"True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost." ~Arthur Ashe
I had made a mental list of my tasks for the day while eating breakfast.
1: Start painting the house
2: Begin laying down plans for my business
3: Finish painting the house
4: Eat dinner, go to bed
Pretty damn solid if I don't say so myself. I would apply the first coat of paint after breakfast and then apply the second before dinner. If everything goes well, I should be able to start decorating the place come tomorrow. All my time working at Mr. Campbell's place really taught me to be quick and efficient with my work so painting a 2 bedroom apartment in one day was a decently possible task for me.
After reading the paper, which to my disappointment had no interesting topics like yesterday, I began painting the apartment. I had done my fair share of painting so by the time I was finished with the first room, everything was going swimmingly. The dark blue paint looked SO much better than the lime green color that had previously occupied my walls. It really gave the place a more inviting look.
I just let myself get absorbed in my work slowly painting my home with natural finesse. Slow strokes of the paint brush were the only sound that occupied the apartment besides my occasional humming of various tunes from back on Earth. It was a bit annoying to paint the ceiling but I managed to get it done with relative ease with a stepladder I had picked up at the hardware store.
By 10:00am I had reached about the halfway point in my painting endeavors. I had managed to finish the living room and kitchen. The bathrooms were tile so they didn't need to be painted. All that remained were the two bedrooms. I sighed to myself and began to work on the master bedroom...
I officially finished the first coat of paint at 12:30pm and I was glad. I was exhausted from all the stretching to paint hard-to-reach places, and craning up to paint the ceiling. I took great pride in my work, but damn, it was exhausting. I now was eating a BLT without the B for lunch and a huge glass of water. I decided to knock out two birds with one stone and begin drawing up my store plans while I ate.
I was no interior designer but turning basic plans into blueprints was basically my job back on Earth so this was no problem at all. I just let my creativity and knowledge go free and design the store for me. By the time I was done, I was pretty satisfied with my rudimentary work.
The design was pretty darn basic. A lobby located at the front where the receptionist would work as well as a waiting area was first thing I drew up. I also decided on an office for myself so I could have my privacy when needed and talk to clients personally. The third and final room in the planned store was a large workshop located adjacent to my office. This is where I would do repairs and draw up plans for potential construction projects. It would have a large back door to the alley on the east side so I could lug in supplies without having to carry them in through the lobby. It wasn't the best design, but it was my design.
I finished my blueprints satisfied that I would be able to construct and run such a shop. I would probably have to take out a loan to pay for all the construction, tools, and decorating but I believed it was a possible project. I stood up to go grab my painting supplies and start the second coat when...
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM
The whole house shook violently as I was thrown to the ground. The world became blurry for a few seconds and I thought I was going to pass out. Thoughts rushed through my head as to what could of caused such a tremendous quake and I was beginning to feel queasy. Luckily after about 20 seconds of lying on the ground I regained my vision and began the slow process of getting up. It was at that moment that I saw the orange glow coming from the bedroom windows...
Rushing to the window, a scene of hell itself was displayed before me. The house directly across the street from me was absolutely engulfed in flames. It was an awe inspiring scene of horrifying beauty and it took all my mental strength to peel myself away from the bedroom window.
I quickly grabbed a washcloth from the sink and soaked it in case anypony emerging from the burning nightmare needed it. I also made sure that none of my paint spilled so I wouldn't have a mess to clean up later. It was pretty selfish of me, but damn, I was acting on pure panic at this point.
As quick as I could, I ran to the front door and out into the street making sure to stay clear of the raging inferno across the street. I was greeted by a charred and panting stallion with a panicked look on his face. I immediately pulled him aside to try to get information. "What happened?!" I demanded from him.
"*Pant* Small fire broke out and ignited the fuel tank feeding the kitchen stoves. *Pant* I barely made it out alive. *Pant*"
I immediately turned to burning building and asked a question I wasn't sure I wanted to know the answer to, "Is anypony still in there?!"
The stallion who was beginning to catch his breath turned towards me with a stricken look of realization, "The store wasn't open for business yet so nopony's in the bottom floor but a family of three was renting out the upper floor. I'm not sure if they made it out or not..."
To confirm my worst fears, my eyes caught a dark figure moving across my view inside the upstairs window. "Shit! They're still in there!" I exclaimed hoping somepony would take action. Everypony was just so focused on the scene that they could care less that a family of three was in mortal peril. Gathering every amount of courage I had, I charged towards the burning building...
As I ran towards the flaming structure, I wrapped the wet washcloth across my muzzle to try and help me not only to breath but not catch on fire. I ran to the back stairs that had direct access to the top foor and bolted up them with incredible speed. I had a mission and god damn nopony was gonna stop me from achieving success.
I flung the door open to the upstairs apartment and was greeted by a wall of smoke and flames. I could barely see what was around me but I determined that the layout of the apartment was the same as my own and that I had seen the family in the master bedroom. Unfortunately for me, a burning mess lay in between me and my target. As adrenaline pumped through my veins, I charged headlong into the raging inferno.
