Asepsis

Uneventful: their journey in a nutshell. The father and daughter, for the most part, stayed silent, the former falling into a near-catatonic state, while the daughter clung to his fetlocks. Vinyl had struck up the occasional conversation with the other mare, but constant guard supervision kept it small and frustratingly trivial. She had learned that the other mare was called Glade Tarn.

"That's a queer name." she said. The other mare looked at her, shocked. She blinked, before.. "Ah, I meant odd. Heh heh." It had been a while since she had been amongst the living, it seemed.

The other mare blushed, a smile creeping at the sides of her lips. "My parents were Scoltish," she began, "and they would constantly remind me of it. They were proud of the culture, and really reluctant to abandon it when they moved to Equestria."

Vinyl nodded sagely. "I'm from Miamare. Left the place to get away from my family." A guard slammed his hoof against the cage door and Vinyl sighed. Their journey showed no signs of finishing.

They rolled into a small hamlet late that night, no more than a ring of houses, several barren stores, a cobblestone road, and a tall town hall. One of the remaining guards snorted. He eyed the prisoners disdainfully, and banged the cage frame for good measure, causing the small foal to jump and whimper. Turning to the other guard, he signaled him over. "Sound the horn; there're some patrol routes 'round this area." the guard commanded.

The other nodded and trotted away, turning to face the surrounding forest.The stallion, reaching into a nearby undyed cotton saddlebag, pulled out a chipped, black unicorn horn from within it. Vinyl reflexively pulled back, shocked by the horn. The first guard, noticing her discomfort, leered at her, a smirk evident on his face. "A bit surprised there, Scratch?" he remarked.

"You're deplorable!" she shouted, anger smoldering in her eyes.

Glade eyed her fearfully. The anger rolled and twisted off of Vinyl.

"That's Dawn Treader's horn!" she shouted. "How dare you!"

The guard snorted, and farther away, the other one gave it a resounding blow. Around them, carrion birds flew off startled, their dissonant cries fading in the wind. The entire group, guards and prisoners, waited, and after several heartbeats the faint echo of another horn could be heard. Next to the caravan, the two guards kindled a small crackling fire, and as ever, the lone hunter remained perched above them.

Less than an hour passed before a small group of five ponies wearing scarlet neckerchiefs trotted within view of the party. Their leader nodded to the two guards, and the five ponies joined them around the fire. The dim glow gave their faces and bodies ghastly shadows, stretching them to gaunt proportions. They made small talk, while the leaders of the two parties conversed. The patrol leader, a lean female pegasus with an aquamarine mane and a sea foam green coat, began. "Why have you called us?"

"We needed the reinforcements."

"Where're the others?"

"Dead. Lost during the harvest."

She eyed him critically. "Very rare, to lose so many."

He gestured towards the caged caravan with his head. "Such prey is rare."

As if noticing it for the first time, the patrol leader stood and stepped towards it. Gazing inside of it, she gave an approving hum as she surveyed the captives. "A rarity indeed. My squad and I will accompany you to Manehattan." She paused, her back turned to the cage. "Bring one of them." she said before striding into an abandoned house. The hunter followed after.

Glade looked questioningly at Vinyl. "What are they talking about?" Only the two mares were awake; the stallion and foal slept fitfully in a corner.

Vinyl grimaced. "Keep your head down and stay quiet." she said, as two guards walked towards the cage.

One rattled the door while the other called out. "Give us the foal."

At this, the stallion and foal awoke. With wild eyes, the colt threw his child behind him into the corner. The guards laughed. One unlocked the cage while the other, very cautiously, walked in, a cautious eye trained on the two mares. From a leather armband, he pulled out with his mouth a scratched up steel dagger. The other guard repeated his command.

Away from the three, Glade glanced at Vinyl. She tensed to leap at the guard, but Vinyl stopped her. "Not now." Vinyl said as she held up her hoof in a placating manner.

The stallion, upon seeing the guard draw his weapon, began to hyperventilate as sweat beaded his brow. "Not her! Not my foal!" he pleaded. "She's all I have left!"

Unimpressed, the guard stepped forward, snorting derisively. He had made only two steps before the father, sensing the hopelessness of the situation, rushed forward in a wild tackle. Caught unaware, both the guard and the stallion fell to the narrow cage floor. They rolled twice, exchanging blows, before the guard slipped forward and slashed across the other's throat. He stood, blood flowing freely from a nostril. The child quavered in the corner, whimpering. Apathetically, the guard shoved her towards the cage door until she was outside. After locking it again, the two guards and the foal walked towards the abandoned house.

Within the cage, Glade shouted at Vinyl. "Why didn't we do anything?!"

Vinyl's head jerked, as if she had been slapped. Her face was diplomatically neutral, and the smell of iron hung around them. Slowly looking towards Glade Tarn, she looked her in the eyes before turning away.

"Where's your energy? Your bravado! Was it all a sham?!" Glade screamed.

Away from them, the ring of guards snickered and watched the two, all conversation left behind in lieu of the Glade's recent outburst.

Vinyl stared Glade in the eyes, an odd glint glancing off their red irises. Glade stopped with a confused expression, and Vinyl lunged forwards, tackling Glade against the cage wall.