It had stopped raining in the few minutes it took to get myself together, leaving the soft mountain dirt with the consistency of slop. While in the bathroom, I noticed that when Auger hit my horn, her hoofblade had gouged out a visible line along it, following the opposite of my spiral. Another fun addition to my scar collection was the almost perfect line that ran across my neck. I never really cared too much about scars in the first place, but I’m thinking that others might take it as a sign that I’m weak.

The amount of injuries I’d sustained recently was really starting to worry me. Maybe I was weak now. My guns are my livelihood, and the only reason Brightshine had managed to get the drop on us was my inability to follow Grandma’s rule. If it looks like an unfriendly wanderer, shoot.

I should have listened to my instincts.

“So where is this ‘Summer camp’ and what should we expect?” I asked as I stepped off the old wooden porch and sank past my fetlocks in mud.

“Summer Skies Penitentiary” Storm answered as she fiddled with her pipbuck, ignoring the mud she was smearing across the buttons as she flipped between screens. “It's an old world prison up north on the other side of the mountains, and nigh impenetrable. Maximum security and a nasty place to be if you aren’t the one running it.”

“If it’s that bad, how the hell are we going to get in?” I looked up to the sky as I spoke, watching as a line of lighter grey clouds marched off the dark ones to our south. If anything, I hope the weather held out until we could make our escape. “And once in, how the fuck do I get Caltrop out?”

“We use…” She sat into the mud with a thick smack and hoofed at her saddle bag. “This!” She pulled out the robust silver leg that had once been connected to Auger. “This leg had a fairly complex system of magical circuits in it to keep that bitch fixed with Hydra if she needed it. If I can strip them out, there might be enough space for me to cram a couple of grenades into it.”

“No, that won’t be suspicious at all!” I didn’t have much in the way of a plan, but even I knew that they would take the leg as soon as I got in. “Unless you plan on ripping my leg off and attaching that, they're going to fucking take everything I have on me when I go in.”

She facehooved. “That’s the fucking point. They’ll take it and lock it up in the medical wing, which will be much less guarded than the armory. When you grab your boytoy, you fight your way there and you’ll have your way out.”

“Okay, so the way out is covered. Now how do I get in?” If this place is anywhere as tough as I think it’s going to be, it will be a suicide run if we come at it directly with all guns blazing. Putting the leg away, Storm surprised me with her answer.

“You head right at it.” She smiled in a way that she had no right to for what she just suggested. She continued just when I was a half a moment from facehoofing myself hard enough to make me possibly think this was a good idea. “If I can pass myself off as another bounty hunter looking for a quick cap for a random slave, then they’ll escort you right past all the nasty defences.”

“Then work myself out from the inside? Not bad, but I’m still sure they’ll take all my gear.” I started walking as Storm got back to her hooves. As much as I’d love to lose everything I just got back, I’d rather try to find a different way in.

“Well, we could always take the drainage tunnels.” She rubbed her chin as she came up beside me. “They might connect to somewhere unused, like the showers, or even a power substation.” She nodded slowly as I watched the mud from her hoof paint a brown beard under her chin. “That might just work, although getting around unseen would be an issue.”

“So, you’d wait for me to give you some sort of signal and then help us break out?” I scrunched up my muzzle with how much I really wasn’t liking this plan. “I know you still have a favor or two that can help if you called it in. We’re going to need more than just you to break in, so do what you need to get one of your ‘old friends’ on board and lets get going.”

She stopped abruptly. “No, I've already done enough of that to help. You've gotten in this deep on your own, and you need to be the one to pull yourself out of it. I'm only here to make sure you don't get killed. The heavy lifting? That's on you.” She sighed. “I know what I said, but I won’t ask my friends to get involved in this when we don’t even know who Martial was working for. What if it’s that Red Eye guy from Filly? His forces are big enough even the Steel Rangers are avoiding him, which means my friends would be squashed like radroaches if they got caught.”

“Have you gone senile? You taught me never to leave any tools at home so you're not fighting with one hoof tied behind your back.” I try so hard not to lose my temper around her, but she just makes it so damn hard! “I don’t care if you don’t want them, the simple fact is we need them.”

