Title:           Week4 - GreentextSavant
Author:          AlexanderGrey
Pastebin link:   http://pastebin.com/VNpGezq8
First Edit:      Friday 15th of April 2016 10:47:00 PM CDT
Last Edit:       Friday 15th of April 2016 10:47:00 PM CDT

>To see the town like this is nothing short of a living nightmare. Fluttershy is lucky she kept her eyes closed. She’s lucky she missed the countless other cars and trucks flipped over, scattered all over and around the road… some far out into the lawns and fields of tall grass.
>She’s lucky she missed the charred outer walls of some building from feeble attempts to stop the invasion. Lucky her eyes never found the hungry eyes of crowds of zombies outside in the surrounding lands, eyeing her and everyone else in the car down at they drive past.
>It really does take a lot to come to terms with the situation. Words are something unobtainable at the sight of the world that everyone used to know, burning and crumbling around them. All of the familiar places, friendly faces… destroyed by this horrible event that nobody of the past could ever possibly imagine.
>It’s scary how many years of happiness can disappear in a matter of hours filled with despair, violence and death. All that is left is pain and loneliness. Far too humbling for anyone in either fo the cars to come to terms with as Celestia and Bulk continue to drive off in to the distance, searching for the slightest shred of good hope. Which they cannot find.
>Not even a good spot to hide.
>Sunset is the first one in either of the cars to speak up, being the only one with a reason to say anything at all. A few minutes ago, Applejack has sent her another text, asking if everyone is doing alright. “I think Applejack is in a better situation than us.” Sunset brings up, occasionally taking glances at the screen. “We should stop looking for somewhere to hide and go where she is.”
>”But… didn’t you say it was too much trouble going there?” Cherry Crash recalls, keeping her eyes away from the window. “I remember you girls said that she was fending for herself, and that it was too late for us to team up with her or something.”
>”That was before we started driving places.” Sunset slams the phone back down to the seat, barely having much room to do so with everyone being cramped inside of the car. “When I said that it was too much trouble, I thought that we’d be on foot or something. I wish Rainbow Dash listened better, but she had the wrong idea. Applejack isn’t abandoning us! She didn’t have a choice!”
>”You know…” Pinkie brings up. “I find it kinda ironic that Rainbow Dash went on and on about how Applejack is a traitor and all that, and then soon goes onto leave us behind.” This is probably the first time she didn’t call the girl ‘Dashie’. “I mean… who does she think she is?”
>”Pinkie, it’s not like that!” Sunset tries to defend Rainbow.
>”THEN WHAT IS IT LIKE? HUH?” Pinkie Pie jerks forward in her seat with tears forming in her eyes. “She obviously left us for DEAD! She didn’t care! But she’s still quick to call it out when someone else does it.”
>”She’s a fucking hypocrite.” Norman provides his input followed by a nod from Cherry Crash.
>Sunset gulps, needing to be wise about choosing her next words. “F-fear… makes people do things. Okay? It’s not like any of us planned for any of this to happen.” She looks back to the phone just in case any new text messages came in, but the mobile phone service just went out.
>Pinkie Pie gives Sunset a combative stare before answering. “SO?” Her voice reeks with disbelief. “We’re ALL afraid! And she knew this! And she still CHOSE to leave us all behind! What the fuck kind of loyalty is that?”
>”I’m not saying that what she did was a good thing!” Argues Sunset with a rising tone. “We were in a desperate situation! Do or die! You can’t just expect everyone to be themselves in times like these!”
>”D-” Pinkie starts off, instantly stuttering into a silent mess as she realizes Sunset’s point. “I… you… th-” An answer refuses to come out of her mouth.
>Sunset clenches her fists once more, shutting her eyes and turning back to face forward, wishing that she wasn’t right. Wishing that Rainbow Dash could have been able to retain herself and stay the loyal girl she’s always known.
>Wishing that her friend was still out there somewhere, instead of someone who has been molded into nothing more than a stranger with a familiar name. Wishing that the same thing wasn’t happening to everyone else all the while.
