Chapter 4

"That was an awesome prom." Gold Dust's hooves made a clop sound as they hit the sidewalk. "I know. I still can't believe you made Coal Miner embarrassed and caused him to run out of the gym." Silver Star kicked a soda can out of his way.

It was about 11:00 at night. The prom was over, and Gold and Silver felt like they were dreaming. The night had been the best they'd ever had…or so it seemed.

"Say, Gold, I've got to ask you something…" Silver started.

"What?"

"Why is your voice kinda high? Also, you kind of have the body of a pony, not a stallion. No offense, I mean." His eyes grew wide in fear that he made him upset.

Somewhere, deep inside Gold, a feeling of darkness swept through him. "Um…I was born that way…also, none taken…"

"Good. I was just curious." They both laughed and continued on to Gold's apartment. However, they wouldn't make it…

"Hey…did you hear something?" Silver asked. They were a few blocks from Gold's apartment. He glanced back and saw nothing but blackness. "No. Why?"

"I could've sworn I heard-"then, a pair of hooves came out of the alleyway and grabbed Silver roughly. "AUGH!" he yelped as they dragged him into the darkness of the alleyway. Gold stood petrified until another set grabbed him as well. He was thrown into the alleyway. He landed hard onto the pavement, next to a gasping Silver Star. The wind was knocked out of him.

"Wha-?" he recoiled as a flashlight beam hit his face. He saw the faces of Coal Miner and one of his other lackeys, Rock Steady. "So, you think you could get away with humiliating me in front of the entire fucking school, didn't you? Well, now you and your fucking lover will pay." The flashlight turned off. For a few seconds, all Gold could feel was his body going rigid.

Then, a hoof came out of the darkness and was smashed against his face. He heard, rather than felt, his nose break. Blood started to pour out from it. Silver Star didn't fair much better, with a sharp kick to the ribs.

The beating only escalated from there; hooves against faces, heads against stomachs, blood flying everywhere. A well-placed hoof shattered Dust's collarbone. He screamed. Then, he felt himself start to seep into a black nothingness. Right before he passed out, he heard what sounded like other stallions rushing towards him. Then, he was out.

"Ugh!" Silver winced as another set of hind legs was planted against his chest. His tasted a lot of blood and had trouble breathing. "I…can't survive much longer…" he thought. Then he heard a clatter of hooves and shouting. The beating abruptly stopped. He heard a struggle take place; then, more beating, only, this time, not on him. The flashlight fell next to him. Flinching in pain, he slowly grabbed it, and flicked it in the direction of the brawl.

The beam instantly lit up the scene; Rock Steady and Coal Miner were lying in a heap on the ground. Standing over them were Buzz Saw and Goalpost. "H-how…?" he stammered.

Buzz Saw looked at him. "Don't worry. Help is on the way."

Spitting out blood, Silver Star lifted his head. "H-how…?" he repeated.

Goalpost explained. "Since we knew about Coal Miner's past for vengeance, we followed you a block behind. As soon as we saw you vanish into the alleyway, we called for an ambulance. We rushed on over as soon as we could. Although…" he glanced at Gold Dust. "…We might not have been fast enough…"

Gritting his teeth, Silver turned to an unconscious Gold Dust. He was shocked at how much worse his partner was. Dust's face was a bloodied mess; his collarbone jutted out and his breathing was extremely shallow. "No…" he whispered. Then: "NOOOO!" Through the pain he crawled over to Gold. He placed his ear on his chest; his heartbeat was slowing down. "NONONONONONOOO!" he started weeping. "The paramedics are on their way. There's nothing we can do for him. Now, just lay down." Goalpost encouraged.

Silver wouldn't. He remained with his head on Gold's chest, silently crying to himself. Gold wasn't aware of this, since he was drifting back to a time not that long ago, when everything changed…

"Augh!" he winced as Buzz Saw's hoof impacted into his skull."Maybe THIS will teach you not to fuck around with my girlfriend!" Coal Miner spat. Gold Dust leaned up against the side of the concrete wall of the outside of the high school. "She says I tried to rape her? It's all lies!"

"Like we'd listen to you!" Goalpost head butted his stomach. He slouched over, moaning.

"Stop guys." Coal Miner looked back over at Dust's wheezing figure. "So, to make sure you never do this again…" Miner flipped open a switchblade. "We'll just get rid of what you need to do it!" the blade sliced into him. He had never felt such explosive pain until where it was used; he couldn't take it any longer; he was out cold in seconds.

Gold's mind replayed the scene over and over. He was rapidly losing his ties to the earthly world. Then, an image; an image of Silver Star and himself kissing under a shower of balloons. One word suddenly echoed throughout his mind:

No.

"NOOO!" he had come so far since his loss. He had a boyfriend and was now respected by some ponies. He fought against the oncoming wave of nothingness. Then, gradually, he became more aware of his surroundings.

The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was a paramedic. "Atyughoiu…" he mumbled incoherently. The paramedic turned to his companions. "He's awake. Good. Load him on to the stretcher." Two other medics came over with it, and loaded him on to it carefully; an oxygen mask was applied over his mouth. As they loaded him into the ambulance, next to Silver Star, he caught one last glimpse of the area; Coal Miner and Rock steady being loaded into a police car, while Buzz Saw and Goalpost stood, looking on solemnly. Then, he was loaded into the back of the ambulance. Anesthesia was pumped into his system, and he was out again in seconds.

[[If part of this seems similar to Rocky Road, that's because it was a direct inspiration for this. Also, I've never been unconscious, nor injured, so I don't know if this is entirely accurate.]]