Title:           Week25 - GreentextSavant
Author:          AlexanderGrey
Pastebin link:   http://pastebin.com/HZbPb0pY
First Edit:      Friday 9th of September 2016 07:33:38 PM CDT
Last Edit:       Friday 9th of September 2016 07:33:38 PM CDT

COGNITIVE DISSONANCE:
>Sugarcoat can't even look at the stage, having her back turned so the only thing making her cringe is the thunderous applause.
>Indigo Zap curses to herself all the way to the point where the audience has to stay quiet until the next act.
>...
>Trixie slams the door open as she enters her room, tears welling up in her eyes.
>She doesn't even have half the heart to hop up onto her bed.
>The girl collapses to the floor as Sugarcoat follows in after her, arms crossed like they always are.
>But Sugarcoat doesn't have a smug grin on her face, only the truth fluttering around in her mind.
>"You know, if actual magic has always been something that was allowed in the talent show, I can't see how you even thought you had a chance at winning."
>Trixie doesn't answer Sugarcoat.
>Silently covering her face in her hands on the floor.
>"To be honest, you shouldn't have even gotten as far as you had with your own act. What you did was literally impossible. And I'm not saying that to comfort you, I'm saying that because I still think you cheated somehow. It's simply what I believe happened based on objective fact and the realm of possibility." She goes on to rant about the same thing she ranted about the whole car ride home. "There was no way you genuinely learned how to do that. I you really cheated, which is what all the evidence points to, you got what you had coming to you."
>Sugarcoat holds nothing back. Keeping that same glazed glare in her eyes.
>Every ounce of every negative feeling Trixie could possibly feel bears down upon her. Focusing on the very thing she put all of her hope and effort into.
>It's all crushed now.
>And she still can't answer her stepsister.
>"If anything, I'm glad Twilight and her friends are able to use real magic. Otherwise, you would have taken the whole show away from everyone else simply because you know too many more secrets than everybody else."
>Trixie isn't listening anymore.
>She should have never listened in the first place.
>But Sugarcoat continues anyway. "What happened on that stage was justice. You still got your act in perfectly... somehow... without EVER practicing a single thing, which in and of itself is unacceptable for anyone with a properly functioning mind to believe. But at the same time, you didn't ruin the competition for everyone else who actually tried hard and practiced for weeks. Weeks. Hell, forget weeks, even months. Maybe even years."
>The center of Trixie's sadness slowly turns to some sort of mixture of rage and spite.
>The hunger for revenge against the universe itself.
>"Maybe you should consider doing what Twilight did and make some friends." Suggests Sugarcoat. "Get help from others. Learn new things instead of trying to jump through impossible hoops then rigging the whole thing so it works."
>Trixie's hands begin to tremble. They ball up into fists.
>"Look, Trixie. I'm not saying that you don't have potential. Because that would also be a lie if I told you that. But you need to focus your potential on the right things. Not overshadowing everybody else in the spotlight with some secret method or advantage you know that nobody else knows. You have to work hard like everybody else. There's no getting around that."
>"Fuck off."
>"No, there is no reason to blame me for this. Because I am telling you the truth. This is something EVERYBODY has to face whether you like it or not. You have to work hard like everyone else. There are no free rides in life if you want to succeed. And part of working hard means making friends and working together with other people AS A TEAM. No more indulging in how great you are alone. You depend on others for your success."
>"Trixie... said..."
>"I'm not going anywhere, Trixie. Because somebody needs to tell you this at some point in life." Sugarcoat is not even fazed. "The thing you need to do is actually practice and let other people work with you as a team. That's what Twilight did. It's not like she learned magic overnight. Yes, that's right. Even that fantasy type stuff requires sustained effort. There is nothing you can do... nowhere you can go to change that."
>Trixie's entire body silently trembles.
>"If want to be more like Twilight or even anyone who is really successful, go out into the world and talk to people. Collaborate. And most of all... practice. It's supposed to suck, not be freaking easy street the whole way through. You need to change the way you do things and get over yourself."