>”But…” Pinkie’s voice is breaking up, her face contorting. “I-I…”
>”I’m afraid she has a point.” Luna backs Sunset up in her argument, turning to face the girls from the front seat. “You’re not yourself when you’re fighting for your life. It’s just… just something people…” The vice principal trails off, unable to finish her sentence without succumbing to the harsh reality of it.
>”It’s something people do.” Celestia finishes for her sister, gritting her teeth and clenching onto the steering wheel. “We can’t help it. Fear and pressure… it does things to us after a while…”
>Pinkie loses it instead of answering with words. Her deafening afflicted wailing is one of the most heartbreaking sounds one would ever hear from her. Her mouth, after spending so many years of smiling, twists into the most painful frown the girl has ever felt.
>All of her loved memories… tainted by this hellish day. Her happiness crushed by something as simple as human nature. Who knew that friendship could be thwarted from within this easily?
>The weeping from Pinkie Pie starts to become mixed with distressful screams. The girl’s mind just cannot accept what the friends she’s known and loved for so long have done. Both Rainbow Dash and Applejack.
>She truly, truly believed that they would be there every step of the way for her. And she was willing to do the same for them.
>That bond has just been broken, no matter how much Pinkie wants to deny it.
>Luna, along with everyone else, covers her ears in the wake of Pinkie’s carrying on. “Please… calm down.” The jittery vice principal can’t think of anything actually supportive to say. What the hell would even be supportive in this situation?
>It isn’t long before Luna’s own eyes start to accumulate tears of her own, feeling the same stinging misery that Pinkie is feeling. The same stinging misery that everyone here is feeling, one way or another.
>In a few seconds, Sunset does everyone’s ears a favor and reaches out to grab onto Pinkie Pie, who instinctively reaches back for a desperate embrace. Pinkie cries hard into Sunset’s shoulder… really hard. Her own tears eventually start dripping down from Sunset’s jacket onto the springy, bright pink heart on her shirt, darkening the spots they land on.
>No one in the car is able to speak, once again.
>As Bulk Biceps’s car continues to lead the way to… wherever, Fluttershy waits again and again for her phone to vibrate. Nothing happens.
>Part of her wishes that Rarity is there in the other car somehow, away from that school. But the other part of her knows that wishes don’t actually work. Fluttershy can’t even text anyone in the other car to confirm that Rarity is alright.
>She can only scout for heads as she looks out the back window as her phone continues to spit out the same message: No signal.
>In Celestia’s car, Sunset looks back down at her phone. If there are any new messages being sent by Applejack, there’s no way Sunset would be able to tell. She keeps her lips sealed, staring at the little message on her screen that clearly states: No signal.
>…
>On the other end, Applejack keeps pulling her phone out of her pocket whenever her family members don’t need her for anything. She opens up Sunset’s number, checking for any new messages providing an update of some sort.
>And she would have been a little bit more surprised at the fact that no responses have come in, if it weren’t for the message in the corner of the screen telling her: No signal.
>…
>Now making her way back to a nearby neighborhood, Rainbow Dash wields a large stick she found in the woods. It already drips with the scattered splatter of blood from a couple of preliminary opponents that Dash came across on her way over to places where streets and buildings await her.
>Now, with asphalt finally beneath her feet, Rainbow Dash stands sturdy as she prepares for the real challenge to defend herself. If she wants resources, she needs to be in the placed that used to have the higher populations before everyone’s smiles were taken away.
>She heads into the danger, quickly glancing at her phone for… well, any sign of the others making it out alive. The very thought of not being there to know still sickens the girl; but something else brings a more horrifying churn to her emptied stomach.
>A message in the corner of the screen, telling her: No signal.
>…
>Rarity, still scrunched into the tiny gym locker, turns the brightness of her phone’s screen as low as it can go. She covers it on the side of the porous locker door, and takes a look at the screen after silencing every single little thing on her phone.
>The zombies must not see or hear anything. The girl is first confused as to why her friends have not contacted her… until she sees a message on her screen bearing the words: No signal.
~
>Nothing will ever be the same.
>The town of Canterlot has faced the most destructive conflict its ever seen, far beyond anyone’s imagination. The disaster does not care who you are or what you’ve done… or who your loved ones are or what you care about. There is no such thing as entitlement during times like these.
