They said I wouldn't recover, they said that I'd lose my memory, they said I'd forget everything. They were wrong. All the doctors and nurses didn't know what they were talking about. They said it would take months to heal; I was out of the hospital in a week. I didn't need any fancy machines or doctors to tell me my condition, I knew my condition. I didn't remember some things but I was still in my right mind.
Sure, falling off the building hurt a bit, but that didn't stop me. I was strong, pain couldn't faze me. Waking up in the hospital was scary, but I just had to wait for the headache to go away and I was fine. The doctors said I needed to stay so they could run tests and I said "To hell with you." I didn't need any doctors.
They let me out of the hospital after I complained enough and I headed out. Hospitals were too confined, I had other things to do. It was true, though, I was completely fine. I'd somehow managed to make it out of the fall with my life and with only a scar on my forehead to show for it. Other than that, I couldn't have felt better. Well, I could have done without the headache. I felt as though my brain had been jumbled around in my head, but that was all.
After leaving the hospital, I still had a headache, and my head throbbed with pain. I trotted back to my house on the other side of town. It was a small living space near the outskirts of town, nothing too big. I didn't mind it though, luxury didn't seem appealing anyway. Too much conformity. I liked my messy little house.
Inside, everything was the way I remembered leaving it the week before I went to the hospital. Same table, same chairs, same kitchen, same living room, and same bedroom. Sliding into my bed, I fell asleep. I would need plenty of sleep if I wanted the damn headache to go away.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Bentley, pass the oats."
Bentley sat across the table. The oats were near him and I didn't want to be rude and reach over the table. He was reading the newspaper on the table while chewing on something, his pupils slowly drifting from one side of his eyes to the other, and then shooting back. The small kitchen table separated us.
He looked at me, then at the oats, and then back at the newspaper, not saying anything.
"Pass the oats."
He looked at me again, expressionless, and then continued to read the newspaper.
"You're an asshole, Bentley." He smiled as I reached a hoof over and slid the bowl of oats to my side of the table. I glared at him, but he just continued to stare at the newspaper. My inner rage was finding its way out, but I stifled it. I couldn't be angry at Bentley. We were best friends, after all.
Bentley had been my best friend in my foalhood, but as we grew older we separated from each other. A day after I got out of the hospital, I found him out in the town and thought he looked familiar. A little chatter, some jokes, a couple laughs, and we remembered that we were best friends back in the days. He was so much like me.
Every day we'd see each other. We used to live in Canterlot. I don't think I could remember a day I spent without him when I was a colt. We'd play countless games in my backyard and sometimes we'd go on imaginary adventures. Sure, we weren't really fighting off fierce dragons, but it was fun to think so.
The last day I saw Bentley was when we sat by a tree watching the sunset. We just sat by a tree at the top of a hill and watched the sun go down. The sky was a bright orange and there wasn't a cloud to block it. We didn't talk to each other, or do anything. It was just the act of being there that made it such a special moment. I knew that we were best friends before that, but just sitting there with him really got the point across. He was my best friend, and one of my only ones. That was the last time I saw Bentley. He left, and I didn't see him again. As I grew older I forgot about him, and I didn't think about him at all. But seeing him again after the incident made me happier than I could be.
My headache had gone away a couple days after I saw him, and the hospital visit and the incident were just fading memories. The scar was the only reminder that it had ever happened.
The fall from the building had messed up my memory, and I didn't realize it was Bentley right away, but the second he looked me in the eyes I knew it was him. We talked and talked about how long it had been since we last saw each other. He told me how he had just moved to Ponyville. I'm not sure how big my smile got, but it was wider than I could imagine. He didn't have a house to stay in, so I let him stay at mine. He didn't have a job either, but I was sure he could get one soon.
He wasn't the best roommate, however. He never really did the chores, or cleaned up after himself. I didn't mind it though, because he never created messes.
I stared at him from across the table.
"So, you fell off a building?" asked Bentley as I ate my oats. I looked at him, but he was still looking at the newspaper.
"How did you know?"
He didn't bother answering the question, or bother to look up. He just continued to read the paper. I assumed that he had read about it in the paper. That confused me. The incident happened late at night, and nopony knew about it besides the doctors and the stallion who found me. Did the information really spread that fast? And even if it did, was my incident really so exciting that it was published in the paper? I decided to move on with the conversation.
"Yah, I fell off of a really tall one."
Bentley chuckled. "How the hell did you fall off a building? Trying to fly again?"
