Decisions
‘’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?”
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NEXT CHAPTER!
I really LOVE this story! It's something fresh for the HiE stories
im happy to see this update, even if they are few and far between. keep it up
It looks like Reiver trusts Applejack some more now. At least that's my opinion.
Name of the chapter is misspelled.
You put a single quote instead of a double one there.
I'm still wondering why Reiver thinks he would be unable to get ponies to believe him when he literally has a car full of evidence to back his claims. All in all, when combined with the "You broke your word!" scene, he comes off as less and less a human adult, and more a complete moron. The accusation may be justified by him still being somewhat delirious, but his overall stupidity is getting on my nerves. I have a feeling you're going to go the route of "children have unbalanced hormones" to explain this away, which is, in actuality, a falsehood. While true for those going through puberty, hormones do not effect children behavior to this degree.
Child stupidity is caused by simply not knowing any better, which is why children can be raised to be very calm and well-behaved. If hormones were the lead cause for children being stupid, parenting style would have no effect on behavior. No, children being stupid is mostly the result of them not yet learning how to properly respond to various situations. This means a human adult being turned into a child should still have the bulk of their self-control and knowledge and act accordingly.
All this, when combined with your slow and small updates is making this seem like an unworthy read. I mean really, 43 days and all you got to show for it is 3282 words? That's only, like, 76 words written a day, which, in turn, is only about 3-4 lines. Sorry if I seem picky or that I'm complaining about "free entertainment" but that kind of progress just seems ridiculous to me.
It's possible Reiver's fear of doctors predates this transformation. It's also possible that he thinks a doctor is going to expose him, not that he'll have a hard time convincing the doctor of his strange origins. It's also possible that Reiver is afraid of hurting the doctor the same way he's tried to avoid everyone in Ponyville so as to not mess up the plot continuity. It's far beyond saving at this point, but he doesn't know how upset he made everypony since he was bedridden or fevered much of the time, so maybe he still thinks it's salvagable. It's also possible that the author don't gotta explain shit because as far as plot holes go, an unexplained fear of going to the hospital isn't all that bad.
I'm afraid the short chapters and infrequent updates are beginning to wear on my ability to maintain interest in this story. Not helping is the way chapter seven got the idea in my head that Reiver is something more than he seems to be, but there haven't been any new plot developments or hints to bear that out.
IT's been a while but I'm fairly sure he's not supposed to know about Zecora either.
He really needs to watch what he says...
4269146
Eh, I've done things that I look back on now and I can say "I was such an idiot". It's not implausible that our hero may regress to a younger state of mind.
This may include his fear of doctors. Not sure what that's about. It could be a carryover from Earth, or he could just be afraid they may figure out who he was... and he might think that's an entirely bad thing? I dunno. I guess we'll find out.
Mooaaaar please try to write faster!
4268703
4268679
4271934
Glad to see your enjoying it.
I'm sorry for the slow updates but I work and study between chapters, this is a hobby for me so it doesn't get the same priority as the others.
4268967
Dang it
. I'll correct that ASAP.
4269146
4269469
I'm sorry you feel this way about the lack of updates but as I have said above, I work and study between chapters and I have explained in my blog that I did attend an event as part of my course where I had to make a game in 48 hours. Prior to that I did a lot of preparation with my team and as this is a hobby for me it took a bit of a back seat. Bear in mind this is my first proper fiction and it's not going to be perfect.
4269852
He did meet Zecora in Chapter 2 but I can see where your coming from. Now I read it again I might make a slight edit to this chapter regarding that. I'll do my best to improve it as I go, this is still my first real effort at a fanfiction.
4269201
There is a legitimate reason for his fear beyond being exposed, that will come later on. But fears can be irrational as well, my mum is scared of spiders and I don't really like bees
4279007 'preciate the attention
And no sweat, I know how this boat floats; I'm on it myself.
I'll be here when you next update.
4279007 Oh! you are one of these guys how have a... what was that called again? ..."Real Life"?
Just a joke. So long you update the story, I can wait... temporarily
4279081 Don't set Pinkamina on me!! I need my beautiful face!
4279024
Thanks man.
I honestly do try to get these out frequently but things keep happening.
4279282
*Creepy sing song voice* ~Then you should better update~
4279342 I'm typing I'm typing!
Actually imagining that voice really does creep me out.
4279007
The story is fine. And while I've found my interest has diminished somewhat, I'm not about to stop reading.
4279007
Ha, I didn't mean it was a bad thing. He had shown unusual knowledge of Equestria previously as well, I assume it is a critical plot point.
4279007 it okay just (jacksepticeye voice) SPEEEEEED ISS KEYYY!!!!
4293170 top'a the mornin to ya laddie!
4293170 Yay fellow jacksepticeye fan! :D
4279007 is your photo a picture of Reiver? it kinda looks like the pony you described in the first chapter. buts that's just my opinion.
There's one spot in this where it says "River" looked over at Twilight
going to need somepony
If anyone who is extremely malnourished eats something the stomach can't handle, that person will most likely die of dehydration because the food will cause diarrhoea (if lucky) or intense vomiting that will force the food out of the body. In the worst case the food will rot inside the stomach and cause an acute and very severe infection and inflammation.
And to make matters worse, if the body itself can't take it, it will cause a sistemic vasodilation that will kill almost instantly the person
I wonder if Twilight might notice the magic residue surrounding him...
No shit, sherclop.
Get. Counseling. Please.
Dammit, this is why you should tell people what not to do if they are sick
(Holy sheep, AJ is a heckuva character)
Uhhhhh..... No fucking shit? I mean if I was taking care of a kid and they vomited before dropping there would have to be some pretty extreme circumstances for me to not immediately call a hospital. I'm not trying to be rude or anything I'm just saying common sense and basic morals would dictate that you'd rather be a liar rather than someone who could've prevent a child's death.... Again.... Just saying
4269146
He also might be judging them by humans considering I'm guessing he saw the show and they focus mostly on twilight and friends. Certainly no talks about the laws that everyone has to obey or get in trouble. Considering snips and snails brought a giant bear to town and suffer no consequences for their actions he has to be careful not to change the future.
"Readheart ain't a doctor...she's a nurse." Applejack retorted with a smug grin.