Haunted Memories
Written by XtremelyXtreme
Chapter 3 - The Other One
Scythe stepped back, mainly because Rainbow Dash was too close for comfort. He felt a twinge of anger at what she had asked.
"Yes, I'm--I mean NO, I'm not a terrorist, for fu--" Scythe almost swore because of a rising anger, but stopped himself and regained his calmness. "...Miss Dash, I'm not a terrorist, alright? I'm also not in the mood to talk about it, so if you could just go--"
"You know me?" Rainbow Dash interrupted, flying close to Scythe again. Scythe cleared his throat and stepped back.
"Yes, I know you. Well, I don't know you know you, but I know who you are. You pulled off a Sonic Rainboom." He explained.
"Yep! You also forgot to mention that I'm best and most awesomest flyer in Equestria!" She said happily. Scythe scoffed.
"Not exactly modest, are you?" He said flatly, brushing past her toward the front door of Vinyl's house. It doesn't seem like the conversation was over, though, because she flew in front of Scythe, stopping him.
"What about you? Did you actually blow up that city over in Domus?" Rainbow Dash asked annoyingly, with a grin. Scythe sighed. He was trying not to get angry.
"Look, I told you I'm not in the mood for this. Now, can I please go inside?" He asked with an annoyed tone, looking past the Pegasus hovering in front of him.
"Oh, no. I'm not done talking with you, yet." She said strictly, but still smiling. He brushed past her again and walked up the front steps to the door. Without looking back, he spoke again.
"Yeah, well...I'm done talking with you."
Rainbow Dash crossed her forelegs.
"Fine, I'll try to find you tomorrow. You can't get away from me if you're not near DJ-PON-3's house!" She said challengingly.
"Whatever you say. Bye, now." Said Scythe, as he closed and locked the door. He sighed and rubbed his eyes with a forehoof. He was tired, and it was already eight o' clock. He looked around the expertly decorated home for Vinyl. She was in the kitchen, making a sandwich. Upon noticing Scythe, she smiled.
"Hey. Want a sandwich?" Vinyl offered.
"No, thanks. I think I'm about ready to hit the sack." Scythe said with a yawn. Vinyl turned to him.
"You sure? It's only eight." She said with a concerned tone.
"Yeah...I'm tired. I'd like to sleep in a comfy bed, rather than a hospital bed." Scythe explained, finishing with a grin.
"Well, okay then. Come on upstairs. I'll show you the guest bedroom. I'll give you a tour of the house tomorrow." She explained with a smile.
After showing Scythe to the guest bedroom and setting everything up for him, Vinyl went back downstairs. All he wanted to do was sleep, now.
Even through his tiredness, Scythe couldn't shake some kind of feeling. It was weird how the well known Rainbow Dash took an interest in him, without being afraid or accusing of him. It was something he never felt before. He was also having diffuculty falling asleep. Many things raced through his mind. Being called a terrorist. Everypony hating him. A rally being held against him. It was alot to think about, and he was awake for a good two hours before finally drifting off to a deep sleep.
Four Days Earlier, Edge of The Everfree Forest, Inside A House
Everything was a blur as he opened his eyes. His head ached horribly, and he was sore all over. The stallion tried to sit up, but was overcome by a strong feeling of vertigo and nausea. After a few more minutes, he succeeded at sitting up. He put a light brown hoof to his face and sighed. Looking around, he became suddenly aware that he had no idea where he was. He couldn't remember what happened, and after a few minutes of thinking, he came to a conclusion.
-I'm hung over, aren't I?- He asked himself mentally. Realizing how sore he was, he also guessed what must've happened. -Must've pissed off somepony and got my flank kicked...-
Usually when he got drunk (Which wasn't very often), he just dismissed the next morning's memory loss as nothing. He examined the room. It was a small space, with a bed in the upper right corner (Which he was currently sitting on), and a shelf right beside the head of the bed. At the foot of the bed sat a large, dark green, locked chest. On the left wall was a mirror, which the stallion got up to see.
He walked slowly to the mirror, dragging his hooves. Looking in the mirror, he could see that his normally green eyes were bloodshot, and his dark blue and red mane was extremely messy. His light brown coat looked ruffled and dirty. He sighed, and rubbed his head.
As he went to walk toward the bed to sit down again, the maple colored door opened, and in walked a stunningly beautiful Unicorn mare. The stallion was suddenly mesmerized. Her blue coat was beautifully groomed, and her light green mane bounced with every step. She looked at the stallion and realized that he was awake.
"Oh. You've finally woken up." She said softly, her beautiful blue eyes sparkling. The stallion couldn't believe how breathtakingly beautiful this mare was, and it took him a second to realize that she had spoken. He was focused on her looks, which he knew he shouldn't be doing.