"Shut up." As a foal Bentley had convinced me that by jumping off a tree branch I would be able to fly, even though I lacked wings. It ended with me hitting the ground and breaking a leg. I tried to tell my mother that it was Bentley who made me do it, but she still grounded me for a few weeks. She told me I needed to stop talking to Bentley.
I couldn't remember exactly how I had fallen off the building, the details were blurry. Maybe the landing had messed up my memory a bit, made me forget everything the happened a couple hours before the fall. I could remember the fall, and the rooftop, but how I got there was a mystery.
"Well? How did you fall off? What were you doing?" Bentley hadn't turned his head from the paper. It annoyed me, but I kept my thoughts to myself.
"I don't remember."
He snickered, but didn't say anything. Just continued to read the paper. It amazed me that he hadn't turned the page yet. Probably was still reading the article about my fall.
After both of us had finished eating, I cleaned off the table and put any uneaten food back into the cupboards.
"Bentley, come wash the dishes!" Bentley came from the living room and into the kitchen. I pointed at the dirty dishes and he nodded. As I was putting away the food, I noticed I was running out of daisies. I grabbed my saddlebag and went to go buy some more daisies, leaving Bentley to do the dishes.
The town was nice. Everything was fresh and beautiful. The blue sky, the light breeze, the fresh air, everything was open. There were no walls to confine me, nothing to tell me where I could and couldn't go. Within the central square of Ponyville the different colored ponies trotted past me and ahead of me, going about some business I couldn't care less about. Everypony had something to do, and so did I. Trotting up to the daisy stand, I greeted the salesmare and gave her three bits, enough to buy ten daisies. I placed the flowers into my saddlebag and trotted bag home.
Entering through the doorway, the dishes were still on the table, uncleaned. I could feel my muscles tense as I searched for Bentley. He was sitting on the couch in the living room.
"Bentley, why didn't you clean the dishes? I oughta hit you." He looked at me, sensing my angry tone.
"I couldn't clean the dishes you were out of water." I trotted over to the kitchen, and sure enough I wasn't out of water. The bucket I used for dish cleaning was still filled with water, Bentley was just lazy. I cursed at him a few times under my breath as I cleaned the dishes myself. Bentley wasn't good for anything.
I trotted back into the living room. "You're the laziest pony I know." He was still sitting on the couch.
"Why don't we go for a trot?" He smiled at me. I didn't smile back, not after he lied to me. We agreed never to lie to each other a long time ago. It was more my suggestion than his. Whenever I lied to him he'd instantly know that I was lying. Nothing I said would go past him. Any small lie I told, he knew was a lie. When I figured that out, I made him swear that we would never lie to each other. Obviously that meant nothing to him anymore. He had changed.
I tried to remember the best friend of mine that he used to be, and ignored my anger. I didn't smile, though.
"Fine, let's go."
He picked himself from the couch and trotted to the door. By the time I had gotten to the door myself, he already had his saddlebag on. I searched for mine while he patiently waited, and upon finding it I opened the door, letting us both outside into the world. Just like before, everything was so fresh. We talked as we trotted into the central square. I wasn't sure what we were going to do, but it was fun to just talk to Bentley like we used to. Long conversations about whatever topic I could think of.
As we trotted through the crowds of Ponyville central, I kept bumping into ponies, but Bentley had no trouble at all. He was an expert at maneuvering his way through the crowds. We approached a market stall that sold apples. I looked at Bentley and he nodded, I wasn't hungry but he was.
"Alright, go buy an apple then." I nudged him.
"I don't have any money."
"Well then I'll lend you some."
"Don't do that, I can't take your money."
"I want you to take it, and you're going to take it." I took two bits out of my saddlebag and pushed it into his face.
"I won't take your money." He moved away from my hoof. Now I was angry. I shoved the bits back into his face and told him to take them again. Some ponies around us stared at me, probably wondering why I was yelling at Bentley to take my money. Bentley turned his head away and didn't accept the bits. I growled and trotted to the stand myself.
"Hello," I said to the salesmare.
"Hello, how can I help you."
"I want to buy an apple for my friend."
"That will be two bits."
From behind me, I heard Bentley's voice. "Don't buy the apple, I won't eat it!"
"You're such a whiner!" I yelled back. The salesmare stared at me as if I was deranged. I quickly apologized and explained that I was talking to my friend Bentley, pointing at him. She didn't respond, so I put my two bits back and trotted away. She probably saw me in the newspaper and thought I was still a little wacky from the fall, but I didn't mind. I glared at Bentley for making me look crazy and we continued through the town.
