Frostpony: Of Hounds & Horses

Pain.

That was all Rini felt.

So much pain.

She laid slumped against the wall, barely able to draw breath. A rod of cherry red metal had been threaded through her chest. The worst case of heartburn she’d ever felt in her life, with her friend’s smoking revolver laid flat upon the floor.

Yet, Caleb’s own crimson splatter hadn’t come from his back…

It had come from his front.

In Rini’s exhausted mind everything took a second to process. Her once rapid thoughts were now slowing to a crawl. Part of her wanted to scream, cry out and howl from the pain but she simply didn’t have the energy or will to.

She was weak, her entire left side numb and cold. Not like the shocked kind of cold but genuinely, deathly cold. The only warmth she could feel came from her own sicky red river bleeding into her clothes and soaking her fur.

Desaturated yet colourful shapes danced around her vision, all mumbling things her ears understood but she didn’t. She heard words but not sentences, only able to gather intention by tone. They were panicking, all of them were.

Suddenly a single voice cut through the thicket. One she was familiar with, that rang enough bells to piece together an orchestra.

“Rini!” It was her mother’s, one of abject horror and indescribable panic. “No no no not my little pup!”

What she could only guess was her mother moved to her side, setting something large and tubular down as she knelt there.

The pain she felt, the numbness in her body and the panic of those around her. It was slow and sluggish but her mind soon pushed the pieces into place.

“Am I…dying? The…captain…he shot me.”

That momentary realisation gave her mind the slightest jolt, just enough to process the truth.

“I’m dying…I’m going to die…well shit…”

Ponies gathered and some tried putting their hooves upon her, maybe they were trying to help? Others pulled them away and spoke. They were saying things about a heart, she heard a bullet at one point and a bottle at another.

Something was also happening in the background, a larger shape and a smaller one doing…something. She couldn’t tell what, only that they were crashing into one another.

It didn’t last long, as her ears were met the deafening sound of something sharp yet short. A firecracker maybe? It was enough to give her a jolt and briefly return some clarity to her sight. Two Diamidians, one standing over the other, but anything more she couldn’t make out.

None of it mattered, not anymore. She’d done what she could, it was up to them now.

It was a shame really, she’d hoped she could play at least one more game with her friends…

“Maybe...another time…later.” Rini forced a smile that quickly became genuine, likely her last.

Just as she felt the corners of her vision darken, and the tiredness of a cold embrace reached for her. She suddenly felt something pressed against her mouth and a paw tilt her head upwards. Then, a rushing tide of something smooth fell down her throat. The taste was some cross between something sweet and angelically soothing, like a kind of thick cream.

Her digits twitched and her eyes went wide. A tingle flowing down her spine that rippled throughout her body. The power of an indescribable force racked her core and she felt awake again.

No, not just awake, alive.

Tears welled up as the last of the liquid left the bottle. The pounding of a dead heart willing itself to life again and rising like a phoenix. Fire burned through her veins and thousands of pins and needles brought back so much sensation she couldn’t handle it all at once.

Every breath drew from the heavy air around her. The colours of the world lit up brilliantly and danced like Hearth’s Warming lights, every sound crystal clear as were the words formed from them. It was as if she’d just woken up from the best nap of her life, full of energy unbothered by her burdens.

“Rini?!”

She turned to face her mother, who’s desperate smile contrasted the bags under her teary eyes.

“Mom?”

“Y-You’re back!” She leapt forward and pulled her into a tight, loving hug. “Oh my sweet lil pup you’re back!” Such was the relief in her voice it cracked, and Rini patted her back as they hugged.

She was prepared to ask what happened but her memory of moments prior, and Caleb’s bloodied corpse spelt that out for her.

A soft giggle rose from her throat. “Should’ve gone for the head. Hot damn those healing potions work well!” Rini wasn’t wrong in that regard. She didn’t just feel like herself again, she felt great! Fantastic even! Like the exhaustive efforts of the past day had entirely vanished.

It made her wonder what a whole bottle would’ve done to somecreature.

She peeled away from her mother with a twitch to her eye. “So, did we win yet?”

“R-Right, we’re not done yet.” Riley stood up and turned, only to freeze in place.

The both of them found themselves staring at another Diamidian soldier. Rini quickly recognised him as Alpine and by the looks of things he’d been through the ringer. His front was tainted red, as was his right arm, with his gaze staring a thousand yards through the duo.

All the ponies nearby kept a good distance from him, fearful.

On the ground beside the sheepdog was the body of a comparatively tiny chihuahua, who’s neck leaked a pool of sick crimson around him. The sergeant's gun still smoking in its barrel.

“Hey Rini.” He spoke calmly, maybe too much so. “So uh…fucker was gonna shoot the both of ya…dying daughter be damned…”

She glanced back at Percy’s body and while It took a moment for the sick smell of blood register with Rini’s nose, it hit her like a frying pan when it did and she gagged. “T-Thanks Alpy!”

“Did…you just call me “Alpy?” He pointed at her, a bit surprised and amused.

Both mother and daughter spoke at once.

“She’s high on healing magic.”

“I nearly just died okay!”

Alpine let out a soft laugh and looked down, his blood covered paw shaking as his claws glinted in the light. “Welp, there goes that promotion.”

His comment got the others to laugh a little, a nice reprieve from the dark situation.

