, the Cutie Mark Crusaders would be joining him in school, something that made him feel a bit better about the whole thing.
“I think thats enough for today,” she continued. “I’ll leave some supplies so Applejack doesn't have to go hunting for schoolbooks over the weekend.”
Reiver began to tidy up his desk, it had been a broken down old thing that Big Mac fixed up for him, beautifully restoring the woodwork to its original lustre. When he saw it, the foal was amazed at the skill and effort the stallion had put into it, no one had done something so generous for him in a long time.
The desk wasn't the only addition to the Apples guest room, which had effectively become Reivers room. The walls were now adorned with hoof drawn pictures, a result of his hoof practice. Cheerilee had suggested it as a way to track his progress and there was a definite improvement between the first and most recent image in the sequence, although they were a long way from classical painting.
Gathering up her teaching aids, Cheerilee set aside a exercise book.
“What's in there?” asked Reiver.
“Something to help neaten up your hoofwriting in your spare time,” she replied with a smile.
“Thank you,” said Reiver, returning the smile.
“You are welcome, I look forward to seeing you in class on Monday.”
As she left with a wave, Reiver glanced at the clock. It was late on a Friday afternoon and they had been working for hours. Deciding to leave the workbook until tomorrow, he set it aside and pulled out a diary from the desk drawer.
He hadn't kept a diary back on earth, however Twilight had suggested he do something to help pass the time as he recovered, presenting him with a beautiful, leather bound notebook and pencil set. Since then, Reiver had been using it to keep track of his own thoughts, alongside theories he and the Crusaders had on Bedlam.
The strange entity was one of the more confusing aspects of his time in Equestria thus far. He had been appearing more frequently and Reiver suspected it was because he had got stronger. What was unknown to him, was that Bedlams new abilities had also been growing, and the entity had been experimenting with them in private.
They had not resulted in anything major thus far, but Bedlam felt that with each twist he made, to what he realised was the very fabric of the universe, something would happen elsewhere. He suspected that with enough practice, time and space would be like putty in his hooves.
As Reiver finished his entry about today, he was interrupted by the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
"Hey guys," he greeted.
"Hi Reiver," replied Apple Bloom. "You done yet? Only, we saw Cheerilee leaving."
"Yeah," he replied. “I’m done for now, she gave me some hoofwriting books so I can practice for Monday.”
“Oh yeah, you’re in our class aren't you?” chimed Sweetie Belle. “Which means, we can all hang out afterwards.”
Despite his apprehension, Reiver smiled a little at the thought.
“Then we can go out Crusading!” said Scootaloo.
“Speaking of which, have you seen Bedlam today?” asked Apple Bloom
“No,” he replied. “He’s been unusually quiet.”
“Maybe he’s just taking a break,” replied Scootaloo. “We’ve been bothering him with so many it might be wearing him down.”
“Possibly, but I worry about him sometimes” said Reiver. “The way he behaves...I feel like he’s something I’ve seen before, something that I should remember…”
“Dude, you’re spending too much time thinking,” she replied. “We’ve been at this forever and no one is closer to finding what he is? Maybe we should just stop for now.”
“Yeah,” said Apple Bloom. “Sometimes walking away from a problem can help find the solution. Its helped us with Crusading.”
“Although not that much,” muttered Scootaloo.
Reiver looked back at the diary, before gently closing it.
“I guess you’re right, I have been obsessing a little...maybe I should take a break.”
“That's the spirit! So what do you want to do?”
Reiver thought for a moment, they could play some board games, he happened to know Big Mac had some RPG games hidden under his bed. However, his gaze came to settle on the sleeve of his threadbare jacket. He had been wearing it ever since his arrival in Equestria as it was apparently the only piece of clothing to survive his transformation.
He hadn’t taken up Rarity on her offer to fix it because he had been scared, the garment had been a gift from his mother and her death had caused him to wear it wherever he went. As a result, it was already worn when he fell into Equestria, but since then it was on the verge of collapse.
He sighed.
“Do you think Rarity will still be willing to fix my jacket?” he asked Sweetie Belle. “Only...I think if it might fall apart if I don't do something.”
“I’m sure she will,” replied the unicorn. “Let's go and see what she’s up to.”
As the Crusaders made their way outside and along the road towards Ponyville, Reiver stuck as close to them as he could, nervously eyeing every shadow they passed.
“Are you alright?” asked Apple Bloom after he bumped into her for the fourth time.
“Sorry,” he replied. “Just a little nervous, shadows aren't so forgiving in the Everfree forest.”
“Well, then it's a good thing we’re in Ponyville,” said Sweetie Belle as they approached to doors of Carousel Boutique.
“Because you don’t have anything to worry about here,” muttered Reiver, sarcastically.
Entering caused the door chime to signal their arrival, causing Rarity to appear a moment later.
“Hi Rarity.”
“Oh Sweetie Belle it's lovely to see you,” said the alabaster unicorn. “I see you’ve brought your friends as well.”
She spied Reiver, timidly sticking close to Apple Bloom.
“Reiver, you’re looking so much better than when I first saw you.”
“Thanks Rarity,” he replied. “Umm, I came over because I wanted to ask if your offer to fix my jacket was still open.”
“Of course it is sweetie,” she replied, running her eyes over the threadbare garment. “It might take a few days though.”
“Just...be gentle with it, please.”
The unicorn smiled.
“I remember how important you said it is to you. You have my word I will treat it with the utmost care.”
Cautiously, Reiver removed his jacket, passing it off to the unicorn who gently folded it in her magic. The colt shivered as its warm embrace left him.
“Could you have it ready before Monday, please, I’d like to wear it to school.”
“Certainly darling, I shall have it looking like new,” she declared.
Thanking Rarity for her generosity and kindness, the group headed back out into town. Passing the town hall, they saw that a large notice had been posted on its message board and it was attracting a crowd. Moving to investigate, they saw that it bore the Equestrian crest.
Official Notice
Recent magical and weather monitoring indicates a build up of wild magic.
Princess Celestia’s student has confirmed that a Storm of Magic is imminent.
Supplies to arrive this month.
All ponies to attend Town meeting on how to prepare.
Reiver turned to the Cutie Mark Crusaders, who wore concerned looks.
“A Storm of Magic is bad isn't it?” he asked..
“Really bad,” replied Apple Bloom. “Granny said they had one when she was young and the town was nearly destroyed. We need to get back to farm and warn everypony!”
At Ponyville General, Nurse Redheart was doing her rounds. Checking each room she ensured that each patient was comfortable and enquired about their needs, although her business-like manner made a few wonder if she was interrogating them. As she went about her duties, the nurse-mare was mentally noting who would be able enough to move and who would need to be moved by the staff before the storm hit.
Having worked her way around the hospital, she reached the last room on her list. It belonged to the ‘John doe' stallion. He had been in their care for close to two months and, thanks to some magical medicines and supplements, his vitals had been slowly improving.
Entering the room, Redheart looked him over. He didn't look as starved as he had been, but any weight he had put on was minimal. Supplements did not effectively substitute real food and while they ensured he lived, they did not make him look less like a sunken eyed wrath.
Moving to the bedside, Redheart checked the stallions chart before moving to check his pulse. Machines were good for most, but sometimes she just had to be sure. Her gaze wandered to the stallion's chest and she watched as it slowly rose and fell in time with his pulse.
The hoof she held suddenly jerked in its restraint. Looking at the stallion's face, she saw one of his eyes had snapped open.
“I see you’re awake,” she said calmly.
“Get the hell off me!”
The aggressive, and raspy, declaration was punctuated by a round of struggling from the bound stallion. Redheart sighed, she had dealt with enough patients to remain calm in the face of a frantic pony.
“My name is Nurse Redheart.”
The stallion just glared at her as he continued to aggressively test his bonds.
“That won't work,” continued Redheart. “Those bonds are magically reinforced, I’m sorry we had to do it but you did attack several members of staff.
He ignored her, continuing his efforts to break free. However, Redheart knew his weakened state would eventually catch up to him and sure enough, after a minute of attempted escape, he fell back with exhaustion.
"I see you've worn yourself out, don't do that in future if you want to recover swiftly.”
The stallion glared at her in resignation as he huffed and panted on the mattress.
"Where...where am I?" He asked.
“Ponyville General,” she replied. “You have been in our care for a while now.”
She watched as he slowly looked around the room, his position sinking in.
“Might I ask your name?” she said. “It would help in contacting any family.”
“My...name?” he replied, his brain struggling as it came down from the adrenaline rush.
"You came to us about two months ago," explained Redheart. "You crashed into our lobby in a maddened craze, attacking several members of staff before Doctor Stable could put a sleeping spell on you."
The stallion, now identified as Scott Reiver, lay quietly as she spoke, having worn himself out struggling against the bed restraints. Nurse Redheart sat at his bedside, a clipboard and pencil in her hooves.
"You were so emaciated that we had not expected you to wake for a little while longer. But it seemes modern magic and medicine are wonderful things," she continued. "However, you are still not well enough to be discharged. Furthermore, as we have no information on your identity I shall be asking you a few questions."
Redheart checked her clipboard as she spoke, reading the stallion's name she mused at how unusual it was, but her main concern was that he shared part of it with Reiver. Given the reports she had been receiving from Cheerilee, it was clear the colt did not hold his father in high regard.
Meanwhile, Scott was trying to read the mare that sat before him. The stallion was still struggling to remember what happened before he woke up in that blasted forest. After getting over the shock of his transformation, his military training had helped him to survive, despite the fearsome creatures that he had barely believed were real. Realistically, he should have left at the first opportunity.
But he was a stubborn man and so he had remained, foraging for food and supplies until a close encounter with a gigantic bear made of stars finally forced him to admit he was out of his depth. It was shortly afterwards he found Reivers car, then….nothing.
If what this nurse pony was saying were true, that he had arrived in some sort of berserk rage attacking everyone in sigh, then it occured immediately after he saw Reivers car. He tried to remember what happened but it was like part of his memory had been erased.
"Any pre-existing medical conditions I need to be aware of?" Redhearts voice cut into his thoughts.
Scott sighed, she reminded him of the army doctors, blunt and all business.
"No," he replied, bluntly.
"Okay," said Redheart, making a few notes. "Would you please tell me what your last address was please.".
"I don't have a fixed address," he replied. "I'm in the armed forces so I don't live anywhere in particular."
“What was your last posting?”
“Afghanistan.”
Redheart raised an eyebrow as she wrote, did he mean Yakyakistan? The Royal Guard had no garrisons up there.
"Any family?"
"My sister lives in France with her husband, while my mother lives in a village in Northumberland. My son lives in Nottingham, he used to live with my ex-wife, but she...died recently."
She noted the place names and decided she would have to check a map, they were similar to places in Equestria, but she couldn't tell if he was disorientated or being serious. Given his state, it could be the former.
"Your son," she began. "Does he have a name?"
"It's Arthur, but he prefers to go by Reiver."
Redheart made a note of that. 'Arthur' wasn't a typical pony name, but it made sense that if he was Reivers father then they would both have unusual titles.
"When was the last time you saw your son?" she asked.
"It was at his mother's funeral, he was giving me a lift home as my car broke down. We had an argument in the car, it got violent and he kicked me out of the vehicle. Next thing I know I'm falling through some sort of...rainbow tunnel. There was a lot of light and colour and I felt like I was being squeezed through a tube. The next thing I know, I’m waking up in that strange forest."
The nurse pony finished her notes, these were going to go in both Reivers file and one she had started for Scott. She didn't understand half of what he had just said, still holding to the idea that he might be disorientated, but it might help her identify his next of kin.
"Okay, I think that's all the information I need for today," she said. "I'll be back later to check on your progress, so I recommend you get some rest."
"Wait!" said Scott, as the nurse got ready to leave. “I’ve got some questions of my own.”
“...Alright,” replied Redheart. “What do you want to know.”
“Where am I?”
“You are in Ponyville, it’s a village near Canterlot.”
Scott internally grimaced, what kind of name was ‘Ponyville.’
“And where is that?”
Redheart hesitated, why would a Royal Guard ask that question?
“...It’s in Equestria, the land of ponies.”
The land of ponies? What sort of children's folly was that? Regardless of it's absurdity, it could wait for now, he’d find out more eventually, hopefully including how he had been turned into a cartoon horse. For now, he just had one more question.
"My son, have you seen him anywhere?"
The nurse mare hesitated again before speaking.
"I don't know, could you describe him for me?"
Scott paused, realising that Reiver might have been altered as well.
"...Forget it, I'm not sure I could recognise him anymore."
“Very well, if you need anything, just use the nurse call by the bed.”
With that, Redheart left the stallions room and headed to her office. Dodging doctors and patients alike, she quickly trotted down the corridor until she has reached a glass fronted door with her name imprinted upon it. Entering the sparsely furnished room, she settled behind her desk and pulled out Reivers file from a drawer, before adding her newly acquired information.
This stallion was odd, almost as odd as Reiver. Although unlike the foal, he had volunteered some specific information she could use to help identify him. However, the place names were odd and his story of a rainbow tunnel had raised a red flag for her, she would have to make sure he didn't have any head injuries they had missed in the initial examination.
In the meantime, she had another task to perform. Gathering up the file and putting it into her saddlebags, she retrieved a sample kit from a cupboard, if she got some of Reivers saliva she could use it to help figure out if the stallion was his biological father. It might help solve the mystery of the colts origin, but she was also going to have to talk to the Apples about this development. If the test came back positive, it could throw up all sorts of legal issues.
It hadn't taken long for Reiver and the Cutie Mark Crusaders to return to Sweet Apple Acres following their discovery of the notice. They were now seated in the kitchen of the farmhouse with the adult Apples, who were very extremely at the news.
"Well, don't that just take the last apple in the bushel!" exclaimed Applejack, pacing the tiled floor.
"Eeyup," added Big Mac from his seat at the table.
“Been long enough, bout time we got another one,” finished Granny Smith.
"Excuse me," said Reiver, "I get that a Storm of Magic is bad, but what exactly is it?"
"Well young un," replied Granny. "A Storm of Magic is kind of like a tornado, except, instead of wind, you've got wild magic swirling and spinning in an uncontrollable rainbow, firing off lightning and power faster than a unicorn baby's first magic flares! You never know what might happen, except untold levels of destruction."
"Eeyup," concurred Big Mac. "Pa told me about the storm that hit Ponyville when he was young, it caused serious damage to the town."
"It did more than that," replied the Apple matriarch. "The whole dang town was nearly wiped off the map, Sweet Apple Acres was the only place left standing, if it weren't for the Apple family's stubbornness then Ponyville might not have been rebuilt."
At the mention of a rainbow tornado, Reivers attention was peaked as it matched what had brought him to Equestria. He would have to look into it as soon as possible.
"But that was when this place was only a frontier trading station," said Applejack. "Buildings weren't exactly permanent so re-building was easy. Now the towns so built up..."
She trailed off, but all present knew what she was thinking.
"So...what do we do?" asked Apple Bloom.
"We go to this meeting ya'll mentioned," she replied. "Find out what Twilight's got in mind, that girl knows enough about magic to have something. In the meantime, we need to start preparing the farm."
“Darn tooting," replied Granny Smith. "This farm has withstood parasprites, vampire fruit bats and even Discord himself! It withstood one Storm of Magic and by hootenanny it will do so again!”
Like a drill sergeant marshalling her troops, the elderly mare barked her orders to each of them in turn.
"Applejack, you'll get out into the fields and buck as many trees as you can, we need to get those apples harvested! Ponies will be hungry and we are going to provide as much as we can!"
"Yes Ma'am," she replied, giving a mock salute.
"Big Mac, ya'll get all the heavy tools shifted into the cellar, we've got enough danger on the way and I'll be darned if a flying set of shears is added to that!"
"Eeyup!"
"Apple Bloom, you and your friends start nailing down anything that could get blown away, I want this place locked down tighter than an apple cellar during a worm blight!"
"You can count on us!" replied the enthusiastic filly.
"Cutie Mark Crusaders hammer and nailers, YAY!"
"Fall out! We'll head out to the town meeting later and see what Twilight has to say!"
As the ponies dispersed, Reiver found himself hanging back.
"Umm, Granny Smith," he said. "What should I do?"
The elderly mare smirked.
"Didn't you hear me young'un. You're with Apple Bloom, you're friends aren't you?"
"Come on Reiver," called out the filly. "We need to get some tools."
The colt looked to the farmhouse door, where Apple Bloom waited expectantly, then back to Granny Smith, before his face broke into a wide smile and he ran after the Crusader.
The old mare chuckled.
"He's a sweet colt, he'd make a great Apple thats for sure."
Twilight nervously paced back and forth in front of Golden Oaks.
"Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, how could I have been so careless?" she muttered to herself. "Well maybe if I hadn't found a colt that's really an alien from another dimension, then I wouldn't have neglected those weather studies until I nearly let the town get destroyed by wild magic!"
She took a few deep breaths, moaning about it would not help now, she was just thankful that she re-discovered the letter that sent her into the Everfree forest in the first place.
After a slight panic attack, one that Spike had to slap her out of, she rushed into action, checking neglected instruments and analysing data at a record pace. It was after several days of this, that she had finally reached a conclusion, the magic was building to catastrophic levels, a Storm of Magic was brewing.
Thankfully, there was still time to act and, after a letter to both Canterlot and a request to Mayor Mare, a town meeting was arranged. In addition, Princess Celestia was sending specialist equipment and ponies to help prepare the town.
"Twilight, please stop moving," said Spike, emerging from the library. "I've been watching you pace for the last twenty minutes."
Pausing to take some more deep breaths, she sat by the dragons side.
"Better?" he asked.
"Better, "she replied. "Thank you for your support Spike, I didn't mean to forget this."
"Yeah, that's not like you at all," he said. "That stuff from the forest must be really interesting."
"You have no idea," she muttered.
The clip clop of hooves caught their attention and they looked up to see an elderly mare with a grey mane and spectacles approaching, she had a rolled scroll as her cutie mark, denoting her as Mayor Ivory Scrolls, although the townsponies affectionately called her Mayor Mare.
"Twilight Sparkle, it's so nice to see you again," she said. "Although I wish it was under better circumstances."
"So do I," replied Twilight.
"Honestly, it seems the only time I ever speak to you is during some catastrophe or other. We really should just have tea someday, maybe go for a nice dinner."
Twilight smiled as she bumped hooves with the Mayor. Ivory Scrolls wasn't the typical stuffy politician, like those from Canterlot, she was a local pony through and through. Perhaps it was that familiarity which endeared her to the townsponies.
"So, a Storm of Magic?" she asked, seriously.
"I'm afraid so," replied the unicorn. "A big one, if the data is correct."
Ivory Scrolls sighed.
"I was only a young pony when the last one blew through, I just hope the town can cope."
"Don't worry," interjected Spike. "Twilight will help keep the town safe, she can do anything when she gets going."
“Indeed, master dragon,” she replied. “She is a most capable pony, the town is lucky to have her.”
The unicorn blushed a little at the praise, before a trumpet call blared from above.
Following the sound, the two ponies and one dragon saw a several large carriages and a chariot soaring towards them. The carriages were the typical white and gold of Celestia's Day Guard, but the chariot was midnight blue and pulled by a pair of bat winged thestrals. Princess Luna herself stood aboard, her ethereal mane pillowing in an unseen wind.
As the three vehicles touched down, the carriages disgorged a crowd of unicorns, who immediately set to work unloading crates. Meanwhile, Princess Luna disembarked and approached the group of three, who bowed respectively.
"Greetings Twilight Sparkle, it is good to see you once again."
"It's good to see you too, Luna," replied Twilight. "You remember Spike,” the dragon gave a friendly wave, “and this is Mayor Ivory Scrolls."
"It is a pleasure," said Luna, with a smile. "Our sister bid that we help you with this Storm of Magic, we have brought many magical artefacts and some of the best unicorns from Canterlot to assist us."
"And your arrival couldn't be better timed," replied Ivory Scrolls. "The town meeting is scheduled to happen this evening, that gives us enough time to get a plan together."
"In that case," said Twilight. "Let's get to work."
Ponyville’s town hall was quickly filling up with concerned residents, each muttering nervously about the Storm of Magic and it’s possible consequences. This included Reiver and the Cutie Mark Crusaders, who were sitting under a table away from the crowd of adult ponies.
"So, ya'll reckon that you got here because of a Storm of Magic? I thought magic wasn't a thing on your world?" asked Apple Bloom.
"It isn't, but what Granny Smith said about a rainbow tornado made me think about the rainbow tunnel that brought me here in the first place. What if they’re connected?"
"Well, if anything can happen during a storm, then it makes sense that maybe portals to other worlds can open as well," said Sweetie Belle.
"Which means, maybe we can send you home through another one?" enquired Scootaloo.
Reiver shook his head.
"Granny said it herself, that thing is dangerous and unpredictable, I’m not throwing myself into a magical maelstrom and hoping for the best,” he replied. “But, it gives us something to look for, it might even be a break for us."
“And what am I, chopped liver?" said Bedlam as he materialised beside them, causing the group to jump back in shock.
The strange entity had not appeared as a drawing on the wall, as he typically did, instead he was sitting between Reiver and Apple Bloom as a transparent, flickering, shade of a pony that could very well have been Reivers twin.
He laughed at their slack jawed expressions.
"Oh the looks on your faces, you four really do a remarkable impression of guppies at feeding time," chuckled the shadow pony. "But really, out with it, I know you are just dying to ask."
"...eh...um..." stammered Reiver. "What...you..."
"Yes, I have a body now, well, kind of," replied Bedlam. "It took a lot of work actually, but I've been getting quite strong. Like I'm a battery being charged up, it's awesome!"
He punctuated this statement by shifting his form though several colour spectrums.
"So... what are we all doing here then?"
"Um...we were waiting for the town meeting to start," stammered Sweetie Belle. "There's a Storm of Magic coming."
“So I heard,” he replied. “You know, just because I’m not here doesn’t mean I don’t listen in from time to time.”
He looked at them disapprovingly.
“But I am disappointed that no pony has managed to find out just what I am yet.”
“We hadn’t forgotten about you,” replied Sweetie Belle. “We just, had to step back for a bit, then this happened.”
Bedlam sighed.
“No argument from me, goodness knows I’ve tried looking myself and come up with nothing.”
Apple Bloom tentatively went to lay a hoof on his shoulder, discovering that his shadow body was solid.
“That just means we have to try harder, or look at something else," she said. "It’s what we do when we’re Crusading.”
“Yeah!” continued Sweetie Belle. “No matter the odds, the Cutie Mark Crusaders will help you both!”
The three fillies punctuated the statement with a cheer that had both Reiver and Bedlam smirking.
"Could everypony take their seats please!"
Peeking out from under the table, the group saw Mayor Mare standing behind a podium on the large stage that occuipied the end of the hall. Twilight Sparkle stood to her left, with Princess Luna to her right.
Revier gawped a little at the sight of the lunar princess, he had not expected to see one of the two alicorns in person. She radiated poise and power, the stars in her mane shimmering like raindrops in moonlight.
“Close that mouth buddy, or you’ll start catching flies,” smirked Scootaloo. Reiver snapped his muzzle shut, blushing a little. As the fillies went to their respective families, he looked around for Bedlam, but the strange creature had vanished.
"Just staying in your head for now, can't have two of you wandering around, can we mate. Especially with moon butt over there."
Rolling his eyes, Reiver went to where the Apples were sitting and took a vacant chair next to Apple Bloom.
Once all were seated, Ivory Scrolls started speaking.
"Thank you all for coming on short notice," she said, projecting her voice throughout the chamber. "As you are aware, a Storm of Magic is imminent and we must prepare the town. To that effect, we have had additional supplies and expert ponies from Canterlot to assist us. Princess Luna has also graciously agreed to aid us in this hour of need."
A screen unrolled behind her as the lights dimmed. A diagram was then projected on it, showing magic being drawn from the environment to a point that grew and grew until it took shape as more power was drawn to it. Planets and star constellations were depicted over each stage, moving closer together until they were aligned over a violent malestrom.
“For those who may not be familiar with them,” said Twilight, taking over from Luna. “A Storm of Magic is what occurs when an area of wild, or untamed magic, such as the Everfree forest, experiences a build up of power.”
The image changed to show an image from the forest in question.
“Magic permeates everything in Equestria, it ebbs and flows like water. In places like the Everfree forest, this flow can be dangerous, but as long as it is not interrupted, all is well. As the planets and stars can affect this flow, certain stellar events draw magic to places like the Everfree, where, unless dispersed, it will build to dangerous levels. Swirling upon itself until you have an unstoppable magical tornado that will destroy everything in its path until the magic has faded.”
More nervous mutterings from the crowd, as Luna stepped forward to speak once again.
"Citizens of Ponyville, the situation may seem dire, but do not fret, for we have time to prepare ourselves. My own power can disrupt the heavens, forcing the magic to disperse and weakening the storms power. Furthermore, we have come with several Waystones, these shall draw the storms power away from thy town, earthing it where it can do no harm.”
At this point, a Unicorn came forward, using his magic to haul a large object under a tarpaulin. Placing it down, he pulled off the cover revealing an intricately carved stone that glowed with magical power.
Luna stood aside as Twilight Sparkle once more took to the stage.
“Waystones are like magical lighting rods, drawing wild magic away from its source. However, they cost a lot of power and energy to produce, so there isn't enough to cover the whole town. I recommend we use them around important buildings and locations, like the hospital and school."
A few groans were heard from the Ponyville foals.
"Furthermore, the Canterlot ponies that have come to help are all experts in weather, magic, or both. However, our own weather team have more experience with wild weather than most in Equestria, so they will be working together to disperse as much of the storms weatherfront as they can. Rainbow Dash’s team have kept Everfree weather from us before and their experience and skills are invaluable.”
"Don't worry Twilight, we got this," came Rainbow Dash's voice, causing a few cheers from the weather team.
Twilight smiled a little before passing back to Mayor Mare.
"We will be taking volunteers to help with preparations before the storm hits, Twilight will be coordinating efforts with both myself and Princess Luna as we look to reinforce vulnerable buildings and evacuate those who wish to leave. If you want to help come to see one of us, all ideas are welcome. Ponyville is a tough town, we survived Ursa Minors, Discord and rampant spells. We are used to adversity and this is no different, working together we will survive this!"
She smacked her gavel on the podium.
"Meeting Adjourned."
As the ponies filed out, Reiver and Apple Bloom met up with the rest of the CMC.
"Let's get to the library, it should be quiet and we can look at the books undisturbed."
Quickly excusing themselves they headed straight to Golden Oaks, where they saw Spike by the door.
"Oh hey guys," said the dragon. "What are you doing here?"
"We...were looking for something to help with a school project," said Scootaloo, improvising. "Is the library open?"
"It will be, just need to find the right key," he replied and they saw he had a keychain in one claw. Finding the right one, Spike unlocked the door and they quickly headed inside, the dragon lighting a few lanterns with his flame breath.
Heading into the stacks, the four young ponies started searching for anything on Storm of Magic and soon a pile of books was laid out before them.