After viewing all the colorful buildings and seeing all the ponies, we decided to get away from the bustle of the town and go somewhere more serene.
We visited a field just outside of Ponyville that looked like the one we had in Canterlot. Back in the Canterlot field, we would play games, and talk. Whenever I would have a problem, Bentley would be there to console me. There was a tree that we always climbed when we talked. We'd lay down on a branch high up on the tree and he'd help me with any problems I'd have. We could talk for hours.
Remembering the games we played as colts, we ran around the field, pretending there was a fire breathing dragon behind us. I felt like a colt, but it was so much fun just to be a foal again. The dragon chased us through the field, close on our tails, and we were galloping away. I was galloping faster than I thought I could, trying to protect my life from the dragon. Every now and then the reptile would release a stream of fire, and Bentley and I would jump out of the way. Then we'd quickly resume our gallop. The grass was crushed under our hooves as we galloped, laughing like we were foals again. Of course, the game had to get more sophisticated now that we were older. I fought off the mighty dragon with a nearby stick while Bentley distracted him, and by the end of the fight we were both on the ground panting.
Afterwards, we played hide and seek. I was the seeker. Bentley had always been good at the game. He was somehow able to get to places that I would never think of in the short seconds he had while I counted. We played multiple times, me being the seeker each time. It was difficult to find him, but I always did. Sometimes he'd be within the branches of a tree, or inside a large bush. One time he was hiding in a patch of tall grass that covered some of the field.
There was a tall tree near the middle of the field. It looked like the tree that Bentley and I used to climb. For old times sake, I climbed the tree, using the branches that were lower to help me up to the higher ones. I jumped from branch to branch, careful not to reenact my incident on the building. As a colt, I could climb the tree within moments, traversing the branches with expertise, but time had taken its toll and I struggled to make it up to a wide branch near the top.
Upon arriving at the branch, I felt like I had traveled back in time and back to Canterlot. I laid down on the branch and Bentley laid down next to me. With Bentley next to me, I felt like I was truly a colt again. We stared through the leaves at the sky, silent for a few moments. It was nice, it was nostalgic. I could see myself as a colt, spending my afternoons in a tree with Bentley. Everything was simpler back then.
We sat in the tree for a long while, watching the clouds. Sometimes, the breeze would push a cloud a little, and a pegasus would fly up and push it back into place. The sun was shining brightly, but the leaves of the tree provided enough shade from it to keep us cool.
I started to talk. Although I wasn't completely sure about what I was talking about, it was just talking. I talked about the incident, and how I felt after it, and the time at the hospital. He just listened and nodded and laughed when I made a joke. Sometimes he'd even say something back, but for the most part he just listened. Back when we were foals, Bentley would always listen to me, no matter what I talked about.
Bentley brought me happiness.
By the time we realized how long we have been up in the tree, it was lunchtime.
Getting down from the tree was harder than going up, but I managed. Jumping from branch to branch again I descended the tree. At the bottom, Bentley and I decided to have lunch outside of the house. Since he had started living in my house, we always had lunch their. It was time for a change. We decided on Sugar Cube Corner.
Trotting through the crowds of the central square again, I urged Bentley to lead me since he was so good at finding his way through crowds without bumping into anypony. He refused, claiming that he didn't know where Sugar Cube Corner was. I snorted and led us through the crowds and into the small establishment. He seemed to have no problem getting through the crowd even though he was following me, who was bumping into ponies left and right. I envied his ability to do that.
The inside was filled with hungry ponies, and it didn't look like there was an empty seat anywhere. Sitting by herself at a table was a pony I thought I knew. She was reading the newspaper. I couldn't remember her name, but I was positive I knew her. Maybe I knew her as a colt. My head started to hurt, but I ignored it. I trotted over to her table, bringing Bentley with me. As I sat down, I introduced myself.
"Hi, I'm Clack." Bentley sat down next to me.
The mare looked at me and held a stare. She observed me for a short while, as if she was trying to remember something.
"Oh!" she exclaimed,"I remember you! We used to be great friends back when I was a filly and lived in Canterlot."
I smiled, remembering her name. "Hello, Twilight, how have you been?"
"I've been fine, and you?"
