“Golden,” I heard again.
“Golden,”
“Golden!” Somepony screamed.
“Golden! Dammit Golden, get up!” That snapped me out of my slumber. I awoke to a white face, red drops splattered across it. Fear and confusion were wiped across burgundy eyes frantically searching for something on my face.
“Golden! Get up!” I began to get my senses back, his face was the first thing I saw.
“Golden!” I blinked trying to focus on what was happening. Starblazer was there, shaking me like a madhorse. His eyes were frantic and confused.
“Golden!” I sat up as quick as I could.
“What?” I asked.
“We need to go! Now!” He screamed going to the door and looking out into the hallway.
As he said that a series of bangs rang down the hallway, Starblazer ducked back into the room as chips of the door and doorway flew by him. He leaned back out into the hallway and returned fire with a series of short shots, the sound volleying off the walls. The urgency hit me as I sprang from the bed. I threw the duster on and readied myself, arming the hoof-mounted gun as fast as I could. Before I knew it I was fully dressed and fully armed as well. I backed against the wall behind Star, who had taken cover behind it.
“What’s goin on?” I asked. Starblazer looked out into the hallway.
“I was told by the front desk to come downstairs to see some stallions who wanted to see me.” He said aiming a revolver-looking weapon into the hall and capping off two shots before a series of clicking sounded from the gun.
“There were almost twenty-maybe twenty five armed horses down there. All of which were looking for us.” He dragged a large hoof over the cylinder release and emptied the gun, the empty shells pinged as they hit solid ground. He frantically began to shove more bullets into it as fast as his hooves could go.
“They’re also forcing us to go downstairs where there’s more of them.”
“How?” I asked.
He looked at me with the dark red eyes and pointed up with a free hoof.
“They set the roof on fire.” On hearing that I slammed my head against the wall.
“I need t’ stop this shit, it’s gettin’ way too damned crazy.” I said to myself.
“There’s more downstairs though,” He said peaking into the hallway. As he did that another horse burst into the room. Star did not hesitate going at him. Once one hoof got in the door he sprang. In a flash the handle of the gun was brought up below the jaw of the stallion that barged in. He was knocked back as Starblazer turned to plant his forelegs down and deliver a kick to the stallion’s face. He was spun around backwards and hit the floor headfirst. Before the horse even moved Star did the same tactic, planting his forelegs but brought his hind legs up and sent his back hooves down with all his weight behind them. As he bounded off his face a large blood splatter sprayed from his head.
His eyes shot back to the door.
“Golden, watch out!” He screamed. I turned my head just in time to see a board flying towards my face. I ducked in time but he got enough to where he clipped the tip of my ear. The board was split into pieces as the thing exploded against the wall. As he brought his other hoof around I ducked again, moving to the side this time I caught his foreleg. With that I slammed his head into the wall, as he slid down awkwardly with no motion I brought my leg up and stomped in his jaw with a satisfying crunch.
I looked back into the hallway, before I could get a glimpse of what I was up against a spray of bullets whirred past my head.
“There any way out?” I asked. Starblazer looked partially through the door.
“I don’t think so.” He said dismally. A fake indecisive smile crossed his lips.
“Are we going to die here?” He asked looking at me hopelessly.
I couldn’t answer him. I wondered now, moments away from Celestia knows how many armed horsemen will go through that door and gun us down. This might actually be my last run before I die, and at such a young age too.
The thought of death, the thought of no matter what you’ve done and what you want to do will never be accomplished, that there is no other way to go. The idea hurts, ya know? I couldn’t really explain it. You could fight death but you’re just pausing the inevitable, all you can really do is just let it happen.
I relaxed, I sat down and just kicked back, I looked over to Star before pulling my hat over my eyes. He looked confused, he expected me to have something for him to do.
“Uh, Golden?” He asked, I flicked the brim up on the side of the hat.
“What’s the plan?” I stared him hard in the face, I tried to find a decent answer. I played responses in my head: ‘Die,’ no, that’s a bit too shallow, ‘give up?’ a little unclear, ‘wait the inevitable’. I looked towards the hallway as the gunfire seized for a moment.
“Wait the inevitable.” I said blandly. Just as I said that a loud crash rang in my ears, we both sprang up and looked out the doorway. The ceiling had caved in and had dropped on top of where the gunfire was originating. Starblazer turned to me quickly.
“The hell was that?” He asked looking back to the hallway.
“Inevitable.” I said bolting into the hall. Loud cracking echoed even more so as the ceiling was beginning to weaken.
“Star! We hafta git out now!” I screamed.
He took off out of the room and I followed up with him. We were sprinting side by side at full gallop down the once beautiful decorated halls, now covered with scorched from flame and fire. Up ahead a gaping hole was set in the floor from when the debris weighed down the ceiling as the building started to cave it.
We both stopped at the opening in the floor and looked down. It had fallen down to the lobby, all six floors to the ground level.
“Damn,” I heard Starblazer say next to me.
“I guess we jump across.” I said looking to the opposite ledge.
“One at a time though, if we jump at the same time the floor in bound to fall through.”
“We’re going to jump that?” Star asked unbelievably. He sighed quickly.