"Find anything yet?" asked Bedlam, his sudden appearance causing them all to jump.
"Would you please stop doing that!" snapped Apple Bloom.
"I would, if it wasn't so funny," chuckled the shadow pony.
The group sighed in exasperation.
"This might help," said Sweetie Belle, laying down a book. "It says here that wormholes always connect to two different locations, but that most are unstable unless controlled by a unicorn of great skill and power, maybe we could have Twilight keep one open for you?"
"We could, but we have no idea where they actually lead, it could put me in my world, this world or some other world for all we know," replied Reiver.
"I'd rather not end up in another universe entirely," said Bedlam.
"Maybe we could make one of our own?" ventured Scootaloo. "Twilight would definitely be up for that."
"Thats a possibility..." said Bedlam. "I'd run the idea by her when this Storm of Magic is over."
"Agreed," replied Reiver, although he found himself a bit reluctant to do so. He had been wrestling with the idea of leaving ever since Pinkie's Party. He liked his home and knew that there was still some family waiting back on earth. Returning might even put him back in an adult body.
But he found himself opposed to the idea. What family he had, he did not interact with, his anti-social behaviour, coupled with his mother's death meant he had practically withdrawn from society as a whole. In fact, he felt more connected with the Cutie Mark Crusaders than anyone else in his whole life, he missed not having them around and enjoyed their company immensely. The colts body was also something that had been growing on him, he might not be able to do anything an adult pony might do, he was also dreading puberty for a second time, but he found himself not caring. He was having more fun with the Ponyville foals that he had at any time in his life.
His train of thought was interrupted when Apple Bloom let out a cry of surprise.
"Hey guys, look at this."
The group looked over at the approaching farm filly, in her teeth was a book. It's cover was a dark brown that was old and frayed at the edges and as she set it down, they saw it had no title or any writing at all to denote it's topic or author.
"Where did you find this?" asked Bedlam.
"I was looking through the magical creatures section, when I found some kinda hidden compartment in one of the shelves."
"Seriously?" asked Scootaloo.
"Yeah, but that's not all," the farm filly replied, opening the book. "Look what's inside."
Looking at the page, they saw it depicted a large, swirling tornado of magic. Wormholes were pictured around it, while bolts of power were crackling and sparking in a chaos of power. But what caught their attention was the creature wrapped around it, laughing with glee.
It was Discord.
"What the hay?" muttered Reiver, as Sweetie Belle started reading.
"The first and only one of his kind, the draconequus known as Discord was originally a unicorn known as Quantum Continuum, or ‘Q’ to his friends."
While the others gasped at the revelation, Reiver and Beldam released a snorted laugh, earning a few puzzled looks.
"Sorry, just thinking of something funny."
“So, Discord was a unicorn?” exclaimed Apple Bloom.
“Looks like it,” said Scootaloo. “What else does it say?”
Returning their attention to the book, the unicorn resumed reading.
"Q felt that the power of a Storm of Magic could be harnessed for the greater good, believing that it would lead to a new understanding of magic and the universe as we know it. During a particularly fierce storm, he attempted to absorb its power."
An image underneath showed a grey unicorn with a brown mane firing magic from his horn, into the swirling maelstrom of magic.
"However, his spell unravelled in the face of so much raw power and he was exposed to a large amount of unstable magic. In the weeks that followed, he claimed that a strange creature was following him around, appearing as an image on walls, text in a book, or a shadowy reflection of himself."
The group looked at Bedlam, who felt a growing pit in his ethereal stomach.
Turning the page, Sweetie Belle read on.
"He described this creature as a sarcastic troublemaker, it would appear suddenly and without warning, whisper in his mind and after a while it could even use magic to play pranks on ponies. He tried to get rid of it with spells, charms to suppress his magic and even therapy, as he believed he was simply going mad.”
The image below showed Q, followed by a shapeless creature, hiding in the darkness, using it’s magic to change two ponies to candied statues while he looked on in horror.
“One day his magic started sparking uncontrollably as he experienced a build up never seen before in a unicorn. He screamed and writhed as the power he had once tried to control consumed him, his body twisting and changing, his mind warping into madness."
They turned the last page, revealing an ominous image of Discord laughing maniacally as Q lay beneath him as a grey, faded shell, his hollow eyes tinged yellow with red pupils.
“Q was no more, left in his place was the creature in its true, chaotic form. Discord was born.”
"But it says so in the book!" replied Bedlam. "Q was consumed by Discord and now I'm going to do the same to you."
"We don't know that for sure!" replied Apple Bloom.
"But it's written right there!" he replied. "Sweetie Belle just read it out for everypony!"
"That means nothing!" replied Reiver. "No pony knows anything about Discord, except maybe the Princesses, but I don't see them writing a book about him. There's no way this could be real!"
"I'm afraid my little pony, that this book is very real."
They froze at the voice, the haughty, arrogant voice that spoke from the pages of the text. Slowly looking down, they saw the image of Discord looking at them disapprovingly. Then a claw, followed by a lions paw emerged from the paper, followed by a pair of mismatched horns and a long, serpentine body as the spirit of chaos pulled himself from the pages. Floating over the group, his attention was focused squarely on Reiver and Bedlam.
"It's so nice to finally meet you both, you know who I am of course," said Discord. "But what you might not know, is just how much trouble you two are in."
As Reiver and the Cutie Mark Crusaders were making their unfortunate discovery, Nurse Redheart sought out the Apple Family. When she knocked on the door of Sweet Apple Acres, it was Applejack that answered.
"Hey there Redheart, everything alright?" asked the farmer.
"I need to speak with you all urgently, it is about Reiver,” answered the nurse mare, seriously. “Is he here right now?”
“No, he’s off with Apple Bloom and her friends,” replied Applejack.
“That's good,” replied Redheart. “What I’ve got to say isn't something he should hear, yet.”
“I see,” replied the famer, pensively. “You better come in, Big Mac and Granny are in the living room.”
Opening the door, Redheart quickly entered, following Applejack to the living room where Granny Smith and Big Mac were looking over plans to protect the farm during the Storm of Magic.
“Howdy Redheart,” greeted Granny. “What brings you all the way up here?”
“A rather serious matter I’m afraid,” she replied. “It’s about Reiver, you may want to brace yourselves.”
The Apple family shared a concerned look.
"Why? What's so serious?" asked Granny.
Redheart took a deep breath.
"We may have found his father."
The silence lasted a good half second as the Apple ponies expressions registered surprise, which rapidly turned to anger, with Big Macintosh letting out an uncharacteristic growl.
"Where is he?" he rumbled.
"He came into the hospital two months ago,” she replied, taking a file out her saddlebags and passing it to Applejack. “He was ranting, raving and bucking like a madpony. He had to be sedated and only woke up in the last day.”
"Is he alright?" asked Applejack, examining a photograph of the stallions gaunt form, although the scowl she wore belated any sincerity.
"He's alive, but won't be leaving the hospital for a while," replied Redheart. "His name is Scott, and I am still determining his mental state.”
“If I get my hooves on him, that will be the least of his problems,” threatened Big Mac.
"I’ll say, that no good stallion hasn't exactly been father of the year!" snapped Granny Smith.
"I'm aware of Reivers opinions about his father," retorted the nursemare. "The reports from you and Cheerilee explained how he blames him for his mother's suicide!”
She paused to take a breath.
"But...there's something else you need to know, something I don’t know what to do about.”
The Apple family glanced at each other.
"Like what?" asked Applejack.
“Before coming here, I attempted to verify information that Scott gave me in order to confirm his identity,” said Redheart. “I contacted several local authorities and the Royal Guard, as he claimed to have been military. However, I have found no record of a stallion matching his description anywhere, so I asked about Reiver instead.”
She looked each of the Apples in the eye.
“Well? What did you find?” asked Granny.
“That there was no record of Reiver either.”
“What?” replied Applejack in surprise. “What do you mean there’s no record?”
“I mean, I found nothing, no birth certificate, no family, no paper trail.”
“Well, that's a load of hooey,” retorted the blonde mare. “Ponies just don’t appear out of thin air!”
“I am aware of that Applejack!” countered Redheart. “However, without any solid records, I must perform a DNA test to confirm if the stallion is indeed his father.”
"And if he is?" growled the farmer. "I'm not letting you take him away just because of some test, family is about more than blood. I don't care if you say that pony can take care of a mouse! He couldn't take care of his family and he won't be taking Reiver!”
"Eeyup!" concurred Big Mac.
"Would you all just be quiet and let me finish!" snapped Redheart. "Even if the tests are positive, he would still need an evaluation to see if he's fit to actually take care of a foal. I am not saying he will definitely gain custody, I am simply keeping you apprised of the situation.”
She gathered up the file on Scott.
“I’d appreciate it if we kept this between us for now,” she said.
“...I don’t know about that,” replied Applejack. “Much as I don’t like what I’ve heard about this guy, I’m not sure keeping him secret from Reiver is a good idea. He deserves to know something.”
“I understand your concerns,” replied Redheart. “But I must be a hundred percent sure he is Reivers father. Then we can talk about any possible issues.”
“Much as I don't like it Applejack, I agree with Redheart,” said Granny. “That poor colt has been through enough already, I’d rather not add to his problems for the moment.”
Applejack looked at her brother to see if he felt the same, the large stallion nodded in response.
“Fine,” she said, reluctantly. “But the second you know if this guy is Reivers daddy, tell us.”
"I will,” replied Redheart, taking a swab and jar out of the saddlebags. “Now, I will need a sample from Reiver for comparison. As I’m needed for Storm preparations at the Hospital, I’m going to leave a sample kit here, whenever Reiver returns, take a swab from the inside of his mouth and send it to me immediately. With luck, I’ll have an answer for you before the Storm hits.”
Ponyville general was a hive of activity as the staff readied themselves for the Storm of Magic. They tirelessly organised supplies, set up waystones and prepared to move what patients they could to safer locations.
Scott could hear the commotion as he lay bound to his hospital bed, unaware of it’s significance or the approaching danger.
He mentally reviewed everything up to this point, they left the funeral, he asked for a lift, which Reiver agreed to, albeit reluctantly, during the ride home they argued, fought, he was kicked out of the car and, then he fell through a magical rainbow tunnel that sent him to fairy land, while also turning him into a pony.
As a soldier, he had been to some of the worst combat zones on planet earth and held himself together, he thought he was prepared for anything, both physically and mentally. But the sight of his new body made him scream like a raw recruit.
To his credit, he managed to calm down reasonably quick, then, to focus his reeling psyche, he taught himself how to move. Once he could trot and gallop with relative ease, he started trekking through the forest, looking for elevated areas, landmarks, or something that might help him identify his position and where to go.
This eventually resulted in him standing on a clifftop at nightfall, allowing him to see the full extent of the forest. As he gazed out over the miles of green trees, he spied pinpricks of light that indicated a settlement, so he set off towards them.
His wilderness training had helped him survive, allowing him to identify what was safe to eat, where best to shelter and where he might find water. He had resorted to grazing a few times, but avoided it where he could, grass was just too dry.
However, his luck soon ran out, as one of the lakes he stopped to drink from contained a nasty surprise. His shock at seeing a Hydra rise from the waters like the mythical titan it was almost cost him his life. It was only a day later that he then encountered a pack of wolves made from rotting timber, their overwhelming stench forced him to plug his nostrils with mud as he ran from their snapping jaws.
From there it had only gotten worse, he saw a cockatrice turn a wildcat to stone, fled from a purple sea serpent, and even witnessed a zebra with a mohawk chanting in a strange tongue, as she brewed something fowl in a dark cauldron.
It had pushed him to his limits, he barely slept, constant vigilance saving his life on more than one occasion. He even found the wreck of Reivers car, though the ungrateful child was not in it.
It was there his memories ended, no matter how hard he thought, the most he could recall was an overbearing feeling or rage that burned right through his core. Then all was a blank until he woke up here.
He fell back into the soft sheets and sighed, something had caused him to go berserk. With everything he had seen, he wouldn’t be surprised if it had been one of those creatures. As he lay there mulling over events, his thoughts turned towards his wife.
He hadn’t thought much about her since the divorce, it was only Reivers accusatory letter that made him come to the funeral in the first place.
Putting in all the effort he could into his military career had put a lot of strain on their marriage. He worked hard to improve his prospects, so what if that meant missing a few birthdays or not being home every night, his job was more important. Raising children was supposed to be a wife's lot anyway.
It was only after retirement that he finally saw Reiver on a regular basis, and he was not impressed. The boy was soft and disobedient, he talked back when he should be obeying his father, never did anything to a high standard and just hid inside the house all day.
It wasn't like he had tried to tried to make him better, he took Reiver on hikes, criticised his incomplete work and tried to make him realise just how stupid and childish his games and comics were, but all that did was make his wife upset, laying the blame for their child's introverted nature squarely at his feet.
He fumed at that accusation, he’d had nothing to do with Reiver’s personality. She was supposed to raise a strong lad that he could mold into someone that would carry on his family’s military tradition. His grandfather and his father had been in the army before him, why shouldn’t Reiver? But the boy wasn't interested in the military, in fact, he doubted he could even pass the health requirements.
In the end, whatever he felt for his wife had died and retirement was frustrating, so he took the first job he could find and left. He thought they would get over it.
Ultimately, they were both weak, he had told Reiver as much when they were returning from the funeral, probably why he never expected the punch.
His thoughts were interrupted by the door opening to reveal Nurse Redheart, a tray of food balanced on back and a pack slung over her shoulders.
"Ah, I see you're still awake. I've brought some apple sauce from the canteen to supplement the IV."
She slid the tray onto the bed sheets and sat next to him.
"How are you feeling?"
"Better than I was," he replied.
"That's good. Now, I'm going to free your hooves so you can eat. If anything happens Magical Remedy is stood just by the door and he will freeze you in place, understand?" she said, firmly.
Scott looked at the doorway, sure enough there was a muscular unicorn standing there with his horn glowing softly. Nodding to the nursemare, she undid the straps on the bed frame.
Flexing his forelegs and hooves, Scott looked at the bowl of mush. He gingerly tried to pick up the spoon that lay beside it, but when that failed, he just dove his muzzle into the bowl, the prospect of food overwhelming his pride.
"Slow down, I wont have you getting sick!" snapped Redheart, noting that the stallions hoof control was poor.
Slowing down, Scott, swallowed a mouthful of applesauce.
"Not bad, better than most hospital food I've tasted."
"It’s from Sweet Apple Acres" she explained. "They pride themselves on quality."
"I can see that," he replied, swallowing another mouthful.
"When you are done, I need to take a blood sample. You were in that forest for an unknown period of time and I need to determine your general health.”
“Why take it now?” he asked, suspiciously. “Wouldn't you have taken one when I was admitted?”
“Because before we were just trying to keep you alive,” replied Redheart, smoothly. “Now we are monitoring your recovery and to do that I need to look at your blood.”
Scott eyed the nurse, she sighed in response.
"If you make this difficult I will have Magical Remedy,” she indicated the burly unicorn once again, “hold you in place while I take the sample."
"...fine," he replied, reluctantly.
Holding as still as he could, Scott watched as Redheart carefully stuck her muzzle into the pack and pulled out the necessary supplies, gritting his teeth as she pricked his foreleg with the needle. Once it had been filled with the crimson liquid, she capped it off and deposited everything back in the bag.
"Thank you for your cooperation," said Redheart, turning to leave. "I will keep you informed of the results."
"Wait a second!" called Scott.
The white mare paused, turning to face the stallion.
"I mentioned my son, have you managed to find him?"
"We have not, but I am using the information you gave to help with the search. I suggest you focus on getting better. Let me worry about your son."
With a huff, Scott lay back on the bed.
"Fine, but I want to hear as soon as you have anything! He and I have got something to discuss."
"I'll keep that in mind," replied Redheart in an even tone.
The door shut behind the nurse as she left, leaving Scott alone once more.
He sighed in frustration, that nurse was hiding something. He was good at reading people, it helped when dealing with snotty superiors or backstabbing subordinates. She knew something about Reiver and was not telling, he'd have to find out what it was.
Lying back on the bed, he looked out the window and caught sight of his reflection as it mirrored his scowl. Taking a long look, he never realised how terrible he looked, his face was sunken and gaunt, almost like a zombie, and his eyes were a sickly yellow.
He blinked, then blinked again, were his eyes really yellow? He stared hard at the reflection but saw they were their usual green colour. Shaking his head, the stallion reassured himself it was probably a result of his prolonged time in the Everfree forest.
Deciding to rest for the moment, he settled down to sleep, but as he closed his eyelids, the stallion failed to notice that the reflection had not mirrored his actions, it remained watching him with those yellow eyes, smiling a malicious smile.
"Oh it is so good to be out of that book," said DIscord, stretching his serpentine body into inhuman shapes. "I must say, you took way too long to find it."
"D...Discord!" spluttered Reiver.
"Present!" replied the Spirit of Chaos.
"W..what are you doing here?"
"Well, isn't it obvious?" he replied, leaning in close to Bedlam. "I'm here to see this little gem."
"Me?" queried the entity.
"Yes, you," replied Discord. "You see my shadowy friend, you are the most interesting creature in this room. After all, it's not often I see another draconequis."
"Now hold it just a dog gone minute!" exclaimed Applebloom. "That book said a lot of things, but it didn't say that Bedlam was like you!"
"Of course it did my dear," replied Discord, holding up the book. "Right here on the page, Q was consumed by wild magic and I was born. Just as Reiver will be consumed and Bedlam will emerge as a beautiful chaotic butterfly."
"But I'd never do anything like that to Reiver!" countered Bedlam. "He's been a friend to me since I started existing!"
"I'm afraid, there's not a lot you can do about it," said the Spirit of Chaos.
Reaching into the book, Discord pulled out the image of Q in the Storm of Magic. Setting it in the air before them, he pulled a pointer out of his ear and slapped the end onto the picture.
"Wild Magic was never meant to be used by anypony," he explained. "It's 'Wild' for a reason after all, it wasn't long after Q's experiment that I came into being."
He demonstrated by conjuring some silly putty and moulding it into models of both Q and himself.
"I was alot like you back then. Initially I was just a copy of the pony that was my host-"
"What do you mean, host?" interrupted. Apple Bloom.
Discord turned to the filly.
"Because that's what he was my little pony, a host for my growing chaos. You see, the magic had saturated every part of his being and actually taken a physical form, namely me. But that wasn't the end of it."
"What do you mean?" asked Reiver, dreading the answer.
"As you read, Q was consumed as I took form, but I can assure you, despite my...chaotic past. I did not willingly destroy him. "
He pointed a claw at Bedlam.
"Much like you won't willingly destroy your friend. The magic kept absorbing power, first what had been absorbed by Q's own cells, then his own magic. Poor Q didn't understand what was happening and tried everything, even an exorcism, to get rid of me, but...well, you know the rest."
He snapped his claws and everything returned to normal.
"So you see my shady friend, there is nothing you can do. Eventually you will be born, and he will die."
"But this is impossible," said Reiver. "I haven't been exposed to Wild Magic."
"Are you sure?" said Discord, pulling out what looked like a Tricorder from Star Trek. "Because this thing has been beeping and booping at me ever since I got near you."
"I'm sure, there's no way I could have...been...exposed..."
Reiver trailed off, realisation dawning as his gaze fell to the book once again.
"How could I have been so stupid!" he exclaimed, kicking the ground in frustration. "It was there, it was literally just explained to me and I missed it!"
"What? What was explained?" Asked a concerned, and puzzled, Sweetie Belle.
"Look at that image, the one of the Storm of Magic! What is it surrounded by?"
The Cutie Mark Crusaders and Bedlam looked at the page, quickly reaching the same conclusion.
"Wormholes," whispered Bedlam.
"Indeed," said Discord. "Though I notice that Twilight failed to mention this in her presentation, I really should speak to her about that."
"But, the storm hasn't happened yet?" queried Scootaloo. "How can he be here now?"
"Um, what part of 'Wild Magic' didn't you get?" said Discord, briefly conjuring an explosion to make his point. "It's Wild, untamed, uncontrollable and oh so deliciously chaotic! If it created a wormhole now, who's to say it wouldn't close and open elsewhere, sending somepony into the past, the future, or even into another universe! I believe mister Reiver was pulled into one that opened into his world, then re-opened into our past, completely saturating him with Wild Magic. The result, an almost mini me!"
The Spirit of Chaos created a plushie of himself that danced around Bedlam in celebration, but the shadow pony was having none of it.
"There's got to be a way to stop this," he said, firmly, before bucking the plushie into Discord arms. "I'm not going to just let Reiver die, can't you do something?"
"Well..." mused the Spirit of Chaos, stroking his beard. "I suppose it might be possible to separate you two."
Before anyone could say anything, he snapped his fingers.
Reiver screamed as a flash of light engulfed him.
Slowly opening his eyes, he saw three concerned fillies, a frightened Bedlam and a very confused Discord.
"Odd, that's never happened before".
"What's never happened?" asked Reiver, nervously. He looked himself over, everything was where it should have been, four hooves, eyes, mane tail. In fact, he was completely normal.
"Nothing...happened?" he asked, cautiously.
"Exactly!" exclaimed Discord. "Nothing happened, and nothing has never happened before!"
He looked over his claw.
"Perhaps I did it wrong?"
He snapped his fingers to a chorus of dismay from the foals, only for nothing to happen for the second time. He tried again, and again, and again, getting increasingly frustrated with each snap until he finally threw up his arms in defeat.
"That's it, I've had it! This isn't supposed to happen until I'm at least four thousand!"
He huffed and folded his arms.
"For whatever reason, my magic isn't working."
"Then what do we do?" replied Bedlam, practically pleading with the spirit of chaos.
"I suppose we need to get somepony else with awesome magical power to do it," huffed the Spirit of Chaos. "Somepony that knows and understands the intricate nature of spellwork.
"Somepony like Twilight," said another voice.
The group fell silent and looked to the edge of the bookcases. Spike was stood there, arms folded and looking straight at them.
"Hi...Spike," said Reiver, nervously. "How much of that did you hear?"
"Enough," replied the dragon. ""I was sorting the shelves and couldn't help but eavesdrop, although when I heard him," he jabbed a thumb at Discord. "I really started listening. Then there was a scream and I thought you might be in danger."
Approaching Bedlam. He stopped in front of the shadow creature and stared.
"Although, this was not what I expected."
"What did you expect?" asked Sweetie Belle.
"That he had turned you all into something strange."
"There's still time for that," replied Discord, cracking his knuckles. "Maybe my magic will work on normal ponies, care to try?"
"NO!" was the unanimous reply.
"Spoilsports," he muttered.
The dragon's gaze moved from Bedlam to Apple Bloom, then Reiver, who looked anxious.
"You okay?" he asked.
"Not really," replied the colt. "I really didn't want to bring too many people into this. I'm afraid I'll be taken away if I trust the wrong pony."
"I see...listen, I can't pretend to understand everything that's going on, but I'm not going to leave a pony when he needs help."
"Like we've been doing," said Apple Bloom, stepping forward. "Cutie Mark Crusaders for life."
"Yeah," replied Scootaloo. "You're one of us, we don't leave fellow Crusaders behind."
Reiver looked up at the smiling fillies, and one drake. He felt something lift in his chest, like a weight he had been carrying was gone.
"Thanks guys," he replied with a smile.
“Aren’t you all worried about how she will react to little old me?” interrupted Bedlam. “I’m all for seeing Twilight, but she hasn't the best record involving things she doesn’t understand.”
“Shady pony has a point,” said Discord. “Remember Pinkius Pieikus?”
“She’s also the smartest and most powerful unicorn in Equestria,” countered Spike. “No pony knows as much about magic as her.”
Bedlam looked over at Reiver, silently asking his opinion.
“You know that she’s aware of me.”
“But not of me! You’re not the only one that doesn’t want to become a science experiment! I’m tied to you, she might take us both!”
“We won’t let that happen!” interrupted Apple Bloom. “When we said Cutie Mark Crusaders for life, that means you to!” “Yeah!” affirmed the other fillies.
Bedlam was taken aback, he hadn’t really thought of himself as ‘one of the gang’, just a strange creature that didn't fit into the world he was in. But now, as he looked at each of them, he slowly realised he was a much part of this group as Reiver.
He took a deep breath.
“We really don’t deserve them, do we?”
“No, we really don’t.” replied Reiver, his voice hitching.
“Alright, I’m in, but I’m not showing myself until we are alone with Twilight,” replied the shadow pony, fading from sight.
Reiver looked over at the group as they stood there, determined and ready to risk themselves to help him and Bedlam. He felt, maybe for the first time, that he was part of something and as his eyes started to water, he realised it was because he done something he had never done back home.
He made friends.
Taking a deep breath to compose himself, the colt wiped away his tears.
“Where do we find her?”
"I've memorised Twilights schedule,” said Spike. “I know exactly where she is right now. Follow me"
Spike took off towards the doors, the foals following.
"Oh, won't this be fun!" cheered Discord, floating after the group. "I can't wait to see what the princess of organisation makes of all this."
"We are never going to get close," whispered Spike as he peered around the doorway.
The dragon had quickly led them back to the Town Hall, where Twilight had established herself in Mayor Mare’s office. They wanted to speak to her alone, but the sheer number of ponies present, which included the Mayor and Princess Luna, made it impossible.
"We need them all to leave, and quickly. Any ideas?" asked Apple Bloom.
As if on cue, the ponies around Twilight, including Luna, suddenly vanished in a flash of light.
The foals and Spike disapprovingly glared up at Discord, who blew smoke from the end of one claw like it was a gun.
"You're welcome," he cheekily replied, before floating into the room.
"Discord!" exclaimed Twilight. "I might have known you did that."
"Guilty, as charged," he replied shamelessly. "Don't worry, they are all perfectly safe, we just needed you alone for a bit."
"We?"
Discord waved over to the doorway where Twilight saw the group of youngsters. Spike gave a nervous wave.
"Um...hi".
"Spike, Reiver, girls, did he put you all up to this?".
"Not exactly," replied Scootaloo.
“We really did want to talk to you,” finished Sweetie Belle.
"Couldn't this have waited until later? We have a crisis on out hooves."
"There's always one crisis or another to be dealt with," said Discord. "I'm sure the 'magic of friendship', or some other plot device, will do whatever it does in the end."
"This really couldn't wait Twilight," nervously interrupted Reiver. "So...you how I'm an alien from another dimension She nodded.
“...well...there was something I didn't tell you. Bedlam...you can come out now."
"Umm, about that," the voice echoed in Reivers mind. "We might have a problem."
The entity materialised right next to the group, causing Twilight to jump in surprise. But when he turned to his unorthodox twin, the colt gasped.
Bedlam's eyes, usually brown like Reivers, were now yellow with red pupils, just like Discord.
To make matters worse, there was an explosion of light, followed by the boom of the Royal Canterlot voice.
"DISCORD! I SWEAR IF THOU SEND US TO THE REALM OF CHAOS ONE MORE TIME I SHALL SEND THEE TO THE FURTHEST STAR IN THE SKY!”
