The Trotting Dead 2 : Neon Nights

“I don’t trust this Vinyl” Flitter chimed in, a piece of wheat in her teeth, her hatchet in her right front hoof, and her spear at her side, as it was her turn on guard duty next.

“There’s not really a whole lot to go on. Nopony took him up on his offer after all.” Derpy added, not looking away from her stitching as she put the last touches on Dinky’s new dress.

“Are you saying that we just ignore the threat altogether?” Vinyl huffed slightly, her sunglasses resting on top of her low hanging bangs, which had only just begun to creep over her eyes.

A torn map of Equestria was spread out across the back hatch of Flitter and Derpy’s caravan, which Shining Armor had given to them 5 weeks ago once they’d proven their worth and he’d realized that Dinky was sharing a bed with Silver Spoon. Rocks held each corner of the map in place, while everything past Ghastly Gorge was missing from the map with moths have eaten away the edges near the Badlands even more.

“A days walk east of here would put somepony at the edge of Foal Mountains. We passed them on the Rambling Rock Ridge side while we were heading to Fillydelphia, and I guarantee I neither saw nor sensed anypony else for 120 meters in any direction, including up the mountains.” Rarity spoke up, shifting her katana more comfortably onto her haunches as she did, still never feeling safe enough to go anywhere without her salvage from the Diamond Dogs.

“You said this yourself Rare; There could’ve been somepony on the other side of the mountains just outside your sensing range. Neon’s parting words are the best clue we have to finding that bastard and making him pay for what he did.” Vinyl retorted, her eyes widening with hope as she did.

Fluttershy sat to the side, her helmet shifted low over her eyes, as she sat whittling more arrows out of the cut down Plunder Roots that now littered across Equestria. After carefully attaching 4 arrowheads to her black arrows, she removed her helmet and trotted over to the others, placing her hoof on the marker of Hollow Shades.

“I’ve scouted to just outside Baltimare and Manehattan a few times, but I actually made it into Hollow Shades twice. Both times I could swear I wasn’t alone, and that feeling doesn’t come from Trotters. If Neon really does send out Scouts to look for new recruits for his ‘community’, he’d likely have them camp there at night for the safety the un-collapsed buildings there offer. It’s not a whole lot more to go on than we already have, but I have to think it’s something.” Fluttershy sighed as she saw Vinyl’s eyes narrow in anticipation.

“That’s another clue in our favor.” Vinyl smiled as she stared intensely at Hollow Shades on their map, as though willing herself to travel there by thought alone.

“It’s a guess at best Vinyl. In any case, we need a proper team if we really want to undertake this. We could just go and ask Shining Arm-“ Flitter began, only to have Vinyl look up at her with unspeakable pain in eyes.

“I can’t involve Shining Armor in this. He’d tell everypony, and Octy and Silver would find out. They’ve dealt with the issue of Neon enough. This is our job.” Vinyl firmly said, leaving no room for debate.

Rarity closed her eyes and breathed heavily for a moment, while Derpy simply kept her focus on sewing. Fluttershy loaded all two dozen of her new arrows into her quiver, and trotted up next to Vinyl, swishing her mane back as she did.

“We still can’t do this with just us Vinyl. I don’t want Derpy and Flitter leaving Dinky behind. We can’t ask Candy Twirl either since she’s too involved here. It would all raise more questions than it would alleviate. I’ll talk to Millie, Turf, Promontory, Lemon Hearts, and Hayseed Turnip Truck. Promontory and Hayseed are our best Trackers, and Turf and Lemon each got a more detailed offer from Neon. Millie has personal stakes in this, and she’s better to bring with us than Ace. He’s more use here and if we leave one of the ponies Neon hurt behind, it can keep Shining and Candy from finding us out too quickly. “ Fluttershy smiled at Vinyl as she trotted away, seeing her smile mirrored on Vinyl’s face before she turned away to go hunting for the group yet again.

***

“Alright everypony. The time has come for our monthly foray into Fillydelphia. The herds have grown larger since the last time we dared to go into the city, but we need supplies, and the lack of looting in the Trotter heavy areas is our best bet. Myself and Fluttershy will lead this mission. We need 5 more ponies. Who’s going to volunteer?” Shining Armor called out over the crowd of gathered ponies in the Lakefront.

Candy Twirl, Vinyl, Rarity, Concerto, Ace, Hay Fever, Apple Cobbler, Hazel Harvest and Ginger Gold all raised hooves, and looked at each other in turn. Fluttershy looked happy at the number of volunteers, but Shining Armor sighed and shook his head side to side.

