Frostpony: Of Hounds & Horses

Hours passed within the blink of an eye to Rini Burrows.

Within the vast guts of the landship laid many flaws for her to fix. Wires to cross, pipes to seal, plating to patch up, but after enduring what felt like an eternity did she finally feel the fresh wind upon her face.

Wind blown by a mechanical fan anyway.

“About damn time. Should make the engines complain less, I know I will.”

With a smile on her face she shut the vent covers and strode off out of the dimly lit halls of the Rustbucket, finding dusk had settled upon the sky. Street lamps flickered to life and the walkways laid sparse with activity, but something was off.

It was dark, darker than usual for her end of shift.

Soldiers still moved about with a few other scrappers sticking around, likely working overtime. But she hadn’t heard the bell. The one that usually signals when it was time to stop.

“Oh crap I worked too long.”

“Rini!” Called a familiar voice. “I’m glad you went ahead with-”

She turned around and glared at Snapjaw, knowing he’d pull her by the arm if she didn’t act now.

“I lost track of time Snap! Not the same thing!” She interjected, trying not to let her temper flare to hoo.

The other Diamidian stopped in place and clenched what was a friendly wave, not expecting her response. “O-Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realise I deserved to be shouted at like that.” He calmly replied.

Rini cringed, mentally slapping herself for being so brash to her boss. Forcing a smile she took a deep breath, trying to calm down.

“Well, if you didn’t mean to stick around I suppose you won’t want any of this.” Snapjaw then pulled out another big bag from his coat. Not a large one but he tossed it up in the air for good measure, almost taunting her.

Having caught herself, Rini stared at the bag. Her first instinct was to just turn, leave and take her dignity with her, but remembering Gale’s predicament complicated things.

She didn’t want to bend the knee to Snap, but she’d already put the extra few hours in even if she hadn’t intended it, and Gale needed help.

So with a quiet sign she tried masking, Rini walked on over toward him. Looking up solemnly.

“I apologise sir, I shouldn’t have raised my voice.”

Snapjaw merely continued to stare at her, expectedly, while juggling the bag in his paw.

“Or interrupted you.” She added through tightly clenched teeth.

“Good, don’t do it again or you’ll be cleaning out the exhausts next.” Snap passed over the bag which Rini pocketed.

Without another word she turned and moved to clock out and left the yard, now travelling through the darkening, quiet streets.

It was surprising what a few hours difference made to the town. Barely anycreature now walked the roads. Equine or canine. It did make for a more peaceful walk however and for a time she was granted some serenity watching the snowfall around her. The bright street lamps colouring the snowfall a golden glow as they fell.

“Maybe I should try nightwalks more often? This is…kind of nice. Even if it is crazy cold too.”

An unconscious smile graced her cheeks as Rini turned street corner after corner, careful to avoid the icicles hanging above.

Everything was happening so quickly. Not even a week ago had that storm crashed into her town, and only yesterday did the army roll in. Now Gale might be in trouble, and her job at risk. How long until the army stops giving options?

She elected to push those thoughts aside for a time and just let the snow fall upon her face. Now away from the noise of the landship, or the clangs of tools upon material, she was left with a rare moment of peace. The moon was even out! Partly covered from time to time by the clouds above but it did cast a nice white glow across the town when it did.

She didn’t know how badly she needed a moment to herself.

The winds were calm tonight, barely there even. If she stopped and just stood, she could hear little else but the quiet noise of…

“Paper? Somedog drop their news?”

Rini slinked into the shadows, moving towards the source of the disturbance. Her ears caught onto the sounds of something thin and wavy being plastered onto a wet surface. Likely some kind of adhesive.

When she rounded the corner she kept back, leaning just past the wall to view the street.

A group of soldiers were busy planting posters to a large wall. Beside them, paint cans full of glue which they messily applied to the brickwork, before using paint rollers to straighten them out. Even from this side of the street she could make out the slogans they were spouting, if she squinted.

Several arms held up picks and hammers, promoting hard work with the crown right above them in purple and white. Another spoke of the “Great Diamidian Community!” and how Diamidian towns should be for Diamidians only.

Rini’s heart skipped a beat and she picked up the pace, near running towards Gale’s. Through back allies and empty roads, over discarded debris and snow piles, her mind began racing faster than her heart did.

“Have they done something to him? Oh I swear if they’ve carted him off already...”

She could already see it play out in her head. A couple soldiers kicking his door in, throwing him into the back of a truck and sending him away, never to be seen again. All because she’d lost track of time repairing the worst ventilation system this side of Cherrywood’s backyard.

Oh she wouldn’t be just angry, she’d be livid. With Snapjaw, with the army, that oversized garage they’d decided needed treads, but most of all she’d be angry at herself.

Feelings that only magnified when she caught sight of Gale’s diner.

It was a damn mess.

The windows were covered in spray paint, drawing crude slurs and offensive imagery all over what was a well cared for entrance. Rubbish and torn refuse bags littered the street around it, and even the second floor wasn’t spared. A turned over ladder indicative of their efforts to deface the windows of Gale’s apartment.

Rini doubled down and ran behind the building. Reaching Gale’s stairs she tried rushing up them, but had neglected their icy nature.

To her credit, she’d managed to make it half-way up on momentum and muscle memory alone before slipping.

“Dah!”-“Ack!”-”Ah!”-”Ahhah!”

Rini laid flat at the bottom of the stairs, an annoyed, pained groan resonating from her throat, the cold of the snow helping numb the small amount of pain she was experiencing.