>"I SAID FUCK OFF!" Trixie chucks her backpack in Sugarcoat's direction.
>It hits the wall with a startling bang, and Sugarcoat backs out of the room.
>"If you're not going to listen to helpful advice, it's your loss." Sugarcoat starts down the stairs.
>"No..." Trixie hyperventilates. "You're wrong..."
>The rest of the night goes by silently.
>And the interactions between Trixie and Sugarcoat indefinitely dwindle to nearly nothing.
 
TRIXIE SELF-INSERT 3:
Trixie Self-Insert part 3.
>The summer air slowly dies away, and Trixie can feel it against her bare arms.
>She can't stop looking outside, trying to count the number of leaves that have begun to turn.
>She turns back to the target she has set up in her room, perched up against the wall, big enough to reach the floor.
>As the sun rises, Trixie readies herself for the shots she needs to take.
>No practicing, all she needs to do is just do it.
>And the girl pulls an arrow out of the quiver, deliberately sliding it out as slowly as she can to present a dramatic effect to herself.
>She's on the opposite corner of the room.
>Aiming at the distant target against the wall.
>Trixie would have never been able to do this if Sugarcoat still had any form of jurisdiction over the basement.
>The other girl now stays up in her room alone.
>With Trixie claiming the basement. Solitude and all.
>Trixie pulls the arrow back, only focusing on the target and nothing else in the entire universe.
>Less than a second later, she fires, hitting the bullseye she already expected.
>Again, and again, and again. One arrow on top of the other.
>There is no method.
>Only madness.
>Trixie silently watches the train of arrows bob up and down, gradually slowing to complete stillness.
>Without a second thought, Trixie snatches an apple off of her desk, makes a 360 degree spin and hurls the apple directly at the butt on the closes arrow to her.
>Right down the center of the apple the shafts go one after the other.
>It stops directly at the midpoint between the end of the arrow train and the bullseye.
>Trixie knows this for a fact; she takes out a ruler and does all the measuring it takes to confirm.
>She's not going to show Sugarcoat this time.
>Trixie wants her stepsister to be left in the dark until the big surprise of the next talent show comes up.
>It's a good thing Trixie only pulls her equipment out once every two weeks.
>It's the only way to make sure that she's not practicing.
>During all of the other days, Trixie does literally nothing productive. Browsing the web and pretty much staring at the ceiling for hours on end until sleep takes her.
>She tends to do the latter at the end of the day to maintain a sleeping pattern.
>The date of the next talent show is HEAVILY circled on Trixie's calendar.
>Without a single word, the girl lies down atop her bed and rests.
>Weeks pass.
>Sugarcoat can’t figure out what Trixie’s been doing.
>All she hears is a bunch of loud noises coming from the basement from time to time.
>Admittedly, she remembers that long exchange she had with her stepsister however long ago it was.
>And that one apparently wasn’t the last Trixie had with someone disagreeing with her.
>This can only cause Sugarcoat to worry a little bit more about the girl as the sounds from the basement proceed and eventually intensify.
>It soon possesses her to go down those flights of stairs, thinking of ways to at least comfort her stepsister if she needs to do so.
>She has no idea that there’s nothing that can be said.
>The door to Trixie’s bedroom is locked. Sugarcoat is hesitant to knock on it.
>It swings open before her hand even makes contact with the surface of the door.
>Trixie declares in a… different sounding voice that she heard Sugarcoat coming down the stairs.
>Sugarcoat questions the girl regarding her constant whereabouts and what she has been doing there.
>She gets a short glimpse of Trixie’s room, recognizing a train of arrows sticking out of a bullseye.
>It stays in her mind as she is sent back up the stairs by a rising tone in Trixie’s voice.
>Whatever it is Trixie does in the basement… it continues. Even louder after Sugarcoat’s visit.
>And then stops again for a couple of weeks.
>The school year rages on.
>…
>Seasons change, and more times of awkward confrontations occur.
>A day by day repetition and silence between the two girls only grows the tension to a boil.
>It won’t be long before Sugarcoat has to ask Trixie once again what is going on in the basement.