“I went through worse relying only on the strength of those at my side. You can buck up and do the same.” She snapped back, flicking her tail in anger as she trod forward. “From this point on, we think our way through it. Sit, observe, and take any help we can get.” She stopped and glared at me. “Martial said that we have a few weeks before Caltrop was going to get transferred, which means we have only a few days before somepony inside finds him more annoying than you and kills him.”

I groaned and rolled my eyes, trotting through the mud along the street. “Oh, and I assume we’ll just magically find ponies who will feel so sorry for us that they’ll just jump up at the chance to help!” I yelled my frustrations out, not paying any mind to the small hole in the mud that my hoof caught on. In an instant, I had my flank in the air and was facedown in the sticky, musty, mud.

“Do you need my help, friend?” The sorrowful, squeeky voice of Sandy perked my ears as I picked myself back up. I looked up to see her crouched in front of me, her fur matted down with a thick mix of mud and blood. The bright yellow of a torn up old foal sized raincoat was a hell of a contrast to the darker tones of her coat, but only seemed to be functional as a small vest for her. Honestly, I have never expected to see the runt again at all, and meeting like this could only spell trouble for me.

“Sandy, what are you doing back up here. I told you, it’s not safe.” Why can’t this Hound just get that into her head!? Better question is why do I seem to get stuck dealing with ponies and creatures that don’t listen to a goddess damned word that comes from my mouth?

“I… I…” She stammered, squinting as she sniffled. “I didn’t mean to kill him, I swear.”

“Hold on there pup.” Storm came over, regaining the soft, motherly tone to her voice as I slicked some of the mud from myself. “Just start at the beginning. What happened after you left?”

She sniffled and whined, curling herself up. “I went back down to the den, like I said I would, and I was looking for my Papa to show him my trophy.” She peeked her eyes up over her arms, looking at me shamefully. “One of my brothers took it, and I couldn't stop him because he was too strong. He tried to present it as his own, and I got so angry when they praised him for it, I…” She clenched her eyes shut and cried out. “I didn't mean to hurt him! I just wanted him to give my trophy back!”

“Shhh, shhh. It’s alright Sandy, we’re your friends.” Storm looked to me as she spoke, nodding her head for me to join in.

“That’s right Sandy, you can tell us what happened.” I reluctantly pulled myself closer, giving her my softest smile as she looked up. I don’t like foals. I never have, and I don’t think I ever will. There is something to be said though, of a mare around a crying child. As annoying as it may be, I can’t fight this urge to just step in and want to comfort them. It’s fucking annoying me to no end, but I just can’t pull myself away! Sometimes I wish I was a stallion just to avoid the urges I get for things, and it doesn’t help at all that I haven’t had any ‘quality’ time to myself recently. Though, maybe that’s a good thing considering what happened on the train.

A shiver ran down my spine as I thought about it.

“I was trying to get the thing from his paws, and he was holding it really high up over me. So I thought maybe I could jump.” She whined and buried her muzzle in her arms again. “But, when I did, I hit him with my claws in the neck and then there was so much blood. They all started yelling, and I… I didn’t know what to do!”

“It wasn’t your fault. He was the one in the wrong for stealing.” I reached out and pat her on the head, not sure if that was the right thing to do.

Mom’s the one in the family who’s the best with feelings or whatever. I can only sit here and hope that I’m doing something right! Then there’s Grandma, who for my whole life never shows an ounce of compassion for me, only to give it freely to those around her that aren’t me. Am I jealous of that? A little bit, yes, but am I wrong in thinking that I could have used a bit better treatment than I got?

That must be what Caltrop is thinking right about now.

Shut it, conscience.

She whimpered and relaxed at my touch. “I tried to tell them that I didn't mean too, but they said that I had to leave. Papa said that because I killed Dodger, I wouldn’t be able to come back forever! He said that I was nothing but a murderous disgrace.” She started to shiver as she sobbed softly. “Can’t he see that I just wanted to make him proud?”

“Your father said that?” Storm scoffed. “If he were my husband, I would have shot him where he stood.” I levitated my coat off of me, wincing as my horn shot a spike of pain through my skull. I lifted a much surprised Sandy and wrapped my coat around her, setting her back down lightly. Storm reached a hoof up and pulled back the coat so it wasn’t enveloping her completely. “How could you consider anyone who would say that your family?”

“I… I don’t know.” She still shivered lightly in my coat as she spoke, but the way she pressed herself into it, I could tell she was trying to get to the warmth I had given it. “The whole pack hates me for being so weak.”

