//------------------------------// // Chapter 7 // Story: Adopting Hellhounds // by Lord Shadow Eclipse //------------------------------// Ponyville Frightfang had been adjusting well to life in Ponyville after a few days. The other animals around Ponyville seemed to like him. The ponies of the town took a bit longer to warm up to Frightfang, but they trusted Fluttershy well enough to handle a Hellhound. Both of them were walking to Twilight's castle per Twilight's request. They walked through the doors to see a smiling Twilight. "Ah! Flutteshy! Frightfang! I'm so glad you both excepted my invitation!" she said excitedly. The smiling Alicorn welcomed both Pegasus and Hellhound into the castle with an all-too-happy smile on her face. Frightfang felt a small shiver run down his spine. That smile could could scare away a Hellsnake. Frightfang and Fluttershy followed Twilight down the halls of the castle towards the library. "It was nice of you to invite us here, Twilight," Fluttershy said. "Though, you didn't say why exactly you wanted both of us here". "Oh. I wanted to examine Frightfang," Twilight said. "I want to learn more about Hellhound biology. I could do a research paper or an entire article on Underworld lifeforms". Fluttershy held a raised eyebrow at her. "Let me guess, you invited me here to calm him down in case your tests scare him, didn't you?". Twilight's cheeks flushed red. "Eeh... Maybe". Fluttershy turned to Frightfang. She had a soothing maternal look on her face and kindness in her eyes. Those eyes put him at ease immediately. "Frightfang, Twilight wants to simply look you over to see how your species survives. I promise it won't hurt," Fluttershy assured him. Frightfang was thankful to have Fluttershy with him. It would make this mortal's tests at least a bit more bearable. He just hoped Twilight's tests weren't painful. Twilight conjured a short examination table and directed Frightfang to jump up on tp of it. Frightfang did so with little effort. Twilight pulled out a tray of different instruments for her examination. Thankfully, these instruments weren't sharp at all. Frightfang stood motionless as Twilight pulled out what she called a "stethoscope" and applied it to his chest. The blasted thing was so cold, Frightfang let out a yelp of surprise. Twilight instantly retracted her hoof. "I'm sorry! I forgot to warm it!" Twilight cried out. The Princess rubbed the end of the stethoscope against her chest and applied it to Frightfang's chest, warmer this time. She listened carefully for his heartbeat and smiled upon finding it. Twilight pulled out a pen and notebook and began writing down notes. Next, Twilight pulled out a measuring tape and measured Frightfang's length from muzzle to tail. Twilight then consulted the Underworld book for reference about the usual size of Hellhounds. Twilight then turned to Fluttershy. "Fluttershy, do you know how big Hellhounds can get?" she asked. "No, I only read the part about what they eat so I could feed Frightfang," Fluttershy said. "Apparently, Hellhounds vary in size. Some are around the size of pit-bulls or German shepherds and others can be the size of a horse," Twilight informed her. "The Lord Hound is supposed to be the biggest of them all". "Who's the Lord Hound?" Fluttershy asked. Frightfang was the one to answer. "The Lord Hound is the progenitor of our species. He's as old as the Underworld itself. He is very old and very wise. His connection to the Underworld is unrivaled". Twilight asked Fluttershy what Frightfang had said, who relayed everything that the young Hellhound had said. Twilight thn got an idea. "Fluttershy, I think I'm going to switch to asking Frightfang questions about the Underworld and Hellhounds. Would you mind translating what he says?" she asked of her friend. "Of course, Twilight," Fluttershy replied. Twilight pulled out a chair and her pen and notebook and sat across from Frightfang. She certainly looked eager to get started. "Now Frightfang, do your species hunt alone or in packs?" Twilight asked. Frightfang thought for a good bit about that. "From what I've seen, it depends on the Hound you're talking to. Some like to hunt alone, but most like to hunt in packs. My Uncle Shuck likes to hunt with two other Hounds named Killclaw and Ripper". Twilight wrote down Fluttershy's translated response before turning back to Frightfang. "Can you tell us about your Uncle Shuck?" Frightfang beamed at the opportunity to talk about his uncle. He stood up and wagged his tail and held his head up with pride. "He's one of the best Sin Hunters among them. He's never let a sinner escape him! He's so cool!" he replied with excitement. "I see. Now, what are Sin Hunters?". "They're the Hounds the Lord Hound sends to the mortal world to hunt down sinners and send their souls to the Underworld". "Why do Hellhounds hunt down sinners?". "From what my mother told me, we do so because they provide food for us and the other creatures of