Thief of Memories

Chapter 4

Laughing Blades

Diane Pinkameana - the pink haired girls name - was still dragging Riley through the streets of Ponyville. She was stronger than Riley had anticipated, as strong as a small dragon almost. Every time somebody passed by Diane would introduce them to Riley before resuming her forceful tour of the town. The brown-cloaked boy had long given up in his attempts to escape Diane's vice-like grip. He was instead going with the flow. They took what seemed like another round of the village square before Diane set her sights on the final part of the course. A large bakery with huge loopy lettering on the front; with every letter attached to a large cupcake:

SugarCube Corner.

The sign could no doubt be seen from a mile away, all the better for rounding up customers. The hyperactive girl guided Riley into the open doors of the bakery. Immediately Riley was invaded by some of the most pleasant scents that have ever been created by man. Pies, cookies, cupcakes, bread, biscuits, buns, chocolate, candy canes and sugar galore were among a few of them. His arm was finally released from its lock.

"Welcome to SugarCube Corner!" Diane whooped; quite obviously excited to have brought somebody new into the establishment. She fished behind the counter, grabbed a cupcake from display, and jammed it into Riley's face. "Here you go buddy; that is my little confectionery gift to you."

Riley bit it cautiously; half expecting it be pumped full of drugs. "Soooooo....." He began. "Any particular reason you dragged me into a bakery, besides the cupcake?"

Pinkie grinned. "Oh Riley, I love new people." She flashed a deadly grin. "I love them oh so much." The small cake in Riley's hand suddenly gained weight as a cold chill rushed down his spine. Pinkie's bubblegum pink hair bounced up and down as she jumped up and down. She giggled darkly. "I have a big secret to share with you! All you have to do; is love me back!"

Riley's hand clenched his sword tightly, his basic primal senses were going haywire.

"Diane..." Riley growled. "What the fuck are you paying at?"

Pinkie waggled her finger. "Now now Riley, no need to get your hand so close to that blade."

"What?" Riley was certain that he hadn't exposed his sword to her. "What are you talking about?"

"I prefer something with a bit more weight, but if you're into long-swords who am I to complain?" Pinkie reached behind the counter once again; pulling out another cupcake and a set of keys. "Wanna see that secret now?"

"Why not?" Riley asked with narrowed eyes.

Pinkie leaped over the counter - she really liked that counter - and beckoned for Riley to follow. Taking the more civil approach of walking around the counter with not as much as a mutter. Pinkie flung open the door nearest to her and bounded down a flight of stairs, Riley rolled his eyes at her childishness. The dust coated stairwell creaked rhythmically as Riley followed the pink ball of energy into the level beneath the bakery. This was the moment in the horror books where the character would either run away or walk blindly to their doom. Riley was hoping that his blind walking wouldn't take him to doom, doom sucked nearly as much as Yamcha. Riley shoved the memories of the last book he had read out of his mind; focusing on the creaking of wood beneath him.

From somewhere within came a giggle. That single echoing chirrup made Riley draw his blade. Something about the scale of the sound had been, unnerving. He fiddled with something under his shirt. Riley made a motion to bring something out from underneath the fabric only to pause and dive to the right, further into the cellar. The stairwell he had been on splintered under the weight of the blow delivered to it.

"Dammit Riley." Diane giggled. "Quit moving."

Drawing the blade in his hand he took aim into the darkness hoping to catch a glimpse of his assailant. Another 'fwip' of air and another dive-roll later and he knew he was in dire need of light. Riley drew his pistol, six shots in a cylinder, and fired once. The moment of illumination revealed enough.

Six feet in front was a lamp.

He swiftly made his way over; blade in hand to counter whatever may come his way. He felt outwards and his hand came to rest on something warm.

Warm and pulsing.

The lamp-flame pulsed into life in Diane's hand to show a face devoid of emotion with bubblegum hair lank along the sides of her head. One hand held the lamp, the other a gleaming pink sword that looked to be the size of a person, the other hand was resting on her breast. Riley's hand was resting on her breast.

"Naughty boy Ri." She teased. "I never said you could."