“Fine,” he said backing up to head a running start. He backed up a little and charged to the gap. Then he jumped and flew across the gap, when I say flew he rocketed past it, like he was fired out of a canon.
He stopped at the edge and looked back.
“Now you!” He yelled from the other side over the cracking and popping of the fire in the building.
I looked over to the ledge. I am just now realizing the distance and in order for me to make it-it would be a stretch for me to reach it.
“Golden! You have to jump now!” He yelled. I backed up a little farther than Star had and dashed forward.
As I reached the end of the floor I jumped. About half way through I started to feel the momentum slow down.
“Oh shit!” I heard Star say. I watched the edge of the other side fall over my head. I fell forward, my weight carrying my back over me as I started to do a mid air summersault. I felt the heat of the debris all the way through the other floors. Before I knew it I made contact with something hard below me. I had crash-landed on something below me that had dug into the middle of my back.
“Golden!” I heard Star call from above me.
“I’m going to try to get to you!” He yelled urgently. I tried to move but it hurt. I had to get up or I was going to be in a lot more pain. I sat up and looked below me. I landed atop a table that had broken my fall. I rolled my shoulders, but before I could look in front of me a hoof forced me to the floor.
The weight pinned me down to the floor, forcing a crack as my head hit the floor. A large horse had pinned me down by his hind leg. I tried moving but he weighed too much.
“Yourrr a slick fuckah ain’tcha?” He said in an uncommonly thick accent. A searing pain went through my chest as he pressed harder. I managed to open an eye to see him.
He was a huge black stallion with a white tipped muzzle and ears that stuck through a old green worn hat. A large cigar hung from a toothy smile consisting of yellowed crooked teeth.
“Ya got twenty one of mah best stallions killed, ladie!” He said pinching the cigar off with a hoof. He tapped the ash off then looked at me for a second.
“Mighty fine scar ya got tha.” He said leaning closer to me pushing his hoof farther into my chest. He pulled the cigar down close to my face.
“Mah brrothah was in there, shootin at ya nd such.” He nodded bringing the cigar up to his lips to puff a few out then bringing it back to my face.
“I’m gonna bring ya outta here, since this is kinda yo fault, I plahn ta make ya pay.” He then pressed the cigar against my neck. The burning took a second to kick in. As soon as I felt it I wailed. The burning stopped and he pressed his hoof even farther into my chest. Now it was getting hard to breathe and I could feel the wood of the floor giving way as well as the heat pressing against my head.
I realized that my I still had my hoof gun. I took my hoof off of his and hit the side of his leg.
“Ya gonna hafta hit a lil harda than that.” He said, a loud clink sounded and I fired it. The blood splattered my face as the bullet tore through his leg, he wailed as he fell to the floor. The massive stallion gripped his leg. As quick as I could I rolled over and stood staring at him waiting for his next move.
“Not what I was tryin ta do, partner.”I said to him as he gripped his leg. He stare at me with angered flaring green eyes.
“Ya gonna pay fer thaht.” He said flinching and going back to his leg. As I turned around a pain crossed my face. Someone had hit me in the face so hard it sent me to the floor. Before I got up I was picked up again and dragged around. I was brought up to my hoofs at full height. He had my mane in a hold, the pain wretched through my scalp as they pulled back. Then I was pushed forward. I put my forelegs up and pressed them up against whatever wall I was against. My head was forced against the wall. I opened my eyes and was face to face with the jagged glass edge of a broken side table.
I was pulled back again and forced forward once more. My face even closer to the glass, inch by inch my face was raised up and my neck moved closer to the jagged shard. He slammed my head closer, I could feel the sharp edge pressing against my throat. I felt a single drop fall down my neck, I didn’t know whether it was blood or sweat but it was going down fast and I didn’t want to see if anymore would come. I’d have to hold him until his strength gives out or until mine does. I had to just stand there with this large shard of glass in my neck for as long as I could. Now I could feel it, digging and ripping into my throat. I closed my eyes, thinking, hoping it would be quick, hopefully less painful than how it hurts now.
“Get off him!” Someone screamed as the feeling of my mane being pulled was no longer there. I fell to the floor, coughing and wheezing, blood seeping from my opened neck. Star fell backwards behind me then flew past and slammed the horse’s throat onto the shard. He hung there, lifeless as a stream of blood ran from his neck.
Starblazer fell down next to me, breathing hard and slow he looked up.
“We have to get out of here, now.” He exclaimed out of breathe. I nodded, still a little choked up. He stood onto two legs and picked me up, slinging me over his shoulder and carried me out.
We stood outside the building, Starblazer still held me up. We both watched the building crumble and descending to ashes and dust below. Even from across the street the heat was unbearable. Soot had covered some of the faces of the crowd, as well as us. Our eyes and cheek painted grey and black. We were kinda funny looking, but there was one face in the crowd. A yellow mare with a fiery orange mane, her eyes sheathed by a pair of dark aviator’s sunglasses and her body cloaked with a dark blue coat.
A single hoof was raised to her face as she lowered her glasses down to where she could see me, they flashed from me to the burning building then back. She then slid her glasses back over her eyes and disappeared into the crowd. I got the message she was trying to tell me, whether I like it or not they will stop at nothing to make sure that these ponies are protected and they will stop at nothing to do so. Now here comes the real question, when should I stop then?