Princess Luna stood before them, mane billowing furiously like a midnight storm, eyes furiously glowing with the limitless power of the heavens. Her focus entirely on the draconequis.
“DOES THOU KNOW HOW MANY PONIES WE HAD TO CALM? THEE ARE LUCKY WE COULD SEND THEM HOME SANE!”
Discord filed his claws, unintimidated by the display of power.
“As impressive as this is moonbutt, there are other concerns right now.”
He indicated Reiver, and Bedlam, who had were cowering behind the three fillies.
"WHAT TRICKERY IS THIS?!" she bellowed. "THOU WOULD BRING FOALS INTO THY GAMES?!"
"As much as I would like to take responsibility," replied Discord, calm in the face of the furious Princess of the Night. "I cannot, there is alot going on here, and you really should calm down, you're frightening ponies."
Looking again at what her display of power had done, memories of the last time she did such a thing surfaced. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath Luna reigned in her fury and power, her mane returning to its normal state. Slowly walking up to the group of foals, she knelt down.
"I apologise for frightening you,"
Reiver and Bedlam nervously peeked out from behind the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
"Please, tell me what happened."
"I would,” began Reiver. “But-”
"We know what you do to creatures of chaos!" cried Bedlam, ducking behind Twilight. "I'm not going to be somepony's garden gnome."
Luna was taken aback, she would never do such a thing to any of her little ponies. But...this foal said it was a being of chaos, her mind reeled at the implication.
"I assure you," she replied, calmly. "I would never do such a thing,"
"Although Celestia might," muttered Discord, earning him hard looks from everypony present.
"Reiver, it's alright,” said Twilight, softly. “Princess Luna won't hurt you, or Bedlam. She's just protective of her ponies, she would never do anything to harm them.”
Reiver nervously peeked up at Twilight from behind the Crusaders. She smiled reassuringly at him.
“Trust me, she means you no harm.”
The colt looked up at the fillies, who smiled and nodded in agreement.
Taking a deep breath, he stood up, Bedlam leaving his cover to join him.
"Okay, I...I think I'm alright now."
"That's good, now, please tell everypony what is going on."
It took a while to bring Luna up to speed, but between, Reiver, Bedlam, the fillies and Twilight, she soon knew the full story.
"Fascinating," breathed the Princess. "I had always wondered where Discord had originated, there is no other creature like him in the entire world."
"Well, I am one of a kind," he replied with a toothy grin. "But now you know the story of my youth, Q really was ahead of his time with that spell."
"But he clearly lacked caution,” responded the alicorn. “Had I or my sister known, his life might not have been forfeit."
"But then you wouldn't have my charming company, now would you?" countered Discord, offering her a flower from his lion paw, which she immediately pushed away as a jet of water shot from it's petals.
"But that doesn't explain what happened to my eyes," interrupted Bedlam. "They look like his, and they resemble a pair of off colour eggs."
"They do not!" retorted the Spirit of Chaos, removing his own eyes and apparently studying them with the empty sockets of his skull. "Now I look at them, I’d say they were more like marbles."
"Actually," interrupted Twilight. "I've got a theory about that."
She turned to the fillies and Spike.
"You said Discord tried to use magic on Reiver, but it didn't work."
"That's right," said Apple Bloom. "He tried to separate them."
"But nothing happened," continued Scootaloo. "He did it a bunch of times to, but it didn't do anything."
The unicorn then turned to Discord.
"You also said that the magic kept absorbing power, until it took Q's own energy."
"That's right," he replied, casually tossing his eyes back into his skull. "Like a big magical sponge."
"In that case, I'd say that your magic didn't work because it was absorbed. If Bedlam is another Draconequis in development, then I would conclude that his eyes have changed because your magic has inadvertently sped up his transformation."
Bedlam and Reiver glared at the Spirit of Chaos, who finished repositioning his eyeballs in time to look sheepish.
"Umm...oops?"
"That's all you have to say?!" roared Bedlam. "You might have just shortened Reivers life and all you can say is 'oops'?!"
"Well, to be fair we didn't realise this would happen," replied the Spirit of Chaos.
"I'm afraid it gets worse," interrupted Twilight, her horn glowing with power as she scanned Reiver, who flinched away from the unicorn.
“Hey!” he snapped. “What did you just say about me being a magical sponge!”
"Sorry, but I need to be certain,” she replied, projecting a series of numbers and graphs into the air. Running her eyes over the data, she made some mental calculations.
Her face paled.
“It looks like the rate of absorption is increasing,” she whispered. “If we don't do something soon…”
She trailed off, leaving a silence so quiet you could have heard a pin drop, which they did, because Discord conjured one the size of a sofa.
"What?" he said to the glaring ponies. “You were all so serious.”
"How long do we have?" asked Reiver.
"I can't say, you should be okay until after the Storm of Magic has passed." she replied, looking out a window at the darkening sky. "It's not the best plan, but there simply isn't time for me to do anything now. For now, I recommend staying inside. Once it's past, we will help, I promise."
"You'll be safe at Sweet Apple Acres," said Apple Bloom. "Those Waystones are going all around the farm, just sit in the cellar with everypony until it's over. Uh, we should probably get back there soon, Applejacks going to wonder where we've all been."
"Good idea," praised Twilight. "The Waystones power will draw away any magic, they might even slow the process."
The filly beamed as she laid a hoof over both Reiver and Bedlams shoulders.
"See, y'all will be fine."
Both Reiver and Bedlam looked at each other and nodded. The shadow pony disappearing a moment later.
"Where did he go?" asked a surprised Princess Luna.
"Still here moony,” echoed Bedlams voice from all around them. "It takes more power to manifest so I figure if I'm not present then it might slow things down a bit further. Just call me when this is all over."
"Moony", chuckled Discord, now wearing a pair of glasses and holding a pad and pen. "I've got to remember that one."
"Umm, not to interrupt, but we should go to," said Sweetie Belle. "With everything going on, Rarity is probably wondering why I'm not at home."
"And my parents will be freaking out as well," finished Scootaloo. "We can meet up again after the storm."
"Please keep this a secret," stressed Reiver to Luna. “I don’t want too many people knowing about...well, all this.”
The princess smiled.
"I can assure you, that this shall remain between all present and no more."
"Even I can keep a secret, most of the time," replied Discord, literally zipping and then unzipping his mouth. "I must say, if we can separate you two then having another me around is going to be so much fun. I can just imagine the chaos we will cause!"
He disappeared in a flash of light and a burst of confetti, his gleeful laughter echoing all around them.
The group looked at each other nervously as Scootaloo gave voice to their thoughts.
It was as they were finishing breakfast that the Apple family were disturbed by a knock at the front door. Reiver and Apple Bloom watched with interest as Applejack opened it to reveal a pure white stallion in the gold armour of Equestria's royal guard.
"Sorry to disturb you," he apologised. "But I'm here with a shipment of Waystones. We were instructed by Twilight Sparkle to place them around the farm."
"Glad to hear it," replied Applejack. "Give us a moment and I'll show y'all where to set them."
With a salute, the guard left.
"Alright everypony,” announced the farmer, re-entering the kitchen. “This is going to be one heck of an operation, so it's all hooves on deck. Big Mac and I will help them canterlot ponies with unloading, Granny y'all can tell them where to go. Reiver, Apple Bloom, get some flags from the Sisterhooves Social out of storage. I want you to mark where the stones are going."
“No problem Applejack,” declared Apple Bloom. “Reiver and I have got this, ain't that right?”
“Huh? Oh yeah we got this…” mumbled Reiver, causing Apple Bloom to frown.
Since their conversation with Discord, the colts mood had dropped. The farm filly had done her best to talk to him, but he had been quiet and distracted all of last night.
“Alright Apples, let's get to it!” exclaimed Applejack.
Cleaning away their dishes, the family of farmers headed outside. Reiver was right at the back of the line when Applejack gently pulled him aside.
“You alright partner?” she asked. “Your very quiet.”
“Oh...just a...little worried,” he replied, slowly. “I’ve never seen a Storm of Magic before.”
Reiver wasn't meeting her eyes, Applejack might not have been a truth detector like some ponies think, but she could still see when a pony wasn't telling her the whole truth. Something was bugging Reiver and he didn't want to say what.
“You sure?” she pressed.
“I said I’m okay!” he snapped, surprising Applejack.
“Alright partner, I get it,” she replied, gently laying a hoof on his shoulder. “But if your ever not ‘okay’ then you can talk to anypony here. Now, before you go, I’ve got a small favour to ask.”
Standing up, the farmer went to one of the cupboards and retrieved the sample kit.
"Nurse Redheart left it," she explained, carefully. "She just wants to make sure you are doing okay. I promise, there is nothing strange about it.”
Reiver eyed the swab and plastic jar suspiciously, he knew Applejack was a terrible liar, something that was always brought up on the show. But he also knew she wasn't incapable of lying. For example, her explanation made it clear she wasn't telling him the whole story, which wasn't technically lying.
“Ironic.” mentally quipped Bedlam. “Neither of you are telling the whole truth to the other, this is almost funny.”
The colt let the entity's words sink in for a moment, he was annoyingly perceptive. Whatever this was, it was not to check his health. However, despite whatever this was, the Apples had still taken care of him when he had been at his worst, and if there was one group of ponies he felt he could trust, it was the Apples. So, giving Applejack benefit of the doubt, he let her take a swap from his mouth to send to Redheart.
WIth that taken care of, they exited the farmhouse, Applejack immediately crossing the farmyard towards the cartload of Waystones. Big Macintosh was already assisting several Earth ponies with unloading, astonishing them with his ability to lift one of the gigantic monoliths all by himself. Granny Smith stood to one side, barking orders like a drill sergeant as ponies scrambled to carry them out.
"Git those things around the main fields and farmhouse pronto! I ain't going to be caught out when that storm hits!"
"Do you want some around the zap apples?" asked Applejack. "Might help to keep some of this magic away from them."
"Heck no!" exclaimed Granny, slapping a waystone with her hoof. "If these things absorb magic, they'll do a number on the zap apples. Those trees survived the last storm and by applesauce they'll survive this."
Applejack turned to Reiver.
"The flags are in the apple cellar, Apple Bloom ought to be down there right now. Help her get them up and then Granny will tell you both where to mark out."
With a nod, Reiver went to do as instructed.
"Did you get that sample for Redheart?" enquired Granny Smith
"Sure did, but I really hope that stallion they've got isnt Reivers daddy, if he is I'm gonna buck him into next week for what he's done."
"Might have to get in line young un," agreed Granny. "But how about we put that thought in the apple cart for now. Get that thing to the hospital and get back here as quick as you can, we’ve got a lot of ground to cover and not a whole lot of time to do it!”
As expected, Reiver found Apple Bloom in the apple cellar under the barn, the filly was rummaging around behind barrels and boxes as she searched for the flags, muttering to herself as she found cones, banners and running hurdles, but no flags..
"I was sure they went back here," she grumbled.
At the sound of hooves on the stairs, she popped her head up from behind a crate and saw Reiver with a pensive look on his face.
"You alright?" she asked, concerned.
"Redheart left a sample kit, he replied. “Applejack just wanted a swab to take to the hospital."
"Well, that's not so bad,” noted the filly. “But, why you look so down?"
"Not down, just...confused. I've been well enough to go out for a while now. Why would Redheart suddenly want a sample to check on me?"
"Maybe she wants to be sure you really are doing well?" echoed Bedlams voice.
"Yeah," agreed Apple Bloom. "She's a mite stuffy, but she always takes care of her patients.”
"Possibly..." mused Reiver.
“Of course this doesn't explain why Applejack isn't telling us the whole story.”
“Hold your horses,” interrupted Apple Bloom. “My sister was lying to ya’ll?”
“Not lying...just being economical with the truth,” remarked Reiver. “She needed that swab, but it wasn't to check if I was well.”
“So what was it for then?”
“I don’t know, but things like that are rarely good,” shuddered Reiver, irrational fears of being taken away resurfacing in his mind.
“Whatever it is mate, we can handle it, your not alone in this remember?”
“Bedlams right” agreed Apple Bloom. The colt smirked.
“Thanks guys, I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“Your a Cutie Mark Crusader, we stick together.” declared the farm filly. “We will help you and Bedlam get through this."
After another search, they finally located the flags and clambered back out to find Granny, following her instructions Reiver and Apple Bloom methodically worked their way around the farm, marking spots beside barns, tool sheds and the animal enclosures.
However, Reivers mind soon wandered and he began to lag behind.
"There's something else isn't there?" enquired Bedlam. “Something you haven't told Apple Bloom.”
The colt sighed.
"It’s just...everything has decided to go wrong! I finally get away from my dad and his crap, then I end up somewhere I never thought I'd be in my wildest dreams! Only just as things are calming down, I discovered the strange creature inside my head is going to accidentally kill me!"
He fell to the ground, hooves splayed out around him.
It was as he lay there that Apple Bloom came back to find him. Sitting down next to his prone form, she laid a hoof on his back.
"Y’all okay?"
"No," was the muffled reply. “But thanks for asking.”
"No problem. Hey, the way I see it, lying here ain't going to do anything, good or bad. Reiver, this is Ponyville! Things have a way of working themselves out somehow. I don't know why, but they do."
Reiver looked up at the farm filly as she offered a hoof.
"So, I say that instead of moping, you could be looking forward to all the things we are going to do when this is all over. I can only imagine what crusading we can try with a spirit of chaos with us."
"Oh my goodness!" exclaimed Bedlam. "She's right, I'll be a full fledged spirit of chaos, imagine the fun we could have with that power!"
"Yeah! We could try anything to get our cutie marks!"
Reiver smirked at the fillies excitement, he had to admit, it was an appealing prospect.
"Why don't we discuss a few ideas," he said, letting Apple Bloom pull him to his hooves. "It might get my mind off things."
Scott leaned up in his bed, over the course of the day he had been hearing snippets of conversation from the corridor, managing to piece together that the staff were worried about some sort of fast approaching storm.
He sighed in frustration and flopped back onto the pillows. If he had been fit enough to move then he might have helped, he had worked in logistics for years and if there was one thing he hated it was being useless. However, right now useless was all he could be until he was fully recovered.
"Hi Applejack," came a cheery tone. "Shouldn't you be at the farm helping set up?"
He tilted his head towards the door, at least these conversations were a useful way of getting information.
"I'm heading back in a minute Tenderheart" replied someone with a southern twang, obviously this ‘Applejack’. "Just got to drop this off for Redheart."
"Ah yes, she’s been waiting for this," said Tenderheart, he heard something being pulled from a bag, followed by approaching hooves.
"Redheart!" exclaimed Tenderheart. "Applejack was just talking about you."
"So I heard," came the businesslike reply. "May I take those samples? We are all very busy preparing and I want them to go straight to the lab before the storm."
"Redheart,” asked Applejack, apprehensive. “If those come back positive, what do y'all think we should do?"
"For now, don't worry" reassured the nurses voice. "We have much bigger things on our plate. Once the Storm of Magic is over, I will get the results to you and help formulate a plan."
He raised an eyebrow at that last statement, but continued to eavesdrop until the speakers said their farewells, but he heard one set of hooves coming towards his open door. As soon as he saw Nurse Redheart pass by his doorway, the stallion called out.
"Nurse! What's going on? What's this ‘Storm of Magic?"
Redheart stopped mid-trot and turned towards him.
"Seriously?” she said in exasperation. “You do not know what a Storm of Magic is?"
"No, surprising as it may sound," he responded, condescendingly.
Redheart aggressively snorted.
"Long story short, it's a big tornado of magic that destroys everything in its path," she snapped. "Due to your condition, you will be moved to a secure, windowless ward, with some of the other patients."
She took a firm step towards him.
"Furthermore, I do not appreciate being spoken to in that manner. Refrain from doing so again or I will find a way to make your stay...unpleasant."
Before he could think of a retort, she turned on her hooves and left.
Scott bristled. No one had spoken to him like that in a long time, not his wife, co-workers and certainly not Reiver, at least until the funeral. He took a deep breath and flopped back onto the bed.
Why did he even retire? At least in the military he was respected and no one talked back to him like he was an idiot. He resolved that if he found a way back home he would re-enlist, his experience would put him back like he never left, and he wouldn't have to put up with disrespectful civilians.
These musings were interrupted as a pair of ordelies entered, one briefly explaining they were there to move him to the secure ward.
The stallion took a last look out the window before his bed was wheeled out the room, noting the roiling clouds that were gathering over a dark forest. He hoped these ponies got their act together, because this storm was going to be big.
The winds blew in a howling frenzy as multi coloured lightning bolts arced across the black sky in deafening explosions of light and power. The weather was wild, but everypony knew that this was only a prelude to the true maelstrom.
Princess Luna stood on the balcony of Golden Oaks, peering into Twilight's telescope. She swept her gaze out over the Everfree Forest, the alicorn's ethereal mane still magically billowed before her, defying the gale.
Ponyville was as prepared as they could be, the waystones were placed, the unicorns were positioned, yet the princess of the night was still uneasy. She had experience with Storms of Magic before, and knew no matter how well prepared they were, this was a primal force of magic they now faced.
She spared a glance at the town, everypony had either fled or hunkered down in their homes. A few unicorns were creating shields, but they would be no help. The Storm would either take the magic for itself or wash it away entirely.
There was a thud on the decking and she looked up to see Rainbow Dash standing ready. The veteran flyer was clad in an insulated bodysuit, typically used for extreme weather, a set of flying goggles were pulled over her eyes.
"Are the pegasai in position?!" Luna bellowed, attempting to be heard over the storm.
"Yeah, everypony's ready!" shouted Rainbow Dash. "Winds are making things hard but we've got this!"
"Very well, brave Rainbow Dash, return to thy post!"
Saluting the princess, the Element of Loyalty launched herself upwards and made for the clouds.
Returning to the telescope, Luna's breath caught in her throat.
There it was, a multicoloured maelstrom of pure chaos and power. A swirling, shimmering tornado ripping right through the heart of the Everfree Forest and straight towards them. She watched as anything in it's way was destroyed or altered by its power, trees burst into flame, rocks liquefied, creatures were sucked into its body and were never seen again or spat out in chaotic new forms.
She recalled that a Zebra lived in the forest, a friend of Twilight. She didn't see her at the town meeting, the alicorn could only hope she found a place to hide, because this was the raw power of their world, and Ponyville was right in its path.
Nurse Redheart silently waited in the hospital laboratory. The pony on duty, a blue unicorn stallion with a DNA helix for a cutie mark, was running a final test on the samples she had given him. The nurse was irritated, as what happened here could affect everything for Reiver, it was also taking longer than she would have liked, a rumble from outside reminding her why.
The machine that held the samples emitted a sharp beeping noise before reams of paper began spilling from the printer. The stallion lifted the end in his hooves and rapidly scanned down the paper, his experience telling him where the key data points were.
"Well, Double Helix?" she asked sharply.
"I'm sorry to say that the results are a positive match," replied the stallion. "Scott is the colt's father."
"...I see," curtly replied the nursemare, expression neutral.
Double Helix lit his horn and magically arranged the information into both files before floating them over to Redheart, who slipped them into her saddlebags.
"When are you going to tell them?" he enquired.
A sudden roar of thunder from outside made them freeze.
"After the storm," she stated. "Right now, we have to get to the patients."
The storm had caught Reiver and Apple Bloom off guard at the end of the farm's southernmost field. They had been watching the Canterlot unicorns place the last waystones when the weather quickly deteriorated, the sky rumbling as clouds rapidly blotted out the setting sun.
As they galloped through Sweet Apple Acres, the two foals passed the other waystone formations. They surrounded essential buildings, such as the house and barn, as well as much of the orchards and other fields, each of them flaring with arcane power, dotting the fields with light.
Another rumble lent speed to their hooves as the near exhausted foals rounded the barn and sped towards the farmhouse, where Granny Smith held open the trapdoor to the cellar.
"Get inside it young uns!" she yelled. "Things are about to get nastier than a hog with a bucket of hogswallop!"
"What does that even mean?" huffed Reiver.
"It means move your caboose!" gasped Apple Bloom.
As they passed a waystone by the farmhouse, a sudden gust of wind caught Reiver by surprise. The colt yelped as his hooves were literally blown out from under him, his body smacking into the rock.
Skidding to a halt, Apple Bloom turned to help the colt as he slid down the stone and onto shaky hooves.
"You alright?" she asked.
"Nope," he groaned, rubbing his head.
"There's a first aid kit in the cellar, come on!"
Grabbing his hoof, the filly led him quickly into the cellar, where Applejack and Big Macintosh were already waiting. With everypony safe, Granny climbed inside and pulled the doors shut, securing them for the storm.
Unfortunately, this meant she didn't see the waystone Reiver impacted flicker and spark, moments before it died utterly.
Princess Luna launched herself skywards, horn flaring with power as she rocketed upwards, roaring a defiant battle cry at the howling storm. The Princess of the Night spread her wings wide, her eyes glowing with pure arcane power.
"HEAR ME STORM!” boomed the Royal Canterlot voice. “I AM THE MISTRESS OF THE NIGHT, I ALONE CONTROL THE POWER OF THE MOON AND STARS! I AM LUNA EQUESTRA, AND YOU WILL NOT HAVE THIS TOWN!"
Magic erupted from her horn and pierced the oppressive cloud cover above the library, the grey sky parting above her to reveal a clear, star filled sky. As Luna's power took hold, the stars shimmered in recognition of their mistress and slowly they began to move.
The pegasai among the remaining clouds briefly paused at the display of power, even Rainbow Dash was momentarily in awe, before she snapped her pegasai into action.
“Alright ponies! You know your jobs, I’ve got faith in all of you!” she barked, pulling down her goggles. “Now fly like you mean it!”
Formations of pegasai burst from the clouds and began flying through them at breakneck speed. Much like with an Everfree storm, the aim was to break up as many as possible to stop it from creating lightning, something the magic could use to strike anything nearby.
A contrail of colour behind her, Rainbow Dash led Thunderlane and Flitter through a thick bank before swooping around to find more. The wind wasn't making things easy as it buffeted and blew the pegasus ponies like leaves. Several had collided with one another already and she saw Open Skies tumble towards the window of Sugar Cube Corner, only for it to open for him. (The confused pegasus emerged a minute later in a burst of confetti with a cupcake in his hoof).
Thankfully, she had deployed them in teams of three so they could support one another, some were already returning to the fight, but this was far from over. Steeling herself, she signalled for the next part of their plan to begin.
Ponyville General trembled as the storm raged outside, eliciting a few nervous whinnies from its remaining occupants.
Those who could, had been evacuated. Those who couldn't were now crammed into a windowless ward on the ground floor, the remaining staff doing their best to keep them calm. Beds were laid out side by side and a makeshift pharmacy occupied one corner, along with a triage centre. The doors had also been secured to prevent the wind from blowing them open, should the storm reach the hospital.
Scott watched in frustration as the lights flickered. He wasn't used to being this vulnerable, he was always the one in control, the one with people to keep in informed and the one giving orders. Instead he was lying in bed like an invalid and having to rely on some uncooperative hospital ponies. A few had tried to talk to him, but a quick scowl sent them away.
"You aren't making yourself popular around here."
He sighed in exasperation.
"What do you want?"
Nurse Redheart raised an eyebrow at the question.
"I think that's obvious, I'm checking on my patient."
"I'm fine, thanks for asking," he replied through gritted teeth.
"You are most certainly not fine," she stated, reading his chart. "While your recovery thus far has been impressive, you are far from being released."
She flipped over the paper and hummed to herself, which only increased Scott's frustration. Looking for a distraction, his eyes settled on her saddlebags.
"What's in there?" he asked, pointing at them.
"Paperwork I couldn't secure before the storm," she responded. Lifting an eye, she studied the stallion. His emaciated features made the comparison difficult, but now she knew who he was, the nurse mare could identify the similarities between his and Reivers muzzle.
She signed mentally, for now she would keep Reivers existence a secret from his father. She would have to tell him eventually, but not before the Apples had time to prepare.
"Do you feel any thirst, weakness, headaches?"
"Only the one this conversation is giving me," he huffed.
"I see,” she stated, flatly. “I'd like to keep you off painkillers until you gain more mass, but if it gets worse then say so, I'll be checking in with you later."
"Can't wait," he groaned, flopping back onto his pillow.
The nurse replaced his chart and trotted over to the next bed.
Scott grumbled as he rubbed his forehead and eyelids as best he could. Even if he had figured out hooves he still found them difficult. Reluctantly deciding his best way out of this mess was to sleep it off, Scott closed his eyes and tried to relax.
It needed magic, it could feel magic, but it couldn't get magic. The creature that held it had little magic, but the hunger that gnawed at it demanded more.
It reached out, twisting in discomfort, there was magic close by.
It slipped through gaps, shadows, the spaces between spaces until it found the magic, then it began to feed.
The power tasted glorious. Like a dying pony in a desert it gulped down the arcane energy as fast as it could, not stopping until it was all gone.
It was stated, this magic was good, but not pure, no, that magic was coming.
As the creature withdrew, one of the hospital waystones guttered and died.
The weather team were like a well oiled machine, as soon as the Storm crossed the edge of Ponyville, Rainbow Dash signalled the squadron and they flew right into the path of the storm, against the howling winds they circled around it in a cyclone of their own, aiming to disrupt, or force the storm apart.
This wasn't without significant risk as they ducked and dodged debris whipped up through the air, tiles were pulled from homes and span towards them in a cloud, clipping wings and shattering on their bodies. Likewise thick beams and rocks were tossed towards them like playthings, forcing the formation to break up in places to avoid being hit.
Even worse was the wild magic that it unpredictably spat towards them.
Rainbow swerved to avoid a multicoloured bolt, glancing back in time to see it turn a stone wall into bubbles. Another pegasus wasn't so lucky and took a bolt to their chest, his suit diffusing most of the power but his coat still morphed through several shades of tartan. Another suddenly found his wings turned to stone and plummeted downwards, saved moments later by his wingmates.
Rainbow tried to get an eye on Princess Luna, spotting the Alicorn as her spiralled horn flared again, a beam of white energy soaring into the heavens. The Princess of the Night grit her teeth as she pulled at the stars, but something was pulling back. She fought to move them out of alignment, but it was like trying to move a mountain. They recognised her as their mistress but the magic of the storm held them in its grip.
Pegasi continued to streak around the magical storm, their own tornado taking shape. The magical vortex seemed to rage and fight back, flashed of magic and lightning striking out at the pegasai.
Suddenly there was a cry from high above. Rainbow Dash snapped her gaze up at Princess Luna, only to see her magic backfire in a blinding explosion, the force scattering the pegasi like ninepins.
Without the ponies to sustain it, their tornado broke apart, and the Storm continued onward into Ponyville proper.
All over the town, waystones flared as the magic struck them. Magical runes glowed bright as each drew the storms power away from the buildings they protected.
Then it struck the hospital, and the waystone that should have saved it did nothing.
