The hellhound took less than a second to notice our presence, leaping savagely at us, bloodthirsty claws outstretched. It gave a slight yelp as its ruined leg hit the floor, but its good leg pushed it towards us with a speed that caught me off guard. I froze, forgetting to fire.

The light around Velvet Remedy's horn pulled away, becoming a ball of light that soared towards the hellhound, striking it in the shoulder. The monster seemed to instantly lose all coordination, collapsing in a jumble of limbs, skidding towards us on the floor out of sheer momentum.

"Go!" Velvet Remedy yelled as she started galloping, giving the monster a wide birth as she made for the far end, leaping over bits of the catwalk which had collapsed into the room. I followed, taking her suggestion. The pain still slowed me, but it was manageable. The hellhound slashed out at me with those huge, terrible claws. I darted deftly out of the way. It tried to crawl after me, managing only a wicked slither. The hellhound had fallen and couldn't seem to get up.

Ahead of me, Velvet Remedy stopped and motioned me to continue ahead. I worried but didn't argue. As I reached the opposite stairwell, I heard her calling out to Pyrelight behind me.

• • •

"Did you kill it?" I asked, panting hard as Pyrelight swooped into the Sky Bandit through a shattered window, Velvet Remedy galloping up just a pace behind.

The charcoal-coated unicorn tossed herself into the passenger wagon.

I'd arrived just enough ahead of them to yell warning to SteelHooves and Calamity while gulping for breath. (I think what I said amounted to "Aaaah! Hellhound... generators... rifle... Velvet... spell... Go! Go! GO!") Calamity had barely gotten the harness attached when Velvet had dashed out onto the roof.

Calamity spread his wings and with a firm beat, pulled us off the roof and into the air.

Velvet Remedy cocked her head to me, even as she caught her own breath. "Killed it? Why ever would I do that? I'm not in the habit of killing my patients."

Blink. "Itwasawhatnow?"

"Anesthetic spell," she smiled. "The poor thing was clearly in pain."

I stared at Velvet like she had completely spit her bit.

"Plus, it does have the very helpful side effect of preventing the patient from running around. Very hard to do when you can't feel your legs." She smiled cleverly, her eyes twinkling.

I fell to my haunches.

Damn. That plan... damn.

Recovering a little. "You didn't... actually heal it, did you?"

Velvet rolled her eyes. I took that as a no.

Fallout: Equestria Chapter 22