“Being small isn’t a weakness.” I knew the dejected look she wore across her muzzle. Even though I never wore it for my family, there were so many times I felt like I was a lost cause. “My Grandma here was so harsh on me when I was just a young filly, and though I see the harsh lessons were necessary, it didn’t make it hurt any less. The fact that you helped me out even though you didn’t know if I’d hurt you shows bravery, and that can be a much more important thing than any size can make up for.”

Storm cleared her throat and gave a smile to her. “We could use some of your bravery if you wish to come with us.” She shrugged and looked to me. “We have to go get PC’s friend back, and I think you could be a tremendous help.”

Damnit. I’d hoped to avoid another Caltrop, and I really didn’t want someone as young as her coming along!

Sandy wiped the tears from her cheeks as she stared wide eyed. “Really? But... why? Aren't you afraid I'll just hurt you too?”

“Not at all.” Storm reached up and pat Sandy like I had. “Besides, we all need help sometimes, and you have to take it wherever you can find it.”

The prospect of bringing Sandy along with us didn’t make me happy at all, as the road was no place for a young child of any race. The good thing was if there was any danger, we could just tell her to dig down and don’t look back. Besides the fact that it had been a weird experience, with Caltrop gone, everything around me just seemed so bleak. Even with Sandy sounding like she was going to be nothing but trouble to have to deal with, the world did seem to have just a bit more color to it.

“Do you really mean it?” Sandy’s clubbed tail poked out from my jacket, wagging slowly as the sweetest of smiles ran across her muzzle. As we nodded, she made a noise that I could only describe as some sort of bark/squee, making me cringe from the pitch of it. “You are the best non-dangerous ponies I ever met!”

“That’s because we’re the only ponies you’ve met.” I chuckled and unfurled my coat. “Now come on, my friend isn’t going to save himself.” For better or for worse, it was time to go. I just hoped that she wouldn’t end up like mother almost did all those years ago, but I was going to make sure that it wouldn’t. No matter the cost.

My hooves slopped in the mud as we followed the old logging roads north. Storm had taken the lead as I focused on inspecting my guns as we walked. All of them had fared well in their time with Brightshine. Well, all but #5. I made sure to only inspect the now snub nosed revolver while Grandma wasn’t looking, but I had a bad feeling she’d find out about it sooner or later. Slung around my neck was Brightshine’s rifle. The old magical energy weapon was lighter than it’s bulk made it look, but it didn’t make it any less useless to me. As far as I was concerned, lead was the only tangible means of getting any job done, and having a bounty turn to ash before I could snip their cutie mark just made for bad business.

“Why do you have pictures on your butt?” Sandy asked, inspecting Storm’s rifles and crosshair cutie mark with intrigue. “Is it paint?”

“No, they’re permanent. These are our Cutie marks.” I laughed, finding it a rather odd subject to bring up right as I was thinking about them. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised though, as Sandy had so many questions about things that it reminded me of Caltrop, but I at least didn’t mind answering them for her. The dolt on the other hoof should know half the things he asks about. “They magically appear to show what our special talents are.”

“That’s so cool!” She gasped as her tail wagged wildly, spinning in circles on Storms back as she looked at her rear. “Do I get one!?”

“Sorry, pup, but only ponies get cutie marks.” Storm called back, making Sandy droop down with a pouty face. “Though, maybe hellhounds do get something similar?”

“Yeah, Zebras get their own kind of cutie mark, so it may not be so far fetched.” I shrugged. “I’ve only seen a couple other Hellhounds, and that was at quite a distance. I have no idea really about anything hellhound related so… maybe?” I really couldn’t care. As nice as she was, and as useful as she had been, she’s got more questions than I’m sure only ponies from before the war would have answers for.

“I hope I get one!” Sandy tooked to me with wide eyes and grin brighter than the sun.

The clatter of rocks as they tumbled from the hill above us pulled my attentions to a small rocky outcropping. Both Storm and I stopped and waited, taking the moment to scan the hillside for any signs of who the hostiles hiding up there might be. Slowly, we made our way closer to a few boulders that lay next to the road, pressing up against it as well as we could before making a move.

“Three hostiles, but I can’t tell what they are.” Storm whispered, making sure to only shift her head enough that she could get one eye out from around our cover.