>The end of the days of happiness has reigned down upon the town, just like the rest of the world. And no one was spared the suffering, with the exception of the individuals who chose to end their lives over living such unhappy ones for the days, weeks, months and possibly years to come.
>Like many others, the friendship of the mane six has felt the brunt of the apocalypse, unable to ignore the pressure being exerted on it.
>In the back seat of Principal Celestia’s car, Pinkie Pie stares out the window with the cold glass pressing against her cheek. Her eyes bloodshot, and her heart shattered into tiny pieces. She doesn’t even recognize the town she’s in anymore.
>It’s nothing but incinerated remains of the placed she used to love to go to. All of those days she’d skip down the sidewalks to Sugarcube Corner, when she’d happily kick her legs back and forth at the park while sitting on a bench, even getting up early in the morning to go see her friends at school… all of those moments are lost in the past.
>A quiet sigh briefly fogs up a small portion of the glass. Wherever it is Pinkie is now is a chilly, gloomy version of hell, home to familiar faces belonging to mysterious unknown wanderers. Not her friends.
>Whether they breathe or not, all of Pinkie Pie’s friends are dead to her. She turns her back to the world she sees and covers her face, trying to keep as many memories of the past within her spinning brain as she can while they’re at least still there.
>But the more she sees them, the more it hurts to compare them to the present.
>There’s no going back.
>With her phone in her hand, Sunset continuously makes attempts to reach both Applejack and Rainbow Dash. There needs to be something else said… something else to patch up this bitterness she still senses in everyone’s eyes. Something to provide the others with some closure and justification regarding both Applejack’s and Rainbow Dash’s actions.
>Just… something.
>There is still not the slightest hint of a signal, only reinforcing the sensation of hopelessness in not only Sunset’s, but everyone’s hearts. They may have escaped the school, but they are far from any form of freedom. They can just feel it.
>All they have besides each other in the car is the other car in front of them, leading the way. Another car in which there is no doubt that the feelings are mutual. That would have been a good feeling if the feelings themselves didn’t hurt so damn much.
>Cadence watches the car in front, wondering if they managed to actually strike up some sort of conversation. And right when she wonders this, she notices a yellow hand rise up from one of the seats and point in the direction of the next right turn. Almost as though it’s instructing the car behind.
>She blinks. “H-huh?” Soon breaking the eternity long silence and grabbing everyone’s attention. “What is she doing?”
>”I think she wants us to turn.” Confirms Luna.
>Sunset redirects her eyes from her phone and peers over at the car in front, shaking away the world of worry for her friends she’s been. “Can anyone text them? My phone isn’t getting a signal.” She gets a collection of shocked looks in response.
>”WHAT?” Norman blurts out. “You too?!” He looks back at his own phone with begging eyes.
>”Are you saying you’re not getting anything on your phone either?” Cadence shuffles around to pull her phone out of her pocket, her voice is instantly extremely worried.
>As her quivering hands struggle to hold the phone still, she finds the lack of a signal on her phone as well. The panic spreads like wildfire as everyone else makes this same discovery.
>Morale takes yet another nosedive.
>”Whatever, just follow them!” Cherry Crash points out the car in front already making the turn, which Celestia mirrors once she makes it to the same turn.
>Everyone tries to focus their thoughts on following Bulk’s car to an apparently planned destination. They’ll honestly take anything to drown out the realization of their phones officially being practically useless.
>In the other car, a conversation has indeed been initiated.
>”You promise Trixie that she doesn’t have to go back to that school?” Trixie feels the idea of being safe at the police station flooding confidence into her.
>Bulk watches Celestia’s car make the same turn he just made. “Well I don’t know what you’re going to do if the police station’s overrun.”
>”But it shouldn’t be! Rarity said so, right?” Trixie turns to Fluttershy and puts the girl in the spotlight.
>”I… I said that Rarity told me… that her sister was safe there…” Fluttershy tries to sound convincing enough for Trixie to back off. “It was only an hour ago… and it’s a police station!”
>Trixie wanted to hear precisely that. “Exactly! There’s no way we won’t be safe there!” She says it proudly enough to convince herself.