Scott cried out as something struck him in the chest, his nerves burning as electricity raced through his system. The stallion's body convulsed and shook, limbs sticking out at odd angles as his withered muscles were forced to bend into unnatural shapes. He tried to scream, but no sound came from his throat as his mind was set aflame.
Images flashed before him, his wedding, the birth of his son, their house, his job, the divorce, hospital, morgue, funeral. They raced past like a slideshow, each one bringing his usually controlled emotions rushing upwards like a tide. A final sequence flashed before his mind's eye, his son attacking him in the car, the strike that spun them off the road, a raging rainbow of colour.
And throughout it, he felt nothing but pure, unadulterated rage.
As the pegasi crashed to the ground, the unicorns of the Canterlot Guard responded. Working to catch the falling ponies, they plucked them out of the sky with expertly aimed spells, while the rest scrambled to find those whom their comrades missed, digging through rubble or pulling injured pegasai out of impact craters.
A group galloped as fast as they could towards Ponyville General, their horns lighting with power as they rapidly dug the staff and patients out of the rubble.
"Captain, look at that."
One of the Canterlot Guards indicated the dead waystone to his commander, whose eyes widened at the sight.
"The storm didn't do that, somepony drained its power."
"Any idea whom?"
"We worry about that later soldier, get these ponies to safety first."
Snapping a salute to his superior, the guard resumed digging, while the commander took a moment longer to study the waystone before he went back to help.
The remaining Unicorns ran to Princess Luna, who was already pulling herself out of an impressive crater.
"Are you alright Princess?" one asked, as the alicorn steadied herself.
"I am tougher than I look," she replied, spitting out a clod of earth. "This is not the first time I have 'eaten dirt' as they say."
With a shake of her head, the Luna Princess took to the skies once again.
"Assist those in need, we shall yet defeat this!"
Soaring upwards once more, the princess of the night called on the power of the stars once more, her magic pushing through the clouds and breaking them open once again to reveal a glittering night sky.
The sight of her aglow with power once more rallies the fallen pegasi. Those who can still fly regroup and once again whip up a tornado. Their combined efforts disrupted the Storm's intended path and forced it away from the Hospital.
The pain left Scott almost as suddenly as it had come, the stallion lying still and he tried to make sense of what just happened. His limbs burned and his head was pounding like a jackhammer.
In an effort to focus the stallion closed his eyes and went through each of his senses.
What could he feel? The rain and wind, the cold floor under his body. He must have been thrown from the bed. Something slick on the back of his head, he was bleeding.
What could he smell? Water from the rain, blood, other ponies, dust.
What could he taste? Copper, he must have bit his tongue or the inside of his mouth.
What could he hear? The wind, the cry of voices and barking of orders.
What could he see?
Opening his eyes, the stallion saw the ruin before him. The ward ceiling had completely collapsed and buried most of the room, the patients who had been at its edge were largely unaffected, but several beds, including his own, were overturned and their occupants sprawled on the floor. He looked quickly for the doctors but saw only a few covered in cuts and dirt, the rest were likely buried under the rubble and he could see some pony limbs sticking out through gaps, waving for rescue. Golden armoured ponies were working to dig them out of the collapse, one with a plume directing the rest to free the trapped staff and patients.
He heard someone cry out and turned towards the voice, it was the nurse. She was trapped under part of the roof, her usually pristine white coat matted with grime and blood from a cut over her eye. Her mane likewise caked in plaster as she struggled to pull herself free, her hooves gaining no grip on the tiled floor.
He attempted to stand, knees trembling as his aching bones protested. However, the stallion grit his teeth in determination and forced himself up, he had been through hell with that forest, and he was damned if he was going to die like an invalid. Taking a shaky step, he found himself gaining strength with each one, his burning lungs eased and the pain in his limbs faded, allowing him to reach Redheart quickly.
The nurse huffed and panted as her strength rapidly failed, barely noticing he was at her side until he was already trying to lift the ceiling fragment.
As soon as it shifted, she looked up. Scott had set his stance and dug in his rear hooves as best he could. His muzzle twisted into a determined snarl as his emaciated forelegs attempted to lift the fragment of ceiling.
"You can't lift this," she coughed, inhaling a lungful of dust.
"I'm not going to die like this," he spat through gritted teeth. "I will lift this bloody thing then you will keep me alive until this is over."
Scott ground his teeth together, lifting again he pushed as hard as he could, his tired muscles tensing and flexing as he shifted and heaved the ceiling fragment, until it finally moved.
Frothing at his mouth the stallion slowly but surely lifted the rubble up and off the stunned Nurse Redheart. He should not have been able to do that in his condition.
"Move!" he snapped, and Redheart scrambled forwards moments before his strength failed and the fragment crashed to the floor.
She managed to stand, her legs were sore but steady, a quick check revealed nothing was broken, a stroke of luck given the chaos raging around the collapsed building. However her saddle bags had been caught on the rubble, and with a loud rip the fabric split open spilling the patient files over the floor.
Scott, his strength spent, collapsed, vision swimming as darkness rushed to claim him. Before passing out he caught a glimpse of the files, including the image of a foal.
"That one sounded close," Apple Bloom nervously muttered as the storm loudly rumbled outside.
"Don't worry we're safe down here," reassured Granny Smith. "Your great grandpa built this cellar to be sturdy. It's survived worse."
The cellar was usually used for storage, but the Apples had moved some comforts and supplies down in preparation for the storm. It was a single, large room with bare stone floors and walls, held up by wooden supports and beams. Boxes of food and bottles of water were stacked against one wall while five sleeping bags were unrolled by a lantern and camping stove.
Reiver sat quietly with Big Macintosh as the stallion bandaged an ice pack to the colt's head.
"How's that?" he asked, securing the final bandage.
Reiver grimaced as a bolt of pain shot through his skull, but the ache he had been feeling since hitting the waystone had been dulled.
"A little better," he replied, smiling weakly. "Thanks."
"Just speak up if you need anything, that was a real knock you took."
The colt tried to get to his hooves but only managed a few staggering steps before he was caught by Big Mac.
His vision blurring, he looked up at the red stallion.
"I think I have a concussion," he weakly stated.
Big Macintosh glanced up at his sister, who had been watching.
"There should be some painkillers in the kit," she stated, taking Revier from her brother. "I'll keep an eye on him."
The farm mare gently set him down on a sleeping bag as Big Macintosh began rummaging through the first aid kit.
"How's he doing?" enquired a concerned Apple Bloom.
"Not good sis," replied Applejack. "Keep an eye on him while I get some water."
Apple Bloom nodded and sat by the colts, gently taking his forehoof in hers.
"Reiver?" she tentatively spoke.
The colt stirred a little, eyelids fluttering, his hoof tightening.
"A...Apple Bloom?" he stuttered.
"I'm here," she quietly affirmed. "How's your head?"
"N...not great, it's like a...thousand tiny needles in my brain. My hearing is...I think it's broken...and there's this...pressure...at the back of my mind...i...it's getting worse."
There was another crack of thunder from outside as Applejack returned with Bic Mac and the medicine.
"Try these, it might help."
With Granny Smith supporting his head, the colt managed to swallow the tablets with some water. The Apples stayed near him, each worrying about the fate of the colt they had taken into their home.
The pegasai had failed, Luna wasn't working fast enough and the unicorns could do nothing as the Storm hit the farm. Rumbling and roaring, its magic struck, Waystones flared, but one by the farmhouse was dead, leaving it wide open for what happened next.
Reiver had slipped into a restless slumber, tossing and turning as his fur matted from a cold sweat. The Apples' concern rose as he began muttering and flailing his hooves, like he was in the throes of a nightmare.
Then an explosion of magical power blasted open the cellar doors and threw them in all directions, each pony thudding into the walls of the cellar. Ears ringing, they struggled to rise, Apple Bloom frantically looking towards Reiver.
The colt was writhing and jerking on the ground, a bolt of multicoloured magic driven into his chest, connecting him to storm like a siphon. His eyes were wide, glowing white with ethereal energy and his mouth open in a silent scream.
She tried to get to him, managing a few steps before she fell. But the Crusader wasn't going to give up and forced herself up again, taking slow, but determined steps towards her friend.
Then there was a scream and a shadow manifested on the walls of the cellar.
It was Bedlam.
The entity was shifting and shaking, his shape changing colour, size, and even species. Limbs and eyes formed and disappeared in an instant, while his mouth shot fire, ice, anything that it could, as he cried out in agony.
"Apple Bloom!"
Her head snapped towards the shout and she was scooped onto Applejacks back as the mare galloped to where the remaining Apples had managed to regroup by the stairs, the fear in their features illuminated by the magical bolt.
"W...What's going on?" the filly stuttered in surprise.
"I don't know," replied Applejack quickly. "But we need to hightail it to Twilight or Luna or somepony with magic!"
They were up the stairs and out the cellar before the filly managed to scramble off her sister and tried to run back to the cellar, only to be stopped by Big Macintosh's leg.
"We can't leave!" she cried.
"Apple Bloom, this is beyond anypony here!" firmly stated Applejack. "I don't want to leave, but I know when we need help!"
"But we have to try!"
"I will not-"
They were interrupted as the Storm of Magic suddenly detonated, the shockwave throwing them from their hooves and scattering the pegasai. Princess Luna again fell from the skies as she was blown into Golden Oaks, crashing through windows and into a stack of book shelves.
There was silence for a moment, the wind died and the rain stopped, all was peaceful.
Then the laughing started.
It echoed from the blasted farmhouse and over the land, worming its way into the minds of every pony in Ponyville.
Apple Bloom staggered to her hooves, shaking her head and blinking away her blurred vision. The farm filly's mind snapped into gear as the laugh reverberated around her skull and she galloped back to the farmhouse as fast as she could, the building had lost a wall and the cellar was wide open, the grass around it burnt to cinders.
Her breath caught in her throat as a familiar brown hoof appeared over the lip of the entrance, followed by another and then a head as the colt pulled himself up and out of the cellar, before collapsing in a heap.
A shadow coalesced by his body, it was a formless mass at first but soon it shuddered and took Reivers shape.
"Bedlam?" she tentatively questioned.
The creature was no longer a shadow, but his body was rippling like water in rain, his coat shifting through several colours, styles and textures while his hooves changed to talons, and then paws, while his tail morphed into a snake, a lion's tail and even a curled squirrel brush.
His head snapped up and she recoiled in horror.
His mouth was split wide into a rictus grin, it was almost comically wide as the laugh echoing from his throat filled the air, but it was his eyes that frightened her the most.
They were yellow with red pupils, and they didn’t have a glimmer of sanity.
"Hi there Bloomy," cackled Bedlam. “Why so serious?”
Apple Bloom watched with wide eyes as Bedlam threw back his head and cackled madly, his body rippled as it continued to shift between shapes, colours and creatures.
"Oh, the power!" he cried to the heavens. "The sheer unadulterated, POWER!"
Lightening shot from his eyeballs into the sky.
"Haha! That was a good one!" he laughed. "Oh, let me try something."
His body rippled and filled out, his coat turning purple while a golden, bejewelled gauntlet appeared on his hoof.
"I am inevitable," he spoke, voice now deep and gravelly before he crumbled to dust a moment later, only to reform like a clay doll.
He laughed and danced manically in a circle, rainbows and bubbles trailing behind him, while Apple Bloom could only stare in horrified shock.
"Apple Bloom!"
Her head snapped to the left, where her sister was galloping towards them, the farm pony's gaze rapidly moving between herself, Bedlam, and Reiver.
"What's going on here? What is that thing and why does it look like Reiver?"
"I'm sorry Applejack," she sobbed. "He didn't want us to tell you."
"Tell me what?" she questioned, but the filly was already racing to Reivers crumpled body.
"Reiver?" she trembled, pressing an ear to the colt's chest. "Come on, please be okay."
She tried to calm down and listen, and was rewarded with a faint heartbeat. However it didn't ease her fears as she tried to pull him away fromBedlam, who was warping the sky into a checkerboard pattern.
Applejack quickly joined her, managing to get her nose under the colt's body and lifting him up onto her back. The pair quickly retreated from Bedlam as he continued to revel in his newfound power, summoning a lemonade stormcloud made of cotton candy that he lay under with his mouth, now several sizes too large, open.
Once they made it to what they hoped was a safe distance, Applejack looked back at Reiver while Apple Bloom anxiously tried to wake him up.
"Is he alright?" questioned the farm pony.
"No, no he’s not" cried Apple bloom. “If we don't do something fast then he's going to die."
"What!?" exclaimed Applejack.
"I'm sorry, but he didn't want to tell anyone so we kept it a secret from-"
"We?" interrupted Applejack.
"Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo..." she remorsefully confessed.
"What in the hootenanny is going on here?"
The pair were interrupted by a sudden declaration from Granny Smith, who was rapidly hobbling their way alongside Big Macintosh, the stallion staring in confused awe at Bedlam.
However his attention soon fell on the colt draped over Applejack,
"What happened to Reiver?" he questioned worriedly.
"I don't know," fretted Applejack, setting the colt down. “But apparently Apple Bloom and her friends do.”
"He didn't want to tell anyone,” sobbed the filly. “They just wanted to be safe, we didn't have time to help before the storm hit, it's just all...gone wrong."
"What's gone wrong?" asked her sister. "Please Apple Bloom, tell us what's happening here."
So she did, Apple Bloom went through everything as fast as she could, from Reivers true identity to Bedlam's appearance, right down to what Discord had revealed.
All three looked at her with expressions ranging from grim to concerned, although she was glad none showed disbelief, that would be hard given that Bedlam was right across from them, rapidly changing his colour and species.
“So if we don’t stop that, Bedlam feller, then Reiver’s going to die,” stated Applejack.
The filly nodded, head down.
“Alright, let's think of a plan to-”
A sudden burst of light interrupted any further conversation, as Discord, Princess Luna, Twilight and the other Cutie Mark Crusaders now stood before them. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle immediately ran to their fellow crusader and wrapped her in a hug.
“We saw the explosion from town, “ sobbed Sweetie Belle.
“We thought you might have been…” Scootaloo couldn’t even finish her sentence as she hugged her friend even tighter.
“I’m alright girls,” comforted Apple Bloom. “But Reiver’s hurt real bad.”
At the sight of his unconscious body, the fillies immediately ran to the colt's side, while Luna and Twilight took one look at Bedlam as he rendered the sky asunder to reveal fizzing static.
"Are we too late?" questioned Twilight.
"No, although time is ticking," replied the Spirit of Chaos, spinning his claw on an oversized wristwatch.
"Uh...Twilight…” cautiously interrupted Applejack
The unicorn turned to her friend and immediately pulled her into a hug.
"I’m so glad you’re alright,” she sniffed in relief. “Applejack, there's something you need to know-"
"-about Reiver, I got the short version from Apple Bloom,” finished the farm pony. “It's going to take a bit for me to wrap my head around and we are all going to have a serious talk after all this."
"Indeed honest Applejack, though I feel we have more pressing concerns,” interjected Luna, directing their attention to Bedlam, who pulled a rubber chicken, a scroll and a rusted bell out of a black hole and tossed them aside.
"Great, I’ll have to put those back or there's going to be a few problems," grumbled Discord, scooping the items into a bag while a copy of himself flipped through some papers labelled 'MLP SCRIPT'.
"Any idea how to stop him?" asked Applejack.
"He's drunk on power,” answered the Draconequis. “If we leave him alone he'll burn through Reivers' magic in minutes."
"It took all of us to beat you the first time," reasoned Twilight. "We need to get the girls."
"Good idea!" replied Discord, snapping his fingers.
However, this only brought Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo to his side.
"Uh...Discord those aren't the right girls," queried Twilight. "No offense," she added hastily as the Cutie Mark Crusaders glared at her..
"On the contrary my dear," countered Discord, pressing the three fillies together with two oversized foam hands. "These are the exact girls we need."
"But...how can we help?" spoke up Apple Bloom.
"Well, it's like this.” Discord conjured a jigsaw of Reiver.
“Just as I was made from Q, Bedlam is made from Reiver,” he stated, removing a piece from the Reiver puzzle and conjuring a Bedlam puzzle around it, but it was missing a piece.
“Bedlam has Reivers memories, his morals, likes and dislikes, all the things that made Reiver who he is. However-”
The draconequis produce the missing piece and slotted it into place.
“He also has his own experiences, things that make him an independent being, it’s this we can use.”
“...what do you mean?” asked Twilight. “Can’t we just use the Elements of Harmony to restore Reiver?”
“I suppose…” mused Discord, a pair of thick glasses adorning his face.. “The fight will be over in an instant, Bedlam is filled with chaos after all so it could save Reiver by trapping him in stone. Then again, the magic creates a ;ink with Reiver, so there's a chance they might both end up as lawn ornaments."
"The elements wouldn't do that!" protested Twilight.
"No?" gloated Discord, removing the glasses. " Can you, my dear Twilight, be absolutely sure?”
She fell silent, and Discord smirked in satisfaction.
"Thought so. You see, when I first emerged I lacked something that may have saved Q and made me better. Something, or rather somepony, I have now.”
He conjured a plushie of Fluttershy and gave the toy a tight hug, the plush releasing a quiet ‘Yay’..
"We know what having a friend did to me, therefore what we need is to appeal to Bedlam through something both he and Reiver share, their friends."
Twilight looked at the CMC.
"We'd be willing to give it a try Twilight,” said Apple Bloom
"We all would," piped up Sweetie Belle.
"Yeah!" finished Scootaloo.
The unicorn couldn't help but smile at their courage, as she turned to Applejack.
“His argument is good, but Apple Bloom is your sister.”
The farm pony looked over at Reiver as he lay on the grass, his chest slowly rising and falling as his very life drained away to feed Bedlam's power. She felt a hoof touch her leg and found it belonged to Apple Bloom.
“We can do this Applejack, please, we can help him.”
The filly’s eyes shone with determination, the same determination she got whenever her friends needed her.
“Alright Discord,” said Applejack. “Lets try it your way first, but if anything happens to them-”
"I’ll be the first to feel your powerful hooves on my posterior, I get it,” interrupted the Spirit of Chaos,‘“With that out of the way, I'll go get his attention."
Snapping his claws, the draconequis disappeared in a flash of light, before bursting back into existence next to Bedlam, who was wearing a set of sunglasses.
“Saw you coming,” he stated.
"On the ball, I like that. Having fun?"
Bedlam removed his shades, revealing his newly minted, red and yellow eyes.
"So much fun," he replied with a grin that was just a bit too wide. "It all makes so much sense, reality is an illusion and the universe is a hologram, time is dead and existence has no meaning...although, I don't understand why my eyes look like yours."
"Probably left a bit of magic in you from earlier," theorised Discord. "You are basically raw until fully cooked."
"It's amazing, I can do anything," he replied. "BE anything..."
Bedlam turned into a pony shaped sponge and squished around on his hooves. He then morphed through several forms and shapes, a pony, a changeling, a manticore, a cockatrice and even a chimera before shifting into his normal body. He conjured lightning in a bottle, a storm in a teacup, he made it rain, plush cats and dogs, while turning the grass polka dots.
"All this power, is this what god feels like?."
"Hmmm, couldn't tell you,” stated Discord. “We are Spirits, powerful ones, but not gods. Our power comes at a cost."
Discord gestured behind him to Reivers body, now laid out and surrounded by the Apples and the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Bedlam froze at the sight of his former host, his previous energy vanishing as his runaway thoughts screeched to a halt.
"I...I have this power, I can just make him better again."
"I'm afraid that's not how it works," replied Discord, almost sadly. "Either the host dies and we live, or we die and they live. The reaper comes for everyone eventually I'm afraid, although, at least he's nice about it."
"No!" retorted the entity.. "I refuse to accept that! I can save him! Save us both!”
"Bedlam..." interrupted a quiet voice. He turned to face the speaker, Apple Bloom.
"Do...you remember when I first saw you?" she said. "I didn't trust Reiver at the time, and then you appeared, I nearly screamed."
"I...I remember,” he stammered. “I didn't know what I was then...I was lost."
"It didn't look like it, you were pretty confident."
"I had been talking with Reiver before...before you found out. I had a mind, mostly made from his."
"Then, you met us," continued Scootaloo.
"Yes, you three were so loud you blew me across that wall like paint."
"Then you reformed," giggled Sweetie Belle. "But you were a filly."
"I thought you forgot about that," mumbled Bedlam, grumpily folding his forehooves.
"You have to admit, it was a little funny."
"I suppose..." he huffed, then smirked.
"If I recall, you were so in awe that Scootaloo had to flick your horn to get your attention."
Sweetie Belle immediately blushed, while Scootaloo threw her head back with a bark of laughter.
"Oh yeah, I forgot about that," she laughed "I've never seen her like that with anything, except maybe Button Mash."
The unicorn filly blushed harder.
"I remember teasing you about tree sap," muttered the entity. "Reiver told me not to antagonise you..."
He looked over at the colts prone form, he could feel it, the connection they shared. If he focused hard enough he could even see it, it looked like a river of magic that flowed between them, and it was slowly drying up. The entity disappeared in a flash and pop, only to reappear by the colt's side.
"I remember when I appeared in that bathroom mirror, I wasn't aware enough to realise I was my own creature..."
Reiver had been so thin, on the verge of death. But now he was getting better, he could hold down a meal and had put on enough weight so he no longer looked like a walking skeleton.
"He certainly gave us all a run for our money when Winona found him," stated Applejack, coming up beside him.
"I remember...I think..." he muttered. "I couldn't really see anything, it was more like, feeling his panic, he didn't want to be caught or locked away."
"And I was as good as my word," replied the farm pony.
"You were, and so was Twilight."
He looked up at the unicorn, who was watching the exchange with interest.
"You were all good to him."
"We were more than that," interjected Big Macintosh. "We were his friends."
"And yours," finished Apple Bloom.
Bedlam looked back down at Reiver, then back up at the Apples and Cutie Mark Crusaders, he felt the magic fade a little more.
"He never had friends," he muttered. "All that moving, all that change, until he came here he was all, folded in on himself, alone for so long. You girls...really did something to him."
He looked around at all the ponies that had changed Reiver, made him more confident. He was still a work in progress, but...the entity took a deep breath as he reached his decision.
"He deserves a chance to live."
Bedlam lifted a hoof and laid it on Reivers chest, using the connection he reached into his newfound power to find Reiver magic. His body glowing softly as he pushed it back into the colt's body.
The colts breathing steadied and Twilight checked his pulse, it had gotten stronger. Bedlam's face scrunched up in concentration as he searched for more of the colt's magic to channel into his body. Gritting his teeth, the entity tried to focus inward as his glow flickered.
"I...can't…” he stuttered. “Somethings wrong."
"What's going on?" Apple Bloom urgently asked.
Discord pulled out another tricorder and ran it over the pair.
"I was afraid of this..."
"Afraid of what? What ain't you told us?" demanded Applejack.
"Reivers magic has gotten all mixed up with the Wild Magic, we’re losing it."
"He's right," confirmed Twilight, her horn aglow with power. "Reivers magic is fading, it's getting harder to distinguish between it and the Wild Magic."
"Then do something about it Twi!" exclaimed Applejack.
"I'm trying," replied the unicorn, the glow on her horn intensifying.
"Let me aid thee brave Twilight," stated Luna, her own horn now lighting as she lent her power to Twilight and Bedlam as they fought to save Reivers life.
But it still wasn't enough and the colts pulse began to fail once more.
"We're losing him!" exclaimed the unicorn.
"Can't you do something?" pleaded Apple Bloom to Discord, who was watching the ordeal.
"Me? I'm afraid, despite being an all powerful spirit of chaos, I can't do a thing,” He raised a claw to point at Bedlam. “But he can."
Bedlam gritted his teeth as he listened. Discord was right, there was something he could do, something drastic.
"Girls," he looked directly at the Cutie Mark Crusaders, a sad smile on his face. "I'm glad I got to meet you, it felt nice to have friends."
Then he forced all the magic he could into Reivers body in an explosion of light and colour that sent the surrounding ponies staggering backwards, though Discord simply put on some sunglasses.
"Bedlam!” cried Apple Bloom, but there was nothing but silence.
A pained groan had her head whip around so fast she nearly lost her bow, Reiver was struggling to his hooves, confused, tired, but very much alive.
She immediately tackled him into a tight hug and he went down with a surprised yelp.
"I thought you...you..."
Reiver froze as reality caught up with him, the storm, the pain, he remembered voices, a warm feeling and Bedlam's final words before his body was filled with renewed energy. Tears welled up in his eyes at the realisation of what had just happened and he buried his face in the filly’s shoulder.
"...hey." he sniffled. “I’m okay…”
"Reiver!"
Another two sets of hooves wrapped around them, as Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo had joined the hug, then more hooves as Applejack, Big Mac and even Granny Smith joined the group hug.
“Welcome back partner,” sniffed Applejack, as her own emotions bubbled up to the surface.
“Are you feeling alright?” asked Big Mac.”
“A little tired, sore, I feel like I got hit by a truck.”
"Urgh...you aren’t the only one."
At the sound of another voice, they all startled and looked to its source.
Lying on the ground was a creature. It had a serpentine body, the head of a griffon and long curled horns like a ram. Its front legs were a mix of a crows claw and dragon's talon, while its legs were hoofed and resembled those of a draft horse, a long, thin, feline tail swished and flicked as it rolled over and sat up, looking at the group of ponies as they stared back.
"What?" it said.
"B...Bedlam?" stuttered Reiver in shock.
"Apparently," he replied, studying his new form. "I thought that was supposed to kill me."
"It was about a fifty fifty chance," interjected Discord, helping the new draconequis to his feet. "So glad you survived though."
“Umm, thanks?” he replied, unsure if he should be grateful or not.
The ponies just watched, dumbfounded that there were now two spirits of chaos.
“This is going to be even more of a headache, isn't it?” rhetorically stated Twilight.
“Indeed,” confirmed Luna.
“Let’s worry about that later,” interrupted Applejack. “Right now, I think we could all use an explanation.
She looked down at Reiver, who guiltily rubbed the back of his neck.
The group sat in the living room of Sweet Apple Acres as Reiver told every-creature his story, with Bedlam chipping in when relevant. The Cutie Mark Crusaders remained protectively close to them both throughout, giving the adult ponies pleading looks as he moved to talk about his fear of being taken away. When it was all over and done, the colt nervously fiddled with his hooves as the other ponies digested everything in silence.
"So...that's uh…” finally stammered Applejack, rubbing the back of her neck in confusion. “I don't rightly know what to say,"
"It's a heck of a story is what it is." said Granny Smith. “Might even be considered a load of hooey.”
“But it’s all true,” said Twilight, as they looked to her for confirmation. “I’ve seen Reivers' car with my own eyes, and examined the items inside. He knew how everything operated, how to read the strange language they were in.”
“Now, hold on there, I ain’t saying I don’t believe him. I’m just trying to wrap my head around the story that he used to be a full grown ‘hyoo-mon’,” questioned the elder apple, struggling with the pronunciation.
“Wormholes are fickle things my elderly dear,” explained Discord, lounging on his side, mid air. “Without proper protection just about anything could happen.”