Sandy sniffed at the air a few times before scrunching her small muzzle up tightly. “Whoever they are, they have a stink like none I’ve ever smelled before.”

“Raiders.” I snorted, unclipping #3’s holster and drawing the pistol out. I hesitantly flipped it’s selector to burst and leaned out slightly. “Sandy, I need you to…” I was cut off as the quick rattle of submachine gun fire sparked off the rock. “Dig Sandy, dig!” I screamed, floating my gun over the rock and pulled the trigger. My own firearm rattled off a few shots that I hoped were in the right direction. What I wouldn’t give for one of Caltrop’s grenades about now!

My head exploded in pain as my horn shot a few sparks from the tip and my magic died. I let out a whimper as my gun dropped down into the mud and I cowered behind the rock. I tried to refocus myself on picking up the gun again, but all I got in return was another jolt of pain running through me. Great, I traded my bum leg for a bum horn.

“Can’t get it up anymore?” Storm joked before she poked herself out, using the rock to steady three quick shots from her rifle. “Reach into my satchel, you’ll find a small clay jug. Open and drink 2 sips, no more, no less.”

Unsure of what I was getting into, I inched myself closer to her and reached into her cracked leather bag. At the top I could feel the object in question and pulled it out. It was a ceramic jar with a single bone colored stripe that ran across it, and I could feel a liquid slosh about inside of it as I pulled it close.

“What is it?” I popped the cork and sniffed at it, recoiling at how rank it smelled. Even without an answer, I knew Grandma thought it was safe enough to use, so I brought it to my lips and tipped the jug back. It had the taste of honey to it, tasting much better than it smelled. So much so that as I took the second sip, I wanted to go for a third, but managed to rein myself in before doing so. I licked the sweet liquid from my lips and re-corked the bottle before stuffing it back into her bag.

“It’s an old Zebra bone remedy.” She finally got around to saying as she loaded a few fresh rounds into her gun. “In twenty four hours time, your horn should be as good as new.”

“24 hours!?” I shouted right as she slid out and fired another pair of shots. A scream punctuated the last one and the sound of a body bouncing off rocks confirmed that at least one of them was done for. A new wave of bullets peppered the rock next to Storm, eliciting at yelp from her as one of them punched into her shoulder.

“Goddess damn sons of bitches!” She screamed and rolled out from behind the rock. She must have dipped into Sats, because her grip was rock solid as she emptied the rest of her rounds up at the rock face. The echoing reports of her rifle drifted off into the distance as another body rolled down the loose rocks that claimed the hillside. “That’s right, you better fucking run.” She snarled and set her rifle down on the rocks. Reaching into her bag with her bad leg for what I thought was going to be bandages, instead she pulled out her half pack of smokes and bit one out of it.

“Hey grams, give me one.” I sighed and really wished that I hadn’t somehow lost my own pack. It’s funny how I can go for years on my own out here in the wastelands, needing no conversation or company, not even needing alcohol or heavy drugs to keep myself going. All I needed was a can of food, two bottles of water, and a fresh pack of smokes to be the most efficient bounty hunter I knew I could be.

Storm must have had a momentary lapse into senility, because she nodded and tossed the pack towards me in the same manner as she always had, expecting me to catch it with my magic. Even though I tried to speak up, I failed to say anything in time and the pack smacked me in the nose, dropping into a muddy puddle at my hooves and sinking. We both sat there for a moment, dumbstruck at what just happened. The quick flick of a lighter was the next thing to greet my ears as Storm lit her cigarette up and took a drag.

“For your sake, one of those two morons better have smokes on them.” She rasped out and raised an eyebrow in annoyance at me.

“Is it safe?” Sandy whispered up from the hole she dug, poking her head up just enough that I could see her quivering eyes. It was probably the first time she had been anywhere close to a firefight, so the fear was understandable. Unfortunately for her, it won’t be the last one we get into, not by a longshot. At the very least she didn’t hesitate to do what I asked.

“Yeah kid, it’s safe.” I sighed and closed my eyes. Today just isn’t going the way I’d hoped it would. Honestly, I shouldn’t be surprised. Between running into Caltrop, getting kicked out of Filly, and getting captured, I’m hesitant to say that little else could possibly make this week worse than it’s been. I listened as Sandy pulled herself out of her hole with a little bit of effort and sat next to me, sitting there quietly as I just tried to think of what to do next. She’s along for the ride, so why not use her? “Hey kid, can you grab my gun? My horn’s out of commission.”