>Just at this moment, the street ahead bears a pack of about five or six of the zombies standing right in the middle of the path. What feels strange at first is how no one in either of the cars has seen any of them during the few minutes of driving through the normally more populated part of town — downtown.
>But seeing the zombies clustered in a group like this starts to make this make more sense. These people… well, former people… are traveling in packs. And it looks like they’re not randomly wandering around in the streets either.
>It would be hard to assume this right away if it weren’t for all of them facing each other as they stand there, as though conversing… and then beginning to simultaneously turn their heads towards the cars at they approach.
>These aren’t the same kinds of zombies from the movies.
>”Shit!” Bulk manages to blare out as he realizes that making this turn was a horrible mistake.
>Celestia notices Bulk’s car come to an abrupt stop right in front of her, almost crashing into the back bumper after slamming on the breaks herself. It isn’t until through the windows of Bulk’s car does she see the small troop of zombies menacingly heading in the direction of the cars.
>They aren’t running… carefully eyeing the grill of Bulk’s car as it slows to a screeching halt.
>Sunset staggers forward in her seat and catches a glimpse of the sight as well. Sandalwood does the same, and looks directly into their starving eyes. “RUN THEM OVER!” He shouts in an instant, pointing his finger with indescribable urgency.
>Bulk gladly slams his foot on the gas pedal, sending the car careening ahead at the pack of undead corpses. He can’t wait to see the front of his car run them through, tearing their feeble bodies apart from the momentum. Fluttershy squeals and covers her face in her hands as she’s jerked back into her seat.
>Soon speeding into the open road ahead, Bulk Bicep’s car does not hit a single thing. It flies past it’s targets which now stumble over eachother on the sides of the street.
>They ducked out of the way.
>Derpy notices them now beginning to look at the car from the back side. All it took from her was one scream for Bulk to realize what just happened… and the man slams on the gas a second time.
>It’s a good thing he did; the zombies are indeed running this time, hot on their trail.
>But the zombies’ pursuit is interrupted by the front bumper of Celestia’s car; it plows through the group and ends up pursuing Bulk’s car instead.
>”Gogogogogogogogo!” Sunset bounces around in her seat with heightening anxiety, falling back as the car speeds up.
>Needless to say, the zombies at least can’t measure up to the speed of a car. They’re (just) not fast enough.
>…
>After a bit of walking around, Rainbow Dash finally finds a reason to raise her bat over her head.
>There are about three of them about two blocks over, kneeling down on a house’s lawn and huddled together over something that Dash is certain is their latest victim. Rage builds up in her heart as she does a few hops in place and takes a few practice swings.
>The adrenaline builds up within Rainbow Dash as she makes her way over, knowing that if she wants to keep going in this direction, she needs to confront these former humans with as much energy as she can. She doesn’t want to go down the street where nothing waits for her.
>Because Applejack’s farm isn’t in that direction.
>With nothing more than caution in her mind, Rainbow dash creeps a little bit closer to the feasting zombies before her. The girl doesn’t make a sound, keeping an eye on her surroundings, lest she be seen by another one of… those.
>Only the wind is there to cover her ever-so-soft footfalls… and Rainbow Dash stalks the zombies after taking refuge behind a hedge. She stares through the leaves while feeling the ground for anything that makes enough sound when thrown far enough.
>She keeps a tight hold onto her bat as she does this. The bat, while actually just being a large blunt stick she found in the woods, has been smoothened on one slightly thinner end for Dash to maintain a sturdy grip on. She knows that it was a lot easier to use one o the bats from the gym, but she hadn’t taken hers with her.
>Fear makes people panic. Panic makes people forget.
>Rainbow Dash’s bat is largely just a bat in name. It’s more of a club, but Dash still wants to imagine it as a bat.
>After a little bit more rummaging around in the gravel, a small rock will have to do — Dash picks it up, not wasting a second. Her hype won’t last forever, she better use it while she has it.
>There’s no need to try and hit the car that’s across the street, still somehow, by some miracle, sitting in a driveway. Though, it starts to make more sense when Rainbow Dash spots the blood coating the inside of the windows of the house the which the driveway leads.
>The poor suckers must have never made it out.