"I've been alright." It had been years since I had seen Twilight. There was so much to talk about. We started to talk about how our lives had been and what we were doing for work. She told me all about how she was Princess Celestia's prized student. I smiled, I always knew she would be successful. Bentley didn't say anything while we talked. Every now and then I'd look at him to try and get him to join the conversation, but he didn't say a word.
Eventually, a waiter came to take our orders.
"What do you want?" I asked Bentley. I knew he didn't have any money with him, so I'd have to buy his lunch for him.
"I'll have a daisy sandwich," said Twilight. I looked at her, she had thought that I asked her what she wanted. I sighed, knowing that I couldn't just be a jerk and tell her I wouldn't buy the sandwich for her. Bentley said he would have the same thing as Twilight, and I ordered.
"We'll have some hay fries and three daisy sandwiches."
"Three daisy sandwiches?" said Twilight. I looked at her quizzically.
"Yah."
"I guess somepony's hungry." I didn't understand what she was getting at, but I ignored her remark. The waiter went to get our food.
"Anything exciting happen lately?" asked Twilight.
I chuckled. "If you've read the paper, I think you'd know." I awaited her response, knowing that she would want to know every little detail about the incident. Even though I didn't remember any of them, I was sure I could make something up to impress her.
"What?"
"The paper. Did you read the article about my incident?"
She looked at the paper, and then back to me. "What article?"
I frowned and grabbed the paper from her. I flipped through the pages, looking for the article that Bentley had read, but there was nothing about the subject. Not even a small paragraph about it. I stared at Bentley.
"How did you know about the accident if it wasn't in the paper?" Twilight raised an eyebrow.
"Are you talking to me?"
"No, I'm talking to Bentley."
Twilight's eyes widened. She didn't speak for a short while. She just stared at Bentley. "Who's Bentley?"
"Him. Right there sitting next to me. He's a good friend of mine." Bentley nodded at my statement and I continued to talk.
"Remember Twilight? Me, you, and Bentley would always hang out together as foals. Now we're all back together. Isn't that great!"
Twilight looked at me skeptically, and then back at Bentley. I looked at him myself, trying to see whatever Twilight saw that made her stare so much. Bentley looked at me and shrugged, unsure as to why Twilight was looking at him.
"Clack, I thought you got over Bentley." Twilight stared at me now. She had a concerned expression on her face. My headache became worse, but I could feel my memories coming back to me. I don't know if it was because Twilight was reminding me of my foalhood, or because the conversation wasn't making any sense.
"Well, we stopped talking for a little while, sure, but now we're friends again." I looked at Twilight and back at Bentley, wondering what Twilight was seeing.
"Clack."
"Yes?"
"There's nopony in that seat."
I looked over at Bentley's seat.
It was empty. My heart skipped a beat. I looked around me for Bentley, but I couldn't see him anywhere.
"Clack, Bentley is imaginary, don't you remember?"
I felt my mind pulsing. All the memories were coming back, but I didn't want to believe them. I galloped out of the restaurant and into the street, screaming Bentley's name. He had to be somewhere.
I galloped through the entire town yelling his name in hopes that he would come out, but he didn't. I galloped around and around until my legs couldn't take it any longer. They collapsed and I lay down on the ground, all my hollering had been futile. I couldn't deny it any longer.
Bentley was imaginary. As a colt he had been my best friend, and I believed in him. But time passed on and I let him go. He had come back for me, but he was still imaginary. He would never be real, and to make it worse he was my only friend.
As a colt and now he was the only friend I had. The only pony that could make me happy. I started to sob, my teardrops darkening the soil near my hooves.
I had lost my best friend. Now that I knew he was imaginary, I could never let the thought go and would never be able to see Bentley again. And even if I did see him, I'd know he was just a figment of my imagination. He wasn't real, and never would be.
I felt cold. Dead inside. The tears did nothing to console me. I had no friends anymore, and the only one I had was never coming back. Everypony else couldn't make me feel like Bentley did. Bentley was the only one I could talk to, but not anymore. I wished I could forget that he was imaginary, but I couldn't. There was nothing to bring light into my life.
That night I jumped off of a building in an attempt of suicide, but there were no building tall enough to kill in Ponyville.
I woke up the next morning in the hospital, unable to remember why I had jumped off of the building in the first place. There was a scar on my forehead that I had probably gotten from the fall. I had a terrible headache and felt plenty of pain all over my body. After a week in the hospital I felt better, and the pain had subsided and I felt fine. I was allowed to leave the hospital.
I trotted out of the hospital and into the central square where I met a nice stallion. We started to talk.
His name was Bentley.
