A Hellhound Wanting Love

Rusty had that dream again. It was something that he often had, when lost in the pleasant company of his newfound friends and the stars in the sky.

In the dream, he was freed from his body. He wasn’t trapped to a form that he hated with his entire being. Instead, he was small. He was handsome. He was lost in the hooves of his best friend, holding each other in a passionate embrace. Rusty was her equal in his dreams, and the fantasies he had were so much closer when he slept. He wished that it would never end.

But it always ended, as he felt himself being shaken away, “Hey, Rusty. Wake up, sleepy bones. We’re heading out,” A soft voice told him.

Rusty slowly opened his eyes, looking up at the unicorn.

Jewel smiled at him, “Were you having a good dream?”

He nodded slowly, stretching, “Yesssss… Good dream, Jewel.”

“Good,” She helped him up, until he was towering over her, “We’re almost at Tenpony, we should be there by the evening if we start now.”

He gave a soft growl of agreement, “Theeeen lets go.”

She smiled wider, and walked to check on their other team member. Onyx was an earth pony, already awake and alert for the day. In many ways, Rusty was envious of his friend.

Rusty looked down at his massive claws. He was a hellhound, monster of the wasteland and hated by all. Given no choice or way to show off his deeper feelings, he had forced himself to fulfill the role that the wasteland had given him. That is, until he had found these two ponies.

He had taken mercy upon them when they were unarmed and helpless many moons ago, and they had repaid him with food. Since then, they had been inseparable. Rusty didn’t really care for going to a pony town, but his new friends were committed, and he was determined to help them.

Especially since they were the only ponies that hadn’t treated him like a mindless animal. With another yawn, he began to walk after them.

* * *

They had been walking for hours, quietly talking amongst themselves. Rusty kept his attention split between the outside world, and Jewel’s softly swaying body.

She showed a grace he had never known, and a beauty that had yet to be surpassed. Her purple flower on her rump almost seemed to shine in the daytime, mesmerizing him.

He was interrupted when he saw an open can of food fly in front of him, “Do you want some food?” Jewel asked politely, “We’ve been walking a while now.”

“Yessssss, pleeeease,” He grinned, biting into the can. With practiced ease, he ripped the can apart for easy eating. Onyx always looked surprised by how simple it was to break the can apart.

“Try not to choke,” Jewel teased.

Rusty blushed softly, but nodded, “I wooooon’t,” He ate a bit slower, more mindful of himself.

As they kept walking, Onyx spoke, “So what are we gonna do when we arrive? I’m gonna try to find the nearest pub, and drink until I can’t see straight.”

Jewel nodded slowly, “Not a bad idea. I was thinking more along the lines of a bath. Maybe a nice massage, some candles…”

“Yuck,” Rusty snorted, “Sounds boooooring.”

“You’d be surprised,” Jewel smiled. “How about when we get there, I pay for your own massage? They can clean you up, and you’ll be looking brand new!”

Rusty bit his tongue, fighting off his first reaction. Thinking about it, he really did want to be brand new. “I… might doooo that…” He said coyly, “If yoooou are there.”

Jewel rose an eyebrow, “Want me to massage you, big guy?” She asked kindly.

Surprised by the sincerity of her voice, Rusty could only give a simple nod.

“Then that’s what I’ll do!” She raised a hoof, “Massages and baths for everyone!”

Onyx gave his own cheer, looking pleased with the idea. With only a little hesitation, Rusty threw his own paw into the air.

They were so pleased with themselves that they were taken by complete surprise when a bullet ripped through Rusty’s raised arm, making him howl in pain.

“It’s an ambush!” Onyx cried out, going for his rifle. Caught on the open road, there was no chance to get cover.

Rusty glared, trying to pinpoint the location of their attacker. In the open, it wasn’t hard to see the sniper by a broken down wagon. He snarled, digging into the gravel.

The ground was pain. Rage. Agony. His arm burned as blood seeped out, his body colliding against earth and rock. He could feel the ground tremor as the battle raged above him. Instead of giving in, he used this to fuel his battle fury, determined to make their attacker pay for stopping them so close to their goal.

He felt another vibration, a shot going off directly on top of him. The target was so close; he could feel it right above him. Rusty dug up, jumping out of the dirt like a rocket. Rocks and gravel flew free, spraying the area.

Their attacker fell back, a young unicorn with a beat up rifle. He wore goggles and a gray jumpsuit, staring in horror at the beast in front of him.

With a single swing of his claws, the rifle fell in half.

“S-s-stay away from me, monster!” The pony squealed, before the claws went through his neck, separating his head from his body. Their would-be assassin fell.

Rusty howled, his rage still boiling. His arm hurt like nothing he had ever felt before, and it was making it hard to concentrate.

He turned his attention to his team. Jewel was a medic, he was sure that she could fix this damage. With ease, he ran back to his team. When he arrived he saw the results of the ambush.

Onyx stood there, sobbing as his rifle fell. Rusty’s eyes opened wide as he felt himself screaming in primal agony as he saw Jewel on the ground a few feet away, her body bloody and lifeless.

Author's Note

This was an original story using the prompt by It-Is-JM. Thanks for reading!