Frostpony: Of Hounds & Horses

Rini stared down at the revolver now nestled in her lap, with its bullets scattered across the driving compartment floor.

The revolver lacked a traditional handle and trigger, not to mention was far too small for even her modestly sized paws even if a mechanical trigger was added. Instead, it featured a strap and a small, dimly glowing crystal fastened within the frame.

Rini wasn’t a gunsmith, nor was she particularly well versed in arcane arts, but she could tell such a weapon had a vastly different operation to what she was expecting. She could piece some things together. Like how to open the ammo cylinder or that it was double action, as evidenced by the hammer already being cocked. Thankfully it wasn’t loaded, that much she could take some semblance of safety in.

“What should I do with it?” She slowly picked it up, turning it around to examine the inert gun. “Should I turn it in?

She thought of all the soldiers and scrappers outside, how they’d react if they’d caught her with a pony weapon. Likely, they’d ask questions, perhaps make some accusations and cart her off somewhere. If beating those two mutts up didn’t get her in hot water, carrying this with her surely would.

At the same time, she laid a paw on her swollen cheek, remembering the pain she’d felt that night. The fear, the threat facing her home, Gale, her friends…

“Okay, but how would I even use this thing? I don’t see a trigger. Am I gonna have to fan the hammer over and over?”

While that sounded cool in theory, it basically meant she’d have to reload or recharge the thing over and over again, which obviously wasn’t practical.

Rini turned it over, probably the tenth time she’d done so by now in an effort to find something, only to turn up short. “Maybe Gale knows more? He is a pony…”

After thinking her statement over for a few seconds, she immediately facepalmed.

“Real smooth Rini, just assume the Pegasus who’s injured and on the run knows how to use a pony gun.”

She turned to look around, finding nobody peeping at her and so with one last look at the strange weapon, she stowed it within a coat pocket, its ammunition along with it. “I’ll keep a hold of it and take it to mom. This requires some experimentation.”

As Rini finished up and prepared to continue her duty. A loud, shrill howl broke her train of thought and she quickly checked herself, ensuring the gun was hidden.

She knew only one mutt that could make such a high-pitched, scratchy scream, and it filled her with dread.

Because she knew what she was about to witness.

Jumping outside, she looked up to see Brambles holding on for dear life to the netting covered cargo crate. Two of the four ropes holding it up had snapped with him dangling by his forelimbs. Swinging from side to side as the crane creaked and groaned.

With how high he was, Rini doubted he'd survive if he fell. And even if by some miracle he did, he’d likely be crippled.

Instinct turned to action and she looked around the yard for anything she could use. Though most of everything was hard, jagged metal, steel frames and rusted auto-bodies. The next best thing to turn to was the crane itself, maybe she could signal the operator?

There was a cockpit for somecreature to control it, though it was nestled directly to the Rustbucket’s hull and not further up. To compensate, there was a set of large mirrors attached to the crane’s frame that might’ve been able to let the operator see past the roof, but Rini doubted they were in good condition.

After all, who’d want to climb a crane to wash a few mirrors?

The operator fumbled about as Brambles howled in terror, trying in vain to climb back up the netting. It didn’t take long for others to notice and mutts, both military and blue collar, began to watch.

Rini kept looking, her desperation growing as time ticked by and her friend’s countdown crept onwards. She only found yet more broken bonnets, wrecked wagons and caved in steel canopies.

Even the one good bed mattress she found was frozen solid, as if to add insult to injury.

Her hopes were waning when another sharp sound hit her ears like a freight train. Instead of a scream, her senses were assailed by the shrieking of a worn loudspeaker, a megaphone.

Never before did she think Snapjaw could be so loud.

“Operator! Please lower the crane!”

Rini snapped towards him and saw the foredog standing atop a pile of crushed wagons, before turning towards the crane and seeing the crate be lowered…

At far too slow a pace.

With its current pace it would be at least a couple minutes before Brambles was safely lowered. It was something at least, the closer to the ground he was the better, but the mutt was struggling and Rini could see it plain as day.

He was going to fall, no two ways about it. Now it was simply a question of how many injuries he’d sustain once he hit the ground.

That didn’t mean she was going to give up however, and looking over the many stacked up wagon bodies gave her an idea.

Rini raced over towards Snapjaw, moving on all fours and scaling the crushed metal carcusses. “Snapjaw! Sir!” She called out, nearing his side.

He faced the panting scrapper and moved the megaphone away, careful not to accidentally deafen the crowd.

“Kind of a bad time Rini, what is it?”

Rini huffed, panting between words as the effects of her frantic searching quickly came back to bite her. “I…the…the wagons-”

“Spit it out girl!”

“Use the wagons! Drop him over them!” She blurted, quickly pointing in the direction of the vehicles.

Snapjaw looked at her in confusion, slow to the uptick. “Could you repeat that?”

“The crane, it’s too close. Have him moved…over the wagons, he’ll fall from less height.”

“Sorry Rini, but the crane can only move down or rotate, it can’t do both at once.”

“What?!” She barked, looking up at him.

“Ya heard me, I know what I’m doing.”

“B-But it’ll take too long! He could drop any moment!”

“Yes and the closer he is to the ground the better, want him to fall mid-swing and land Eudora knows where?” The foredog gave her a hard glare, with weathered, worn eyes and a tone both tired and torn by time.

“I know you hate my guts, but have some damn faith in me Rini.” He paused, now switching to some more solemn. “It’s not just his neck on the line anymore.”