“I’m glad everypony is so willing, but we can’t leave the Lakefront that empty. Rarity, Cobbler, Candy, and Ginger. You stay behind. I need a medic, good fighters, and a leader in case things go south in Fillydelphia or a situation arises here and you’re left without, so I trust you won’t let me down in either eventuality.” Shining Armor solemnly told everypony, eliciting disappointed nods and relieved sighs all about the camp.

“You have 1 hour to prepare. We leave then, no matter what.” Fluttershy stared at each volunteer in turn, making sure they understood the danger and importance of the mission they were about to embark on.

Vinyl turned to Octavia and smiled at her wife, who returned it with interest. Nuzzling her shortly after, Octavia guided Vinyl back to their tent, while Silver Spoon, who had grown over a foot taller in the year since the outbreak, galloped behind her mothers, intent to stay with them both as long as she could.

“Good thing Fluttershy gave us an hour. I can trim those ghastly bangs of yours before they prevent you from seeing a Trotter right in front of you.” Octavia giggled while Vinyl huffed as she took a seat on her haunches on the bed, with Silver Spoon jumping up to join her mom a moment later.

“You’re right Octy. I let em get too long already. I just wanted you to like the punk rocker look.” Vinyl winked at Octavia, who swished her tail in response with a smile.

“I like your bangs Mom.” Silver Spoon chided in, nuzzling her mom as well.

Vinyl held her daughter and enjoyed her warmth, as her stomach silently held the fear that she’d never hold her daughter again. Octavia solemnly looked at the two most important mares in the whole of Equestria to her. Holding back tears, Octavia steadied herself as she plopped a stool in front of Vinyl, scissors in hoof.

“I know that you’re looking into Neon Vinyl.” Octavia hastily blurted out, hoping to soften the blow some.

Silver Spoon held her mom tighter in responses and Vinyl’s eyes widened in shock for a second.

“I have to find him Octy. I have to settle this. Nopony threatens you, Silver, or the camp and gets away with it.” Vinyl tensed her muscles, making Silver Spoon groan slightly, which made Vinyl instantly relax herself again.

“But why should it have to be you? Neon was your friend before all this.” Octavia silently pleaded her mate to avoid hunting the one whose lust was never ending.

Vinyl sat silent for a moment, as did everypony else, the only noise being the scissors snipping as Vinyl’s bangs disappeared entirely. As the last of her bangs fell loose of her mane, Vinyl looked Ocvtavia directly in the eyes, hardened determination in every inch of them.

“It has to be me Octavia. My death is what caused him to become this way, and it’s my return that has to end it.” Vinyl lifted Octavia’s chin as she looked to the ground in response, embracing her in a passionate kiss a moment later, knowing this was all the explanation Octavia would ever need.

As her mother’s shared a kiss, Silver Spoon hugged them both, tears in her eyes for the bravery of them both, and constant fear that neither would be there to hold her again in a few minutes.

***

“You can count on me to track that bastard Fluttershy. If there’s any trace of him out in that rotting world, I’ll find it. And I’ll break one of his bones for every day he’s taken Chip from me.” Promontory nodded at Fluttershy as he trotted away, back to his large and empty cart, anger the clearest emotion on his face.

Fluttershy looked over her should to see Rarity watching her from a meditative stance. Nodding at her, Rarity nudged her head slightly and closed her eyes, creating the illusion they’d never seen each other at all just then.

As Fluttershy took to the air to head to the agreed meeting place for the outing to Fillydelphia, she dropped a green apple down to Turf, Hayseed, and Millie, their agreed signal that another would join their mission. For safe measure, Fluttershy also gave Apples to Ginger, Ol’ Salt, and Apple Cobbler to make it look like just a stroke of good supplies she shared with those she met first.

Landing a minute or so later, Fluttershy bumped into Vinyl intentionally to whisper in her ear.

“We just have a Lemon left to grab and we’re set for produce.” Fluttershy whispered in code, just in case anypony ever overheard.

Vinyl twitched her ears twice in response to let her know she understood. Vinyl’s eyes minutely narrowed and she clenched her hooves as she imagined riding out to hunt Neon in less than a month.

Shining Armor surveyed his group one last time, then covered his face in his forgotten mask and flared his horn, which had the added bonus of placing a shield spell around all of them that would hide their presence as the headed towards the City of Faint Hooves.

***

Fluttershy stood atop the tallest building in Fillydelphia, the Alicorn’s Horn, with her bow and arrows primed to snipe the most dangerous Trotters as the rest of her group slid through the abandoned streets in their blood drenched cloaks.