>Rock in hand, but not for long, Dash sets her sights on the side of the car. The rock is flung out of the crouched girl’s hand, and is sent soaring through the air in the direction of the car. Rainbow Dash ducks down as though she just tossed a grenade.
>The sound of the rock colliding with the asphalt echoes throughout the suburban blocks. It was loud enough to provoke the three zombies to jolt their heads up in response, hungrily scanning the landscape for the source of the sound.
>One of them even stands up, leaving the other two to guard the half eaten meal.
>Rainbow Dash gets a better look at the victim, which barely remains identifiable as a human being any more. They were clearly working at this thing for a while.
>But Dash only catches a brief glimpse as time to dwell on the corpse slips away in an instant; the zombie on her feet creeps directly in the direction of Rainbow Dash. She doesn’t appear to know that the girl is there, simple sniffing the air and cautiously eyeing the hedge from one end to the other.
>Thinking ahead of time, Dash silently picks up another rock and waits for the zombie to turn around. Once this finally happens, she tosses the second rock in the exact same direction, which is now further away from where the zombie vehemently stands its ground.
>While having been meant to hit the car, it still misses.
>The sound not only drives the closer zombie into a fit of eager pursuit, but one of the other two stands up to join her. They’re all facing away from Rainbow Dash, giving a green light for a third rock to be thrown.
>Only a smaller rock is left, but it’s still presumably enough to make noise. A still unnoticed Rainbow Dash stands up entirely this time, and chucks the rock with more precision while the zombies still face away from her. This pays off, resulting in the rock smashing right into the windshield of the car.
>In a half of a second, the alarm blares into the open air. Absolutely perfect.
>The third zombie now gets up, but appears to be indifferent regarding whether or not he wants to go over to the car with an unfinished meal still right there in front of him. The other two start banging on the car’s windows while the third zombie succumbs to… some sort of instinct… and goes back to keeping the rest of the previous feast all to himself. This is where Rainbow Dash comes in, seizing the opportunity.
>Still at the car’s windows, the first two zombies make progress in breaking the glass. Rainbow Dash creeps over with her makeshift bat raised, wanting the still kneeling zombie to see her only when it’s too late.
>But as she approaches the location of the noises and action, an unmistakable gunshot rings from the car… catching both parties outside of it by surprise.
>The feasting zombie perks its head up, and Rainbow Dash makes a dive for it. She lunges at the zombie and swings with all of her might in one motion, waning nothing less than to make this first hit count. It really needs to.
>A satisfying crack ravages the side of the zombie’s head. It’s damn loud, and convincing in a way that brings Rainbow Dash confidence that the first hit did indeed count. It’s too bad she can’t celebrate.
>She only has about two seconds to move on from the first zombie she reached; the other two, now on either side of the car, direct their attention towards the approaching warrior.
>With this, Rainbow Dash charges, not even looking back to see if the one she hit did so much as go down. Drawing her arms back for another swing as she draws close, she prays that these last two are the only ones she needs to worry about.
>The zombie on her side of the car snarls her teeth and reaches out her hand towards Rainbow Dash. A second swing is taken, as precisely as possible. This time, the jagged bat clips the front of the zombie’s face, reaching mainly the teeth.
>A pair of hands from behind grab Dash, prompting her to immediately spin around and take a third swing. She’s basically wildly thrashing the club/bat around at this time out of rushed desperation.
>Why didn’t the first one go down?
>Desperation quickly rises within Dash as she quickly realizes that she made the mistake of believing she could take on three of these things at once. It was nothing but one-on-one situations in the woods.
>With a kick to the chest, the first zombie is sent stumbling back before Rainbow Dash turns back around and swings just in time to swipe an advancing hand out of the way. This zombie was on the other side of the car, and now stands on the front hood.
>Right next to the hood, Rainbow Dash catches the short-lived image of a splatter of blood inside of the car… that she doesn’t remember being there before.
>The girl had no idea that someone… was… hiding in there.
>It’s no surprise that Rainbow Dash is forced to retreat, seeing that taking these things down is going to take more than just a pseudo-bat to the head.