>She talks to her friends at school about the whole thing. But she’s not the only one who has noticed changes occurring.
>At Canterlot High, the mane six have noticed significant changes in Trixie’s behavior.
>Ever since that episode with Twilight, Rarity was the first to try and reach out to Trixie in terms of whatever has been going on with her.
>The only thing Rarity gets out of the girl is her aspiration to be a hard worker like her.
>Twilight gets the message that Trixie sees perfectionists as role models, and wants to imitate them in order to top her past self every day and improve.
>A new stage of this happens in the next few weeks.
>Trixie only lets Rarity talk to her in order to get advice from someone who isn’t Twilight.
>Rarity explains that Trixie wants to somehow gain experience on her own, and that even she herself has made sure not to tell Trixie any of her own secrets in order to keep the girl willing to talk to her.
>It’s the only way; through some sort of pseudo pep talk.
>Things seem to calm down after a while.
>Trixie does start to distance herself from Rarity after a while, but not in a pushy fashion. She simply seems to be losing interest in talking, not saying much and just let Rarity go on about how much she loves dresses or something.
>Then it happens.
>One day at school, the students stop dead in their tracks to see Trixie having some sort of confrontation with her former acquaintances.
>They are arguing, loudly.
>It’s a good thing they are outside.
>Trixie goes off on a limb about how she only sees the two as a crutch, and wants to move forward with them staying in the dust where they belong.
>Tears are eventually shed, but not from Trixie’s eyes. The girl promises that they will not be part of her act in the next talent show.
>And that she WILL win.
>Things don’t settle down the day after; at least they don’t feel as though they did.
>At her house, Trixie routinely relaxes, keeping the archery equipment locked away where she doesn’t even have to look at it.
>Only thinking about how well she’s going to own the talent show in the face of her competition.
>She plans subconsciously. Doing anything but practice.
>Enjoying the solitude of the basement.
>At Canterlot High, Twilight begs Rarity to continue to talk to Trixie and tell her that making more friends is better than cutting off old ones.
>Or at least try to get close to convincing the girl such a thing.
>Rarity can already tell that it’s too late to turn Trixie around. If there were a deep end, Trixie would have gone straight off of it by now.
>...
Trixie gradually feels more heaviness in her footfalls; more force against the ground as each day and week goes by.
>She's brewing something in her spiteful heart that wants to conquer.
>Something that wants to dominate.
>She knows that her former performing partners miss her already. They've asked her to come back many times.
>But Trixie is in no mood to go back to the past.
>The show is coming up.
>As alarming as it might have seemed to her had she not felt quite as ambitious about succeeding for a change.
>Person after person comes forth over and over again to get through to Trixie, only ending up with words falling upon deaf ears.
>The need for keeping distance from the girl seems to become more of a must, as she starts to get more and more defensive about people asking her about what's going on with her and things involving the talent show.
>People start to want to talk to her less and less, starting to believe more and more that her plan for some sort of revenge is a bluff.
>But they continue to be nice to her.
>...
>Finally, the talent show arrives.
>Trixie is completely unprepared, having no idea what her actual act is going to be.
>She needs it as some form of master planning where the enemy cannot predict what one will do next when the person in question does not know what they are going to do next.
>This world apparently has Trixie's peers as the enemy.
>She opens the show with the same thing she did last time, with the absence of the shadowbolt 5 in the audience watching her.
>Sugarcoat had decided that it was not worth it to look into this any further; Trixie was already unstable enough as she was.
>Twilight's magic act comes next.
>A literal magic act. One with music and... well, everything else that out shined Trixie before.
>Trixie watches with the look of someone who's getting roasted in the middle of class but has the perfectly clever will-to-live shattering comeback ready to dish out.
>Twilight's act concludes, and the rest of the talent show ensues.
>Trixie is more than glad to see that what Twilight and her friends did was of the same quality as before.
>About an hour later.
>Trixie is assigned to perform the closing act before the judges decide who wins.
>At the center of the stage, Trixie lets the vast amount of fog engulf her.
>The music starts playing.