"Uh...Yeah...I just woke up a few minutes ago..." The stallion said flatly. He groaned softly and put a hoof to his head. The mare frowned.
"Are you okay?" She asked worriedly. The stallion nodded.
"Y-Yeah, I'm fine...Look, why...Where am I?" He was searching for the right words. The mare smiled.
"You're in the outskirts of The Everfree Forest. My name is Blue Bell." The mare named Blue Bell said happily, holding out her left hoof. She was wearing a red bracelet. The stallion slowly shook her hoof.
"Hi, Blue Bell." He said softly. "I'm Richter." He added. The stallion, who was now revealed to be named Richter, was thinking of something to say. Before he could, however, another Unicorn walked into the room. This was an old stallion, with a pale blue coat and grey hair. His eyes lit up upon noticing Richter.
"By Celestia, you're awake!" He said, surprised.
"Hi, grandpa. I just came in and he was standing up." Blue Bell explained quickly.
"Really? Well, it's about time. You were worrying us with how long you were out."
"Worrying you? I was only out for a night! I must be...Hung over..." Richter said surprisingly. He was a little hesitant to reveal that he had gotten drunk the previous night. Or so he thought.
The old stallion looked at Blue Bell and back to Richter.
"A night? Oh, no, son...You've been passed out for two days!"
"What?! Two days?!" Richter asked loudly, wide eyed.
"Yep, and you're definitely not hung over. You should've seen how you were when we found you!" The stallion explained. Richter stepped back. He was having trouble understanding.
"W-Wait...What do you--What do you mean?" He asked quickly.
"My name is Old Timer." The pale blue Unicorn started. "Look, why don't you get yourself cleaned up in the shower. Then you can come downstairs, and we'll explain."
Richter didn't hesitate. If not for his strong confusion, he wouldn't even be accepting any kind of help from these strangers. Besides, two days of nonstop unconsciousness can really gather up dirt in a pony's coat and mane, and make the same pony feel stiff and uncomfortable. He expected the hot water to feel nice, and to loosen up his aching body a bit.
Richter slowly walked out of the room, to see Blue Bell levitating a towel to him.
"Here." She said, smiling. "The soap is in the bathroom. Use as much as you need."
"Thanks." Richter replied softly, trying to put on a smile. Truth is, he was in too much pain to genuinely smile, but he tried his best.
Richter opened the bathroom door and stepped in, closing the same door behind him. A candle was lit, gently illuminating the room. It was nothing special. A sink. A toilet. A bathtub. Two toothbrushes and a tube of toothpaste on the sink. Just a regular bathroom.
Richter set the towel down and entered the bathtub, closing the shower curtains. He turned the hot water tap, and felt the warmness hit his aching body. It felt amazing. He could feel himself loosening up already. Looking at the drain, Richter noticed a light stream of dirt going down. His coat and mane were really dirty. He picked up the bar of soap and started to clean himself. The instant the soap touched his body, it started to sting.
"Aah.." He winced. This is when he noticed that he had many cuts and bruises, with the soap entering the cuts. "What the hell...?" He asked himself softly. He touched his left forehoof to his left side and felt a deep cut, followed by a sharp stab of pain.
"Aah!" He grunted painfully, a little louder than intended. There was a bright flash right after, and Richter was suddenly in a very familiar area. In his own body, but not in control of anything. The area looked like it had been blown up, and smoke and flames spewed from large gaps in the ground.
Richter walked up to a stallion lying on the cracked ground. When he was close enough, he spoke.
"Ohhh, no...Don't tell me you give up already, Scythe? We're just getting started." Said Richter with an evil grin. He felt very angry, but very smug at the same time. Scythe got up unsteadily.
"Richter...Stop this right now, or I'll MAKE you stop!" Scythe shouted angrily. Richter chuckled mockingly.
"Try me." He said simply. A small stream of fire shot upwards to reach eye level with Richter, and it formed into some sort of solid dagger. He took the dagger in his mouth, a lunged towards Scythe.
Scythe dodged in a flash of electricity and slammed his right forehoof into Richter's jaw, causing him to drop the dagger. Pain coursed through Richter's face, but he ignored it. He lunged for the dagger. Scythe did the same and reached it first. The two nearly impacted with each other, but stopped in time. Scythe had the dagger in his mouth, and was holding it against Richter's neck.
"Richter..." Scythe started, speech impaired because of the dagger. "I'n giffing you one last shance..."