Looking a ways ahead, Fluttershy saw a herd of at least 400, and knew she needed to direct it away. Flapping from roof to roof, Fluttershy spied an abandoned water tower a dozen blocks from where the group needed to go. Notching two arrows at once, Fluttershy aimed a couple feet below its lid and let her bow snap the arrows ahead. A minute later, a resounding clang sounded through the latter half of Fillydelphia, easily attracting the Herd’s attention. As a few of them turned their heads towards the noise, Fluttershy loosed three more arrows a minute apart from each other, causing the whole herd to turn and investigate its source. Fluttershy knew her group would understand the clangs as well, and prayed to the once living Celestia that they’d have enough time because of this.

Shining Armor and Vinyl lead the charge as both had killing spells primed in their horns at a seconds notice. Concerto and Ace held ranks at the back of the group, bandoliers primed with hatchets and two knives a piece, with one spear each in hoof. Hay Fever and Hazel Harvest stayed in the center of their formation, for they knew the most about medicine and produce in their group, and it was integral to the mission that they survive. They were not unprotected though. Hay Fever carried an axe that was larger or wider than any spear, and Hazel wore a suit of Biohazard gear that she had procured from Ponyville General before it had burned down.

Just after the group’s sixteenth abandoned block, Vinyl halted them. Quickly spreading about to agreed vantage points, Vinyl gestured ahead at a group of 5 Trotters. One dragged himself about with his front hooves, and one loosely tried to flap his stiffened wings. The others were once unicorns, two with smashed horns and one with half his face missing, but all were still able to move, even though they were all slow as ever.

Shining Armor snuck around the nearest corner and encased the head of the Pegasus Trotter in his shield spell, quickly shrinking it to miniscule proportions and splattering the Trotter’s skulls and eyes about, exposing the bloody grey brain stem just before it collapsed on its left side. Ace and Concerto galloped forward a moment later and impaled the two Broken Horns into the nearest wall, one through the roof of his mouth and the other through an already existing gash on his forehead, leaving two black splatters on the alley.

Vinyl galloped forward and stomped the Crawler to death before it could sound any more to them, while Hay Fever cleaved the rest of the Trotter with the missing face’s side off his body. Hazel galloped ahead of them all a moment later, signalling it was time to move.

3 streets over, the group finally rested for a moment as the herd a group of no less than 8 dissipate two streets over. Looking up, the group realized that they’d arrived at Okra Corp., their intended destination. Vinyl quickly blew a hole through the chained front door, and they all galloped inside, holding the door open for Fluttershy for only a full minute after the initial breach as was agreed.

***

The group quickly galloped up two floors and surveyed a room only long enough to confirm it was Trotter free before charging in and securing the entrance with a nearby oak desk. As nearly everypony caught their breath and Hay Fever heaved in an empty corner, Hazel Harvest took survey of the cabinets and shelves around them.

“We chose a good room from the start. This is the Foal Medicine Lab. True, they’re not strong enough as is for a full grown pony, but if we take enough, they’ll work just as good.” Hazel whispered as she opened her bag and shoveled in as much Foal’s All Cure as she could carry.

“Can you see if there’s any equipment we can use here Hay? We shouldn’t be here more than an hour tops.” Shining Armor asked, finally catching his breath.

“No problem Shining. But I’ll limit what we take to necessities since we still have to climb a few floors before coming back down and leaving.” Hay Fever told his leader, wiping sweat off his brow as he did.

Fluttershy took inventory of her arrows as Vinyl and Shining tuned their horns. Ace stood behind the barred door with his spear ready while Concerto looked out the only window to the streets below.

“We’ll want to get going now. There’ve been at least 7 Trotters that just trickled in on this side of the building since I’ve been watching, and they’ll only bring more down on us.” Concerto called over to his group just as a falling body whizzed past him, causing Concerto to jump away from the window as everypony heard a squelch below.

“They’re on the ceiling, or possibly just a higher floor with open windows. In any case, Concerto’s right. We go now.” Fluttershy hastily voiced her concerns as she readied an arrow and Ace shifted the desk off of the door.

As everypony entered the hallway, they were shocked to see over two dozen Trotters in the formerly empty halls. As the door swung shut behind them, all their empty eyes turned towards the group.

“Run! Only take down the ones we have to!” Ace cried out, spinning his spear to stab the nearest Trotter through the ear, where black blood poured out a few seconds later as he already galloped the spear out of it.