>From the ceiling, a rope lowers. Trixie has literally no idea what she is going to do. And that is the point. She's going to steal this show.
>The better Twilight's act was, the bigger the trophy that will fall into Trixie's lap.
>She hopes her former partners are witnessing this.
>Trixie springs from the ground and does a double backflip on to the rope, sticking her feet through the loop at the lowest end.
>The arrows slide out of the quiver as the girl hangs upside down; and she catches them out of sheer reflex.
>The target from before still resides at the other side of the stage.
>Trixie rehashes the first act she did, telling the audience to randomly choose a card that is in the deck taped to the target.
>A small plushie is throws out of Trixie's pocket and into the crowd. The person who catches it picks which card is chosen.
>Ace of diamonds.
>Twilight and her friends watch with their heads dying to turn away as Trixie hangs only by her feet above the stage below.
>And the girl begins to swing back and forth, with more and more distance.
>She has no idea what on earth she's doing.
>But she sees a ledge on either side of the stage with just enough space to perch herself onto.
>After she gains enough momentum, Trixie catapults from the rope and careens towards the first ledge.
>Holds onto it with her legs as she positions herself to face the target.
>She has six arrows busheled together in her hand.
>Trixie leaps off of the ledge, pushing herself away from the wall and aiming towards the target in mid air.
>She fires the first arrow before her foot slips back into the loop at the end of the rope.
>It's, of course, a bullseye.
>Trixie lets the rope take her to the opposite ledge of the stage, where she perches herself again.
>Fires an arrow at the rope, causing it to swing more violently after the edge of the arrow brushes past it with just not enough to sever Trixie's only safe way back to ground level.
>She sticks her foot out as the loop reaches the ledge and lets herself fall away towards the other side.
>Fires an arrow while she's swinging, hits a second bullseye straight onto the butt of the first arrow.
>This continues in a pattern. Trixie swings back and forth with increasing hastiness. Soon recreating the same train of arrows she had made before.
>Each time she swings back and forth only by one foot now, she feels less and less confident that she's going to make it to the other side. Mostly through the fact that she's done it "right" so far.
>She believes that she's bound to screw up, especially without a solid plan.
>Five arrows.
>Forming a long line of metal out from the deck of cards on the target.
>There was a reason why Trixie had shuffled the cards at the beginning of the show, taped it to the target and then left the thing there until her closing act was initiated.
>It's so the audience could watch it the whole time.
>While the chosen card was FAR from being established.
>With a swift jerk of her torso, Trixie does a series of extremely rapid flips off of the rope and lands directly on her feet in the center of the stage.
>Until now, the audience has been dead silent in the light of the danger Trixie has been putting herself through.
>They remain silent on Trixie's hyperventilating command.
>She struts over to the target and peels the tape partially off of the cards without moving the arrows.
>She then kicks the front of the train of arrows, forcing the cards that have been pierced to fly away with the metal train that penetrates them.
>The rest of the deck falls straight into Trixie's hand, not breaking their deck formation as she tightly wraps her hand around the rectangle of cards.
>The first card not to be pierced is already face up in Trixie's hand, the design on the card prominent enough for the audience to make out what it is.
>Ace of diamonds.
>The whole building near collapses from the crows'd cheering.
>There's no way there wasn't even at least one person went deaf.
>...
>Trixie exits the front doors of the school with a 1st place trophy in her hand.
>Twilight and her friends hesitantly approach her, more than happy that the girl finally got what she wanted and can stop being so angry now.
>After Twilight reaches out to shake Trixie's hand, the nights big winner falls to her knees and cries.
>She tilts to her side and waits for Twilight to help her up.
>Then walks away into the night.
>Leaving her trophy behind.
>Leaving Twilight and her offer of friendship behind.
>Leaving her life behind.
 
FriENDship:
~
>Pinkie Pie jolts awake with heavy circles under her eyes. “Wha… huh?” She looks around for the flames that no longer surround her.
>”Shh…” Celestia’s voice sounds beside her. “It’s just a nightmare. Everything’s going to be okay.” Not even the principal herself is willing to believe those words.
