Meanwhile...
Sweet Apple Acres
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.”
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Ponyville General
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.
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Sweet, the story contenues, its been a while dude, glad you are alive :D
Well now the father has his own Bedlam. Why do I feel that both of them are all the negative aspects of father and son? Let's see how they get dealt with as they are going to be a problem fast.
Nice to see you back again. I thought is was a nice chapter and I think it was just the right length to progress the plot more on what's going on and add an extra layer of tension to the story, can't wait to see how it will pan out; not well if I were to guess.
I am guessing that Scott has is also possessed but the same creature as Reiver did and will likely suffer the same faith as he will if they don get those out of them soon before they are fully recovered. I am guessing that this new Bedlam will be much more malign than that of Reiver is with how much no nonsense as he is as well as easily becoming hostile.
It was interesting to see the father Point of view on the issue of his family where he had emotionally detached himself from them and inter Reiver lost any emotional connection he had for his old man that he had for him.
Oh my...
I knew this was going to happen.
Now my question is if Discord's warning is some kind of vendetta Discord vs. Bedlam or if his warning is Reiver/Bedlam vs. Scott/Scottlam
Friendly word of advice, link to that story.
well this is going to be a bit of a legal problem.
i am super happy to see a new chapter and a super good one.
Going to be honest... I liked the way that you first established the story from the ponies' point of view about Reiver, but the way you're setting up his father is just... it ain't good. Not from a character building standpoint.
I'm not sure exactly where it is that I start having an issue, but it might be the military "I have all these wilderness skills". I'm not any way related to the military, but I kinda always doubt a soldier whenever he says he knows things that can help him. No, you were a grunt in the army, if you're thrown flat on your ass with only a knife in the middle of unmarked forest, you would only last as long as you keep that knife. And there would be a whole lot of chances to lose that blade.
I think maybe it's the "I've seen hellish combat zones" bit most of all though. You're kinda humanizing a character that in real life would usually be more secluded, and way more self-destructive. Knowing how real soldiers have been breaks the immersion for me for this character here. You don't really have a basis for his behavior besides "I was in the military" and having some conservative/traditionalist views for Scott's backstory. That can speak more about how you view things and where the bias of the story will lie. And that's... immersion breaking, I suppose is the best way to put my feelings towards this story.
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You know, sorta like this one.
Meh. It was okay.
Short and didn't cover as much as the old chapters.
Also, canteen in the USA refers to a small portable 1 quart drink container used while camping, or the 'store' in jail and prison.
Not an issue, just thought you should know so you can tell people.
Learn something every day!
No Scott, you are a jerk and undeserving of your wife and son if that is the attitude you take.
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Thanks very much for the comment, this is the type of constructive criticism I like to hear. I'm not military so whats written is more from me trying to imagine what a soldier might be like. To have input like this really does help me with this story, I'll take what you've said on board when writing Scott's character going forward and I might look again at this chapter later on.
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I did not know this. I can see how that might cause confusion.
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No prob, I'm also former military, so I can advise as well
I want to see Scott's reaction to a "Pinkie Pie" welcoming...provided she doesn't find out about his history with Reiver.
There be a storm brewing.
finally a new chapter it was worth the wait i have a feeling the next chapter will have something epic
Lol, okay, we get it, Scott is a bastard. The writing is a bit too obvious about it.
o shit noo i caught up now i have to wait xD
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That would be appreciated.
I knew his father was a terrible person from the moment Reiver talked about him, but now, my anger for him grows. The Apples will have to do everything in their power to defend Reiver from that abusive man, all the while defending themselves and the rest of Ponyville from the magical storm!
Welcome back.
I like how there was all this build up of a suspense going about Bedlam, only for it too get turned around this chapter. The suspicion that I had of Bedlam becoming an antagonist instantly all shifted towards Scott, and his own reflection. Well done, I actually wasn't expecting a shift like that. It was refreshing.
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tl;dr
I believe Bedlam isn't evil. (Sorry this is a huge post, I kinda lost myself writing it halfway through.)
I have something to say to this, from my own observations and opinions whilst reading. Now, we know Bedlam and Reiver are basically copies in terms of personalities and memories, up until the reflection in the mirror anyways. That would mean that Bedlam already knows about Discord, he already has worries that his existence might be evil, but with knowledge that he's basically the same as Discord should probably even him out as Discord was reformed, thus not an evil entity, merely a chaotic one too new and overwhelmed with his own powers.
Example; give a child access to a candy store without any idea on what a lot of candy can do to them, they'll keep eating it until they get sick. Give them the knowledge that pacing themselves will stop them from getting sick, they could eat a lot more candy in the long run.
Basically, with the knowledge Bedlam has, he has the potential for good. He just might be more Chaotic Good in terms of moral standing than anything else. I feel like in that last encounter, he was actually more worried about what would happen to Reiver than just himself.
That sounds more to me like concern for losing what is basically his other half. At this point, i wouldn't be surprised if they see each other as some sort of brothers. If not even just an extension of the same being. The only worrying part was Bedlam having Reiver forget about him during the reveal to Twilight. But that could easily be self perseverance overriding common sense, especially when it's pointed out that Reiver, and by extension Bedlam, are acting more childlike due to their body. Hormones and brain chemistry do make up a good percentage of how we react.
I feel like the creatures that come into being here are more like extensions of their hosts, although they're more chaotic and mischievous due to the wild nature of the magic that created them. Q was looking to harness the power for all, Discord in turn rules over the land and made everything chaotic. In a sense, he gave everyone a taste of his power.
Bedlam is like the protagonist, curious, thankful, wants to help, and wants to find a way home. He's merely playing with his powers trying to figure out what he can do. Everything so far has been a prank, childish, something you;d imagine a kid, or a socially awkward being would do when they have a newfound power without the ability to get caught.
And Scott, well he's selfish so far. I'd imagine his own creature would probably take on a chaotic depiction of that. It's probably gonna be something along the lines of take everything away from Reiver, harness more power, take over the world, or something like that. I'd imagine he's gonna be build up to be a might bit more evil than Discord ever was.
Sorry, those are my thoughts. Didn't mean to make this a paragraph, ha.
Love the story!
Finally caught up. Glad you're back and all. I can't wait to read more!
how i feel about this story ♥
I can not believe I forgot about this story. On the flip side, it's as good as ever. Looking forward to more!
Damn straight
Ok those last two things are just racism >:U
Yeah, seeing his internal thought process only deepens my hatred.
God damnit
Absolutely delightful so far, I hope you continue your work on it in the future <3
That's foul, truly foul. *tsk tsk*
Uh oh...
Does the character of the original affect the draconequus they create?
This could get very bad.
Oh no, something I totally missed when I first read this chapter was that the father was also experiencing the same issues reiver was...
This does not bode well.
It appears that Scott has a stereotypical boomer mentality.
Scott provided for his family. Man’s job is to provide. Hard to expect a child to be raised with only half the parents present though. Rock and a hard place.
Seems they both might have a draconequus in them. Unless Bedlam is in both? Bad news either way.
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The need to provide does not override the need to be an actual parent.
11446323
Sounds like he only provided cash. There's got to be more to fatherhood than being a piggy bank.