>Being the natural runner she is, the girl bolts away from the scene. But not giving up on her greater goal, she chooses the direction of Applejack’s farm, now leading some company along the way. Dash doesn’t look back, solely focusing on her needlessly desperately escape that could have been avoided altogether.
>Rainbow Dash’s hair is flung all the way back as she sprints. Her rapid footsteps are hastily followed by three sets of others.
>She makes a charge towards one of the fences of a house’s yard, hoping that she can be able to lose at least one of them over the fence itself. She knows she’s going to run out of steam at any second, having learnt how long she can maintain a full-on sprint.
>After slinging the bat over the fence, a quick leap sends Dash halfway up the side of the obstacle with her hands just grappling onto the top ends of the wooden planks, leaving her to make a climb to the top in order to get all the way over. Just as she does this, a pair of hands is felt at her ankle in a matter of seconds; nowhere near enough time to get all the way over.
>Dash kicks instinctively, batting the incoming teeth away with the sole of her shoe. By some miracle, the other two zombies didn’t even make it to the fence yet. One of them even further behind with a noticeable clumsy limp in its walk. It’s the one Rainbow Dash clubbed in the head.
>The feeling of the grass hitting Rainbow Dash’s body as she lands on it couldn’t be more welcoming. But it doesn’t last long as a pair of heads appears at the top of the fence… followed by tensed arms and legs.
>The girl scrambles around on the surface of the grass and re-obtains her weapon as one of the zombies dangles from the edge of the fence. He falls down right before meeting a thick cylinder of wood to the side of his skull… the wood snapping in two from the impact.
>Rainbow Dash notices this, and automatically thinks to perceive her weapon as a newfound spear. She rams it into the zombie’s eye before her can stand up, leaning into the stab with her own bodyweight.
>She feels… something… give way, and the wood sinks in further. It can’t be pulled out, no matter how hard Dash tries after the hands grabbing at her lose the effort in their attempts.
>It’s a good thing he first zombie over the fence falls over, since the next one, the undead lady, catches Dash by surprise and tackles her to the ground.
>She would have bitten into Dash already if it weren’t for the girl gripping her by the throat and holding her mouth back. On the other side of the fence, the last zombie struggles to jump over, somewhat disoriented and crashing into the wooden surface.
>Rainbow Dash wrestles the zombie trying to bit her as the one she impaled slowly tries to stand up.
>She automatically thinks about the lady’s teeth, what with it being hard not to with the constant biting motions directly at the girl’s face. Balling up one fist and keeping the other hand stationed at the zombie’s neck for dear life, Rainbow Dash draws her arm back after rolling on top.
>Punching something never felt so good. Dash takes all of her feelings and channels them into her fist as her left hand keeps the face in front of her steady. And she aims for nowhere else but the teeth, with intention to take this zombie’s ability to bite away.
>Blow after blow is struck, with every ounce of Rainbow Dash’s strength behind it. They are briefly interrupted by the first zombie over the fence managing to grab onto Dash’s unguarded ankle. He leans in to bite, but only meets Dash’s other shoe hammering into the jutting wood further into her eye socket like a nail.
>Something fatal in the skull was reached after the third or fourth kick; the now completely dead man doubles over, motionless in the grass. The cost for this was a series of nearly toothless bites into Dash’s forearm.
>But the blood that drips all over the skin does not belong to Rainbow Dash.
>The previous routine of zombie dentistry resumes… for the sake of whatever teeth remain. Rainbow Dash doesn’t realize how lucky she is until she sees failure after failure for the zombie still trying to make it over he fence.
>After another minute or so, the toothless zombie grabs at Rainbow Dash with ten intentionally broken fingers. The girl she now cannot do anything to hope to eat has thought of everything. Dash, extremely sickened by having to do what she just did, takes a step back to look away.
>She never knew how much force it would take to overpower those small bones… but she needed to find out for her own survival out here.
>After having to bat away at the now harmless bites at her neck every few seconds for the next minute, Rainbow Dash pushes the lady to the ground in a spurt of rage.
>The last zombie that poses any thread to Dash has disappeared from right behind the fence, having been unable to get over. Dash knows that she needs to find a better weapon than a simple stick — and her memory immediately tracks back to that gunshot she heard.