"Well, isn't that nice of you." Richter chuckled coldly. He spun around and attempted to kick Scythe with his hind legs, but missed, as Scythe slashed forward, cutting deep into Richter's left side. He yelled out in pain, and managed to get his originally intended kick straight to Scythe's face, causing him to fly back, blood spurting from his mouth.
Richter gasped as he was snapped back to reality. He stumbled and fell onto the bottom of the bathtub, breathing heavily. Terrified of what he just saw, wide eyed.
-Scythe?- He thought. -What was Scythe--What did I--What just happened?-
Any confusion that Richter had was now doubled. He just sat in the tub, unable to move. After a few moments, he managed to pick himself up and finish his shower, still in shock.
Minutes Later
Richter walked down the wooden stairs of the small house into the kitchen, where Old Timer and Blue Bell were sitting in chairs.
"Are you okay? What was that loud noise?" Blue Bell asked worriedly, her beautiful blue eyes sparkling.
Richter wasn't sure he should tell these strangers what he just saw, for he was having trouble processing it himself.
"I, uh, I just slipped. I'm fine." Richter said simple. He wasn't telling the whole thing.
Old Timer cleared his throat.
"So, get this...Bellie and I were--"
"I'm sorry...Bellie?" Richter interrupted, feeling slightly awkward for doing so. He rubbed the back of his neck with a hoof.
"Uh...Yes, Bellie. It's Blue Bell's nickname." Old Timer explained.
"Ah."
"Anyways, Bellie and I were walking through the forest to go to Ponyville for some groceries, when suddenly we heard a HUGE exploding sound, and, I swear, all of Equestria quaked violently." He explained.
"Just to be safe, I said that we should stay where we were, in case anything else happened." Blue Bell added in.
"Yep. About ten or so minutes later, another explosion happened, and something landed nearby. Whatever it was, it totaled a whole lot of trees. We went to see what caused the impact, and we found you. I tell you, it looked like you were just beaten senseless. We thought you were dead, until Bellie checked your pulse. Bringing you to the hospital wasn't on our list of choices..." Old Timer explained everything with an extremely serious tone, right until the end, where it changed to a saddened tone.
"I've lost faith in hospitals since my wife...Well...I'll save that story for another time..."
Richter looked at Blue Bell, who was staring down. In an attempt to get back to the topic at hoof, Richter spoke.
"This is all so...Confusing...I don't remember anything that happened..." Said Richter, running a hoof through his dark blue and red mane.
Old Timer looked back up.
"Nothing? There isn't anything that comes to mind?"
Richter closed his green eyes and tried to remember, but nothing but the memory of what he saw in the bathroom came to him. He sighed and rubbed his head.
"Nothing...I don't remember how I got here, or even why I ended up here. It's so...Weird..." He said disappointingly, looking down.
There was an awkward silence, before Old Timer noticed a newspaper on the counter. He got up and looked at it.
"Well..." He began. "There IS something similar that happened to another Earth Pony, who's apparently involved with those explosions...I doubt that you have anything to do with..." He suddenly stopped. "Look, we'll talk about this in the morning, alright? You can sleep in that bed you were in. I'll clean it up for you."
Richter stood up.
"Uh...Look, I appreciate you taking care of me like this, but I think I should be on my way. I need to figure out what's happening." Richter explained, head to the door.
Old Timer made a wall of magic in front of Richter.
"Oh, no you don't. You think we're just gonna let you wander out there?" He said in a commanding tone. Richter sighed.
"I'll be fine. And again, I appreciate it." He tried to move forward, but Old Timer wouldn't diminish the magical wall.
"You're confused, Richter. You need some time to recover. We're not just letting you leave when you have no idea what's going on." Blue Bell explained in the same tone as her grandfather.
"Look, I don't need any time. I can figure things on my own." Richter pleaded. He didn't want to be rude, put the two Unicorns were persistent.
"We won't hear of it." Old Timer said simply.
"But--" Richter tried to speak, but was cut off.
"A few days, at least. Then, we'll let you go on your own."
Richter sighed. There was no winning this argument. It was two against one, anyways.
"...Alright...But I'm not going to sleep, yet. I did enough of that during these two days." He finished with a nervous chuckle.
Old Timer and Blue Bell smiled.
"Good. I'll get the bed ready for you for later." Said Old Timer kindly.
"Okay. I'm just...I'm going to sit outside for a bit, or something." Said Richter tiredly. Upon seeing the look on the two Unicorn's faces, he added in "Don't worry, I'm not gonna run." With a smile.
A few minutes later, Richter was sitting outside. It was nighttime. It was peaceful and quiet out.
To be continued in chapter four...
To anypony who may not know, Richter is pronounced 'Rik-Ter'