The Trotting Dead: Unquiet Equestria

The Trotting Dead: Unquiet Equestria

As written by Joseph Raszagal
Book One – Finding Friendship
Chapter Four – Acclimation to a New Situation

“I guess by now I should know enough about loss to realize that you never really stop missing somepony, you just learn to live around the huge gaping hole of their absence.”

~ ~ ~

“And we rock, because it's us against them
We found our own reasons to sing
And it's so much less confusing
When lines are drawn like that
When people are either
Consumers or revolutionaries
Enemies or friends hanging on the fringes
Of the cogs in the system
It's just about knowing where everyone stands
All of a sudden, people start talking 'bout guns
Talking like they're going to war
Because they found something to die for”

• “Those Anarcho Punks are Mysterious” by Against Me!

~ ~ ~

Watching as the last rays of day receded over the edge of the distant horizon, two ponies traded quiet conversation in between glances through their twin pairs of binoculars.

“Well, at least we can take some solace from the fact that they're quite stupid,” whispered a gray stallion with a pair of glasses emblazoning his flanks, his words somewhat muffled as he spoke around a lit cigarette.

Hovering a scant few feet above him, Rainbow Dash nodded tiredly in agreement and said, “I gotta give it to ya, Lenny, you were right on the money. They only stood out there for a few hours before losing interest. It's just hard to believe, especially given how crazy they can get when they're worked up and hungry. I was sure they were gonna wait until Shining's shield gave out.”

Glass Lens let out a soft snort and remarked, “A stroke of luck, maybe? I can't say I've felt lucky for a good while now, but I'll take what I can get. I'm more than happy with them being predictable, thank you very much.”

“Heh, I heard that,” concurred the blue pegasus, tipping her cap with a smirk. “Then again, it'd be a lie if I said I wouldn't feel better with that shield still in place.”

“Same here,” the optometrist said with a huff, his brow knitted in concentration. “Watching that mess climb the hill almost gave me a heart attack. Only once I noticed the barrier forming around us did I get my pulse back under control.”

“Don't go dying on us early, old timer,” Rainbow smirked humorlessly, grinning despite her weariness.

“Trying not to, kid,” he joked back, shaking his head and flicking a growing column of ashes from his cigarette. “Trying not to.”

~ ~ ~

“How are you feeling, Mister Armor?” questioned Nurse Redheart as she shined a small flashlight into one of his eyes, watching as his pupil shrank and nodding in satisfaction.

“Well, Equestria's been overrun with the undead,” he remarked, blinking as his sight readjusted from the sudden excess of light, “so would you like the truth or a pleasant lie?”

Jabbing her brother in the shoulder with a hoof, Twilight sighed, “How about a little less sarcasm?”

“You scold with far too much haste, my young friend,” spoke a zebra as she entered the small carriage that had since been transformed into the camp's makeshift medical center. “His good humor tells me that he is far from his end.”

With a soft thud, Zecora slipped out of the bulging pair of saddlebags that had adorned her back, all sorts of different herbs and flowers peeking out through the open flaps.

“Indeed,” agreed the white mare still looking him over, “aside from some simple fatigue of both the magical and physical variety, I expect that he'll make a full recovery in less than two days. You however, Miss Sparkle, I'm more worried about.”

“I told you, I'm fine,” the purple unicorn groaned, having said as much upwards of a dozen times in the past hour.

“And I told you,” Nurse Redheart sternly replied, “you woke up from a coma brought about by a gunshot to the head less than two days ago. If anything, you should be in that bed instead of him.”

“Twilight, I am afraid I must concur,” Zecora added, giving her lilac friend a pained smile. “Seeing you resting off of your hooves I would much prefer.”

“I'm going to have to side with them, Twiley,” Shining said as he stood to his full height, a slight slouch in his posture the only clear indication that he was still on the mend.

“Me too,” came a fifth voice from the doorway.

Turning to address the intruder, Twilight's gaze fell upon her Number One Assistant.

Judging by the dark rings beneath his eyes, the baby dragon had been crying again.

Visibly deflating, the lavender unicorn released her aggravation in one long huff, motioning with her head for her brother to move aside and allow her to climb into the bed. As quick as a bullet, Spike was at her side, dutifully fluffing a pillow for her as she laid down.

“Confound these friends of mine and their kindness,” she chuckled sardonically, shaking her head and wincing as the motion brought a jolt of pain through her skull.