With that she swung the blade into Riley's arm. There was a terrific clang of metal meeting metal as the boy was hurled away from the force of the strike. Riley collided with a nearby wall and was on his feet in a second. Diane raised a quizzical brow to probably question why the boy before her still had an arm.

Riley got to his feet slowly; his blade still hanging loosely in his right hand. His face was set in stone. This was an enemy before him.

Pacification was the main priority.

Deadly force? Always an option.

Riley gently lifted his cloak from his body, followed by his shirt.

What lay underneath was something expected but still oddly unfitting.

His right arm was totally devoid of any armour while his left, hinting to its survival, was covered in a thick steel skin-fitting cocoon enveloping every inch of skin with an aegis to ward off attack. Hanging from his neck was a bone pendant that had been intricately carved to resemble the Grim Reaper, complete with rubies for eyes. The neck-wear gave off an aura of pure evil covered by innocence, hope and dreams. For the second that Diane looked into it; she could feel herself drifting into her own mind. Drifting as if to find something.

She shook her head around to dispel this feeling and raised her own blade to come level with Riley's skull.

"Are you ready?" She whispered.

Silence.

"I am." He replied just as quietly.

Diane put the lamp onto the table where it would cast a glow that covered enough of the cellar to allow the combat about to take place. There was no starting pistol, no warning to prepare or begin. There was just the rush of bodies and the thwack of blade meeting blade to signify the start of the battle between Diane Pinkameana and Riley Alexander.

The first few flurries were nothing more than strikes thrown by the boy to test the girl's defences. She was strong, but slow. A typical tank-fighter. The boy took a stance that closely resembled how one would prepare to start a sprint race. The girl took a chance and swung.

The fight was over.

The boy launched himself forwards and sunk his blade into the girl's leg, she howled in pain and tried to move only to be carried by her previous clumsy swing. He then brought up his hands to deliver six punches to the skull followed by a knee strike. As the girl recovered from her blunder there was a echoing 'click' of a hammer being pulled back and she felt the soulless barrel of a gun being pressed against the back of her skull.

"Game over Diane. You played to win and left with nothing. Now you pay the price."

A single gunshot was heard, roaring from the basement of SugarCube Corner.

Now Mrs Cake, first name Daisy, had always known that Diane had been odd so when she had brought a boy into the bakery, shoved a cupcake into his face and lead him into the cellar she had hardly batted an eye.

Two gunshots and a scream later and she was practically jumping the entire length of the staircase down into the depths. What she found was the boy with a smoking revolver, and Diane laying motionless on the floor with a sword in her leg. Her lungs prepared to shriek in fear.

Just as Diane bolted up from the floor with a cheer.

"AWESOME GAME RILEY!" She boomed in glee. "Oh hey Mrs Cake, this is Riley!"

Mrs Cake didn't say a word. She just turned and went back to work.

Riley knelt down and holstered his gun, the bullet was lodged in the floor just the left of Diane. He didn't say much, he simply yanked his blade from her leg and made towards to exit.

A hand grabbed his trouser leg. "Forgetting something?"

Diane pointed at his discarded clothing. Riley nodded at her before making his way over to the garments. There was a lingering silence as he redressed in front of the injured girl. Neither party wished to say the first word.

"You're kind of cute." They both said in tandem.

Silence.

"I don't mean I'm coming onto you." Was the next unified phrase.

Silence.

"How about the cans on the pink haired pegasus?" Came the next synchronised speech.

Silence.

Both Diane and Riley burst into fits of laughter.

It was unconditional, irrational, weird and downright out of place. But it was beautiful childish laughter. Diane rolled onto her back and started to giggle with immense intakes of air, Riley was trying not to be as unrefined but failing. A trickle of blood run from Diane's nose and she wiped it off, stopping her giggles for a second to mewl in pain. Riley dug a hand into a cloak pocket and took out a small vial marked '--pain'. He handed it to Diane, who gave him a puzzled look. In his laughter he mimed drinking to which she copied by swallowing the contents of the vial. Her bloody nose's flow was stemmed and the buzzing feeling of pain in both her leg and nose stopped. She mimed thanks to allow her to resume her giggle fits.

How the two had gone from at one another's necks to giggling and speaking in tandem was anybody's guess.

But one might say it was because laughter was alive in the room.