He then conjured a list with a snap of his claw and, putting on some tiny spectacles, unrolled it.
“Lets see,” he mused, studying the parchment. “He could have changed species, colour or gender, gotten much younger or older, gained phenomenal cosmic power, become a fan character, become an alicorn, become a mary sue, the list is literally endless!”
He snapped his claw again and the list rolled up before evaporating into a cloud of soap bubbles.
“I really should have been suspicious when my sister and her friends stopped causing a ruckus with their crusading.” observed Applejack, waving a few bubbles away with her hoof.
“Eeyup,” agreed Big Mac. “The quietest it's been for a while in this town, although, at least they were doing something helpful. Normally they are at the centre of something chaotic every other week.”
The Crusaders grinned sheepishly, they had no real ground to disagree.
“We, uh, never did find anything to help Reiver get home,” confessed Apple Bloom.
“At least until Discord appeared,” finished Scootaloo.
“You’re welcome,” replied the Spirit of Chaos, casually filing his claws.
“So, now I guess you'll want me to go to Canterlot with Luna or something.” said Revier, sadly turning to Applejack. “Now we know a possible way I can get home, she’ll probably want to send me off as soon as possible.”
Apple Bloom and her friends closed around him protectively as the adults shared a few looks.
"Partner, why, in all things cinnamon swirl, would you think we'd want you to leave?” questioned Applejack.
“Indeed,” added Luna, kneeling to look him in the eye.
“You think so little of me, that I would take you from a loving home is a preposterous idea. As Discord said, wormholes are tricky. I shall look into the matter, but ultimately, the choice to leave will be yours and yours alone. No pony here shall take that from you.”
“I'll admit all this is weird...'' interjected Applejack, eyeing Bedlam as Discord floated around the juvenile spirit of chaos, gleefully giggling "...weirder than we usually deal with, but Apples don't just kick a pony, especially a foal, to the curb."
“But...I’m not a foal?” questioned Reiver. “Not really.”
“LIke I said, weirder than we usually deal with,” continued the farm pony. “Listen partner, Winona likes you, so does Big Mac, Granny and me, heck, you even managed to get Apple Bloom on your side after dumping porridge on her.”
“Yeah!” piped up Apple Bloom. “And that was a really bad day for me as well.”
“The point is,” continued Applejack, “we aren’t letting you go, you are part of this family.”
Then, to his surprise, Applejack pulled him into a hug. The colt was stunned, they knew who he was, where he had come from, that he wasn’t even a foal, and they still wanted him. He wasn’t going to be sent away, or given to a doctor or anything, he was staying with the Apples. He wrapped his hooves around her middle as relief flooded through him, along with something else, a sense of warmth and contentment, something he hadn’t felt in years and he struggled not to tear up.
Bedlam sniffled at the sight as Discord handed him a polka dot handkerchief to blow his nose, the subsequent fog horn breaking the moment as everypony turned to glare at them.
"Sorry,” Bedlam apologised. "But it was so beautiful."
Reiver tittered as he wiped his misting eyes at the creature's antics.
"Well, now that we've got that straightened out," stated Twilight, "I suppose our next question is where Bedlam can stay."
"I'm sure we can make up some room for him," replied Granny Smith. “Plenty of room in the farmhouse for another foal.”
"Uh, actually," interrupted the young draconequis. "I've been talking with Discord and he's agreed to put me up."
Every pony present stared in surprise at the Lord of Chaos.
"What?" he incredulously questioned, a halo appearing over his head. "Is it hard to believe that I can be nice once in a while?"
"Yes."
"Absolutely."
"A hundred per cent."
"Eeyup."
"Urgh, you guys clearly don’t know me as well as you think," he huffed, the halo flickering out before popping like a lightbulb. "In any case, Bedlam and I do feel it's best that he stays with me. My realm is perfect for a young draconequis to learn how to control his powers safely, if he doesn't, we might get another Gallopfrey or even Marelantis."
"THAT WAS YOU!"
Luna's shocked exclamation boomed so loud the farmhouse shook, Discord immediately conjured a knight's helmet and shield to hide behind.
"N..now Luna, I'm sure you did regretful things in your youth as well."
"I DIDN'T DESTROY TWO CITIES AND SET BACK CIVILISATION A THOUSAND YEARS!"
The Luna princess, wings flared and horn alight, gared daggers at Discord as he cowered before her.
"Alright that's enough!" snapped Granny Smith, slamming a hoof on the wooden floor. “I don’t care what freaky powers y'all have, I don't want to have to rebuild the farm any more than we have to, so take it outside!"
The matriarch of the Apple family glared at both of them in the way only an angry parent can muster. Surprisingly, it worked, as Luna stood down, rubbing her neck like a filly who had been caught fighting with a sibling, while Discord instead chose to stick out his tongue, only to get a slap to the back of his head from Bedlam for being cheeky.
"Apologies, I...forgot myself for a moment," replied the princess, shooting a threatening look at Discord. "But I will have words with thee later, as will my sister."
“Oh joy,” moaned the Spirit of Chaos.
"Anyway, back on topic," interrupted Bedlam. "Discord was right about showing me the ropes, I'd rather not accidentally destroy reality while trying to conjure a milkshake. His realm is a good place for me to live until I'm confident enough that won't happen."
"You sure?" questioned Reiver, trotting over to the creature. "I mean, you came from me, so I suppose I’m your father...brother...man this is weird.”
Bedlam chuckled.
“The point is,” continued Reiver. “I wouldn't...mind having you around."
"Sorry mate, it's been fun but we've got to go our separate ways for now. I'll be sure to send you letters...once I figure out how to do that."
He was suddenly pulled into a hug by the foal, freezing for a moment as he was caught off guard.
"You've been a pain," said Reiver. "But you were my pain, I'm going to miss you."
"Me to mate," replied Bedlam, wrapping his mismatched arms around his...friend...brother, this really was weird. "I won't be gone forever, so be ready for some real bedlam when I get back."
The pair separated with a smile.
"Alrighty then," said Discord, sliding up to the pair. "I think this is where we bow out for now, sorry it took so long, but rest assured we will return for the finale."
With that, he snapped his claw, and the two creatures vanished in a pop of pink bubblegum.
"Any idea what he was talking about?" questioned Twilight.
"Eenope," stated Big Mac, flatly.
“Should we be worried?”
"If he wishes to be a further pain, then I’m afraid there is little we can do,” said Luna. “I believe it is time I take my leave as well, I must inform my sister of these developments.”
She turned to Reiver.
“You are in capable hooves with the Apple family my friend, though Celestia may wish to meet with you when she learns her student has been keeping secrets."
Luna smirked as the purple unicorn nervously grinned.
"I made a promise...I'm sure she'll understand." argued Twilight.
"I'm sure she will, what you did was in keeping with your studies on friendship after all. Now, I bid you farewell."
Igniting her horn, the lunar princess disappeared in a burst of moonlight.
"Well,” sighed Granny Smith. “Now every pony's caught up, I think we should look at the damage.”
"Reiver, would you mind helping me fix a few things," asked Big Mac, smiling down at the colt, who grinned up at the stallion.
"I'd love to,"
"Fantastic, let's get my tools."
"The rest of you can get to work cleaning up all this rubbish," continued Applejack. "Let's have this farm back together faster than an Apple Family Barn raising!"
"Cutie Mark Crusaders Farm Fixers yay!"
The declaration was followed by three sets of hooves galloping out the door, then another as Applejack ran off to prevent the crusaders from 'helping'.
Reiver and Big Mac chuckled as they followed, the colt feeling like a weight was off his shoulders. They knew his secret, and they didn't reject him, he wasn't going to be sent away, he was staying with the Apples.
The thought made something swell in his chest, and he felt truly happy and at ease for the first time in years. Things were going to be great, he just knew.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Scott's head was pounding as he slowly returned to consciousness. The stallion was barely aware of muffled voices and blurred shapes as he opened his eyes, only to snap them shut as they were hit with a piercing light.
Turning inwards he focused on breathing, slow inhales and exhales, in and out, in and out. Soon, the throbbing inside his skull subsided and he risked opening an eye, fighting through the sting of artificial light until the room swam into focus.
Looking down, the stallion observed he was in a bed, and there were bandages over most of his body, though thankfully no casts, although his mouth tasted like ash and he felt like he had been run over by a truck, several times. Spotting the IV line in his left foreleg, his gaze followed the tube up to a bag hanging over a heart monitor, and a sleeping Nurse Redheart in the chair beside it.
Scott regarded the pony, her fur was unkempt and she had a bandage wrapped around her right foreleg and chest. Her nurse's cap was bent and her normally pristine white coat was matted and grimy with dust.
The stallion attempted to clear his burning throat loud enough to wake her, succeeding on the third attempt as she snorted back to life. Blinking and rubbing her eyes, the nurse pony looked toward him.
"Awake at last," she yawned, the stallion picking out bags under her eyes. "I thought you would be out for a while longer."
Taking a foil bag with a straw sticking from it out of a cool box down by her seat, she moved it up to his mouth. Scott immediately took the straw and greedily gulped down the cool, sweet liquid to quench his thirst.
"Slow down," interrupted Redheart. "You'll make yourself sick if you take it too quickly."
Forcing himself to take slow, even sips, Scott looked at the disheveled nurse with an unspoken question.
"You passed out after saving me from the collapse," she explained. "The Guard had to dig you out, you're in part of the hospital which still has power. I volunteered to stay with you."
He raised an eyebrow, as far as he could tell the nurse hadn't really been sympathetic towards him.
"Don't get the wrong idea," she continued, removing the now empty bag of juice. "I would be a terrible nurse if I didn't look after everypony in my care, especially if they risked their own wellbeing to save me."
"It's good to know my actions were appreciated," he replied, licking his lips.
"Just don't do it again,” she remarked. “You're healing well, despite having part of a ceiling fall on you, but I don't want you in any more danger."
"I don't plan on lifting any more buildings,” he replied. “I'm amazed I managed it at all."
"So am I," she replied, sitting back down. "Earth ponies are strong, but you were starved and weak. Medically speaking, I doubt you could have lifted it at all."
"Glad I proved you wrong."
“As am I,” Redheart stated, settling back into her chair.
Scott soon heard her softly snoring, she must have really been exhausted if she dropped off so quickly. As he settled down on the bed, his thoughts drifted to the photograph in the file she had dropped during the cave in.
It was like the image had been seared into his brain, he recalled the foals' coat and mane colour, recognising they matched his own, and the more he thought about the child's face, the more it felt familiar, until he realised that the colt could have been his son.
But surely that was impossible, he had no idea if whatever brought him here had done the same to Reiver, yet the thought still intruded upon his peace of mind. His son in this candy coloured fairytale world made no sense, the colt in the image was clearly far too young to be Reiver.
You changed, perhaps the ungrateful brat did as well
"Maybe," spoke Scott.
Might be a good opportunity to raise him properly, without that weakling's interference.
"She never did understand what she was doing," he muttered.
Of course not, the kid turned out to be a wimp and a waste of space, you worked hard for them and got nothing back.
"Yeah, might be good to get a little payback, make him man up and stop being such a weak little shut in."
Exactly, glad we see eye to eye.
"No problem," he replied, it was then Scott realised something.
Redheart was still sleeping.
The stallion looked up and turned his head as best he could, there was no one at the door and the room definitely just had him and Redhearts snoozing form.
"Great, now I'm talking to myself," he muttered, settling back down on the bed, resolving to ask Redheart about his suspicions after a decent rest.
As he slipped into slumber, the shadows under the bed began to deepen, coalescing before slowly sliding up along the wall overlooking the sleeping stallion, thickening until a pair of mismatched eyes opened wide, followed by a row of razor sharp teeth in a malicious smile.
Oh, you are far beyond that my friend, but we can talk about that when you wake up.
With a dark chuckle, the entity faded back into nothing, leaving the room peaceful once more.
The Ponyville cleanup began in earnest in the days following the Storm of Magic, thankfully, the preparations carried out had proven effective, although that didn't mean everywhere was intact.
Key buildings like the Town Hall, Golden Oaks, and Schoolhouse had survived thanks to the Waystones, although the grass beneath each rock had been burned down to bare, blackened earth.
More significant damage had occurred to the towns outlying buildings, a few houses had collapsed and the roof of at least one dwelling had been pulled off one completely. Twilight had even gone to check on Rainbow Dash's cloudoleum, but thankfully she had moved it far from the storm's path.
When questioned, the pegasus had simply shrugged and said, "You wouldn't leave all your books in the path of a dragon would you?" Twilight had to agree with the analogy.
She had also been worried about Fluttershy's cottage but on arrival she found it had not only survived but looked no different than before the storm, although many of the animal habitats would need rebuilding. When questioned, the yellow pegasus admitted Discord had temporarily removed it from reality, and that was that.
Sadly, Ponyville General had fared the worst. Almost half the building had collapsed after a Waystone failed, exposing it, and the ponies within, to the full force of the Storm of Magic. Unicorn mages were removing it for analysis by Twilight Sparkle, with sabotage strongly suspected.
There was also the grim task of counting those who didn’t survive.
Stone faced, Nurse Redheart exited the hospital morgue, the room having survived as it was underground. This wasn't easy for her, any of the staff, or the families involved. The Nurse pony knew she came off as callous to her patients, but that didn't change the fact she took her job, and the lives of those in her care, very seriously. Consequently, she took their deaths equally hard.
Pushing grim thoughts from her head for the moment, she proceeded upstairs to her office, which thankfully had also remained standing minus a few ceiling tiles and a shattered window which had blown most of her paperwork all over the room. Settling behind her desk Redheart began cleaning and sorting the patient files and folders, she was nothing if not efficient with her organisation, rapidly replacing the errant documents, which led her to realise that a few were missing.
Thinking back, she recalled the last place she had them was after Double Helix had confirmed Scott was Reivers biological father. She had then put his file in her saddlebags with the rest, before joining everypony in what should have been a safe part of the hospital. In her haste to escape the collapsed roof she never bothered to check if any papers were missing, which meant they were probably still in the rubble.
Hastily making her way to the wreckage, she waved down one of the Guards.
"Excuse me sir but I'm missing some patient files, I think they got buried in the collapse."
"Ah, I know what you mean, we have them here," replied the stallion, taking her to a side room. "We've been keeping belongings and items here in case somepony comes to claim them."
He led her to a stack of grubby papers on a table, searching through it confirmed they were the missing files, but one folder wasn't present.
Reivers.
"Is this everything?" she asked. "I'm still missing a file."
"That's all we could find ma'am," he responded. "But there was a stallion rummaging in the rubble where we dug them out. Maybe he took one.”
“And you didn't think to find him?!” she asked, incredulously.
“We have more pressing concerns right now Ma’am,” the guard responded, indicating the ruins behind him.
Gathering up the mess of papers with a huff, she quickly left. There was only one pony that could want Reivers' file, but she wasn't sure if he was even aware of its existence, nevertheless, she didn’t want to put the foal at risk. Heading straight to Scott's room, she barged in, intending to reprimand him, only to find the stallion also missing.
With a creeping sense of apprehension, she went looking for her wayward patient, winding through groups of staff and patients as she checked each and every room, eventually moving outside where he was sitting quietly on a bench. She spied the missing file beside him as she approached, and the photo of Reiver in his hoof.
"Are you going to berate me for leaving my bed?" he asked tonelessly, eyes fixed on the picture.
"Actually, I was going to remind you that those documents are confidential," she replied.
"Even if they are my own son?" the stallion questioned.
She remained silent.
"That's who this is," he continued, indicating the photo. "This...colt, is my son, isn't he?"
"What makes you say that?," she questioned, unwilling to give him the truth without a fight.
“The eyes, his...muzzle shape, even that coat colour looks a bit like mine. I’m not an idiot so don’t deny it, I know he’s my son...he looks younger than I remember. Then again, I don't look like I'm supposed to either so it makes as much sense as anything else."
Redheart cocked her head, what was he talking about?
"Where is he?"
"In the care of a loving family," she stated.
"Which family? When can I see him?"
"If you read the file then you would already know the answer.” deduced Redheart. “In any case, I'm afraid I can't answer those for his own protection."
"What's that supposed to mean?!" he snapped, glaring at the Nurse pony as she quickly retrieved the folder. "He is MY son, I have a right to see him."
"And I have a right to protect my patients from harm," she retorted. "You should know he's been very unflattering about you!"
"What has he been saying this time?" he bristled. "That ungrateful little brat has no idea what I did to keep a roof over his head!"
"My understanding was that you neglected his emotional well-being, prioritising your career and personal gains over his, and your wifes, happiness."
"Don't you dare bring her into this!" roared the stallion. "She was supposed to raise the kid to be a man, but instead turned him into an emotional weakling!"
"And I suppose that's what drove you to leave?" she replied, in an even tone. "I'll admit I don't have the full story, but it's clear you never put anything before your own pride. You are doing it right now, you shouldn't be outside in your condition, yet, here you are, putting pride before everything else!"
"I am fine," he growled.
"Keep telling yourself that," she sarcastically rebutted. "Now get back inside before I have the orderlies drag you."
The stallion glared at her once again, but Redheart was used to unruly patients and stared him down hard. Finally capitulating, Scott stalked inside with a feral growl, stomping back to his room.
She sighed, he was going to be really difficult now, but she wasn't going to give up Reivers' location to somepony with such a temper. Saving her life aside, it was clear Scott had his own issues that needed working out. Maybe she could help them both somehow, but that might be wishful thinking.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Trotting back to her office, the nurse mare failed to see something detach itself from the file, the creature sliding silently among the shadows until it reached Scott's room, where the stallion was pacing angrily.
“Nag!” he cursed. “How dare she tell me I can’t see my own son!”
It’s not like she knows what's best for him.
“Exactly! She doesn’t know, and my wife certainly didn’t know how to raise the little twat! I needed a son, not a sissy!”
“But that's what you got, a pathetic sissy of a boy.”
“All because I left him with her, I should have taken him away with me. Raised him myself!”
“Why not do that now?”
“He’s a grown man, it’s far too late for that.”
“Is it? You saw the photograph, the nurse admitted it. Your grown son is a child again, you’ve got a second chance.”
“That's right! I can make sure to raise him right, make him a real man, not a sobbing baby.”
“Exactly, nice talking with you.”
“Thanks...wait, who's there?”
His answer was the fading reverberation of darkly familiar chuckle, and then he was alone, while iIn the space between space, something mused.
“I’ll introduce myself soon enough my friend, after all hw else will I enjoy the coming Anarchy!”
Applejack sighed as she put down the phone, this was not the news she needed today. Redheart had just finished informing her about Scott’s discovery of Reiver. Little mercy he didn’t know where he was, now the farmer had to break this news to the colt himself. She had thought about keeping it a secret, like they had been doing so far, however, she decided telling him the truth was now necessary in case the stallion came looking for his son.
Exiting the farmhouse, the blonde pony took in the hive of activity at Sweet Apple Acres, as the Apple family, and a few local ponies, worked to repair the damage done by the storm. The farmhouse had taken the brunt of the damage after the waystone died, the stone itself had also been taken away for analysis by Twilight. A few trees had been toppled or uprooted and would need clearing, but the zap apples were still standing as predicted. The barn had suffered as the upper level had collapsed, spilling hay bales over the floor, while the animals' enclosures had suffered some damage, but that wasn’t irreparable.
Heading down the path to one of the fences surrounding the property, she spied Reiver helping Big Macintosh rebuild one of the broken fences, the pair were heaving a new gate into position before Reiver got to work screwing in the hinges. Soon the job was done, and the pair admired their handiwork as Applejack approached.
"Looks good you two," she complimented.
"Eeyup," was the simultaneous reply, getting a smile from each of them.
"Big Mac, mind if I borrow a Reiver for a second?" she asked. "I need his help with a job."
"That okay with you?" asked the stallion, Reiver nodding in response. “Alrighty then, when you're done come find me and we can rebuild the chicken coop.”
With a wave, Reiver set off with Applejack towards the barn.
"I need a hand in the Apple Cellar," she explained. "Some of the barrels tipped over and now there's Red Delicious all over the place! Your grip has really improved so I reckon we should be done in no time.”
"Okay, but why not get one of the Crusaders?"
"Because they are currently putting their treehouse back up," she explained, relieved the little chaos magnets weren’t close by. “I'd also like to check in with you, partner, everything that happened got me a little worried."
The conversation paused as they headed into the cellar, true enough, there were apples carpeting the floor from a collapsed stack of barrels.
"I was worried as well," replied Reiver, heaving one back upright. "I really was afraid I would become some sort of lab rat or get committed if anyone found out about me. But, I guess I should have had more faith in ponies, especially you and the Apples."
He turned to the farmer.
"I’m sorry for doubting, you kept me safe, helped me get better and stood by me, I’ve not had something like that for a long time. I can honestly say I've never felt more at ease or accepted by anyone."
He smiled up at the farm pony, who nervously rubbed her neck.
"Partner, there's something you need to know..."
"Yes?" he replied cautiously.
"It's about your father."
Reivers' world screeched to a halt.
"I'm sorry, but Nurse Redheart contacted me a moment ago, he's been at Ponyville General for the last few months."
"No...no, no,no,” the colt repeated as a mix of anger and panic welled up inside him. This was impossible, he saw him get vaporised when he was kicked from the car.
“I’m sorry I had to keep this from ya, but they weren't sure about who he was until recently.” She passed to swallow as a brick settled in her gut. “He’s been asking about you.”
"Asking about me? HA!" angrily scoffed the colt. "That would be a first! The man has never once asked about me, he’s an ass!"
"You're lucky Granny didn't hear that partner, though I’m inclined to agree, I've heard enough from you and Redheart about his attitude,” said Applejack. “Would you mind clarifying a few things, you told us how you got here in that car, thing, and that he was with you when y'all got sucked up into that vortex. What exactly happened then?”
Reiver sighed in resignation.
"Sit down Applejack, because I've got a story for you."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The funeral had been a somber affair, even the weather reflected the general mood, dark clouds and rain pattering from the sky, which only got more intense as the service concluded and the coffin was slowly lowered into the earth.
Reiver soberly laid a single rose onto the pine lid, struggling to keep his composure as he adjusted the tie on his dark suit. He watched his grandmother as had to be excused, led away by his Aunty as she wept. Gran had always been religious, and mourned that her child would not see paradise because her death had been by suicide.
Reiver hoped that whomever was up there took her mental state into account, she deserved happiness after the anguish his father had put her through.
Speaking of the devil in question, Reiver watched as Scott, stoic and impassive, laid his rose before backing away. He's seen that look on his fathers face before, the one that he wore every time he had 'apologised' for a missed appointment or event, every time he felt Reiver had been 'acting up' or got 'too emotional', or when his mother was ‘hysterical’.
It was the one he wore every time he was at fault, but chose to blame others instead of himself.
Revier scowled, grinding his teeth in frustration, how dare he show his face. She had already been upset before the divorce, but it was his deplorable actions, both during and after, which finally pushed her over the edge.
Thank god they had a good lawyer and a sympathetic judge, as his need to leave her with as little as possible caused things to escalate.
Of course, that just left Scott in an even worse mood, because when he didn't get what he wanted, he actively sought to spoil it for others.
Thus, the court ordered reparations were slow to come, some having to be forced from him. He spread evil gossip about his mum, working to destroy her socially as he portrayed her as a greedy, scheming witch. As far as Scott was concerned, his wife had been neglecting his needs and spending his money.
Of course Reiver knew the truth was that she simply didn't love him anymore.
Back in the present, he watched as Scott remained alone, far from the mourners, a few glaring daggers at him. As time ticked by, they slowly filtered out of the churchyard, offering Reiver condolences as he stood by the wrought iron gates, ensuring everyone left safely. The rain was really pouring down now, thunder rumbling overhead as lightning flashed in the distance.
"Bugger it!"
Reiver was a few steps from his car when he heard his dad curse loudly. Turning, he saw Scott angrily hang up his phone and look around, his face lighting up when he saw his son, before briskly walking towards him.
He should have got in and left, but his fingers remained clenched on the door handle.
"Reiver! Mind if I come along? There's no taxis available to pick me up."
Reiver was silent as he tried to keep control, he should just leave him, make him walk back in the pouring rain for what he did. But, as a crack of thunder boomed overhead, he gave in. Scott had always been difficult to refuse, he always wondered if he was afraid of his father on some level.
In an awkward silence, Reiver pulled out of the parking lot and onto the road, the church was a bit off the beaten track, but the main road wasn't far, then he could drop his father in town and be done with him.
"Some weather," commented Scott.
Reiver grunted in response, not eager to speak with the man.
"I'll bet it continues like this all night," the man continued. "Probably flood a few places as well."
He remained silent.
"Come on son, talk to me. We haven't spoken since-"
"Since you walked out on mum," he finished, flatly. "There's a good reason for that."
"Come on now," protested Scott. "Don't be like that, we've got an opportunity for a fresh start."
"Only you would call mums death a 'fresh start'" Reiver scoffed.
"I know we haven't been close-"
"That's an understatement," he interrupted. "You were always away for work or some other excuse, as far as I was concerned, you became this stranger who would occasionally disrupt the peace mum and I had built for ourselves."
"That's hardly fair, without me, both of you never have any food or even a roof over your heads."
"As you kept reminding us at every oppertunity, of course I've got the house now."
"And how will you pay for it with that dead end job you have? I doubt you can afford the utility bills."
"Which is why I make and sell crafts, dad!" snapped Reiver. "I do livestreams and make videos, I even write short stories!"
"And how does any of that help! You hardly make anything on top of that part time wage!"
"You never did like my career choices did you?" he asked rhetorically.
"All I'm saying is if you gave up that nonsense and got a real job, then you could-"
"-spend my life wasting away in a cubicle at someone else beck and call, I get enough of that already, at least part time gives me freedom to pursue my interests."
"But you will never be successful!" finally yelled Scott, furious at the constant interruptions. "You have no ambition!"
"Better than having too much of it!" retorted Reiver. "You've always put your selfish needs in front of everyone else!"
"Don't you dare speak to me like that!" he thundered. "My 'selfish needs' put food on the table for you and your mother!"
"And yet you were never home for dinner!"
The blow was sudden, pain erupting across Reivers face as his head snapped left, the car swerving as he briefly lost control before slamming on the brakes.
The storm outside was in full swing now, rain lashing against the vehicle as thunder and lightning boomed overhead in a vibrant display of colour, the wind howling all around them like a banshee.
Although that felt like nothing compared to the storm inside the car.
Reiver never considered himself a violent man, he was quiet and reserved, normally choosing to ignore or suppress emotions like the one bubbling rapidly to the surface as he, almost disbelievingly, touched the bruise forming on his cheek.
"I should have done that sooner," muttered Scott. "Finally got you to stop talking back, maybe it would have made you less of a softie, but that's your weakling mothers fault. You couldn't even stop her from killing herself."
Something snapped.
Without warning, he grabbed his father by the collar and growled at him like an animal.
