With Frightfang - 3 Months Later

Frightfang had grown up to become quite a strong subadult Hellhound. He was now tall enough to reach Fluttershy's nose and built up a good amount of muscle. He still lived with Fluttershy while he remained in the mortal world, but he has visited with some of the other ponies in the town. He was currently walking around town on his own to fully explore it. The Hellhound made his way over to the center of the town where the famed bakery Sugar Cube Corner would be. He heard from the other pets that Pinkie Pie was getting some special treats for him prepared.

As he walked through town, some of the ponies still gave him a wide berth. Most of them were simply tolerant of his presence while others avoided him entirely. Not that Frightfang minded, since he enjoyed the company of other animals more then the ponies he was surrounded by most of the time. If any pony tried to act hostile towards him, Frightfang would simply snarl at them and they'd run like mice.

The young Hellhound approached Sugar Cube Corner and pushed open the door easily. Pinkie Pie greeted the Hound with a huge grin as per usual.

"Hey, Frightfang! How is my favorite Hellhound today?!" she greeted happily.

Frightfang barked and wagged his tail in response. Without Fluttershy here to translate for him, no other mortal would be able to understand what he was saying. He simply walked up to the counter and placed his paws on them while panting in excitement. Pinkie gave him a wink.

"Let me guess: you're here for those specially-made treats I made for you?" she asked.

Another bark in confirmation. Pinkie giggled and pulled out a large glass dish with large black-and-red treats in them. The smell hitting Frightfang's nostrils was amazing. His drool flowed from his mouth and to the counter as he licked his lips in response. Pinkie grabbed one of the treats and tossed it to Frightfang who snapped it up instantly.

"These are SOOOOOO good!" Frightfang thought to himself. "Blight would love these for sure!"

The thought of his best friend brought a sadness to Frightfang's mind that not even the special treats could help. It had been three months since he became stranded in the mortal world, and while he enjoyed living with Fluttershy and her friend group, his mind always found itself thinking of his mother, siblings, and Blight. Frightfang finished off the rest of his treats and left after giving Pinkie a lick on the cheek as thanks.

"I wish Twilight and Starlight would finally find a way to open a portal to the Underworld. My parents are definitely worried sick about me," Frightfang said to himself. "Blight's probably fighting other Hounds to blow off steam. As much as she tried to hide it, she is a softy inside."

Frightfang walked outside of town a good ways away until he was out of sight of the ponies. Once he was certain he was alone, Frightfang pulled back his head and howled. A long howl, a sound that seemed a combination of a dog's howl and a pony screaming, permeated the air.

Ever since his first few days in the mortal world, Frightfang had developed a habit of howling at least once a day to see if other Hounds would respond to him. Each time he did, it ended in failure, only for him to be surprised by what he heard next.

Another howl came from somewhere in the Everfree Forest. This was the howl of a Hellhound that Frightfang actually remembered well. Frightfang gave out another howl to tell the other Hound where he was. The familiar Hound howled again and Frightfang ran towards the Everfree Forest to see a very welcome sight.

Once Frightfang got to the forest, a trio of Hellhounds burst through the brush and locked eyes with Frightfang. The leader was the familiar Hellhound that was howling.

"Uncle Shuck!" Frightfang called out.

"Frightfang!" Shuck called back.

The two Hounds ran towards each other and nuzzled each other. Shuck's companions Killpaw and Ripper joined in the reunion between the two as they had also helped watch over Frightfang. Shuck pulled back and looked at his young nephew.

"I'm so happy I've found you, boy!" Shuck said. "Look at you! You're growing into a fine young Hound."

"You've been looking for me all this time, Uncle Shuck?" Frightfang asked.

"Of course I did! I even stopped hunting Sinners to look for you," Shuck replied. "We've come to take you home and to look for the missing Hellhounds."

That last bit gave Frightfang pause. He looked to his uncle in confusion. "What do you mean 'missing Hellhounds'?"

Ripper answered for Shuck. "We've reason to believe that mortals are taking Hellhounds and holding them."

If that was true, then Frightfang had to do something about it as a Hellhound himself. He was about to ask if he could join them when a familiar form appeared nearby. Frightfang turned to see Fluttershy flying towards them.