She darted behind me through the mud, and returned a moment later with #3. I opened my eyes and looked down to see her sitting there with the gun in her mouth, smiling brightly as I took it from her and carefully hoofed it into it’s holster. I could tell that the whole no horn thing was going to get old fast. Sandy stiffened up as her stomach made a louder growl than I think she could ever make on her own, in turn reminding me that since we ate with Brightshine, we hadn’t had anything.

“Here pup, catch.” Storm groaned as she reached into her satchel, pulling out a bent up can of old peaches. “Eat up.”

Sandy caught the can with a gasp and looked at her in awe. “R… really? I can have it?” Nodding, Storm reached back into her bag with a grunt and finally pulled out a small shimmering roll of bandages. Sandy stuck a claw into the top of the can and sliced neatly through the old metal, cutting a hole large enough that she could put it up to her muzzle and basicly drink the peaches out of it. After a moment of drinking, she sputtered and coughed the fruit onto the mud. “Uch! What is this stuff?”

I couldn’t help but get a chuckle at that. “You've never had peaches before?”

She shook her head and held the can out to me in disgust. “No, we didn’t have canned food down in the mine to eat. We always traded it for fresh meat when we could.” She whined and wiped her tongue with her hands. “What part of what animal is that from anyway?”

“Animal?” I tried to hold myself back from laughing at the absurdity of this all, but was rapidly failing to hold myself together. “Sandy, it's a fruit, it's not part of an animal!”

“You mean it's a plant?” Her already wide eyes doubled in size as she cringed. “Bleck! I'd rather have radroach meat again.”

Relying on only meat to survive was not something I had taken into account. Ponies could get by on eating meat if we absolutely needed to, but it was not something that did our bodies any good over prolonged periods of time. Although I had to agree that sometimes a good steak was just too tasty to pass up. Like the one you would have shared with Caltrop had you not dragged him away? Will share with him, conscience, just as soon as I can get him out of that prison.

Sandy poked at me carefully with her claw. “Well, what if I ate one of the dead ponies? Is that alright?” She pointed in the direction of the raiders.

My mind froze up in that moment. This shouldn’t be a question I have to answer. Eating other ponies was wrong, I knew this, but she needed to eat. It wasn’t like it was wrong for HER to eat ponies, I just… I don’t know. In my travels, I’d seen other ponies eat their dead, and I’ve seen monsters eat ponies alive. The wasteland was a horrible place to live, and after so long, you just get so jaded against everything that happens out here. I guess that just given the choice, I’d find it wrong to eat another pony. Thankfully, Storm saved me from having to answer.

“Uhm... are you sure? I don't think Raider is the best kind of meat to have.” She grunted through her bandages as she wrapped them tightly around herself. “Probably diseased and chock full of drugs. I’ve seen cannibals that given the choice, choose not to eat raiders.”

“Oh, the old dogs taught us that us hellhounds are fairly resilient to drugs, so we shouldn’t hesitate to tear the throats out of ponies if given the chance.” She smiled brighter than one should when talking about that, but it seemed like she had made up her mind. Turning to me, she gave me those same sad eyes she had back in that bank vault. “So can I? Please?”

“Why are you asking me? I’m not your mother.” I rolled my eyes and felt my headache spike through my horn. “Just… do whatever you want. You’re your own mare… er… girl. The point is you don’t need to be told to do everything anymore.” I didn’t even finish speaking before she was bouncing off around the corner towards their bodies. I raised my voice to make sure she would hear me. “The only time you must listen to me is when we’re in trouble, alright?”

“It’s not a foal, but you’re mother would be proud.” Storm blew a large plume of smoke from her nearly dead cigarette right into my face, and it send a shiver through my spine. I could really use a smoke.

“Shut up, Grandma.”

Author's Notes:

Thanks to Kkat, Somber, Mimezinga, No_One, Stonershy, John Colt, Hetnu, Xjuan, Sawyer, Vocal, Tinker, and Bad Pun for their inspiration and support in the writing of this fic! Much, much thanks to RevelRomp in his support and help in the making of Sandy! I hope everypony enjoys her as a new cast member!