Not one to be easily deterred however, she achingly picked herself back up and secured a paw to the guard rail. With the adrenal high having worn off, she carefully crept upwards step by step. Her annoyance persisted within the back of her vocals.

Finally she reached Gale’s door, which itself had also been spray painted with a picture of a pegasus (presumably him) being buried up to the head, where a hammer hovered above.

“They really did a number on the place.” Rini observed, before looking towards the handle, and finding it bent and dented, along with the area around the frame. In an instant she felt her heart freeze. “Crowbar impacts, oh crud that’s not good. Please still be here, please still be here!”

Rini knocked upon the door, looking into the spyglass which hadn’t been spared the paint. “Gale! It’s me again!” She called.

Like before, her words were left to hang in the air. Dread creeping in as the seconds ticked by.

“Maybe he went to sleep already?” Rini thought, trying to rationalise things. “Healing a wing does require a lot of careful rest after all. Maybe I’m getting myself worked up?”

For a moment, she had half a thought to leave and try again tomorrow, but looking at the door banished that. “No, no, I have to check.”

“Gale?” She called again, her voice wavering, “Please answer.”

…

“Look, if you’re in there I’m sorry! I got caught up at work. I understand if you’re angry but I have to make sure you’re okay, have you seen the state of your diner? It looks like a big city slum!”

…

“Please, say something, anythingeven. Before I break this damn door down!”

Rini stood by and waited with dwindling hope. Shoulders slumped to her sides and tail occasionally wagging. She patted her coat and felt a pipe wrench inside a coat pocket, alongside her miniature tool kit. While she was no locksmith, if nothing happened she’d have to get to the bottom of this, one way or another.

Finally, enough was enough and she began reaching for her tools. Quietly asking which best for getting through knowing just how many locks Gale had, but just as she pulled out a screwdriver, she was disturbed.

“Rini? Are you alone?”

Freezing in place, Rini slowly rose her head towards the door. Gale’s voice was hushed, barely audible from behind the door. However, her concern and stress soon turned over to anger at her friend. A veil of quiet calmness persisting just over a well of rage.

“Gale?...Why’d you have to scare me like that?”

“Caution first, how do ah know you’re alone?”

Her eye twitched at that but she could see why, he was probably still spooked.

If only she’d cared.

“Oh golly gee gosh Gale, was it my voice you heard crashing against those stairs? Or the neighbour’s dog!?”

“I-I’m sorry Rini,” Gale trembled, “but they’d brought along my mailmare and used her to try opening me door up.”

“W-Wait what?!” She stepped back, taking a second look at the damage.

“They had bolt cutters Rini, buckin’ bolt cutters an’ a wedge! I was lucky ta close the door but they’d cut a few of me chains.”

Rubbing her forehead from emotional whiplash, Rini took a moment to think. Shock and sympathy setting in.

“Damn I’m…I’m sorry Gale, but did you have to leave me hanging?”

“Ah didn’t know! I can’t even look through my spyglass anymore. Those guys, they have it out for me!”

“What on equss did you do to piss em off?” Rini felt compelled to ask, despite knowing the likely reason.

“Again, ah don’t know! Honest! One moment ah was shopping for groceries, the next I’m being chased by a pack o’ dogs with clubs, bats and colourful language!” The sounds of several bolts coming undone signalled the opening of the door, but by only a tiny, paperthin crack from which Gale viewed Rini.

“I ain’t have much to eat Rini, and the city is threaten’ ta cut off me water. I’ve got cans of soup and some idiot milk but that’s for emergencies.

The Diamidian rubbed the back of her head as he explained. Each new problem adding to the last, and rebuilding that prior pyre that had burned within her. But not aimed at him.

“If ah don’t think of something soon they’ll come sign me up for “compulsory community service," which ah think we both know what that means.”

Rini facepawed and let out a long, winding sigh. She didn’t want to admit it but with how things were turning out, her friend might have to do the unthinkable.

“Gale, you may want to think about packing up and preparing a backup plan. These soldiers are not here to help you. They likely orchestrated this and made sure the police couldn’t get involved. They don’t want ponies here.”

“But why?” He retorted, “Why go through the effort of all this? Why not just kick down me door and drag me away?”

“I-I don’t know, to keep face? Easier to take over a town when its folk don’t see you doing anything wrong.” She wished she had a clear answer, but even with as much as she knew, some things still didn’t add up.

“Bucking!-Agh,” Gale faltered, his head hung low. Even from through the crack Rini could tell he was struggling to cope. “They can’t just get away with this, ah’ grew up here dammit! So did many of the other ponies in town. They can’t get rid of them all!”

“Oh but they’re trying alright, if they’re ready to do this to you I’m willing to bet they’ll do much more.”

Gale stood silent for several moments, quietly coming to grips with his reality coming apart. Rini watched on with mixed thoughts. It was disheartening to see such a travesty plague her friend, and she quietly wished there was more that could be done.

As things stood though she’d rather he was alive and well, then doing who knows what at some prison camp somewhere.

“I…ugh damn it…bucking dammit Rini…alright, I’ll…I’ll start making preparations. They ain’t going to get away with this, ay hear me?” His voice trembled and cracked, the anguish like a nail scraping a chalkboard.

Rini nodded, offering a sympathetic smile. “I hear ya Gale, don’t worry, me and mom will help take care of you.”

“T-Thanks…B-By the way Rini, do you see anypony out there? I’m scared my place is being watched.”

At the mention she quickly snapped her head to the right, down the alley she’d came from and within the far distance behind the corner, she saw the briefest flicker of movement…

She stood still, frozen like a statue staring downward.

“R-Rini?”

“That’s because it is.”