“Kindness.”

Steeling herself as the word brought a fresh wave of fear surging through her, Twilight closed her eyes and addressed the room, “I'll do this for you and get some bed rest... but on one condition.”

The racially diverse group all nodded in unison, patiently waiting for her to continue.

“You've all been withholding something from me, something that I have every right to know. I have a feeling that I already know what the answer will be, but that doesn't make hearing it for myself any less important. Now tell me, where is Fluttershy?”

~ ~ ~

Standing outside, Nurse Redheart and Zecora bowed their heads respectfully as four mares approached the medical carriage, each wearing a somber expression. Spike had since been sent off to bed himself, the topic of the coming conversation though already known to him nonetheless unnecessarily painful for one so young. Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity, and an exhausted-looking Rainbow Dash all trotted quietly inside to find Twilight still in the bed, her unfocused stare tracing the lines of the ceiling.

“How did it happen?” she asked, her voice thick with emotion but forcibly steady.

Stepping forward, Applejack removed her trademark stetson and held it to her chest, answering, “She was helpin' Cheerilee evacuate the schoolhouse. Bloom an' Scootaloo were still inside. The unicorn trotters still have some of their magic, enough to try an' grab somepony with telekinesis, an' one of 'em... one of 'em just plucked her out of the air as she was tryin' to get the fillies to safety.”

The farmer fought back the moisture continuing to build beneath her eyes as the events played through her mind, the yellow pegasus facing down the rotting jaws of certain death to help rescue her little sister.

After several tense moments, Rainbow Dash spoke up, “She's still in there.”

Turning her head to face the blue mare, Twilight continued to force her mask of stoicism and inquired, “What?”

“She's still in there,” Rainbow repeated, her wings ruffling as a shiver shot down her spine and threatened to turn her blood to ice. “In the schoolhouse. I've seen her through the windows a couple of times... w-what was left of her anyway.”

The prismatic pegasus pressed a hoof to her heart as the image of one of her oldest friends presented itself to her, a pair of empty eyes searching the vacant schoolhouse for the tantalizing treat of warm flesh and fresh blood. Gashes and gaping holes smattered the kindhearted mare's once yellow coat, wounds inflicted from gnashing teeth and raking hooves. Rainbow swallowed hard, suddenly finding her mouth dryer than the desert Badlands.

“I-I'm sorry, I n-need to go s-sit down,” the pegasus stammered, biting her lower lip as she trotted unsteadily out of the carriage without another word.

Closing her eyes, Rarity pivoted on her hooves and went to follow her blue friend, offering a quiet, “I should go and keep an eye on her. She's been running herself ragged on guard duty. Twilight, I... I don't know what to say. The proper words simply don't exist, do they?” The fashionista let out a breath that she hadn't realized she'd been holding in, silently chiding herself for showing weakness when the others needed her to be strong. Quietly, she concluded, “Just get some rest, darling, alright? We may have lost a friend, an amazing friend without even a single mean streak in her mane, but please, don't burn yourself down to the wick and make us lose another.”

“An' Ah should return to mah post,” Applejack cut in, returning her hat to its place atop her head. Trotting over to the lilac mare, the apple farmer put on her most comforting smile and added, “But don't let that mean nothin', okay? If'n y'all need anythin', even just to talk, ya send for me an' Ah'll be here in a flash.”

As the occupancy of the small carriage dwindled down to two, Pinkie Pie approached the purple unicorn and sat down beside her. Resting her head on the side of the bed, she closed her eyes and stated, “I don't have guard duty for another three hours and I should probably get some sleep, but if you'd like me to~

“Please stay, Pinkie.”

Turning over beneath the sheets, Twilight curled herself into a tight ball and struggled to contain the raging torrent of emotions gradually coming to a boiling point within her.

“I don't know how much longer I can keep it together. I... I'm going to break down very soon now and I don't want to be alone.”

Wordlessly, the baker placed a hoof upon her friend's quaking shoulder, making her presence and support known as the purple mare rapidly fell to pieces, her tired and battered body no longer capable of maintaining her tempered facade.

“A world without kindness,” she thought through the tears.

~ ~ ~

To be continued in Chapter Five – What Needs to be Done...

~ ~ ~

Author's Game:

Guess the opening quote before the song lyrics!