Rini stood still. Now both speechless and powerless as she watched Brambles slowly inch towards the ground.

Before hurling towards it, the crate coming loose as more of its rigging tore away.

She watched in horror as her friend hit the thinly snowed ground, before being crushed by the cargo he was attached to. Disappearing under its weight with a scream cut short.

The world grew quiet and stiff for Rini Burrows. Her sight tunnelled upon the crate, and the single outstretched, twitching limb that came out from under it. Words become noise, moving figures became shadows and colour lost its power.

So many memories flashed before her, over a decade’s worth of friendship and fun pulled over her eyes in an instant. The past few days of constant work and toil afforded her no time to sit and talk to him, not even for a laugh.

Dull ringing echoed in her ears and her fur lost sensation. Her jaw agape and her eyes unblinking, the cold aura of death dulling her mind.

Snapjaw was talking or more likely yelling, but she didn’t hear anything.

He even grabbed her shoulder and shook her, but she felt nothing.

Not even her tail moved.

Numerous figures moved to pull the crate off him and drag Brambles away, his form limp and bloodied. Placed on a stretcher and carried away from view as Rini slowly followed them with her head, before being unable to follow any more.

With limbs like jelly and blood cold as ice, she began to move unsteadily. Snapjaw was trying to lead her somewhere and she trailed without conscious thought.

Everything felt stiff and rugged, her senses only greeted by her own haggard breathing and frost burnt lungs. The two made their way towards the front gate before being stopped by an armed soldier, who Snapjaw seemed to argue with for a time. It even descended into outright shouting, but none of it reached Rini’s conscious mind, it was all noise to her, everything was.

Everything was noise, everything was a blur, nothing felt right.

He turned around and brought Rini back inside, back into the warmth of the garage and onto a poorly kept couch. She sat down and laid against the cushion but her thousand yard stare persisted. It was like a weight had shackled to her mind, forcing her to drag her thoughts around.

Snapjaw moved something in front of her. It was a grey object with a handle and some kind of image on it’s front, with a clear liquid inside. It didn’t matter though, nothing did, nothing but-

A splash of ice hit her face and washed over her, soaking her fur and dampening her coat.

Rini let out a panicked bark and flared about briefly. Suddenly able to think straight she turned to glare at Snapjaw holding an empty cup.

“Ring ring, calling Rini Burrows, can ya hear me?” Snapjaw said, waving his paw in front of her face for emphasis.

“Real funny Snap,” Her voice trembled. “What happened?”

“Saw you weren’t doing alright and figured I’d send ya home, then ol’ loud an proud at the gate had other ideas.”

“W-What?”

Snapjaw turned and placed his cup back under the water cooler, refilling it. “They’re not letting me just send you home anymore. Need to be sick or injured and they figured you weren’t neither.”

“B-But…you’re the foremutt, you run this place don’t you?” For a brief moment the accident that just happened was forgotten, focus instead on this change to the status quo.

“Not entirely, not anymore.”

He turned around and sat upon a desk chair opposite Rini, occasionally taking sips from his cup. Snap had lowered his voice, now hushed and downtrodden as he avoided her gaze. “Caleb’s been busy. While you’ve been digging around a building sized block of steel, he’s been going around talking to a lot of dogs.”

Snap paused and took a long sip of his cup before he continued.

“I’ve heard gossip from his mutts that he went to town hall, the bank, the jail a few dozen times, and of course our scrapyard.” He paused, taking another swig.

Rini sat up and tried wiping herself off, thankful to be inside where her fur wouldn’t freeze. “I’m sensing an “And.”

A smile graced the foredog’s face briefly, before he set the cup aside.

“I didn’t want to admit it but…I’m getting a lil’ sick of him. Some things I can tolerate, like disallowing ponies from working here or cutting a few corners to pad his own pockets. Then there’s the…other stuff, like his constant requests to increase work hours, or calling our town Cherrywoof instead of its actual name.”

“Cherry…woof?” Repeated Rini, confirmation of intentions echoing through her thoughts.

“Yep, and he’s got all his War Dogs doing it too. You’re a smart bitch Rini, I think you know what’s going on here.”

Her only reply was to slowly nod, shivers running through her shoulders.

“If you’ve got problems with the place I don’t blame ya. Seeing Brambles drop like that didn’t sit right with me either, especially not after seeing them cage you here afterwards.” Snap then got up and moved behind his desk, taking out a fresh, clean mug and gestured towards the cooler. “Need a drink?”

She again nodded, and in short order Snap filled the cup and gave it to her. It’s chilled grace helping her wake up from her stupor.

“How much more of this can I take?” She wondered. “The soldiers, Gale, the thugs, Brambles…Cherrywood isn’t safe anymore.”

She kept her head down as reality knocked on her door, unkind to her internal pleas for mercy. She knew what had to be done, what was to come next, but she didn’t want to say it. Not even to herself.

Her whole life she’d spent here in this little corner of the world, and if she had her way it would be here she’d stay. No matter how much she wanted to deny it however. she knew the town would only get worse and furthermore what grim reality had to follow.

“We have to leave Cherrywood…”

Snapjaw walked over to the door, giving her another look before he left. “I’ll leave ya alone for now. Military mutts might’ve stopped me from sending ya home, but they haven’t capped how long a break I can giva ya.”

“T-Thanks…”

With a click the door shut, and Rini was left to her own devices. Free to work through her conscience and weigh the heavy decisions for the days ahead.