"Frightfang! There you are. I've been looking for you," Fluttershy said before registering the other Hounds present. "More Hellhounds? Hi, I'm Fluttershy. I've been looking after Frightfang all this time."

Shuck pounced on Fluttershy and nuzzled her mane. "Thank you so much for watching over my little nephew, kind one!"

"You're welcome! Are you here to take Frightfang home to the Underworld?" Fluttershy asked.

Before Shuck could give any reply, Frightfang stepped in and spoke to Fluttershy. "Actually, I don't think we should return to the Underworld just yet. If some mortals are dognapping Hellhounds, then we need to do something about it!"

Fluttershy stood up and looked to Frightfang in shock. "Someone's taking Hellhounds?"

"Yeah! We have to stop them and free our brethren!" Frightfang said.

Shuck walked forward and spoke softly to his nephew. "Fright, are you sure we can trust mortals aside from this one to help us? We do come here just to hunt them, after all."

"I vouch for not just Fluttershy, but her friends, too! That should be enough!" Frightfang replied. "And her friends will definitely want to help."

Shuck looked to Killclaw and Ripper, who slowly nodded with slight hesitation. He then looked back and nodded to Fluttershy and Frightfang.

"As much as I want to return you home, I can see that you've grown into a strong Hound. Maybe you can help with this," Shuck said.

"Thanks, Uncle Shuck! Now let's go get the others!" Frightfang said.

*****

With Blight

A Hellhound went flying through the air before crashing into the other side of the large arena underneath the building. This particular Hound was an experienced fighter, too. The Hound struggled to get to his feet, but fell to the ground in pain. Facing the injured Hellhound was a female that looked ready to attack as soon as her opponent stood up.

It was none other than Blight. She had grown into a fine Hellhound and had become a tremendous fighter while under the hoof of the obnoxious Lord Trotsky, the pompous pony noble she was sold to three months ago. He had placed her in some underground fighting circuit and made her fight other Hellhounds for his profit. It made her sick and insulted to be forced to fight like this, but it was the only way she would get to eat and avoid being tortured again. Blight walked towards the downed Hound and placed a paw on his head to keep him down while half of the crowd cheered.

"Stay down, Stray!" she growled at him dangerously.

The Hellhound she was fighting, named Stray, didn't dare get up. He was way too hurt and weak to even try to get up at this point. Blight smirked and howled to the audience, half of whom were cheering while the others were groaning in obvious frustration. A pony dressed up as a sports referee spoke loudly into a mounted microphone.

"And that's our undefeated newcomer Blight with another victory, folks! Anyone who bet for her to win please come and collect your winnings by the booth on your way out!" he called.

The crowd of ponies, with the odd Minotaur and Griffon, walked out of the arena and left Blight and Stray behind in the ring, with Blight getting off of Stray. She glared at Stray in annoyance.

"What the hell was that?" Blight asked derisively. "You actually want to make it out of this? Then fight like you mean it!"

Stray shakily got to his paws and spat out some black blood. "Kind of hard to... do that when you... fight so viciously."

Blight continued to glare at Stray. "Then get good at actually fighting!"

Stray simply walked towards the gates in the ring that opened up to head to the on-site vet. Blight walked towards the gate that led to the kennels below. In the months since she was sold to Trotsky, she's been forced to fight Hound after Hound in the arena, who she would always defeat. Sure, she's received a few scars from these bouts, but she would still always win. Blight walked in the tunnel leading to the holding cells and went into her designated cell. She was greeted by a bowl of steaks and a bowl of fresh water. Blight was rewarded with good food every time she won.

After eating, her cell door was blocked by the sight of a few ponies. Some of them were holding Blessed Whips and none of them looked happy to see her. One of them looked especially angry at her as Blight growled at her.

"You cost me a pretty penny tonight, mutt. I'm gonna make sure you don't cost me again," the mare said.

The pony who was supposed to be watching over the Hounds pushed a button that opened the door to the cell and the ponies all walked inside. Blight continued to growl and snap at the ponies as they approached her. It was all so frustrating for Blight as this wasn't the first time this kind of thing happened: losers who lost their bets against her would sometimes be allowed to beat her in reprisal.