"You do NOT, get to blame me for that, you don't know me, you barely knew mum. You did this to her, you destroyed her!"
"She did that to herself, selfish bitch that she was."
Reiver threw his father against the dashboard. Surprised, Scott had no time to prevent his face meeting moulded plastic with a solid thud. Retaliating, he reached back to grab his son's tie and yanked it hard, causing the knot to tighten and almost choke Reiver, who had to release him to undo it. Recovering quickly, he gut punched Scott while he was still dazed.
Engrossed in their own conflict, neither of them realized the true nature of the storm that now surrounded the tiny vehicle, myriads of colours flashed all around them with each crack of thunder and lightning, the car’s shaking was ignored as blind rage drove them to beat one another senseless.
Wind and lightning suddenly struck the vehicle, shaking the pair out of their battle long enough to feel it lifted skyward by the tornado that now engulfed them, tossing the two like insects as Scott took the opportunity to punch Reiver in the teeth before he kicked out at his father, throwing him into one of the doors, which unexpectedly broke open to reveal a swirling rainbow of light and colour that Scott tumbled out into, his body evaporating as he fell.
River puffed and panted as the door slammed shut from a gust of wind, while the spinning rainbow of power that just swallowed his father got faster and brighter. A bolt of lightning struck the car and his survival instinct kicked in and he tried to brace himself as it spun through the air. Dazed as static crackled all around him, the last thing he remembered was a blue sky, the crack of splintering wood, then a solid impact, before darkness swallowed him.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"I woke up in the Everfree forest like this," he finished, Applejack listening patiently. "You know the rest."
The colt was panting, having been pacing back and forth like a caged animal as his anger welled up.
"Did your pa beat you like that before?" she cautiously enquired.
"No," replied Reiver. "He was usually more mental with his 'disapproval'. 'You can't make a living like that', 'are you still doing that old thing?' 'No one will respect you like that'," his idea of parenting. Of course, I wouldn't have put it past him to hit me, guess I'm surprised it took so long.”
Applejack was quiet, this guy was definitely not suited to be around children, let alone Reiver, who signed and plopped down in front of her.
"What happened was a culmination of years of taking his shit and not talking back,” he spat. “Git had the nerve to blame mum, at that moment I just wanted him dead.”
"Partner, I'm not gonna say anything because I think it's completely deserved. He's been disrespectful to Redheart ever since he was brought in.”
She got down to his level and looked him in the eye.
“I want you to know. We'd been keeping him a secret from you because you were recovering, and given what we'd already heard about him we didn't want to risk you getting sick with worry."
She wrapped her hooves around him.
"He is not getting you, your practically family and Apple look after their family."
"Thanks Applejack," he replied, leaning into the hug. "I really want to be mad at you, but...I just can’t. You looked after me, your sister is my friend, I love doing crafts with Big Mac. I guess I trust you all more than I thought.”
The farmer smiled, looking at the foal in her hooves.
Come tartarus or high water, Reiver would stay with the Apples, they would make sure of it.
"Test 35," narrated Twilight, Spike recording her thoughts on a sheet of parchment. “I’m enchanting the stone with a detection lattice that should reveal any dormant magic.”
Her horn lit with purple magic, as did the Waystone before her, one of two currently occupying her basement laboratory, glowed brightly, levitating off the ground. Geometric shapes and arcane symbols manifested around the hovering stone as Twilight stuck her tongue out in concentration. She focused on weaving the spell into the very fabric of the stone, right into its very core and the magic at its heart.
Or at least, where the magic should have been.
She extinguished her horn with a sigh, ending the spell and causing the stone to drop to the wood floor of her lab with a deep thud.
"Failure" she exclaimed. "I've run scans, boiled, ground up and mixed samples with everything I can think of and got no reaction, there's nothing there!"
Spikes quill scratched its way across the parchment as made sure to keep at least one eye on the purple unicorn. She had already suffered a near burnout when she found those funny artefacts, he wasn't going to let her do it again, especially since he was always dragged into it.
"Twilight," he interrupted, before she could spiral. "We've been at this for hours, I'm not willing to make it days, again. How about we take a break and come back with fresh eyes, or get somepony else to take a look?"
"But Spike,” she protested. “It's not possible for a Waystone to just die like this, they are magical rocks with layers upon layers of spells, glyphs and runework. Many have existed since long before the founding of Equestria and have magic unknown even to professors at Canterlot University!"
"...pretend I understand where you're going with this." deadpanned the dragon.
"Urgh! It means that a Waystone cannot just lose all it's magic. It can be damaged and have some glyphs or spells fail. But they have never outright lost all their power to the point they become completely inert rock, they usually explode instead!"
Spike stepped back quickly from the stones, eyeing them warily.
"I'm sure that won't be the case here," Twilight hastily added, trotting close to give another magical scan.
Rolling up the scroll, the dragon got off his stool and filed it away with the others from the unicorns testing. He would send them to Canterlot tomorrow, right now he needed some rest.
"Time for a break," he declared. "I'm going to put some hot chocolate on the stove, with extra marshmallows."
Sighing in defeat, the unicorn followed her assistant up the stairs.
"That does sound good, I feel so drained right now..."
She slowed, eyes looking off into space as realisation dawned.
Galloping back downstairs, she fired a complicated lattice of spells from her horn in quick succession, again illuminating the stone in brightly burning purple light.
"Uh, Twilight," questioned Spike. "What are you doing?"
"Confirming a hypothesis,” she replied, her magic flaring as she cut the spell. “I was right, the stone didn’t die, it’s power was drained.
"Drained? How could that happen?" queried Spike. “Has it happened before?”
"I don't know," she replied, pacing around the dead Waystone. "But I’m picking up some sort of residue, here."
She paused to indicate a glowing mark and Spike approached to examine it, leaning in close to examine the glowing mark.
"Looks like a hoof print," he concluded. “It's too small to be an adult pony, perhaps a filly or a colt?”
"That doesn't narrow it down, anypony could have touched them after they were placed." mused Twilight, Repeating her spell on the second stone.
Like the first, all the magic had been drained, and a similar residue could be felt emanating from it. But this didn't look like a hoof print or even a physical point of contact, instead a whispery trail of purple light slowly drew itself out from the Waystone.
"Why is it doing that?" asked Spike.
"Because whatever took the magic from this one wasn't in direct contact, it had to pull the power out from a distance," she concluded. "Which stone was this?"
Spike flipped through the reports left by the Canterlot Unicorns.
"This one was from Ponyville General."
"And the other was Sweet Apple Acres,” she finished. “But they don’t have anything in common...do they?"
The dragon shrugged.
"Maybe it's something new that wasn't there before,"he suggested. "But the hospital hasn't got anything, and Sweet Apple Acres only has..."
“Reiver,” she whispered.
Reiver was new to Sweet Apple Acres, and until recently had been host to Bedlam, who had been feeding on the foals' magic involuntarily. It was reasonable to conclude that Reiver must have touched the Waystone and Bedlam's developing form sucked it dry, as he had later consumed magic from the Storm itself, enough to become a full fledged entity.
She looked back at the Waystone from Ponyville General, and her blood ran cold.
Reiver was nowhere near the hospital, which meant there was a second developing draconequis in Ponyville.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Scott angrily paced his room, brooding over recent revelations. Reiver's age meant he had to prove to the nurse mare that he was supposed to be in his fathers care. That shouldn't be hard. He was already identified as the father, Pony body or not, plus he was a skilled, competent, military man...stallion, perfect to raise a child his way.
His wife had done the job before him of course, but Sarah just made the boy weak. He hadn't done anything wrong by leaving; he just wanted more from his career. It was her job to raise Reiver anyway and he thought she knew what she was doing.
Sighing, he reflected that, ultimately, a decision to retire early showed the damage done to his child, and by the end he couldn’t stand being in the same house, so he took another commission and left, deciding to leave the mess behind. But that woman had the gall to fight for his money, he paid into that pension, she didn't deserve a penny of it. However, she believed she was 'entitled' to part of it as his wife, and that soft judge agreed.
But he won in the end, a few words here and there made sure of that, even if he hadn’t anticipated her suicide. Then there was everything that followed, the funeral, the fight with Reiver, the boy blaming him for everything. Scott sighed, that child could get emotional when he wanted to, although he hadn't expected him to fight back like that. He’d make him see things his way in time.
The door to his room opened, bringing him back to the present as Nurse Redheart entered
"How are you doing?" she asked.
"Fine," he replied, evenly. "I feel healthy as a horse."
Ignoring the sarcasm, she gave him a look over, taking a pen and clipboard to make a few notes as she inspected his muscle mass, noting that it had increased significantly, he no longer looked like a half starved zombie and appeared to be completely healthy.
"You do look better than I expected. I’ll talk with Dr Stable about some physical tests -."
"Now wait a second!" interrupted Scott."I need some real answers here. About Reiver and my situation."
She looked at the stallion with a raised eyebrow.
"I already told you Reiver is safe and well with another family. As I recall you worked yourself up over that."
"Yes, well, he is my son, I do have a right to worry."
"I'm sure," she replied, sceptically.
"Look, what's going to happen to him, and me? I'm not going to be here forever and I doubt he will stay with this foster family."
"That remains to be seen," she stated. "The family in question have gotten attached to him and I can say the environment is good for his development. He might stay with them after all."
Something twisted angrily inside Scott, but he forced it down.
"Do I get a say in this? You know I am his father."
"You will get a say, but only after you've been cleared physically, psychologically and legally. Which reminds me."
She flipped the pages on her clipboard a few times until she revealed several documents marked with the seal of the Royal Guard.
"Despite the Storm of Magic, I was able to get letters and telegrams to both Canterlot and the Royal Guard, as well as local and national offices regarding you and your son's identity. While it is not unheard of for ponies to be living 'off the grid', there is usually something in the system."
She lowered the clipboard and looked Scott in the eye.
"However, in the case of you and your son, I've found nothing, not a shred of evidence anywhere. A DNA test is the only proof you are related to one another."
"There you have it," interrupted Scott, smugly. “What more do you need?”
"It's not that simple," she said. "You. Officially. Don't. Exist! So we can't say you are suitable to raise a child in terms of housing, food, clothes, schooling, etc. There is also no record of your recruitment into the Royal Guard or even duties served at the places you spoke of, some of them don’t even exist. Furthermore, your attitude earlier raises doubts about your ability to be a parent. Therefore, it's my recommendation that Reiver stay with the family, while you receive a full psychological examination-"
"I AM NOT A HEADCASE!" roared Scott. "I told Sarah that, I told Reiver that and I am telling you that! I do not need a psycho quack analysing me! I am a soldier in the British Army! I have been in warzones, organised deployments, worked my ass off to make a living so that brat and my wife could live in comfort! I do not need my head examined! I know what I'm doing!"
Redheart was taken aback. Scott’s attitude had her expecting a similar reaction, but this was unexpected and she shuffled back towards the door.
"Gah! Why am I even talking to you,” grumbled Scott. “You're just a cartoon character anyway,"
"Excuse me?" questioned the nurse, definitely doubting his sanity.
"You're just some big eyed cartoon pony, like all the rest. Something my son would watch as he slacked off instead of getting a real job. They don’t mean anything, just childish nonsense and empty platitudes meant to keep kids sheltered from the real world! Time and again I said get a job, but noooo, he just watched mindless animation, played videogames and made those stupid videos!"
Redheart slowly shuffled further back, keeping an eye on the stallion as he ranted and raved, talking about a fight with Reiver, a rainbow that sucked them up into the sky and how he used to be another creature entirely.
Reaching the open door, where a small group of ponies had started to linger, she grabbed the nearest orderly.
"Get Dr Stable, quickly, as well as some strong ponies,” she commanded. “My patient is in the middle of a breakdown!”."
Looking back, she saw Scott had returned to pacing as he muttered about things she didn't recognise. Names and places that sounded strange and unfamiliar rolled rapidly off his tongue as he seemed to shut out everyone, except...he also seemed to be talking to himself.
“I’m not unstable...I know! I told them all! I’m his father...yes, he’s just a little brat that's never known how to work a real job!”
Remaining by the door she observed and continued to make notes. Something was definitely up with this stallion. He had been abrasive but mentally cognizant until this point, now it seemed he was too unstable to be near anypony.
Resolving to get to the bottom of it, she waited for the orderlies, only for them to arrive with a letter, stamped with Luna's Royal Seal.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
It was obvious to Apple Bloom that Reiver was moping. He had been aimlessly wandering the farm ever since he had spoken to Applejack about his dad. Her sister hadn't kept the news secret, it was better the rest of the Apples knew in case that no good stallion came knocking. Although he would get apple bucked into next week if he did.
Coming up alongside the depressed colt, she fell into step with him and they walked in silence before he quietly spoke.
"Do you remember your dad?"
"Not really," she replied. "I was really young when they passed, I've got these...feelings and things I can barely recall."
"Are they good feelings?" he asked.
"Yeah, like being in a warm blanket."
"Huh..."
They fell into silence and walked a bit further, passing repaired fences and broken trees ready to be chopped into planks.
"I knew my father, but I don't think I ever KNEW him, he certainly didn't know me. He was never at home, and when he was we might as well have been living with a disruptive stranger, the longer he was away, the more we never got along."
He stopped and turned to face her.
"Apple Bloom, I'm scared. When I was an adult, I could get away from him. But I'm a kid, and I assume your laws about children living with relatives are similar to my world. I don't want to stay with him, I just can't!"
He was breathing rapidly, tears flowing down his muzzle as worries spilled uncontrollably from his mouth.
“I was really sick when I was a child and I was always being taken away to some hospital or another. Having surgeons cut into me or machines attached to my body, I’m sure I nearly died at least once.”
Reiver sat down, wiping his eyes as he tried to regain some control.
“I still hate doctors to this day, But what I’m really afraid of, what frightens me to my core, is being taken away. From my home, my friends, my mum...my whole life I’ve been taken away from something by someone, and now I feel like it’s going to happen again, with the worst possible person, and I’ll be trapped with him forever.”
Overwhelmed, he let out a wail as he finally broke down, Apple Bloom immediately grabbing him in a tight hug.
"That won't happen and you know it," she declared with confidence. " As far as Applejack, Big Mac, Granny and I are concerned, your family. Even if you dumped porridge on me," she finished with a grin.
"Hey...that was an accident," he hiccuped, but that didn't stop a small smile teasing the corner of his lips. "But how can you be sure I won’t just be taken away?"
"You heard Twi and Luna, that aint going to happen. Plus Applejack can be stubborn as a mule when she's got something to fight for, it runs in the family. We won't let you go, I can say that for sure."
She hugged him again, and Reiver buried himself in the caring embrace. The Apples wouldn't let him go, he wouldn't be taken away, not from the ponies that nursed him back to health, gave him a warm bed, education and even convinced Bedlam to save his life. They cared for him, and would fight to keep him safe. Just like a family.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
That escalated quickly.
‘That stubborn ass of a nurse just wouldn't listen.’
After all, you’re the only one who can say what's best for your child.
‘She should have seen my way.’
But she didn’t.
‘I have to get out of here, they could move him somewhere else!’
Princess Luna strode rapidly through the corridors of Ponyville General, the alicorn's expression set in grim determination, crowds parting before her like wheat before a scythe. Twilight Sparkle and Nurse Redheart struggled to keep pace alongside the Princess of the Night, the latter giving them a rapid explanation.
"He's been erratic for the last few hours," stated Redheart. "Muttering to himself about cartoons, Reiver, and I think his wife as well. As soon as I got your letter I had his room secured and put under guard, but we had to tie him to the bed after he tried to break down the door."
"A prudent move," observed Luna. "But it may not be enough. You are certain he could be what we described?"
She nodded.
"He arrived not long after Reiver, recovered rapidly from near starvation and lifted a chunk of ceiling off me that even Big Macintosh would struggle with. Further investigation revealed the dead Waystone was near his location in the ward before the collapse. Given that he has been talking to himself for the last hour, I’d say he is your pony."
“In that case, we need to be quick," advised Twilight. "If his draconequis took the Waystones power, then is could have also absorbed some Wild Magic when the Hospital was hit."
"What?!" exclaimed the nurse, in disbelief. "Is that even possible?"
"I'm afraid so," she replied, carefully. "We have recently learned that such power accelerates a draconequis’s development, having already dealt with one, but once Discord got him off his power trip, he was actually quite friendly."
"Thanks very much Twilight."
The group screeched to a sudden halt at the new voice, turning their gaze to the adjacent wall. There was a poster reminding ponies to wash their hooves, only now the graphic was replaced by Bedlam, scrubbing his claws in the two dimensional sink.
"Your power has developed, and I see you have taken up Discord's flair for the dramatic," observed Luna.
"He's a good teacher," shrugged the stylised spirit. "Plus, it's fun to freak ponies out, you should have heard the shriek I got from Doctor Stable."
In a blink of light, the young draconequis was floating in front of them.
"Putting aside my traumatising of a medical professional, you all should know that Discord and I both felt a wave of cold through all Chaos magic, we think it's-"
"Another draconequis, we know," interrupted Twilight.
"Oh…well, thanks for stealing my thunder," pouted Bedlam, crossing his arms.
"I’m afraid there is no time for tomfoolery," stated Luna. "We are here to ensure this new spirit does not become a source of trouble."
Their conversation was suddenly interrupted by the crunching, cracking sound of splintering wood, followed by the sounds of a brief scuffle and cries of frightened ponies.
Sharing a look of panic and horror, the group galloped quickly towards the chaos, rounding a corner to a scene of ruin.
At least half of the door had been shattered into large splinters that were embedded in the opposite wall, floor and one of the Orderlies, what was left hung limp on its remaining hinge, squeaking and flailing before breaking off completely, clattering to the floor by a second, unconscious stallion..
"We are too late," growled Luna.
It was a mess, the carpet was ripped up, the ceiling tiles had been broken, and the bed's metal frame was now bent completely out of shape, while the leather restraints had been shredded to ribbons.
As Redheart tended to the injured stallions, Twilight and Luna ran their magic over the room, hoping to find signs of the new draconequis. Bedlam floated overhead, his eyes morphing into searchlights to help scan for anything.
"It’s definitely the same magic from the Waystone," observed Twilight. "But there's something wrong with it."
“I’m getting something as well,” confirmed Bedlam, the beams from his searchlight eyes turning red.
"I can feel it too," supported Luna. "It reminds me of my time as Nightmare Moon. I had become so consumed by feelings of rage and jealousy that it tainted my power, twisting me into that monster. If something similar has happened here…"
The dreadful thought was interrupted by a shriek from Nurse Redheart as she thudded against the wall outside. Scrambling back into the corridor, they caught sight of a fleeing stallion shoving his way past staff and patients. Redheart was lying dazed on the tiled floor, a rapidly forming bruise on her side.
"Are you alright?" worried Twilight, helping her up.
"H-he, caught me off guard," she stammered. "I looked up and saw him charging, didn't have time to move, urgh," she groaned and wobbled on her hooves. "That was him," she continued. "That was Reiver's father, Scott. Twilight, his eyes, th-they were-"
"Yellow and red?" interrupted the unicorn, who received a nod from the shaken nurse mare.
"Like Discord," finished Luna. "He is gaining strength quickly. See to her Twilight, I shall deal with this."
The alicorn promptly vanished in a burst of starlight.
"H-he shouldn't know where Reiver is," stuttered Redheart. "But if he got into my office or the patient records then it's possible..."
"I'll go warn Sweet Apple Acres," interrupted Bedlam, floating into view.
"Good idea," replied Twilight. "Applejack needs to be ready. I’ll get the girls when I’m finished here."
With a nod, the spirit disappeared with a pop and a cloud of confetti. With hospital staff rapidly responding to the commotion, Twilight was able to hand Redheart to her colleagues before galloping off to gather her remaining friends.
In the chaos, none of them noticed a dark shape slide out from behind the ceiling light. Quick as a shadow, it darted across the roof, right over everypony and down to rejoin Scott as he fled the scene.
I’ll take you to your son.
"Halt Villain!"
Scott looked up as Luna appeared before him in a flash. Flaring wings, she set her hooves and braced to intercept him, only for the stallion to abruptly disappear in a burst of suffocating black smoke.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Reiver trotted down the road with Apple Bloom, heading in the direction of the Crusaders Clubhouse, the filly having decided some time with the whole group would be good for him, especially after his emotional moment.
"Hey there guys!" cried Scootaloo, waving from the treehouse platform. "Ready to get those cutie marks?"
"I know I am," said Sweetie Belle, emerging from the clubhouse, a lavender hard hat on her head. "I brought the rest of the tools as well."
Reiver and Apple Bloom watched as the filly brought a selection of spades, picks, shovels and a pneumatic drill out with her, depositing them on the ground with her magic. They were planning to try for their Tunnelling Cutie Marks today.
"Awesome, we could get all the way to Neighpon with this!" cheerfully exclaimed Apple Bloom, who immediately went to grab a Macintosh Red hard hat.
"Uh, Sweetie Belle, where did you get all this?" asked Revier, eyeing the drill with caution.
"Rarity has a load of mining tools for gem hunting," she replied, floating a yellow hard hat onto his head. "She hasn't used them since Spike started helping, so I figured we could borrow them for a while."
"Does she know you're ‘borrowing’ them?" he enquired.
"Uh, not really, but we should have them back before she notices."
Unconvinced, but unwilling to let them go without someone who could at least try to be responsible, Reiver trotted over to help. As they excitedly discussed where to dig and what to use, he couldn't help but smile. Even if this would end in tree sap, somehow, it was nice to be part of one of their 'crusades'.
The colt was in the middle of sorting the tools, when they were engulfed in a cloud of thick, black smoke.
"Gah! What's going on?" coughed Scootaloo. "Did you start the drill Sweetie Belle?"
"N-nope," spluttered the unicorn filly. "I hadn't even touched it."
"You didn't bring any dynamite did you?" spat Reiver, waving a hoof to clear away the cloud.
"I told her to forget it after we tried being demolition experts," replied Apple Bloom, rubbing her eyes.
As the smoke cleared, they realised they had an unwelcome visitor. Standing across from them, back turned, was a stallion. His body was tense, legs straight and back arched, like he had suddenly stopped. Flickers of smoke hung around his form, as did sparks at his hooves.
He was also talking to himself.
"Is this the right place? You said you knew where he was. Pardon?"
The stallion snapped his head all the way around with a sickening crack, revealing a pair of chillingly familiar yellow and red eyes. Twisting the rest of him around to match, his eyes moved between each of the foals before landing on Reiver, then a sinister smile twisted his lips.
"There you are, hello Arthur."
Reiver dropped the shovel he was holding in astonishment and fear.
"...dad?"
It was more of a question than anything, after his experience with Bedlam, the colt couldn't be sure what he was looking at.
"Took me a while to get away from those idiots at the hospital," continued the stallion. "But, now I'm finally here, I can see you in person."
He started to approach and Reiver fearfully scrambled backward out of the pile of tools, Apple Bloom moving between them.
"Out of the way," ordered Scott. "I want to see my son."
"Not a chance," growled the filly. "He told me all about you,"
"Oh," replied the stallion, cocking his head. "And what did he say?"
"Nothing good," she answered.
He laughed dismissively.
"I'm sure it was just exaggerating, he was always too emotional. I've always done what's best for our family."
"Is that what you tell yourself at night?"
The answer was accompanied by a flash of light and confetti, as Bedlam appeared beside Apple Bloom.
"Hey there kids,” he cheered, waving to the other fillies. “Told ya I'd be back!"
Introduction made, the spirit turned his attention to Scott, watching the stallion as he passed a critical eye over him.
"And what are you?" he scoffed. "Another child's fantasy come to life?"
"Something like that," replied the draconequis.
"I don't have time for this,” he stated in frustration. “Out of my way, so I can retrieve my wayward son."
Bedlam refused, folding his arms resolutely.
Reiver watched fearfully as his ponified father engaged in a very vocal standoff with the pair, mind racing. This was impossible, he shouldn't be here, he should be in hospital, he shouldn't be changing into another draconequis before their eyes. He should have thought it through, should have realised that if they both got here the same way, then Scott would also have been incubating a new Spirit of Chaos. He should have known, he should have told Twilight!
"Hey! Reiver snap out of it!"
Reality lurched back into focus as Sweetie Belle magically slapped him, Scootaloo standing just behind her looking concerned.
"What's going on?" she asked. "You said that stallion was your dad?"
"Y-yeah," he stuttered, rubbing his cheek. "I'm sorry I only learned about him recently. It's a long story but the short version is he came here the same time I did, and he's-"
"Like you were with Bedlam," finished Scootaloo.
He nodded.
"Except," the colt glanced over to the stallion, who was now starting to ooze black tar from his smouldering hooves. "I think somethings wrong with him."
"Okay, got it," confirmed Scootaloo, as her and Sweetie Belle took position with Bedlam and Apple Bloom, with Reiver looking on, just a little awed at his friend's courage.
"Guys..."
Scott, observing the other fillies as they took position with their friends, paused in his argument with Bedlam.
"Come now Reiver," he darkly chuckled. "Setting your posse on me, although you weren't above hitting me so I shouldn't be surprised."
He massaged his jaw with a hoof, blinking a few times and shaking his head, like he was disorientated, before turning back to the group.
"Now, this is fun and all, but I really must take my son."
"He ain't going anywhere with you!" declared Apple Bloom, defiantly.
"Yeah!" supported Scootaloo.
"Really?" questioned Scott unconvinced. "Are these the type of friends you have now Arthur?"
"They are a damn sight better than you," replied Bedlam, firmly. “All the moving kept him from even having friends, until now.”
"Is this about your mother?" said Scott, ignoring the draconequis. He took a deep breath and sighed, sitting down.
"Reiver, you have to see, I worked hard to put food on the table and a roof over your heads. I was absent because I did what had to be done to provide for you both, though I see I should have had more of a hand in raising you."
Reiver cautiously trotted to his friends, remaining firmly behind them as his father continued speaking.
"Maybe if I had, then you wouldn't have turned out as such a softie. You're my son, I should have taught you to be tough, shown you how a man is meant to behave. Your mother did her best, but realistically, I was better suited to raising you. She just fed those silly dreams of yours, whereas I could have shown you they didn’t matter in the first place. The real world needs men to be tough and practical, not silly little sissies like she made you in the end. I failed you by putting my career first, I'm sorry."
He finished, head down in what looked like remorse, liquid shadow falling from his eyes like tears in the heavy silence.
"...how dare you."
The whisper was barely audible, but everypony heard it as Reiver slowly stepped out from behind Apple Bloom, fear rapidly burned away by something else. Scott's attempt at empathising with his son had instead lit a match to years of pent up rage.
"How DARE you!" he cried angrily. “You think that non-apology of yours means anything to me, you self-serving mule!"
The stallion's head snapped up, eyes locking onto the colt in something that looked like shock.