the Underworld and because they have to be punished". "Do you miss your mom?" Frightfang lowered his head and flattened his ears against his head. "I do. I miss my siblings and friends, too. I really miss my friend Blight". "Who's Blight?" Fluttershy asked. "A female I often played with back home," Frightfang said in response. That response had both Fluttershy and Twilight looking at each other with mischievous smiles on their faces. Twilight leaned forward with half-lidded eyes. "Is she a female you like?" she asked him. Once again, Frightfang's eyes and chest-glow changed from red to pink. "S-shut up! I told you, she's just a female friend I spar and play with! I don't like her like that!" "Are you sure, Frightfang? Because you're looking like a real 'blush-puppy'," Fluttershy said with a giggle. Both ponies started laughing while Frightfang hid his face underneath his paws. With Blight Blight slowly woke up in a strange place. There was a strange artificial light bringing her back to consciousness. She blinked herself awake to find herself in a place she definitely didn't recognize. She was in a small stone room with a barred door in front of her. But there was something weird about the bars keeping her contained. They looked like they had a golden light radiating from them. Blight tried to remember what happened. "Okay, I came to the mortal world, tried to fight off some bitch-ass mortals, and then... ," Blight recalled until she got to the last detail. She lowered her head and growled in anger. "They captured me! And now they've got me locked away in here! When I get out of here, I'm going to kill them! Slowly!" Blight charged towards the bars of her cell, only to be blasted towards the back of the wall with great force. Blight shook her head in pain and looked towards the bars. She tried to chew on the bars, but that ended with her being blasted to the wall again. "Yeah, it's best that you don't do that, puppy," a strange voice said from across the bars. Blight looked outside the bars and found the source of the voice. In another cell across from hers was another Hellhound, a smaller and younger male. Despite his apparent age, the Hound had a good bit of muscle on him. He looked like he had been here for longer than her. The strange pup spoke to her again. "Those bars are enchanted with heavenly magic. To us, those bars are impenetrable," the pup replied. "What is this place?" she asked. "The mortals keeping us here call it 'The Kennel'," the pup replied. "Why are they doing this to us?" she asked next. "I've heard stories from some of the other Hellhounds they bring in. They all say that the mortals that've got them were using them for guarding things or for fighting other Hellhounds," the pup said. That made the fur and internal fire flare up. "These filthy creatures are using us as pets and sport fighters?!" "Yep. It's only a matter of time before they take you for what they call 'Domestication'," the pup said. "What's that?" Blight asked. The pup leaned his head to the side to show something to Blight. She looked as closely as she could to see something wrapped around the pup's neck. It was a brown leather strap giving off the same golden light as the bars. "What is that thing?" Blight asked. "It's a collar they use to make us calm and obedient," the pup replied. "But the mental conditioning they use and putting on the collars is very painful". "They're going to do that to me?" Blight asked. "Sooner or later. But looking at you, I'm guessing that they're very eager to Domesticate you," the pup said. Speaking of the devil, the sound of a distant door opening alerted Blight to the sound of hooves clopping against the stone floor of her prison. Soon enough, a trio of three mortal stallions appeared before her. They all smiled at her insipidly. One of them she recognized as the leader of the mortals that first captured her. The one in the middle was a middle-aged stallion with a slicked-back black mane and beard wearing a red cape. The other one was a stallion wearing a white bird-shaped mask. Blight lunged forward in a vain attempt to attack and shred the stallions keeping her imprisoned, only for the magic bars to do their intended purpose. The three ponies smiled with amazement. The one in the middle laughed heartily. "This one's a monster! I'm sure Lord Trotsky would love this one!" he said before turning to the masked one. "Prep this Hound for Domestication, doctor!" "Sure thing, boss!" the masked stallion said. The masked stallion pulled out a long pole with a wire loop giving off golden light. The other two stallions left the masked one to do his work. Blight could tell the masked stallion was smiling behind his bird mask. "Hey, little pup. You and I are going to be spending a great deal of time together. I can't wait to get started," the masked stallion said. I have to get out of here! I have to find Frightfang! I'll fight everything these mortals throw at me!, she thought defiantly.