Vinyl wove through the Trotters as she made for the jarred open door to the stairwell, bucking three Trotter’s down as she did. Shining Armor leapt over another two sloppily, landing only inches from one that clacked its jaws at his ankle above its head, a sickening sound that sounded entirely too famished for the dead. Shining Armor flinched as he bucked at the same Trotter, toppling it into two others. Concerto cleaved a Trotters head off inches from the stairwell with his hatchet, pausing only to reef it out of the wall. Ace ran through the gaps between the Trotters, even sliding a couple times through their spilled blood, with Hazel following his example.

Just before Ace slammed shut the door to the stairwell, he heard a horrifying noise back where the group had just run from.

“AGHHHHH!!” Hay Fever screamed as a Trotter collapsed onto his back and bit off a large portion of his left shoulder down to the bone, making him stare after his own torn flesh in horror.

“HAY!!!” Ace screamed after his friend, who could only cry and scream as another two Trotter’s devoured him, one tearing off his back left stifle entirely, and another a chunk of his neck from the right, which proceeded to slick the floor anew with dark red blood.

Hay looked at Ace with tears in his eyes and blood on his muzzle as he hastily shifted his saddle bags off and used the last of his remaining muscles in his left front hoof to heave it over the swarming, feeding crowd of Trotter’s about him.

“GO! Keep Hazel and Ginger alive! They’ll know what to do with what I foun--Rgh!” Hay’s slurred speech cut out as another Trotter slammed down onto his muzzle and took it into his own, a horrible squelching noise emerging a second later.

Ace let his tears stop for a moment as he bucked shut the door and heaved Hay’s bloody saddlebags over his own, screaming with rage a moment later at whatever God would allow this kind of cruel world to exist.

***

9 floors up, the group was just finishing clearing out the Flash Frozen Department of Okra Corp. with everypony’s saddlebags filled to the max when they all heard a noise more horrifying than any Trotters moan. Ace had begun to weep for Hay, dropping down onto his knees and throwing his weapons aside as he did.

“I forgot he was there! I could have saved him! All I could do was watch as those freaks ate my friend! Was this mission worth it Shining!? Because now it’s cost us lives!” Ace’s sorrow knew no bounds as he wailed, everypony feeling the same pain he did, but unable to voice it as well.

“I don’t make excuses Ace. It was me that allowed Hay on this mission. His death is my fault.” Shining Armor heaved through his breaths, his brow carrying more sweat than Hay Fever’s had before.

A second later, as a gentle smile creased his face, Shining Armor collapsed against the nearest wall, a groan echoing from him a moment later. Vinyl immediately galloped over and set about supporting Shining Armor’s head in her lap.

“Buck… I guess it’s time then…” Shining Armor tried to laugh off his state, but only a brutal cough came out instead as his body shakily tried to breathe.

“What do you mean Shining?! You weren’t bit!” Vinyl cried as the stallion who had led them this far lay dying in her hooves.

“But I was Vinyl… back when Hay went down…” Shining quietly explained, rolling his left back ankle to show the missing skin the Trotter had taken after his bad landing.

“Shining Armor… You gathered us… You led us… What are we supposed to do now?” Fluttershy sobbed as her Commander heaved blood in front of her, then hastily wiped it off on his once white coat.

“You all… already know. Vinyl’s the one… you’re meant to follow. But never forget… only… TOGETHER… do we survive at all in this Equestria… And Hazel… you make sure you and Ginger… carry on for Hay… you too Ace… Concerto…” Shining Armor coughed a fit again, this time blood bubbling up through his throat and onto his muzzle.

Everypony else sat silent as their leader lay dying before them, only nodding when he mentioned their name. Vinyl and Fluttershy cried the most by far.

“Buck… was there anything else I wanted to say?... Oh yeah. If you ever find Cadence… or Twily… tell them I’m sorry and that I love them… though I know how… unlikely that is… And everypony else back home… make sure… they… understand what they meant to me…” Shining Armor’s breath died off as his eyelids slid shut, a smile gently adhering itself onto his body one last time.

Everypony sat crying for a moment before Vinyl dared look up. As she looked at each pony in turn, they nodded to her, signalling their okay. Vinyl closed her eyes and breathed deep as she laid Shining Armor’s head gently on the floor.

As everypony stood back up, Vinyl stared one last time at the face of the stallion who had protected Octavia and Silver Spoon a she could not for over 7 months. As she flared her horn blue and tears clouded her vision again, Vinyl Scratch spoke what everypony though.

“Thank you for all you did Shining Armor, greatest of the Equestria Royal Guards Captains. Now, we say Goodbye.” Vinyl closed her eyes as she blew Shining’s head apart, ensuring that nopony would ever see him as anything less than the great unicorn, husband, brother, and leader he had been.