My Little Fortress: Night of the Living Dead

Canterlot, 12:16 AM

It was quiet.

Too quiet.

Canterlot sat in a state of silence, equal to that of a graveyard. There had been definite signs of panic and retaliation in the streets; discarded pikes and spears used by the Royal Guards along with some forgotten helmets, over turned side stands and signs from a panicking population.

A forgotten pony dolly, possibly dropped by a little filly in the panic.

"Jeez, this place is givin' me the creeps..." Scout mumbled as he walked beside Soldier. Vinyl was ahead of them, stopping every now and then at a distant sound. Soldier mumbled in agreement as he scanned the area from beneath his helmet brim. The street was dark, only being illuminated by Luna's moon as it hung in the night sky. The lack of light or signs of life from the surrounding buildings only added more to the creep factor. "Are we there yet?" Scout called ahead.

"Yeah, it's around this corner..." Vinyl called back, her sunglasses hiding the look of worry in her eyes. As they rounded the corner, evidence of evacuation was present. Windows were shattered, with various belonging on the ground, some broken from the impact. Papers littered the ground, some flapping in a low wind that came through the street. "Oh jeez..." Vinyl whined slightly, picking up her pace as the three came up to an apartment complex.

The sign hanging beside the door was slightly askew as it read Canterlot Heights.

"Oh jeez..." Scout muttered as he scrutinized the sign. Not only was it askew on its mountings, but its pristine white pain had been covered over by a large amount of blood. Without a single word, Vinyl barged into the building's lobby, leaving Scout and Soldier behind.

"After her! Gotta protect the civilian!" Soldier called out, running in after Vinyl with Scout on his heels. Ahead of them, the sounds of rapid hoof falls could be heard ascending the stairs. Scout zoomed by Soldier with ease as he began taking the stairs four at a time. Soldier blundered up the stairs in pursuit, only taking them two at a time as he tried to keep his helmet on his head. When they had reached the fourth floor, Vinyl could no longer be heard running up the stairs.

"Oi, pony! Where'd ya' go?" Scout called as he breathed heavily, leaning against the doorway for support. Ahead of them, the hallway was a solid darkness, giving an ominous feeling as it invited Soldier and Scout in. "I ain't goin' in there. Nope. No way." Scout said simply.

"What's wrong Squirt? Afwaid of tha dark?" Soldier jeered with the snicker. Scout scowled at him and turned his gaze at a Emergency Provisions box mounted to the wall.

"Hey, lookie here." Scout said as he swaggered over, unlocking the boxes' clamp. The lid fell forward and revealed a small medical kit, along with some flares. "Good, now we can see." Scout said simply as he tossed soldier the medical kit, while taking the four flares in the box. With a twist of the cap, the flare sparked to life and hissed as light poured from it. Giving an underhand toss, Scout tossed the flare down the hall and raised his Baby Face's Blaster to his shoulder. The light traveled through the hall, the red light giving the dark hallway a more ominous feeling. Some of the apartment doors were wide open, leading into empty apartments.

Suddenly, sobbing could be heard from one of the rooms.

Scout and Solder's heads perked up, turning to give each other a nod. Jogging forward with their weapons raised, they came up to the last apartment on the floor. The sobbing was more clear in the dark apartment, a faint mote of light coming from within.

"Go in and clear it..." Soldier said quietly. Scout nodded and opened the door further, stepping in and panning his shotguns' barrel from side to side. The faint light came from an conjoining hallway. The living room was destroyed; the couch was turned over and torn apart, along with the glass coffee table, laying in shattered ruins. Scout and Soldier moved past the ruined living room and proceeded down the hall, keeping their senses alert.

"Vinyl? Ya' in there...?" Scout asked cautiously as they approached the room at the end of the hall.

"G-Get in here...guys..." Vinyl choked through tears. Soldier stepped forward and entered, his jaw dropping with a small gasp. Scout followed in and frowned, slightly saddened by the sight.

"Ah crap..." he mumbled, stepping past Soldier. Vinyl was sitting on the bedroom floor beside a disheveled bed, holding a gray earth pony mare with black mane and tail in her forelegs, a treble cleft adorning her flanks. Blood caked a portion of her face, originating from a large gash across her forehead. Vinyl had removed her sunglasses prior to their entering, revealing her bright red eyes as tears streamed down her face.

"She barely has a pulse..." Vinyl said quietly.

"Has she been bitten?" said Soldier, asking the obvious question. Vinyl shook her head in response.

"I checked her over...but she hasn't woken up since I found her..."

"Well, we gotta patch 'er up before we can get rollin'. Soldier, med kit." Scout said, slinging his shotgun and taking the medical kit from Soldier. He knelt down across from Vinyl and cracked open the kit, taking out a roll of white gauze wrappings. Breaking the rolls' seal, he placed the start of the roll on the gash, giving a small grunt of disgust as the blood met his fingers. As he began wrapping Octavia's head in the gauze, Soldier departed the room, saying something about looking for food in the kitchen. At that moment, Octavia groaned as she began to wake up.

"Octy? Octy! Wake up!" Vinyl said, bringing the mare closer to her chest.

"V-Vinyl...?" Octavia asked quietly as her lavender eyes opened, looking up to the DJ.

"It's okay Octy, I'm here with some friends. We're gonna get you outta here..." Vinyl said as her behavior began to calm down, relieved that her marefriend was alright.