“Come on, everydog in the yard probably heard that.” Riley extended a paw and helped Rini up. She knelt down and picked up the shotgun before breaking it open and replacing a spent shell. Alpine however was still processing things, his clean paw rubbing his forward just as much as it was keeping his fur from obscuring his view.

“When ya told me about having the common dog’s interests at heart. This isn’t exactly what I had in mind.” Alpine panned his gaze across the room, looking towards the various ponies dotted about. “But you know what? You're right, these dogs aren’t the ones I signed up with, not anymore.”

The sheepdog let his fur down and picked up his former sergeant's weapon, which seemed too large for him anyway. For Alpine however it wasn’t a problem and he turned to Riley. “Where to mam?”

“We’re tryna steal the landship, me and Rini will get the controls, try to keep the war dogs out of the place.”

“H-Hey!” Rini cried, waving a paw. “Brambles is still outside! We can’t leave without him!”

“Ya mean the Terrier that got crushed the other day?” Rini nodded, gesturing towards the potion. “I’ll work on that.” Alpine threw his army jacket aside, then turned tail and sped through an open doorway into the bowels of the Rustbucket. She could only hope he knew where he was going as she picked up Bramble’s revolver.

“Alright dear, lead the way.”

Brambles took another bite of his freshly fried hot-dog. His senses savouring the flavours of the late night meal.

All three soldiers from the patrol sat outside, around a table with a few chairs happily munching on their dinners. He quickly found out hunger suppressants only worked for as long as the user’s will not to eat, and they’d been walking for a while.

Now he sat within the comfort of the brass and steel plated food truck, with his favourite inanimate object to accompany him. A little sitting pony garden gnome now with a spider’s web of cracks, of which a thick glue filled the gaps.

Everything was going just swimmingly! Good food, company, warmth, a nice atmosphere. All he needed now was an extra large milk bone to chew on. Though it had been a while since Brambles had heard anything.

He took another chomp out of his food and turned to the giant garage, idly peering inside.

“I wonder how Rini’s doing?”

As if to answer his question, a loud crack met their ears and all four mutts turned in the direction of the Rustbucket.

“Was that a gunshot?” Asked one of them.

“Might’ve been a misfire, safeties don’t always work on these things.”

A second crack rang out and the soldiers all turned to each other, their eyes going wide. Moments later they all pushed away from the table and drew their weapons. Shotguns, auto-guns and sidearms flashing under the amber floodlights.

Brambles leaned over the counter, his gaze alight with concern. “Does that mean somedog’s in danger?”

“Maybe! We’re gonna check it out!”

“Rini might be in trouble? I gotta go help!”

Brambles hastily stuffed the last of the hot dog into his maw and turned to grab the garden gnome. Before he did leave however, he looked at the front of the trailer, where a large lever was located.

Within, the countless electrical connections fired off as something rare and spectacular happened. The kind of thing that only arises from true inspiration.

He had an idea.

A mad grin crept across his face as he pulled the lever, causing the whole trailer to shift as he moved to and closed the shutter. Outside, he threw up the garden gnome and chomped down on it as it descended, he’d need his paws free for this next step.

He grabbed a tow cable and followed the soldiers up the open backramp. None stopped to question him as he ran inside and attached the hook to one of the vehicle bay’s own reels. He vaguely remembered he’d be leaving town tonight on the landship and he really wanted to keep having hot dogs.

Before he could do much however, an ear splitting crack forced him to bow. His canine ears elicited a sharp whine.

Brambles turned to see the war mutts raise their weapons and fire upon something in the back of the bay. It was murder on his ears, but he managed to trace where they were shooting it.

There was a pony hiding behind a bulky crate of spares, and a sheepdog spraying lead from behind an open doorway.

Confusion plagued the mutt for a moment as he asked himself why there was a pony inside. At least until memory led to realisation.

He suddenly turned to the three soldiers lined up beside him. “Wait a second, these are the bad guys!”

With a quick jab the reel lever groaned to life and started pulling on the food truck. Brambles meanwhile took the gnome from his mouth and rushed towards the nearest soldier. The mutt only had enough time to turn to him before the mini-fridge sized block of hardened clay struck his head, sending him groundward and out like a light.

Neither of the two remaining war mutts had noticed what happened over the air of gunfire, as they poured layers of lead into their target’s direction. The high capacity of their auto-guns drums coming into full effect as they crept closer and closer, keeping their heads down with burst after burst.

Brambles observed the situation and looked down at the gnome, before he then turned to the mutt firing at Corn. He stood on his hinds and arched his arm back, before letting loose a mighty throw.

The gnome flew through the air and smacked into the middle mutt. His balance compromised he couldn’t keep the reservist's head down, and Corn peeked out with extended his hoof.

A couple gunshots added to the choir of chaos and the Diamidian fell, blood pouring from his chest.

“Way ta go Mr. Tibbles!” He shouted, raising his arm in the air.

The loss wouldn’t go unanswered however, as the last soldier snapped towards and fired a spray of bullets at Corn. Red sprayed from his front leg and the pony let out a shrill scream, only answered by Alpine peering around to return fire.

By some horrible chance however his weapon refused to fire, and a loud crack signalled its malfunction.

With a wicked smile the soldier raised his auto-gun only to be met by the same, poorly timed sound.

Both dogs stared at each blankly for several moments.

“Well that’s awkward.” Brambles muttered.