>The dream Pinkie just woke up from isn’t any different from those of everyone else. Fatigue has been delivering visions of now sought after relief from the nightmare life has become. Some dream of fire, some dream of simply careening off the edge of a cliff.
>Anything to end this.
>Had there been no one else in the car he’s driving, Bulk would have made his thoughts a reality. He has passed a few high up ledges.
>Pinkie jolts up again a few minutes later, having almost been trying to go back to the same dream. This has been going on since several miles back.
>Officer Silver slows down the SUV after Pinkie goes silent once more. He noticed the tail lights of the SUV in front of his brighten and get closer.
>Why are the others slowing down?
>Luna watches from the passenger’s seat as the doors of the other two vehicles in front open. Silver cautiously steps out into the darkness of the night with his mind set on the gun in his holster.
>”Do any of these have extra gas in the trunk?” April exchanges glances with Cadence and Sunset.
>Trixie leaps back into the front SUV, cursing to herself.
>”I think mine does.” Silver tries to recall the best he can, spinning back around to check the trunk of his own SUV.
>”What time is it?” Sunset asks, shivering.
>”About 11:45.” Bulk answers. “And we’re out of gas over here.”
>”How did this damn thing run out of gas so quickly?!” Trixie nervously criticizes from the inside of the SUV.
>”Whoever drove it before must not have refueled.” April explains before mumbling under her breath. “Wouldn’t be surprised if it’s Shifter’s car.”
>Officer Silver comes back empty handed, slowly shaking his head. The group outside looks down in dread. Trixie loudly groans in frustration and shuts her eyes as she slumps down in the back seat.
>After further evaluation, it is estimated that the other two cars only have about an hour of driving time left.
>The conversing voices grow more panicked.
>”Are you sure we got far away enough?” Rarity asks in a shaky voice. “What if they’re still following us?”
>”The best we can do is head off-road until we’re out of sight and wait until morning.” April plans. “Then we’ll figure out where we are and plan from there.”
>More questions start to overlap eachother, but soon die out after April restates her plan in a louder, more insisting voice. “Silver, do you at least have a tube and funnel or something in your trunk?” She continues.
>”Yes. I saw one.” Silver already turns around to retrieve it.
>”Perfect. Here’s the plan: We get just enough fuel into the front SUV to have every single vehicle out of sight from the road. Shouldn’t take long. Then… we simply lay low until we can see, then get all of the fuel that’s left into one SUV… and fit into it the best we can so we can go as far as possible until we reach real shelter.”
>There is a lengthy moment of silence amongst the three different groups from each car. They exchange glances until they all realize that there is not much anyone can do as an alternative.
>The group goes on to slowly come to an agreement.
>Silver attaches the rubber hose to the funnel. “Let’s hurry.”
>The two officers get just enough fuel out of the second car into the first car to make sure the move into the grass won’t involve any pushing.
>”Come on, this shouldn’t take more then fifteen minutes.” April gets behind the steering wheel.
>Trixie stays in the back seat, leaning against the leather seat staring into the night outside through the window. Everyone else stays outside getting a breath of open air before they sleep in the SUV’s.
>They all go back to their designated cars from before as clock nears 1 AM. The conversations have already slowly stopped.
>Officer Silver keeps his eyes set on the road a few dozen feet away first, just able to make out the line that separates the asphalt form the grass that surrounds everyone.
>His mind does everything except let its guard down. Every movement, every sound is something.
>Despite how exhausted everyone is, sleep takes painfully long to take them away from this world for at least a little while.
>…
>A knock is heard on the guest bedroom door.
>The dim glow of a lantern is the only thing that illuminates the wooden walls, and Rainbow Dash can see the doorknob start to turn in the light.
>Applejack enters with an almost sorrowful look on her face. But she smiles warmly as she sees Dash sitting on her mattress on the floor.
>”Hey, there.” Applejack plants herself right next to Dash, receiving an easy smile in return from the other girl.
>She pats Dash on the back, and finds the girl reciprocating, almost jabbing her fingers in like a knife.
>Or… maybe that ax in the corner over there.