"You didn't just neglect me, you neglected us both," continued Reiver. "You never tried to understand the person I was whenever you came home, mum supported my interests and hobbies, encouraged me when I decided to try streaming and cosplay, while you just dismissed them as ‘childish’. Even when you retired, you still had that bucking military mindset, you couldn't take people talking back to you and questioning your decisions! You argued with us both, nevermind me, you dismissed mum outright, kept things from her and always discouraged her from spending money on herself and her interests! Then you left! Fighting with mum at every turn and destroying her when you didn't get what you wanted."
"Arthur, I did what I had to."
"Pony feathers!"
"Arthur-"
"My name is Reiver” he firmly interrupted.
"Fine, Revier," spat Scott. "Take your own advice and try to understand, I wasn’t going anywhere in retirement, your’re mother refused to behave and you werent doing much better with those stupid video games of yours. I had a chance for a new job and I took it, it got me real money and your ungrateful mother decided she deserved some for failing to raise you properly. Now, if you were in my position would you have done anything different?"
"She tried, you know," replied the colt. "Tried to be nice, tried to make it all happen amicably. Of course you never went to couples counselling."
"I am not a headcase," animalistically growled Scott.
"Could have fooled me," scoffed Reiver. "Of course, you fooled everyone else."
The stallion glared at his son, then took a deep breath before exhaling slowly, the sparks at his hooves, which had begun to smoulder, dying back.
"I'm sorry if that's what you think, but she shouldn't have tried to take what was mine. I never thought it would go as far as it did, but that's in the past. Now, I don't know how all this," he gestured to their new bodies, "happened, but it's given us an opportunity for a fresh start, you can be my son again. I can raise you the right way."
"Only you would consider a 'right way' to raise a child," countered the colt. "You never got to know me, you never tried to know me. You never tried to make your marriage work, you left with your head held high and acted like you did nothing wrong after you destroyed mum. You called me weak, called her weak, yet you never once thought that you might be the weak one, because you ran away!"
"Watch your mouth son, I am your father!"
"You haven't been my father in years! You're nothing more than a stranger who ruined my life and then left me to pick up the pieces! I will never go with you, I will never listen to you, and I never, EVER, want to see you again!"
Reiver stood firm, panting a little after yelling at his father. He’d finally stood up to the man, now he waited for the consequences, as Scotts expression shifted from astonishment to an unsettling neutral, perplexing the colt. From experience with previous attempts, he knew Scott would get angry, really angry. Now though, he just stood there, the colt maintaining his glare even though his anger had begun to cool.
"You ungrateful brat!" suddenly snarled Scott, lunging for him.
Reiver and the Crusaders backpedalled quickly in fright, thankfully, Bedlam grabbed Scott in a headlock, the stallion furiously struggling and snarling as he tried to break free.
"I put food on the table and a roof over your head!" he screamed.
"And yet you were never home for dinner!" shouted Reiver.
Something snapped
Scott's eyes widened, his yellow pupils darkening to an inky black, tar rapidly oozing from his sockets, Bedlam dropping him in surprise. They watched as the stallion's body fell limp in the rapidly forming puddle, smoke rising from his spasming form as the tar rose and smothered him, growing and shaping itself into something that resembled a bloated pony body. Sprouting six pairs of skeletal hooves and a whip-like tail, the surface bubbled before Scott's face surfaced, strings of ooze clinging to him like a spider's web. His eyes snapped open and he threw his head back, fanged maw opened wide in a monstrous roar, as smoke and fire erupted in a facsimile of a mane and tail. The smell of ash and decay filled the air as he looked down at them with his new, towering form.
You weak, ungrateful, little piece of filth!
The voice was an amalgamation of Scott's and something else, something much, much darker.
"Bedlam?" questioned Reiver.
"It's the draconequis he's been incubating," replied the adolescent spirit, taking position between him and the Fillies. "But somethings wrong, it never separated, it's like they've become one creature."
Out of my way you cartoon reject! Scott snorted, fire erupting from his nostrils.
"Not a chance mate," stated Bedlam, standing his ground. He looked back at the Crusaders.
"I think you shouldn't be here for this." Snapping his fingers, Bedlam had the four ponies vanish with a pop, before turning to face the growling creature that had been Scott.
Where are they?
"Like I'd tell you, whatever you are."
We are Anarchy, and we will have our son!
"Anarchy huh...good name, terrible design, seriously, were you just watching Centaurworld or something? Of course not, you never took the time to see why Reivers interests meant so much to him."
Anarchy growled and took a smouldering step forward, the ground igniting beneath him.
"Done talking? Fine with me,” grinned Bedlam, cracking his knuckles.
Anarchy roared, molten tar and fire erupting from his distended maw towards Bedlam, who span his arms in wide to conjure a star spangled shield to protect himself. The tar slammed into it with enough force to push him back, leaving furrows in the ground.
The instant the attack abated, Bedlam snapped his talon, disappearing in a blink of light as Anarchy charged his position. The monster skidded to a halt in surprise, allowing him to reappear over its shoulder and slam down on it with an oversized cartoon mallet, the black substance surprisingly solid.
The draconequis sense of triumph quickly turned sour as the black ooze spawned several tentacles that wrapped around the mallet head and sharply pulled it into Anarchy's body, dragging Belam forwards with them.
"Sorry buddy, but I’ve been online long enough to know where this is going!"
Releasing the mallet, and using his momentum to rapidly snake around the giant's body, Bedlam came up in front of the monster with a cocky grin.
"So, how about we sit down and talk about this like reasonable creatures?"
Anarchy responded by lunging forwards, its jaw distending further to reveal rows and rows of needle-like teeth. A quick snap and they were suddenly held open by a car jack.
"Guess not," quipped Bedlam, before drawing a sword out of thin air and pointing it skyward.
"I have the power!"
Lightning crashed downwards, his body bulking out to cartoonish proportions, blonde hair sprouting from his head as a metal harness snapped shut over his chest. With a battlecry for the ages, Barbarian Bedlan charged towards Anarchy as it struggled to free its jaws.
The sword slashed out, separating a black limb from Anarchy's bloated form, as a spiked shield materialised on Bedlam’s free arm. He smashed it into the knee joint of another leg, pained bellows roaring from above as he worked to cripple his opponent.
The sound of rending metal signalled the end of the car jack, as Anarchy flailed its bulk in a futile attempt to hit the juvenile spirit of chaos. Bellowing uselessly as it was lifted up and over on the spiked shield. Bedlam heaving its body sideways a warriors battlecry!
Anarchy hit the ground with a splat, its oozing body deforming into the landscape that blackened and burned around it. It’s rage burning at being humiliated by Bedlam.
This is a cartoon! A childish, immature, thing that should have been left behind years ago! Destroy it!
Anarchy raged to itself as Bedlam charged again, bringing up the shield to deflect a burst of hot tar. But while he was distracted, Anarchy morphed its body into a puddle that split into two before sliding around the draconequis, who lowered the shield long enough to recognise his mistake as two black tentacles grabbed his legs and pulled hard.
Bedlam's body split like a wishbone, both halves flung carelessly across the smouldering orchard. Job done, the blobs slid across the ground before rejoining one another, glooping up and re-shaping until Anarchy stood whole, and undamaged, once again.
Idiotic Nusance
"That's probably the nicest thing I've heard you say so far."
"Indeed, though he could be a bit nicer."
Anarchy blinked, as TWO Bedlams floated in front of him wearing a pair of bowler hats and twirling a pair of curved canes.
"I'd say he's a bit speechless old chap."
"To put it mildly, he is speechless."
Mane of fire flaring higher and hotter in rage, Anarchy's tar like body leapt forwards once again in a cloud of sharp, stabbing tentacles. Both Bedlams ducked and weaved to avoid impalement, cocking the canes like a pair of shotguns before returning fire with a hail of jelly beans, which were harmlessly absorbed by the oozing body before them.
"Now that's not cricket!"
"I think perhaps some bowls are in order!"
Whipping out a pair of lawn bowls, the pair took aim and bowled as hard as they could, only for a wall of fire to erupt from the ground and intercept them before Anarchy charged the pair, his forelegs twisting into dark, crystalline weapons as he lashed and stabbed at them.
Sabres rattled as the two Bedlams, now in red and blue officers jackets and moustaches, parried the attack, but the aggression showed was forcing them back through the trees, the heat from Anarchy's body igniting them one by one.
"He needs to chill out, old bean!"
"I wholeheartedly agree!"
Snapping fingers, both Bedlams teleported back, one morphing into a fire extinguisher that the other turned on the monster before them. Anarchy's maw was wide open in a mighty bellow when it was suddenly filled with cloying, choking firemans foam. Burbling roars turning to coughs and splutters as the suffocating substance buried its head, then extinguished its mane, and finally subsumed the rest of it in a growing mass of rapidly hardening foam.
Extinguishing the rest of the orchard for good measure, Bedlam floated down beside the large white clump then imprisoned Anarchy. The extinguisher turned into his copy long enough for them to salute one another, before it vanished into stardust.
"You were good kid, real good,” the draconequis said, pulling out a stick of rock which he used to pantomime smoking a cigar. “But as long as I'm around you'll always be second best, shee."
Chuckling to himself, Bedlam spun around, preparing to snap teleport himself away, when his nostrils picked up something Taking a deep inhale, he gagged and coughed as the rank smell of decay assaulted his senses. With a rapidly growing sense of foreboding, he turned back to the white clump of foam.
Rot was consuming it from the inside out, the pristine white turning sickly green, then black as it curled and collapsed into itself, putrid smoke escaping the mass as Anarchy broke free, body bubbling like liquid in a cauldron.
Holding a perfumed cloth to his nose, Bedlam watched as Scott's face seemed to wither and sink into itself, until it looked positively ghoulish. His eyes were still yellow with red pupils, only now it was a sickly yellow, like pus from an infected wound. He glared down at the juvenile spirit and smiled a fanged smile.
Time for round two.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
With a *pop* Reiver and the CMC materialised on the other side of the orchard in a dazed heap.
“Urgh, Belam is really taking after Discord,” complained Scootaloo, as they untankled themselves.
“I think we have bigger problems,” interrupted Sweetie Belle, pointing a hoof towards the battle that raged across the rapidly igniting trees.
“He can’t do that! That's our orchard!” declared Apple Bloom, stomping a hoof.
“I don’t think he cares,” huffed Reiver. “My dad was always like this, he never liked it when he didn't get his own way. Anything he couldn't manipulate or intimidate he just got rid of.”
“So you’re saying, because he can’t get you, he's going to destroy my family's farm?!”
His shoulders slumped.
“Yeah, I'm so sorry Apple Bloom, I never wanted anyone to be dragged into my mess.”
“Hey, you can’t predict everything, let alone this.” replied Scootaloo, gesturing out towards the battle.
“Come on,” declared Apple Bloom, turning towards the farmhouse. “We need to get Applejack!”
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
With a burbling Roar, Anarchy ejected a foul smelling torrent of boiling liquid towards Bedlam, like before he span his arms to summon the star spangled shield, only for it to melt and the searing attack to hit him full in the face.
Crying out in pain and surprise, Bedlam staggered back clutching his burning features, removing a claw, he saw part of his beak and a lot of bloodied feathers. With little time to fix the damage, he leapt backwards as Anarchy's body sprouted more limbs that swiped and sliced towards him, all of them having morphed into a variety of blades, axes and scythes.
Creating a pair of bracers, Bedlam tried to get airborne but Anarchy was right on top of him this time, keeping him grounded and on the retreat, the creatures bulk looking above the juvenile spirit as its limbs relentlessly tried to cut him to ribbons. His arms shuddered with every near miss, the blades impacting each bracer, chipping away the rock candy they were made of.
"Why did Discord have to like Sweets so much?" he quietly cursed his mentor, ducking under another swing that just nicked his horns.
Childish nonsense, just like that brat
Leaping up as another swing went for his legs, Bedlam, now clad in a green and brown robe, took a fighting stance and stomped his foot hard onto the ground. A wall of stone erupted upwards, smashing into Anarchy's jaw with a sickening crack.
However, his face fell as the creature's body oozed around the rock, melting and swallowing it whole. Shifting his stance, Bedlam heaved his arms up and across, the earth responding in kind as boulders broke the surface and flew towards Anarchy.
The monster didn't even move, instead, a long, dark, gun barrel surfaced from its body and fired a single shot at Bedlam's feet, the explosion vaporising the rocks and sending him flying backwards into a rotting tree trunk, as Anarchy's new state affected the orchard.
That is a real weapon he stated. Lets see you handle another
Staggering to his feet, Bedlam saw multiple, smaller gun barrels emerge from the monster's body before they opened fire in a rain of lead and metal. He lifted an open palmed claw, and the bullets froze mid air right in front of him.
"You know those aren't suitable for this programme."
Snapping his fingers, the bullets turned to butterflies moments before another volley was unleashed, a sabre of green light snap-hissed into existence and Bedlam, now in a brown robe, expertly deflected each one.
His momentum was interrupted when a solid mass impacted his gut, he fell to his knees, the robe burning as a black and rotten fist retreated into Anarchy's mass. A second flew a moment later, then a third and the draconequis responded by creating a set of boxing gloves to block them, only for Anarchy's body to burn and rot them away.
"What are you made of? Essence of Nurgle? What's next?"
Let me show you
Anarchy slammed his body to the ground, four of his legs thickening to tree trunk levels before a tank turret erupted from his back and took aim, shells flying towards the draconequis.
"Khorne it is then," he quipped in frustration.
The shells exploded with more force than they should have been capable of, decaying trees splintering as he tried to take cover the ground, splattering earth clods skywards as the orchard was ruined by Anarchy's assault.
"I have the power!"
Lightning crashed down again, and Barbarian Bedlam ran at Anarchy, sword held high, shield raised to deflect the next tank shell to one side as he leapt into the turret and drove the sword into it with a roar.
Anarchy bellowed in kind, bucking and shaking Bedlam off his monstrous form. Returning to normal, he got the pleasure of watching as cracks spiderwebbed out from the turret and it exploded in a cloud of fire and rot.
Insect! roared Anarchy. Give us our son!
"You have such a one track mind. Come on then, if you think you can catch me!"
Snaking himself skywards, Bedlam looked back. The orchard was ablaze in fire and decay, the blaze spreading to each tree like it was a living creature as the land rotted beneath, the soil turning a diseased black.
"Still spoiling things for others as well," he called down.
If he will not give up childish things, we will have to make him!
A tentacle suddenly erupted from the draconequis chest, impaling Bedlam from behind.
He blinked, then coughed, looking down at the sharpened limb before it wrapped around his body and dragged him right in front of Anarchys face, putrid breath washing over him.
Things like you should be forgotten.
"I'll have to disagree with you there," he coughed, tasting black tar as it ate him from the inside. "Things like me make life worth living."
Anarchy growled, smoke and ash smouldering up from his nostrils.
Things like you, made him weak! And weakness must be purged!
His maw opened wide, fire burning up from within once again as he brought Bedlam close, the heat washing over the spirit of chaos as he braced his legs and hands against the creature's jaws.
"Don't suppose you'd consider a breath mint?"
The column of fire roasted off the tentacle tip a second later.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Galloping at top speed, the CMC and Reiver sped down the path towards Sweet Apple Acres farmhouse, however, en-route they ran into Big Macintosh coming the other way.
“Big Mac!” cried the group, all ponies skidding to a halt.
“What in tarnation is going on here?!” immediately demanded the stallion. “I was feeding the pigs when Twilight pops in and disappears with Applejack, then I hear a roar and all that smoke starts coming from the trees!”
They looked back, a thick cloud of black smoke now towered up into the sky, as an acrid smell of burning and rot drifted their way.
“Oh no…” whispered Reiver, just before a black and burned shape appeared in a cloud of smoke and crashed to the ground.
"Bedlam!"
Reiver and the fillies galloped forwards as the badly burned spirit of chaos lay in a crumpled heap, a hole in his chest leaking putrid tar.
"Too much," he coughed. "Did my best.”
He suddenly reached up and grabbed Reiver by the scruff of his neck, pulling him close enough to whisper one final instruction.
Bedlam slumped back into a crumpled heap, his body disintegrating into dust before a vacuum nozzle sucked it through a portal to Discords realm.
Reiver was silent. Bedlam was a creature born from his own soul, who he initially thought to be a hallucination. He felt a connection to the strange creature, and his father had really hurt him, maybe even worse. The fillies were at his side a moment later, Apple Bloom laying a hoof on his shoulder as he felt his eyes well up.
Reiverrrrrrr!
The feral roar from across the orchard snapped them back to the present.
"We have to get out of here," said Apple Bloom.
"Yeah," supported Scootaloo, but Big Mac stepped in front of them.
"Can one of you tell me what the heck is going on and how it's related to the thing destroying our orchards?! Why is it calling for Revier?"
"Because it's my dad!" snapped the foal, tearfully stepping up to the draft horse. "He had a draconequis like me, but it’s not like Bedlam! He appeared by the clubhouse to take me away-"
"But we wouldn't let them!" declared Scootaloo.
"Yeah!" supported Sweetie Belle.
"But then he got mad and they changed into a monster!" Finished Apple Bloom.
“And Belam sent us away so he could fight him, now he’s gone and my dad is still after me!” finished Reiver.
Big Mac turned to stare out towards the burning trees, expression settling into a grim, narrow eyed stare as he quickly digested the information he was just given.
"So, your daddy is burning down our orchards."
"Yes, I'm sorry."
"Don’t apologise, he's the one doing it."
"But if he hadn't found me-"
"I’ll stop right there,” said the stallion, firmly. “He could have been reasonable and talked to us, but we still wouldn’t have let him take you.”
He looked back up at the burning orchard.
“Instead, he got mad and set fire to our trees, and if he had a lick of sense, he’d know not to harm an Apples orchard. Now, I want all of you to head to the farmhouse, Applejack and her friends will be back soon. Y'all will be safe there until then."
"Y-you're not coming with us?" stammered Apple Bloom.
"Nnnope.”
“But, he’s a monster! You can’t fight him!”
In response, Big Mac shrugged off the yoke he always wore around his neck, the Crusaders jumping as it crashed to the ground, crushing the path stones to powder. The crimson draft horse then flexed his neck and body in a series of bone cracking stretches, before spitting out the stalk of wheat that was typically between his teeth.
"Big Mac, please don't do this!" begged Reiver, desperately grabbing the stallion's forelegs. "He's a monster, he killed Bedlam! Please...I don't want to lose you."
The muscular stallion wrapped a hoof around Reiver, smiling softly as he dipped his neck.
"I'll be fine."
"But why are you doing this?"
"Because you're family, and Apples look after their family. Y'all get going now, get! I'll stall him as best I can."
With that, he pushed Reiver to one side, watching the colt and CMC reluctantly gallop off, before setting his sights on the burning orchards, and planting his hooves firmly on the road.
He didn't have to wait long, as a strange stallion casually trotted into view. Scott had resumed his pony shape, but it was clear that Anarchy still held sway. His hooves left smouldering burns in the ground and his eyes were now yellow with red pupils that zeroed in on Big Mac as he stopped in front of the draft horse, whose own eyes narrowed at the possessed stallion.
"Excuse me, have you seen a group of foals come this way?" he asked, cordially. Although it sounded to Mac like he was sizing him up.
"Nnnope."
HE LIES!
Scotts shadow rose up beside him, its own mismatched eyes opening to glare at the stallion.
"I'm here for my son," explained Scott. "I'm his father. Just hand him over, you really don't want to be in my way."
"Nnnope," replied Big Mac, flexing his shoulders. "You're after one of my family, that would be enough to warrant the flank kicking I'm about to give you, but then y'all had to go and burn our orchard."
"Oh please," scoffed Scott. "Like that load of trees is even worth anything, you're just some...cartoon that distracted him from real pursuits. Now, where. IS. HE?!"
He snorted thick smoke from his nostrils that curled around him like a chain, while Anarchy morphed into thick sludge that oozed over Scott until he was covered in jet black goo.. Mismatched eyes snapped open, smoke continuing to smoulder from his nostrils as a wicked looking horn spiralled out from his forehead and leathery, bat-like wings sprouted from his sides.
Big Mac regarded his transformed opponent with calm detachment, face stony and impassive. The stallion had dealt with bullies before, when he was young and small they liked to pick on him, so he developed a thick skin. After he bulked up, those same tormentors targeted his sister, and he made sure they learnt a lesson they would never forget.
This stallion in front of him, he was just another bully, and he deserved what was about to happen.
Squaring his shoulders, Big Mac braced himself.
"Reiver told us all about you, how you neglected him and his ma’, how you drove her to do what she did."
She made him weak.
"She made sure he was loved, which is more than I can say for you. You're a disgrace to your family."
You know nothing about my family, you nag!
"I know you didn't deserve yours."
With a roar, Anarchy took the bait and charged. Big Mac held his ground right up until the stallion impacted his shoulder, then, the draft horse spun. Using his opponent's momentum, he shifted and twisted his body, wrapping his forehooves around his opponent, biting the scruff of Scotts neck before whipping his own head forwards, hurling the creature off the path, through the fence and into the field beyond. The corrupted stallion screamed as he hit the ground hard, leaving a trench as his momentum drove him right into a large rock, which cracked right down the middle on contact with his skull.
He slid, slowly to the ground, wide eyed in shock as he spit out a clod of earth, along with a few teeth. Bedlam hadn’t been able to overcome his newfound strength, he might have been a newborn, but he’d had the power of chaos to call on. This…pony, this, no power, cartoon character, had thrown him like a rag doll. He snarled and pulled himself up, shaking his head to clear the ringing from his ears.
Scott turned to see Big Mac slowly approaching.
How...how did you do that? No pony is that strong!
"No pony, ‘cept me." snorted the stallion, spitting out a glob of Anarchys slimy coat. Scraping a hoof through the earth Big Mac tensed his rear legs like a pair of coiled springs, and launched himself right at Scott.
The corrupted stallion barely had time to brace himself before he was hit with the force of a freight train, the impact pushing him backwards, leaving smouldering furrows in the ground as he grappled with Big Mac. He snorted a choking cloud of smoke right into the farm pony's eyes, but that just made the red stallion snort back angrily as he reared up with a loud whinny, hooves flailing out to smack Anarchy right in the jaw, the possessed pony losing his footing as a consequence.
Anarchy's face oozed sludge and bile as he fell sideways, he threw a wild punch that clipped Big Mac and disorientated him long enough for the creature to stagger and regain its footing before going on the offensive, sprouting a set of fangs and biting the farmer in his muscular foreleg, before being dislodged by a heavy hoof crushing him into the dirt.
Big Mac reared back, looking down at the smouldering wound, he could already feel his head start to spin. But even with Anarchy's corruption burning through his veins, the stallion stood his ground as the mauled creature recovered, standing back up in a cacophony of cracking bones and the squelching of mutilated flesh.
You really think you can keep doing this?
"I can do this all day," snorted the stallion.
I think not
Anachy's horn ignited in fiery green tar that erupted in a great fountain towards Big Mac, the stallion ducking into a roll to dodge the attack, as it melted the ground where he had been standing.
Scraping up a hoof full of dirt, he threw it at Anarchy's face, the creature crying out in surprise as it was blinded, giving him the opportunity to slam into it head on with a low charge, driving the corrupted stallion into the split boulder with a rib crunching crack.
To anypony else he was always a pony of few words, calm and cheerful to those around him, but Big Macintosh had a strong protective instinct, if you threatened anything he cared about, especially his family, then you would regret it.
Anarchy was learning this first hoof as his body went slack, sliding to the ground as Big Mac slowly stepped back from the twitching spirit of chaos. The stallion took a moment to observe its broken body, before turning to limp his way to the farmhouse.
So that's where he’s hiding.
Big Mac stopped, then turned to watch in horror as Anarchy pulled himself up yet again, his body rebuilding itself as his goo-like skin shimmered and hardened into crystal. The smell of ozone filled the air as sparks of sickly purple and pink spluttered from his horn while the sludge on his wings sloughed off to reveal a new set of graceful, insectoid replacements.
Figured you would go to him once you ‘defeated’ me, mocked the creature, as it took a deep, cleansing breath.
You have so much raw anger. A white hot fury shared only by the one that gave me life!
He smiled widely, as a new, permanent set of glittery fangs filled his maw.
Of course, I put it to much better use.
Anarchy launched himself with a chittering roar, Big Mac ducked sideways, just avoiding the charge, but then a serpentine tongue whipped out with a loud crack, nicking his ear and forcing him behind part of the fence to avoid the razor sharp appendage. He was getting slow, the poison burning in his veins made his limbs feel heavier with each passing moment, while his head felt like it was submerged in syrup.
A mass of shattering splinters cut his cheek as the razor tongue shattered the wood and he leapt from cover to go on the offensive tackling the spirit of chaos to the ground, flesh and bone meeting hardened crystal with a loud smack!. The creature's wings buzzed angrily as he tried to pin him, but it quickly threw him off with a kick to the ribs.
Grunting in pain, the draft horse managed to stagger back up and buck out his rear legs, both making contact with the force of a cannon blast, crystalline skin shattering beneath his hooves, Anarchy faltering, but not falling.
Impressive.
Anarchy whipped out his tongue again, wrapping it around the stallion's neck and squeezing tight. Big Mac's hooves flailed as his airflow was cut off and he was dragged to the ground, a heavy hoof pressing on the back of his head.
Why are you still defending that little fool?
Anarchy snarled and leant down to look him in the eye, while Big Mac struggled to free himself, but he could feel himself slipping. So he mustered up what energy he had left for what could be his last act.
With the creature's head in so close, it was impossible to miss as Mac cracked Anarchy's jaw with a hard right hoof, the entity staggering back with a pained roar, tongue going slack and giving the stallion a moment to recover.
"Like I said, he's family," coughed Big Mac. "Don't care where he's from, or what he is. And this family looks out for each other."
Using his powerful back legs, he launched himself into Anarchy once again, the pair rolling in the dirt as they fought, kicked, and bit one another relentlessly, Then there was a flash of purple from the creature's horn, blinding Big Mac long enough for Anarchy to heave him to one side and land a hard crack across his muzzle.
Big Mac crumpled to the ground, unconscious.
Worthless pierce of childish trash, he scoffed. Now, to find my son.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The farmhouse door slammed shut behind the fillies and colt as they raced inside, Apple Bloom immediately securing the locks.
"Think that'll hold him?" asked Scootaloo.
"I dunno, but I'm not taking any chances," replied the farm filly.
Reiver meanwhile, flopped to the floor.
"Why did Big Mac have to do that? We saw what my dad did to Bedlam!"
"I know," replied Apple Bloom, in a worried tone. "But my brother can be as stubborn as Applejack, especially with family involved."
"But...I'm not family," replied Reiver. "I'm just some alien that spilled porridge on your head."
The farm filly frowned and pulled Reiver up by his scruff.
"Now you listen here, and get this through your thick head! Y'all might not think so, but y'all have been part of this family for a while now."
She looked him dead in the eye.
"You've eaten with us at our table, helped Big Mac with his projects, been on Cutie Mark Crusaders, heck, y'all have been living with us for so long it's like you were always there. Applejack. Granny Smith, Big Mac and me, we've all got to like you."
