[Blazing's Entry]
The strange pegasus disappeared after Choking's interruption but she's still around, I don't know how but I can feel her presence. I don't have much will to worry about her anyway because the next guy at the bar was Choking's ex-coltfriend who threatened to make my life Tartarus if I didn't keep my hooves off her. I wasn't worried at first as I believed it would be an improvement from the current state and the physical pain I usually suffered from hauling crazy amounts of coal ensured me that anything he could do would be less terrible.
Unfortunately I was wrong much like many times before. The hoodie my mom gave me, and the thing keeping me warm at night besides Choking's rug, came back from laundry shredded to pieces. I thought nothing would hurt me anymore at the lowest point of existence.
I cried myself to sleep.
[End Entry]
I think I must have caught cold during past few days. Sweating every night hauling stuff during winter does that to a young pony and sleeping in cold room covered only by a short rug isn't helping. I have enough coal but to my disappointment I don't have access to any equipment that would help me light the fireplace. I know it's been about two weeks since I started working here but I still don't know how to take care of myself. The good thing is that I have enough money to buy a sleeping bag or something and now that I don't writhe in agony every day from muscle pain I can go buy it. Or I could just ask somepony how they get warm at night... well that didn't sound right.
"Knock knock."
Who could that be? Choking has her own key and usually doesn't bother knocking anyway. The hair on my neck stands up as the thoughts of the pegasus enter my head. I focus and ward off the panic attack. At the time I was able to physically feel her and there is nothing of that sort happening now.
Just open the damn door.
Also, the voice is still here and is becoming REALLY annoying. It's usually right about things though. I stop my martial arts exercise and open the door. There stands somepony I really don't want to see.
"Hey, blankflank idiot!" Choking's ex and four of his 'minions' greet me.
They didn't have to remind me of the embarrassing fact of missing my cutie mark despite my age. Also, they didn't have to come here but that's what bullies do and that's what these guys are. Well, no reason to give them an excuse they are looking for. They still are royal guards and I'm nothing.
"Hello."
He pushes me back into the room and all his friends follow him inside.
"I thought I told you to keep your hooves off my marefriend."
"I have no idea what you're talking about," I say and I honestly don't have a clue. Nothing happened between me and Choking after her blackout at the party.
"I'm sure you don't, you little liar. My friends saw her coming here pretty often."
Oh, that. Alright, now how to explain to an angry, big and well-trained earthpony that his ex-marefriend, who he's still crazy about, comes here to take regular showers and mockingly flirt with me? Hmmm, time to bite the bullet and hope I don't bite the dust later when he's done with me.
"She comes here to shower from time to time, that's all. She doesn't want everypony to stare at her in the gym showers."
"Oh? So you staring doesn't bother her?" he asks aggressively.
So much for a chance of peaceful solution.
"I don't spy on her, which can't be said about you!" I say before my brain or self-preservation instinct begins working.
"Why you little, GRAB HIM!" he shouts and his four friends grab my legs and stand on them while I'm spread-eagled on my back.
He comes close and says with a smile which shows real joy:
"I'm going to give you a little reminder. Just so you don't forget as easily as last time."
He begins kicking me all around but even without a chance to block I have enough muscles now to resist most of the difficult kicks. The real deal comes later when he's done.
"That was just a little personal touch. Now for something you'll remember for a while."
A chill runs down my spine as I realize what he means by that and no amount of muscles can help me when he jumps into the air and stomps down hard on my ribs. He is trained enough to know how not to cause a fatal wound so the chipped ribs will hurt for days but there will be nothing I could show as a proof of him attacking me.
"Oh and little something to keep you from having any naughty thoughts about MY mare."
He moves lower. Nonononononononononono.
"PLEASE NO!" I scream and with disgust about myself I know at that moment I gave him everything he wanted from the moment of opening my door.
Last thing I remember before my mind goes on vacation is his hoof rapidly reaching my crotch.
"HEY!"