>It’s enough to make Applejack eye the door again. But still, she can only assume that she’s been on edge for the entire day that started what felt like an eternity ago.
>It’s time to slow down and get a good look at the current situation. Talk a bit.
>”How ya doin?”
>Rainbow Dash hesitates a little bit before responding. “Better then before.” She sighs. “But… still bad.”
>”Ah know it must be hard with everything that happened at the school.” Applejack brings up.
>Dash pushes her lips in, letting out a small whine.
>”But ah just wanted to tell ya something.” Applejack continues. “It’s been… talked over with some of the other family and I… and it’s been decided that we’ll help you look for your friends.”
>Rainbow Dash’s face freezes.
>”We can’t keep ‘em here, but that doesn’t mean we can’t send them some help. Wherever they are.”
>”When?” Dash’s eyes grow hopeful for a split second, forgetting about that dark corner of the room.
>”As early as tomorrow. We still gotta figure out fool and all that. But it’s not like it ain’t manageable.”
>Rainbow Dash’s growing fatigue helps her be able to think more desperately. Her heart flutters when she imagines Applejack and like five of her family members marching back to a zombie-infested Canterlot High alongside her, shotguns in hand.
>It’s a… comfy feeling?
>”Ah just don’t want ya to keep worrying when you don’t have to. So you can come with us when we head out looking for extra supplies, and we’ll help you find your friends for as long as the day lasts.”
>”Th… thank you, Applejack.” Rainbow Dash is becoming glad she didn’t let her irrational feelings get the best of her.
>Applejack softly places her arms across Dash’s shoulders. “Would you like some water or somethin’?”
>”Sure.”
>Applejack rises to her feet and walks out of the room. Dash lets out a confused sigh.
>The two talk for a bit more about more casual things after Applejack returns. They stay on the lighter topics, watering down, what used to be the heavy feelings that spawned from earlier in the day when it was unclear they would make it to nightfall, let alone the next day.
>And each of them head off to bed before it’s too late to be able to wake up early in the morning; it’s probably already past midnight.
>Rainbow Dash stands up after she hears Applejack’s footsteps get far enough away through the closed door.
>She retrieves the ax from the corner and lays it next to her on top of the mattress. Keeping it close by as she drifts to sleep.
>…
>Only now does the distant eastern horizon begin to glow with the oncoming sun. Sweetie belle is the only one awake to see it; she’s been up all night wondering if Scootaloo was in the group.
>During the whole fiasco with the SUV’s running low on total fuel, she had stayed in the back seat with a blanket over her head, swearing to herself that Scootaloo had joined one of the other SUV’s.
>Sweetie forgot what it was Rarity said that convinced her that Scootaloo was with the group, just in one of the other two cars. It was something about… everyone leaving in a rush.
>It didn’t confirm anything, so the girl only had word of mouth to go by to come to her own conclusions on where Scootaloo is. She assumes she’ll see her friend in the morning.
>She prays she will see her friend in the morning.
>Whatever it was, it was enough to get Sweetie Belle to slow her breathing and stay calm the entire night. Until now, when the slow illuminating of the landscape reveals the dozens of staggering figures speckling the fields in all directions.
>Sweetie tugs at her sister’s sleeve, holding back a scream the best she can.
>”What? What is it?” Rarity half opens her eyes.
>Sweetie only points in a random direction; it’s all she needs to do. Rarity follows her sister’s finger and finds a scream of her own within herself to hold in. Her eyes jolt completely awake and dart around for the two officers.
>April is leaning back in the reclined driver’s seat.
>”Officer Snow!” Rarity grabs onto April’s shoulder, forcing out a breathy whisper.
>In less than a half second, April instinctively grabs Rarity’s arm and pushes it away with one hand, reaching for her gun with the other.
>Only the instant she recognizes Rarity’s face does she slip the firearm back into the holster.
>”Eek!” Rarity can’t even jump back with her arm held in a tight grip.
>April lets her fall back gently. “Don’t do that!”
>”Look!” Rarity continues to point anyway.
>The figures appear to be drawing closer.