"Looks like it's time to get my claws and fangs dirty again. Damn it!" Blight thought.

Blight was now backed into the corner along the wall of her cell as the ponies began to raised the whips above their heads. It was all Blight needed. She lunged toward the mare in the front and bit down hard on her exposed neck. The mare wasn't able to scream, only gargle on her own blood as Blight tore through her throat completely. The mare's two companions struck Blight repeatedly with the Blessed Whips with each strike sending searing pain throughout her entire body, but she didn't let go of the mare until her body went limp. She then turned her attention towards the other two.

One of the nearer ones attempted to strike Blight again, but she dodged his lazy strike and bit him on his left foreleg. He screamed in pain as she shook and thrashed his leg making him fall to the ground screaming. The other one tried to strike her again, but Blight leg go of the stallion's leg and wrapped her jaws around his throat next. By the time his friend tried to beat her again, Blight had already let go of the now-dead stallion's throat and glared at the remaining pony. Blight smirked menacingly at him.

"What's the matter, bitch? Afraid of the big, bad Hellhound?" she asked, knowing he couldn't understand her.

The remaining pony attempted to escape the cell only for the cell door to close on him. He banged on the door and screamed to be let out as Blight stalked towards him. This was the closet Blight could get to revenge on the mortals keeping her and her kind captive, so she was going to enjoy this as much as she could.

Blight jumped on the pony's back and used her claws to drag him down while biting the back of his neck. He screamed in pain and tried to shake her off, but Blight used her claws to hold him firmly in pace while she repeatedly bit at his neck and head. Blight tore off one of his ears and one of his eyes as she made sure not to kill him too quickly.

Several bites and scratches later, the stallion was dead in a pool of his own blood. As Blight panted to regain her cool after her massacre, she could hear and smell the one pony keeping her trapped: Lord Trotsky. He was peering into Blight's cell with the very pony that was supposed to be watching them. He sighed as he spoke to his subordinate.

"You got bribed by another bunch of losers into trying to beat my champion again?" he asked flatly.

"Yes. At least we got some money out if this, boss," the guard. "What should do with the bodies? These ones aren't as messed up as the last group, but still."

"Standard procedure. Leave their bodies somewhere remote and make it look like feral dogs killed them," Trotsky replied. "I have heard some news that the Princess herself has a friend that's actually adopted a Hellhound, so she may be tempted to look more into Hellhounds in the future."

"That doesn't sound good, boss. How're our supplier and seller handling this?" the guard asked.

"Neighsay said he and the Dogcatchers are going to be increasing their hunts while Blueblood is going to use his connections to keep the Princess and her entourage from digging too deep," Trotsky replied. "If they find out what we're doing here, we'll be ruined."

Lord Trotsky seemed to finally acknowledge Blight's presence in the cell for the first time. He gave an arrogant smile as he spoke to her.

"Thanks for handling the riffraff for me, mutt. I hate it when sore losers like that appear, but they pay good money, so I won't complain," Trotsky said. "You're my best money-maker, Blight, so I'm going to be keeping you here winning fights for me forever. Or at least until you lose and I'll have to take my anger out on you. Good night!"

And with that he was gone, leaving Blight alone in a cell with pony corpses. Her mind was torn practically in half. Yes she killed these ponies, but she was still trapped in a dark cell at the end of the day and will be forced to fight another Hound soon. And she will have to endure fights and beatings for her entire immortal life until she lost, then she would most likely be killed for losing. Blight stomped a paw to the ground and howled in anger as tears began to flow from her glowing green eyes.

"Damn it all!!" she cried. "I hate you all! I swear to the Lord Hound I'm going to kill all you bitches!"

Blight went to the corner where she normally slept and curled up against the wall, crying. She missed her family in the Underworld, she missed her siblings, and most of all, she missed Frightfang. As Blight cried herself to sleep, she managed to say a few words.

"Please... help me, Frightfang. I need you!" Blight said. "Please help me get out of this horrible place!"

Author's Note

Hellhound Facts:

Hellhounds are an immortal species. If a Hellhound were to be killed by anything that isn't blessed, they will simply respawn somewhere in the Underworld. Hellhound pups age to their physical prime and stop aging entirely.