I wake up with somepony shaking me. I really wish they wouldn't do that as each thrust causes fireworks in my chest.
"I'm fine. I'm fine," I lie.
"Yea I can see that," says Choking.
I realize that before passing out I threw up quite a lot and try to make an excuse.
"I-I just drank too much and forgot I can't handle it," I lie a bit more and hope she won't ask about the lack of any bottle in my apartment, flat... whatever.
She nudges my chest and I gasp when thousands of searing hot needles pierce my brain.
"I, uh, fell hard when I was doing my exercises," I improvise as fast as I can.
She still doesn't seem to be buying it so I try to derail her train fo thought.
"Do you need anything?"
"Well my shift is ending so I wanted to take a shower and hit some bars on the way home."
"My shower is your shower, you don't have to ask."
"Well yea but I couldn't miss the fact you're lying in a pool of... something without moving."
"Uh, sorry. I'll clean up ASAP."
I really hope that none of her ex's friends was watching her coming here, I really do. Taking stock of my body parts I feel my ribs hurting with every move but blissfully my crotch is completely numb although I can feel swelling in places I really don't want it to be. Ah well, perhaps I'll get lucky and this will slip unnoticed. I know I'm just trying to calm myself and I'm painfully aware of that. If he knew about Choking's visits before then he will know about her sooner or later because I'm not going to ban her from my apartment no matter the cost.
And I know the price will be all I have. I know his type.
I sit there shivering until the evening comes and with the darkness comes knocking on my door. I ponder what I could have done to avoid this but nothing aside from pushing Choking away or running away comes to mind. With tear in my eyes befitting a garbage coming to it's end I open the door and get ready to fight. I know I can't win. I know everything I've been practicing was mostly to keep myself warm and flexible and will not help in actual fight. Worst of all I know that even if by some lucky chance I won it wouldn't help because they would have an excuse to say I attacked them in some sneaky way and who would believe a word of five royal guards against a word of...
... nopony.
"I knew you were stupid but this takes a cake. Well, I hope you're ready for another lesson. Or maybe you just enjoy getting beat up."
I'm ready when four ponies try to grab me like before and punch two of them before they know what's going on. Unfortunately they are tough from guard training and it just stuns them for few seconds which I try to use to attack the others but even when surprised their reflexes kick in and my attempts at standing ground against five enemies finally prove pointless as they are better trained, bigger and coordinated.
"I would enjoy beating that spirit out of you but we have something more... lasting prepared. Since my friendly reminder today proved pointless we'll just have to get rid of you."
"You really think killing me will stay unnoticed?" I ask, distanced from what's happening.
"Killing? You'll just have an accident. You know this castle is fairly old and at night the stairs get cold and sometimes even slippery. Nopony will think twice about you when you're gone."
He's right.
"I know," I whisper.
I lost and their plan is revealed when I see two huge bags of coal in front of my door. Maybe it's just the imminent doom but I grin when two of them try to haul those bags and have real trouble making it up a long, twisted staircase which seems perfect for their purpose.
"Need help?" I ask, taunting them.
A punch to the face is my answer but I still grin. My smile remains when they push both bags on my back at the top of the stairway. I'm not really attached to my life anyway so the only thought crossing my mind is that sometimes it takes dirt to get rid of dirt. I wasn't expecting to last long after leaving home but at least I was able to see a small ray of light before getting wiped off the face of Equestria and making it a bit brighter.
"You know, since it's so close to Heart's Warming Eve I feel charitable today. Sooo if you just stay away from Choking I might even let you walk away this time."
Heh. What an idiot.
"If you think I'm going to trouble the only mare who thought me worth a word even by not allowing her to shower in my damn apartment then you are even dumber than I thought."
I. Will. Not. Beg. For. Mercy.
"Do it!" he commands his companions and my legs get kicked away and I'm pushed down into the darkness.
Much like his previous kicking my balls, it only hurts a short while before everything disappears.