>”Shit!” April swiftly flies out the door on the driver’s side and pulls her gun out.
>She ducks down, keeping both her voice and gun as low a possible. “Silver! Silver!”
>Officer Silver can soon be heard shuffling around in his driver’s seat. The passenger door of his SUV quietly opens, and the two officers start hastily whispering to eachother.
>Rarity climbs back to Sweetie Belle and tries to get her to stop crying.
>”Is it even worth it now?” Silver winces at the figures wandering in packs out in the fields.
>”There might be time to move all the fuel if they don’t see us.”
>”Snow!”
>”But I’m still not taking that chance! I agree with you.”
>Silver curses silently as April stands up to alert the rest of the group.
>”What’s happening?” Sunset struggles to sit upright, eyes still closed.
>She notices Rarity holding Sweetie belle close by, staring out the window with frightened eyes.
>”We have to go. Now.” April mutters through the back window.
>”Wha…?”
>A buzz of panic starts as everyone else is woken up.
>Day 2 has begun.
>”Everyone in my SUV. Now!” April nearly just mouths the words as everyone struggles to stay silent. “We have to MOVE.”
>”Didn’t mine have the most fuel?” Silver asks.
>”No. I filled mine up most recently, remember?”
>Silver complies without question, seeing that the zombies are almost within general earshot.
>”Go, go, go, go, go!” April urges as Celestia and Luna scurry out of Officer Silver’s SUV.
>Everyone packs themselves into the SUV like it’s a clown car, with the two officers momentarily rushing to the driver’s and passenger’s seat. Rarity tells Sweetie Belle to keep her eyes shut, not seeing Scootaloo anywhere in the group.
>”Are we just… gonna take off?” Bulk asks.
>”We have to! There’s too many!” April responds as she turns the key in the ignition.
>”Wait a minute…” Cadence analyzes everyone she remembers seeing in the SUV she was first in. She spots Trixie, Bulk and Fluttershy. “Where’s Derpy?”
>The sound of the engine turning on is all it takes to draw the zombies’ attention.
>”W-what?” April feels her heart skip a beat.
>After the zombies begin to approach the three SUV’s with terrifying speed, a sudden scream and slam of a car door is all it takes to piece everything together.
>”God damn it, we have to go back for her!” Bulk can barely see the silhouette of the girl through the morning lighting and tinted windows. He’s shaking violently.
>”It’s too late!” April is still hesitant to slam her foot onto the gas pedal.
>”No! We have to go back!”
>”NO, IT’S TOO LATE!”
>She still hasn’t stepped on the gas pedal yet; a deafening commotion starts up in the car as everyone comes to terms with what just happened. Sweetie Belle’s crying has turned to screaming with tears flowing down her face.
>The SUV Derpy’s trapped inside of is the closest to the first of the approaching zombies. They surround the vehicle and pound on the glass; at least five of them.
>And over ten more run over from the opposite direction.
>After two hungry claw-like hands slam onto the glass on the driver’s window inches from April’s face, the officer feels no other choice but to slam on the gas.
>Everyone in the group jerks back form the acceleration, hearing the dreaded growling of the zombies falling behind them as the packed SUV speeds up.
>”Wasn’t she with you?” Bulk turns to Cadence.
>”No! I thought she was with you!” The dean replies in a breaking voice before the SUV jumps a little bit making the transition from grass to road.
>”Fucking god damn it!” April slams on the steering wheel. “Silver, can she drive away? Where did you leave the keys?”
>”Passenger seat!” Silver answers. “Either there or in the ignition!”
>The group is already too far ahead to make out whether or not the other SUV has started to pull out or anything. Bulk starts to climb over to one of the doors.
>”Let me out!” He begs. “I have to go back!”
>”Maybe she drove off!” Silver tries to convince him.
>”Can Derpy drive?” Cadence questions.
>”I’m not slowing down!” April warns. “I can’t because we all know damn well how fast they can run!” She can even see half a dozen zombies in the side view mirror in pursuit the speeding police SUV.
>Objects in mirror are closer than they appear.