She pulled him into a hug.
"Doesn't matter where you came from. You're part of the Apple Family."
Reiver sniffled, then returned the hug, even as the other fillies joined in.
"Don't forget us," reminded Scootaloo.
"Yeah," supported Sweetie Belle. "You're a Cutie Mark Crusader, you know."
"...girls…I...don't know what to say."
"Y'all can start by explaining about the ruckus I'm hearing out in the fields!"
They all jumped at Granny Smith's sharp tone as she descended the stairs, then they all launched into a rapid retelling that ended just as abruptly when the door was shattered..
Reiver's blood ran cold, as Anarchy stepped through the cloud of splinters, his fanged maw curling into a smile as they set eyes on each other.
Fear gripped Reivers' heart as his demonic father looked at him like a predator would size up its prey before taking a step forwards.
Come on now. These cartoon characters are just a distraction, like they were back home.
His hooves sizzled and smouldered the wooden floor with each step, and Revier quickly found his friends taking position to protect him.
I'll show you what it means to have some ambition, maybe teach you to grow a spine, I know what's best for you after all-RGH!
A metal walking stick cracked down on his head.
"Pay attention to your surroundings sonny, y'all might have seen that coming." defiantly stated Granny Smith as she relentlessly swung the walking stick down again and again, bits of crystal flying through the air.
“Get him Granny!” cheered Apple Bloom.
“Knock his block off!” supported Sweetie Belle.
“Show him how a real pony deals with a bully!” finished Scootaloo.
“Yeah!” Reiver cheered along with his friends, finding himself swept up in the euphoria of seeing his father get some just desserts.
Stupid *crack* Old *smack* Nag *crunch* Quit it! Anarchy attempted to protest, but the Apple matriarch wouldn’t give him an opening.
“Mind your manners or I’ll do more than knock some sense into you! You think this is any way to approach your kid? Y'all even went and set fire to the orchard! And no one messes with an Apples orchard!”
She swung again, but overextended herself, giving Anarchy the opportunity to duck and lash out with his hooves to buck the elderly mare into a table with a loud crash.
"Granny!"
Pathetic
He glared angrily at the fallen Apple family Matriarch as Apple Bloom frantically checked her grandmother.
Weak! That's what you are. Creatures my son should never hav-AARGH!
The walking stick cracked across his forehooves.
He looked down to see Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle staring up at him in burning fury.
"That's enough you big bully!” stated the unicorn filly.
“Yeah! Find someone your own size!” supported Scootaloo.
Anarchy chuckled and threw them to one side, the two hitting a wall with a pair of thuds.
I did, but he wasn't worth the effort.
Reiver saw his friends swatted like bugs and something snapped inside him, with a furious roar he swung his hoof at his father with all his might.
There was a loud crack as it met Anarchy's crystal chin, the creature's head snapping to one side as Reiver felt the impact right up the bone of his forehoof. For a moment, the monster was frozen, eyes wide in surprise as it slowly, unbelievably, spat out a fang.
I was willing to forget the first punch, but I think something like this needs discipline.
His whip-like tongue cracked perilously close to the colt's ear as he cradled an aching forehoof, but he stood his ground.
I'll start by taking away these children, they are clearly a bad influ-aAACK!
A lasso expertly looped over Anarchy's neck yanked him sideways out the shattered doorway.
Despite frantically buzzing his wings, the creature flew like a brick, slamming into the ground with a solid thud. Growling, he magically burnt away the rope and glared up at those who dared deny him his prize yet again.
Six ponies glared angrily back. Two, a blue and a yellow one, had wings, while another pair, purple and white, had horns and the final set, pink and orange, didn't have anything, although the orange one spat out the remnants of the lasso, and was looking especially angry.
Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Applejack, The Elements of Harmony stood firm before their foe as Princess Luna landed at their side, with Discord popping into existence a moment later.
Why do you things keep getting in my way!? He roared.
"Twilight!"
Reiver and the Crusaders leant out the broken doorway
"That's my dad! He merged with the thing inside him!"
“We know!” she replied. “Leave him to us!”
"Guess now you're outside matches your inside," quipped the orange pony.
Who are you again? growled Anarchy.
"I'm Applejack," she replied, stepping forwards. "And we are the ones that are going to kick your sorry flank off my farm!"
I doubt it!
Sparks erupted from his horn in a blinding blast, forcing Twilight to throw up a shield, allowing Anarchy to recover and rain magical fire towards the Elements of Harmony, forcing them to scatter or take cover as he used the distraction to run for the farmhouse.
"Not so fast villain!"
Princess Luna popped into existence right in his path, tackling the creature to the ground where they snorted, kicked and bit at one another in a rolling scrum that ended with Anarchy pinned beneath the Princess.
"Surrender, and we shall show thee mercy!"
His whip-like tongue cracked out and Luna recoiled screaming as he sliced it across her face, silver starlit blood spurting skywards as she reared back, allowing the creature to shove her off.
Pathetic! No wonder that other nag went down so easily!
"What yall talking about varmint!?" snapped Applejack, charging in to buck the creature with her powerful hind legs, but Anarchy rolled quickly away and got to his hooves.
That big red pony who tried to stop me! Useless creature really thought he had a chance!
Applejack saw red, charging Anarchy with a cry of vengeance, she slammed into his side, but he moved with her momentum and kicked her to the ground. Raising his forehooves to stomp on her head, the creature suddenly found themself lassoed yet again, this time by pink taffy as Discord and Pinkie Pie yanked him away from the fallen Apple.
"Enough of that now!"
"Yeah, leave her alone you big bully!"
Using the opportunity to escape, Applejack regrouped with Twilight and Princess Luna, the former casting a healing spell over a deep gash on the princesses forehead.
“You’re lucky he didn't blind you,” admonished Twilight.
“I have had worse,” responded Luna.
"That thing did something to Big Mac,” anxiously interrupted the farm pony. “I need to find him!"
"I shall go," answered Luna, dismissing Twilight with a wave. "All six of you will be needed to bring this creature down!"
The princess disappeared in a flash of starlight, while Twilight and Applejack raced to rejoin the battle.
Despite its magical nature, the taffy lasso was being torn apart by Anarchy's sharp crystalline coat. Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Fluttershy had also grabbed the line to help their friends, but the confection soon snapped, recoiling rapidly and forcing everyone to dodge the sticky missile.
Anarchy ripped his hooves free from their sweet prison and spun to face them, a fanged smile splitting his features as he laid eyes on Discord.
You look kind of like that other creature I fought in the orchards, it didn't go well for him either.
"True", snorted the draconequis. "But he was just the apprentice, now you face a true Master of Chaos!"
Snapping his claw, Discord suddenly sported a full head of golden spiked hair as he thrust his claw/paw forward with a scream, blue energy erupting between them that shot straight at Anarchy, who opened his maw wide like a serpent and swallowed the attack whole.
He tried things like that as well, let me show you what I did to him!
Smouldering tar erupted from his mouth right at Discord, who conjured a bubble around himself with another claw snap. Unfortunately, as soon as the foul liquid made contact it began to melt and the Spirit of Chaos had to teleport away quickly, the attack eating right through the bubble and continuing on to hit part of the farmhouse.
Reiver and the Crusaders fled the building as the wood rapidly burned and rotted,Granny Smith supported between the four as they raced to the barn.
“That was close,” huffed the colt as they set down the unconsious Apple Matriarch.
“Granny, please be okay.” whimpered Apple Bloom, nuzzling the mares cheek.
“Leave her to me,” interrupted a firm, but soft voice.
Looking up, the group saw Fluttershy galloping into the barn, a first aid kit strapped to her side and Angel Bunny hopping beside her.
Turning Granny Smith over, she quickly set to work while Angel snipped lengths of bandage he passed to the pegasus pony to wrap around the elderly mare's head and chest, while Apple Bloom sat anxiously beside her grandmother.
“She’s got a bad cut and some bruised ribs, but she’ll be fine,” reassured Fluttershy, smiling softly. “You were all very brave to stand up to that meanie.”
“Yeah, but he’s not beaten yet,” muttered Reiver, kicking the ground. “I feel so useless.”
“So did I for a while,” replied Fluttershy, packing up her kit. “But my friends taught me to never lose faith in myself, they’ve been a great source of strength, and even helped me overcome some of my greatest fears.”
She gestured towards the Crusaders as they ensured Granny Smith was lying comfortably.
“From what I hear, you’ve got some great friends yourself.”
Her job done, the pegasus returned to the fray, leaving Reiver to reflect on her words.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"I think he's trying to make you mad, AJ." stated Rainbow Dash.
"I’m already mad sugarcube, but this guy just made things really personal!"
Rainbow Dash smirked before zipping skyward then down into a dive. Charging Anarchy from behind, the rainbow pegasus dodged a blast from his horn and went into a speedy, low flight before swirling up and around the creature at a breakneck pace, kicking up a small tornato around him.
Meanwhile, Applejack was bucking rocks, wood, farm tools and anything else she could find into the tornado as fast as she could, the wind speed whipping them up into deadly projectiles that battered the creature from all sides. The onslaught was such that he couldn't deflect or dodge all of them, and each missile hit with enough force to crack pieces off his crystal coat, smouldering tar oozing from the wounds.
Then Pinkie Pie struck.
"Surprise!" The Element of Laughter sprung out of a pink barrel like a jack in the box, a coconut cream pie splatting him in the face, accompanied by the clang of a heavy steel pie pan.
"Double Surprise!" A second pie, and steel tin, to face left him dazed and engulfed in blindingly thick cream, leaving him unable to avoid the rocks and debris that cracked off more and more of his crystal coat.
It was in this confusion that a magic needle and thread emerged from the ground below, weaving and wrapping around his body and hooves, crisscrossing expertly until they cinched tight and he was suddenly ‘sewn’ to the ground with a surprised yelp, his legs hogtied together.
"Not my best work darlings but it will hold him down," came Rarity's refined tones as the tornado dissipated, revealing the cream covered creature, expertly embroidered to the earth. His once glittering coat cracked and broken, as toxic sludge oozed from every wound to burn the ground and blacken the soil, smoke smouldered from his angrily snorting nostrils.
“Oh dear,” quietly exclaimed Fluttershy. “Do you think we can turn him back?”
“I don’t think he’s worth the trouble,” muttered Discord. “He put Bedlam in traction.”
“Not to mention everything he did to my family and the farm,” snorted Applejack.
“I say we let him squirm for a bit first,” snarked Rainbow Dash. “He’s not so tough anymore.”
INSIGNIFICANT CREATURES! Roared Anarchy. YOU ARE NOTHING TO ME!
With a mighty bellow, the mosnters horn ignited and a burst of thick, black magic burned away the threads, along with the cream.
"Hey! You know how long they took to bake?" protested Pinkie Pie, before another wave of nauseating power shoved them all aside.
"Discord, what's happening?!" cried Twilight from behind a rapidly summoned barrier.
"I don't know," confessed the Spirit of Chaos, who was himself hiding behind a large umbrella. "He's being driven by something primal, not Wild Magic or even Chaotic power!"
THAT'S BECAUSE I AM DRIVEN BY FURY, BY RAGE INCARNATE! Cried Anarchy, unleashing his power on everypony present.
Rainbow Dash was immediately blasted out of her dive and crashed right into a charging AppleJack. Pinkie Pie was yanked from the ground by tentacles of black tar and tossed into Fluttershy while more appendages erupted from the earth to bind Discord from head to toe, even his fingers were tied. Finally, corrosive sludge was blasted at Twilight and Rarity, the pair forming a bubble to protect themselves, although for how long was anyone guess, as it began to smoulder and rot, the two unicorns unable to teleport away despite their best efforts.
Then he turned his power to the barn and blasted the door to pieces, dragging Reiver out into the open and casting aside the Crusaders as they tried to help him
My son is weak, ranted the creature. He's an effeminate coward that has no ambition other than to remain a waste of my blood! His mother never made the hard choices, just encouraged his behaviour and worthless hobbies.
He smiled a wicked smile at the colt, then magically squeezed Reivers neck. The Colt flailed and tried to grasp at the invisible force constricting his throat, but the monster's iron grip was impossible to break, and he felt himself passing out.
When you wake up, you’ll realise this is a fresh start for us both. I'll raise you properly, show you the real meaning of strength and ambition.
Fluttershy's words snapped to the forefront of his mind as memories of his time in Equestria began to play like a slideshow, Applejack finding him in the barn, Applebloom and her friends taking him on Crusade, helping Big Mac with his carpentry, talking with Twilight.
Apple Bloom's declaration that he was family.
There was a spark, and he felt the dark magic falter just enough for him to scream two words to his father.
"You're WRONG!"
Anarchy glared at the colt, but Reiver kept going as that spark lit a raging fire.
"You think strength comes from ambition! From doing anything to get to the top! Mum saw what you were doing, and she made sure I would never end up like you!"
The corrupted spirit of chaos rolled its eyes and tried to tighten its grip, puzzled to find that it couldn’t.
"You put your career and ideals before everything else! We moved when YOU wanted, went where YOU thought you could climb that ladder! I was alone most of my life, but mum made sure I was loved! She made sure I never became an unfeeling jerk like you!"
Anarchy's magic began to break down, the ooze over Twilight and Rarity was melting away while Discords bindings sloughed off his body. Even the monster's battered and cracked crystal coat began to dull and crumble, tar oozing from every break.
"And what did all that ambition get you in the end? NOTHING! You lied, deceived and manipulated and now, you're all alone!"
Anarchy's magical grip suddenly fizzled out, and the colt landed on his hooves, still glaring at the demon.
"But me, I’m not alone, I found friends, I found a family, together with mum's love they are my strength and it's thanks to them I don’t have to be afraid of you anymore!”
The stallion snarled and lunged at him, but Applejack suddenly bucked the creature from the side, kicking it away in a shower of glimmering dust with her formidable back legs. In response, Anarchy tried to summon his power, but nothing came, instead, it felt like the magic was being pulled away.
What have you done to me you pathetic creature! He roared at Reiver, as he defiantly took his place next to the Element of Honesty..
"He’s done nothing varmint!" snorted Applejack, cracking her neck. "But I’m just getting started!"
She charged the stallion and the pair thudded together in a scrum that sent the weakening Anarchy sliding back onto his hind hooves as the pair reared up to kick and bite at each other. Applejack threw a hoof right into his jaw, shattering the crumbling crystal coat into a glittering rain while fanged teeth spilled from his maw. Her opponent dazed, she wrapped her hooves around his neck and threw him sideways, right into a magical blast from Twilight, which ricocheted him into a diamond shaped barrier from Rarity with a solid crack.
Drawing back, Anarchy sought to escape, fleeing towards the burning orchard only to find his route cut off by Fluttershy and a small army of angry critters, he tried to fly but a double hoof kick to his spine sent him crashing down as Rainbow Dash intercepted him. Groaning in pain, the last of his coat crumbling away to reveal the smouldering toxic sludge that made up his body, he looked up to see every pony staring angrily down at him.
This isn't possible! He snarled. You're just a child's fantasy with no meaning, you have no real power!
Reiver smirked.
"You're wrong, Scott!" he declared, as the Crusaders regrouped on him."We've got the strongest power of all!"
Five familiar gemstone necklaces flashed into existence on each of Twilight's friends, the unicorn herself receiving a diadem.They glowed with ancient power before six blasts of multicoloured light burst forth, swirling around Anarchy before looping upwards to combine into a rainbow of pure power that slammed down onto the creature.
“The Magic of Friendship!”
The monster screamed and thrashed, his silhouette twisting and writhing as the magic penetrated every cell in his body, burning him away. His form shrank, wings and horn crumbing as a thick, black cloud spewed from Scott’s mouth and nostrils. It briefly took a twisted, skeletal shape, bellowing in supernatural fury, moments before it was vaporised into nothing.
As the rainbow faded, Scott's emaciated form collapsed with a wheezing whimper, a quick check by Fluttershy revealing he was still alive, but he wouldn't be threatening anypony anytime soon.
But they could deal with him later, as Reiver, felt Applejack's hoof on his shoulder just before he was suddenly tackle-hugged from the side, ending up in a pony pile as the Crusaders squeezed him tight
The spark he felt before had cooled, but not gone out, now it bloomed warmly in his chest as he hugged his friends.
“I’ve always wanted to do that,” he laughed, as the group untangled themselves.
“Hay yeah! You were awesome!” cheered Scootaloo.
“Absolutely,” supported Sweetie Belle.
Reiver sniffed and wiped his eyes as Apple Bloom placed a gentle hoof on his shoulder.
The ward at Ponyville General smelt heavily of disinfectant, driving home just how vulnerable Scott was right now. With the creature and its power removed, the powerful stallion had become emaciated to the point of being almost skeletal. He'd been brought in immediately after the Elements of Harmony had banished Anarchy, and stabilised quickly by the medical staff.
Princess Luna was by the stallion's bedside, as was Nurse Redheart. The former was running her glowing horn over Scott’s body, while the latter was looking over a clipboard of test results. Waiting anxiously by the door was the Apple family. Applejack, had a bandage around her middle and was supporting Big Macintosh, who had bandages wrapped around his own body in addition to a cast on his foreleg. Granny Smith stood by them with an ice pack on her head, while Revier and Apple Bloom sat by their hooves, eyes fixated on Scott.
The room was deathly silent, only broken by the hum of hospital machinery and stellar magic.
“The creature is truly gone,” Luna finally stated.
“Although it took just about every drop of his innate magic, not to mention anything else it had its grubby claws into,” muttered Redheart.
“Will he die?” asked Reiver, flatly.
“No,” replied the nursemare. “But he will take a long time to recover.”
“From what we have seen,” explained Luna. “Your father and the creature Anarchy had almost become one entity. Had they been joined any longer, the pair would have been truly indistinguishable. It seemed that he survived because there was just enough of him left as an individual.”
“A scan shows brain activity, but he’s effectively in a coma,” continued Nurse Redheart, flipping through the papers on her clipboard. “We believe it was the mental trauma of the separation, coupled with his weakened state, and physical injuries from the fight, that caused his current state. External stimuli have failed to wake him, I’m afraid we don’t know if he will wake up at all.”
The revelation meant little to Reiver. He had been visiting his father the last few days, although for the life of him he couldn't figure out why. Maybe he just wanted to make sure that it was all over.
In the meantime, life was moving on, the farm was being rebuilt at a record pace thanks to Twilight and her friends helping out while Big Mac and Applejack recovered. Burned fields were ploughed and replanted, toppled trees cleared and the wood stored, they had even managed, somehow, to persuade Applejack to only take on light duties, as she stubbornly refused to rest.
Reiver stepped forward to the bed, Apple Bloom sticking by his side as he took a moment to examine the emaciated body of one he had feared and fought most of his life.
"Can he hear me?”
“We don’t know,” replied Redheart. “But if there's anything you need to say to him, then go ahead.”
The colt took a deep breath, glancing at Apple Bloom as she laid a reassuring hoof on his shoulder, before turning back to his father.
"Scott, I hope you can hear this, because it’s been a long time coming. You’re not my father, you’ve been the worst example of a human being I’ve ever met. You ruined Mum’s life, you tried to ruin mine, and now you’ve almost killed the first real family I’ve ever had.”
He got closer to the bed and peered at his fathers sunken face, no response, not even a twitch.
“As of last night. I'm now Reiver Apple, the paperwork was rushed on account of you having been declared unsuitable as my parent."
The gaunt stallion remained unresponsive.
"Huh, thought if anything might wake you up it would have been that."
Still nothing.
"I've been given another chance,” continued Reiver. “A chance to be myself for once and not have you over my shoulder. A chance to not be alone and actually make friends and be part of a family again. Maybe you’ll recover and get another chance, but it won't be with me."
He stepped back from the bed.
"You're going to trial once you're well enough, you’ll finally have to face some consequences for your actions. I hope it makes you realise the type of person you've been."
With that Reiver, and his new sister, rejoined the waiting Apples, then along with Luna and Nurse Redheart left the motionless stallion all alone.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
“I will keep you apprised of any developments in his condition, should I believe he intends to come after you again,” explained Redheart.
“Thanks Nurse,” replied Granny Smith, adjusting her ice pack. “Whoo, I shouldn’t have gotten into that fight, I’m not a young mare anymore.”
“I wouldn’t say that Granny,” countered Reiver “I don’t think I’ve properly thanked you for protecting me like that.”
“Yer welcome sonny, or is grandsonny now?” chuckled the Apple matriarch.
“Your reckless actions aside, I expect you all to keep an eye on those injuries,” admonished Redheart, “Plenty of rest for Big Mac and Applejack is to stay on light duties until the bruising has passed, and I mean it young mare.”
That last statement was coupled with a hard stare at the farmer, who could only smile nervously.
“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure she doesn't overdo it again,” said Apple Bloom.
“And I will make doubly sure of that,” supported Reiver.
“Been family for a day and you're already turning against me,” stated Applejack in mock surprise, which got a chuckle out of the assembled ponies.
As they reached the exit, Redheart excused herself, muttering something about how this report was going to be such a headache. As they left Ponyville General, Reiver took a deep breath and sighed heavily, like a great burden was lifted from his shoulders.
"You alright partner?" asked Applejack.
"Yes," he replied. "Yes I think I am, finally."
"That's good to hear, but if y'all have anything you want to talk about I'll always be willing to listen, and so is Big Mac."
“Eeyup,” replied the stallion, smiling down at the colt.
Reiver smiled back up at them.
"Thanks Guys."
"Anytime Sugarcube, come along now, let's get back home."
“In that case, I shall depart as well,” spoke Princess Luna. “My sister will need a full account of these events and their implications, especially now Discord has a student of his own.”
Bedlam had thankfully survived his encounter with Anarchy, but he’d been severely injured. His first letter had surprised everypony when a paper swan flew into the farmhouse and unfolded itself on Reivers breakfast. Since then, Bedlam had been keeping them apprised of his recovery, especially since it was apparently the first time a draconequus had ever been hurt to such a degree.
With a final farewell the Lunar Princess, ignited her horn and disappeared in a flash of starlight.
The Apples began making their way back to Sweet Apple Acres. Thankfully the day was pleasant, cool but not cold and the sun was shining down on the rebuilding work going on around Ponyville. Cleanup had been swift and most of the debris was already loaded up for disposal or reclamation.
“So,” said Apple Bloom, turning to Reiver. “Looking forward to School?”
Despite recent events, Cheeilee had concluded Reiver was at a level where he could begin school in the fall, giving them the news not long after Scotts defeat.
Reiver moaned at his sister's question.
“Really thought I had escaped that particular hell years ago. It’s never easy being constantly alone at school, although Cheerilee has been a big help with my maths. I’ve always been terrible with numbers.”
“That's because she’s a great teacher,” cheerfully replied the filly. “And you’ll have me, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo with you in class so you won’t be alone.”
"Huh, I guess not," he mused, a small smile splitting his features. “How do you feel sharing a class with your new big brother?”
"I actually think we’re the same age," she rebuffed, gently cuffing him with her hoof.
"Technically, I'm older than you," he countered.
"Not in pony years," she teased back.
The pair laughed as they bantered back and forth Sweet Apple Acres soon coming into view.
Scaffolding was plainly visible around the house and barn, along with Twilight directing her friends and several construction ponies from a wide table.
"Fluttershy, make sure those saplings are taken to the orchards and planted, Rainbow Dash, lift those timbers to the roof and Pinkie Pie, put down the jackhammer!"
The pink pony in question was bouncing towards the approaching Apples on the out of control piece of equipment. Applejack quickly responded by whipping out her lasso and yanking the pink pony off before the runaway tool crashed into a tree.
Twilight sighed.
"Sorry about that."
"Yeah, that thing got all shaky and I lost control," apologised Pinkie Pie.
"It's alright sugarcube,” comforted Applejack, wincing as her bruises flared from the action. “Although I think y'all might be better with another job."
Pinkie's mane deflated a bit, then sprang up as she was hit with inspiration.
"That's right! Everypony will be hungry and thirsty, I need to make some snacks!"
And she was off like a shot into the farmhouse, where the clattering of cookware followed suit.
The ponies chuckled.
"She is so random," commented Reiver.
"Eeyup," supported Big Mac.
"How were things at the hospital?" asked Twilight.
"They were, ok," stated Reiver. "I don't know if he heard anything, but I'm done with him for good."
"Best thing to do really," came a voice from above. "Should have done it sooner."
They looked up to see its owner, a heavily bandaged Bedlam, floating uneasily next to Discord.
"I tried to keep him in bed," explained the Spirit of Chaos. "But he insisted on seeing you in person at least once."
Reiver smiled.
"Glad you did," he replied. "How are you doing?"
"Getting there," responded Bedlam, wobbling a little. "I can float a bit and almost snap my fingers again. It's going to be a while though."
"Indeed," replied another Discord, dressed like a doctor. "Which is why you must return to bed post-haste. Lovely seeing you all."
"Get well soon Bedlam," waved Reiver, as the spirits of chaos vanished with a pop.
"Those two will be nothing but trouble," muttered Twilight.
"Fluttershy will keep them from misbehaving Twi," observed Applejack. "She's practically got Discord wrapped around her hoof, Bedlam won’t be…too much of a problem."
“Famous last words,” muttered Apple Bloom, elicting a giggle from Reiver.
They headed towards the farmhouse, where Reiver and Apple Bloom split from the group when he caught sight of the remaining Cutie Mark Crusaders, with power tools.
"Reiver!" they cheered, galloping over to greet him.
"Hi girls," he greeted.
"How was the hospital?"
Their faces fell a little, as he explained he'd cut ties with his father.
"Good riddance if you ask me," commented Scootaloo.
"Yeah, that guy was the worst," supported Sweetie Belle.
"I'll probably have to testify at his trial eventually," said Reiver. "But for now, we don't have to worry about him."
"I know, look what he did to the farm!" pointed out Apple Bloom, indicating the scaffold around the house and barn.
"Speaking of that, what were you three doing with those power tools?" queried Reiver.
"Trying for our Construction Cutie Marks!" cheered Sweetie Belle, passing him a hard hat.
"Yeah, Applejack says we can work on the barn doors," supported Scootaloo.
Apple Bloom chuckled as Reiver looked at them warily, the crusaders with power tools was a worrying combination.
"Don't worry, we're not going to be careless,” she soothed, placing a hard hat on Reivers head. “This is our home, and the girls know how important it is, besides, Big Mac will be supervising."
Reiver looked at them again, before sighing in resignation.
"Just don't destroy my room please."
"But, you don’t live in the barn?"
"In my experience, you'll find a way, somehow."
"You heard him girls, careful as a mouse in a cornfield," supported Apple Bloom, plonking on her own hard hat.
Reiver smiled as they chatted about what a construction cutie mark would look like, what their next crusade will be or what happened at school today. It made him feel at ease, seeing his new friends, his new family working together to rebuild what Scott had almost destroyed. Nothing would phase them, or him, as he made use of this second chance.
And he would make the best use of it, as he straightened his hard hat to follow the girls he began whistling a tune as he walked towards his new life, happy.