It was living hell. I could feel the flames licking at my fur and flesh as I hacked and coughed my way over to the bedroom door. It took all the concentration I could muster to navigate through the living room and the kitchen. By the time I had reached the bedroom door, I was beginning to feel light headed and burned beyond belief. But still I mustered up more strength a bucked down the cracked door.
I entered the room to find a desperate scene in front of me. A hacking and coughing stallion was cowering in the corner with his barely conscious wife and filly. I ran over and got his attention and immediately a glimmer of hope dashed across his face. "I'M GOING TO TAKE YOUR WIFE AND FOAL FIRST AND THEN COME BACK FOR YA OK?" I shouted over the burning mayhem. He nodded and helped me drape his wife over my back and his kid on my neck.
The mare was looking at me with the little consciousness she was still retaining and had a pleading look in her eyes that just said, 'please help us.' Her foal was knocked out cold at this point and would need to receive medical attention soon. I put a determined look on my face and turned back to the task at hand.
With new found strength, I ran back into the the hellish scene on the other side of the door. Twenty feet away from me was my goal of the front door. Each step I took reminded me that I was carrying not only the weight of myself but two other ponies as well. I felt like I might collapse from exhaustion and oxygen deprivation any second but I pressed on with an iron will. All around me the building was beginning to deteriorate as I walked.
By the time I reached the door, the building looked ready to collapse. I quickly began to rush the mother and foal to a safe location so they could receive medical attention. I gave them to a helpful civilian on the street before taking in some much needed oxygen and ran headlong back into the building.
This time around, getting to the bedroom was a horrible gauntlet. Beams were beginning to collapse in the ceiling, and the floor was beginning to crumple. I reached the door once again but not before receiving several deep cuts and scrapes from the obstacle course from hell.
The stallion, to my relief, was still conscious and able to move so I helped him to his hooves and began to to assist him to the door. What I saw before me was nothing short of terrifying. The whole room outside had collapsed and was now impassable. Beams and fire littered the desolate rubble and I immediately knew we would have to find another way out.
I ran to the window and saw the big break I was looking for. The volunteer fire department had finally arrived and was attempting to quench the still raging fire trap. I swiftly smashed the window with my hoof not caring about the large pieces of glass that were now embedded in my foreleg. I stuck my head out and waved my hooves around attract attention. A firepony finally looked up and saw me with a look of horror on her face. "WE'RE COMING OUT THE WINDOW!" I shouted and the pony nodded rushing off to her comrades.
I turned my head back to the stallion who had finally succumbed to unconsciousness and was crumpled on the floor. With all the little strength I had left, I dragged the unconscious stallion over to the window and looked out see the fireponies ready with a net to catch us. I pushed the stallion out the window and made sure he landed in the net before preparing to jump myself. Just as I was about to leap, I heard a noise behind me...
I spun around to see the roof of the master bedroom beginning to collapse. I quickly turned back around and managed to dive out the window but on the way out something solid knocked me on the head and I nearly blacked out. The last thing I remember was landing in the safety of the fire net and my vision slowly fading to black as a ringing in my ears lulled me into the quiet embrace of unconsciousness...
I awoke in what appeared to be a pitch-black room. Everything was black and my depth perception was completely short circuiting due to the lack of any discernible objects.. All of a sudden out of the void a figure appeared. It looked like a pony but I couldn't be entirely sure at this point. I ran through the non-existence towards the figure to find myself face-to-face with Princess Luna. "Relax thyself Vladimir. Tis only a dream. We... I wish to talk to you." she said.
"Um, ok? What's up?"
"We... I... sorry my sister has been trying to force us... me... to use modern Equestrian. I would first like to commend you on your valiant actions that saved the lives of three ponies. It confirms that our... my sister's trust and kindness was not misplaced. All three will make a full recovery along with you, who was the most injured out of the five ponies admitted the hospital last night."
"Um, thanks, I was just acting on impulse. I couldn't bare to watch any innocent ponies die while I stood by and did nothing."
"It matters not. Thou... ugh... You acted with extreme valor and upon your recovery will be awarded for your actions. Because you were unconscious, I had to visit you in the dreamscape to inform you of this."
"Oh well thank you Princess. I'm not sure I deserve any sort of award but I appreciate the thought. It's good to see you again as well. We haven't spoken since my tell-all at the library the other day," I responded.
"Tis good to see th..you again as well. I hope we do not continue to meet under these circumstances though," Luna chided.
"Haha, I don't plan on doing anything like this again anytime soon. So how long have I been out?" I asked.
"12 hours or so. You will most likely wake up within 24 hours but I can not guarantee anything. For now rest up, and be happy that thanks to you, a loving family of three will live to see another day..."
And with that, the figure of Luna faded into the black and I slowly drifted back into the depths of my unconscious mind...