"Friends...?" Octavia croaked, looking to her right. When her gaze met Scouts', she jerked back a bit in fright, her eyes widening slightly.

"Nice ta' meet'cha. Name's Scout. Can ya' hold still? I'm almost done wrappin' your head." Scout said with a small smirk as he came near the end of the gauze wrappings. Octavia's jaw opened and closed a bit, trying to figure out what to say to the alien patching her up. When Scout came to the end, he reached into the medical kit and produced some white medical tape. Ripping two pieces from the tape roll, he attached them to the gauze wrappings to secure them. "There. All fixed. Hey Soldier, you find anything?" Scout called.

"I found some bread!" Soldier said, poking his head into the bedroom, his arms full with loaves of bread. Octavia began to stutter at the sight of a second alien in her bedroom. Soldier noticed Octavia and gave a crooked smile. "Hello ma'am! I found some bread!" he said, gesturing to the bread he was holding. Unsure of what to say now, Octavia simply nodded her head with a confused look on her face.

"And so you did..." she said simply, looking to Vinyl who gave a shrug and small smile.

"Can ya' tell us what happened?" Scout asked. Octavia looked at Scout as she tried to remember what happened earlier.

"I...I don't exactly remember...there was this...fog outside. Some Royal Guards were out on a patrol outside the apartment. I could hear them complaining about the fog. Then..." Octavia trailed off, wincing as pain shot through her head. "Ow...ow...Uh...there was a scream from one of the guards...I looked out the window to see what was going on...and I saw a group of...well there's no other way to describe them; zombies attacking the Guards. It only took them five minutes to disarm and infect the Guards. Next thing I know, the air raid alarms began to wail, signalling the population to evacuate. I was about to leave the apartment...and there was a zombie buck standing there. I didn't even get a chance the scream as it lunged at me, driving me back into the apartment..." Octavia said as tears began to roll down her cheeks.

"It's okay Octy, take your time..." Vinyl cooed.

"E-Everything happened so f-fast! It chased me into the bedroom, a-and I threw the lamp at it. It dodged the la-lamp and tackled me into the n-nightstand. My forehead caught the table's edge and I blacked out...t-then I woke up to you three..." Octavia finished, struggling to keep her demeanor calm. But her ruse failed as she began to wail, curling into Vinyl's chest and crying.

"Shhh...shhh...it's okay Octy." Vinyl said, hugging the crying mare.

"I-I was so scared Vinyl!" Octavia wailed. Scout and Soldier looked at each other, giving a simple shrug.

"Look you two, I hate ta' be the bearer of bad news, but we gotta go." Scout said, standing up. "Are you good to walk?" he asked Octavia.

"I-I believe s-s-so..." she said, freeing herself from Vinyl's hold, attempting to stand on shaky legs. Vinyl stood with her, keeping Octavia at her side in case the mare fell. "I'm not a f-filly Vinyl...I'll be fine..." Octavia retorted gently. Vinyl gave a snicker and stepped aside a bit more, giving the mare room. After a couple of calming breaths, Octavia regained her composure, getting her legs to stop shaking. "Okay, I'm good..." she said quietly.

"Then let's go. Where did Spy said to meet them?" Soldier asked.

"That fancy castle up north." Scout said, as he unslung his shotgun and held it low. "You know how to get there from here?" he asked the two mares.

"I could help lead the way..." Octavia said, looking to Vinyl. "I often make a yearly trip to Canterlot Castle to preform at the Grand Galloping Gala with my ensemble." Octavia informed them. Her face suddenly dropped in horror as a thought ran across her mind. "My ensemble...oh what of my ensemble!? Did they get out of the city? Are they alive?!" Octavia said, panic quickly taking hold of her.

"Whoa, whoa, easy there little lady. I'm sure they're somewhere safe." Scout said, attempting to calm the panic stricken mare.

"How can you be certain!? I don't even know you or your friend! For all I know, you could be lying to my face!" Octavia retorted, her panic quickly changing to anger.

"Octavia! These guys, along with their friends, saved me and so many others from the attack on Ponyville! He's not lying!" Vinyl responded, grabbing Octavia by the shoulders and shaking her slightly.

"Vinyl, Vinyl! My head still hurts! Let go of me!" Octavia demanded.

"Then calm down and let's go!" Vinyl said, stepping back from Octavia. Octavia gave a recollective sigh and frowned.

"Alright Vinyl, I'll take your word for it.Shall we?" she asked, looking to Scout and Soldier.

"With pleasure. Soldier, take point you nutcase." Scout said. Soldier nodded and stormed out of the apartment, shotgun in hand, with the others behind him. As they walked, Vinyl and Octavia fell slightly behind the two mercs.

"Vinyl." Octavia said in a quiet tone.

"Hmm?"

"Where did they come from, exactly? I've never seen their kind in Equestria before..." Octavia muttered, keeping her eyes on the two mercs.

"I'll explain once we meet up with their friends." Vinyl replied. Octavia's jaw dropped slightly.

"There's more of them...?" she asked slightly shocked.

"Yeah, nine of them. Some of them are actually pretty funny." Vinyl says with a small giggle. "They're some team from another world." Vinyl said.

"Well...this night possibly couldn't get any weirder..." Octavia mumbled under her breath.

"Come on you two, you're fallin' behind." Scout called from ahead. Octavia and Vinyl picked up their pace and caught up with the two mercs at the staircase, ready to leave the apartment building and return to the quiet streets of Canterlot.