>It takes a full five minutes of checking the surroundings until Dash can confirm that it’s relatively safe enough to return to that car. The windshield blocks visibility from the front with the collage of scattered cracks, but Rainbow Dash uses it as the easiest way to enter. One kick to the damaged glass and she’s in.
>The man who (was) fearing for their life in here lies on the bottom of the musty floor, appearing to even be covered in a thin layer of dust. Aside the blood, of course. Holding her breath and not even trying to think about the blood, Dash reaches down for the gun in the young man’s right hand, and pulls it away from his loose grip.
>The clip falls out, empty.
>It’s no wonder why a man would point the barrel towards his own head instead of the two zombies outside of his car when he only has one bullet left.
>Dash drops the useless gun onto the man’s back and escapes the car so she can breathe again. She’s back on her now more cautious journey to Applejack’s house in less than a minute.
>…
>The hallways are quiet in the police station. But that doesn’t mean that nobody is there.
>Many officers of the law constantly look back out the windows with stern, concerned expressions. Never before have they faced a situation so dire. They carefully guard and patrol the silent hallways, stepping as lightly as they can to keep the halls silent.
>If anything makes it in, they need to be able to hear it and respond as immediately as possible.
>The main reason for the quick defense is the growing group of people they need to protect in the station’s small gym. Everyone has to huddle up in the one room, as nowhere else had enough space to comfortably fit over thirty people.
>And in the room, along with a few more young kids and teenagers, are Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. The two speak amongst eachother as their worry for their friends and family grows.
>The look on Sweetie Belle’s face becomes more and more impatient. “I swear she just texted me like a half an hour ago.” She fiddles with the wifi connection on her phone with her sister’s number on her screen.
>”Maybe we need to go higher up.” Scootaloo stares at the ceiling.
>”No, it’s not that. I just made sure my phone’s connection is good and everything. She’s not responding to anything!” Sweetie Belle sends the fifth desperate text message in about ten minutes. “If she’s not headed over here right now… I… I’m gonna scream.”
>”Please don’t.”
>As though the timing were from right out of a movie, one of the cops from outside in the halls steps through the door into the room. “Get ready, folks! We got some more coming in. Make some room.”
>”Maybe she’s in this group!” Scootaloo attempts to reassure Sweetie Belle.
>The police officers watch a pair of cars approach the station from down the street, one behind the other.
>”Alright, check for bites and bring ‘em in!” An officer signals for the two parties to carefully exit their vehicles. He and a couple of other armed officers watch them closely.
>Luna and Cadence lock shaking arms with Bulk right behind them. Sunset, trying to think every positive thought she can, lets Pinkie Pie remain leaning onto her shoulder during the walk inside. Pinkie’s hair is completely deflated and flattened, just like her hopes for things going back to the way they were before.
>With shivers running all over her body, Principal Celestia leads the way at the front of the group. Each of the cars empty out after parking in the middle of the crowded parking lot. All of the other cars are extremely disorderly placed, just haphazardly stopped over the lines and onto the grass from one end of the asphalt to the other. It was nearly a miracle to drive in, and it will take even more than a miracle to get any more cars into here with two more taking up the last sliver of space.
>It only takes a few minutes for Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo to start recognizing faces. It’s the most reassuring thing in the world to them after starting to lose hope that anyone else had survived this day. Luna is the first to recognize the two, and herds everyone in the group over to their direction.
>”Where’s Rarity?” Sweetie Belle can only get the same question out of her mouth with each few seconds. “Where is she?”
>Norman looks around the group upon hearing Rarity’s name, as does Fluttershy. Both of them had believed that the girl had just been in the other car or something before, but soon learn that this wasn’t the case.
>Sweetie Belle locks her fingers together, replacing her relief from seeing some familiar faces with the absence of a specific one. She looks over the group again and again in a matter of seconds, just in case she didn’t see her sister. But Rarity is still nowhere to be seen.
>”Hey…” Celestia holds her phone up to her face. “Do we have wifi here?”
>The officer who helped the group into the building approaches her, having overheard her comment. “Yeah. Long story short, it took a little bit of manually getting the station’s IP address connected to a new satellite. With some help from the FBI.” He gestures with a cock of his head in the direction of two techie-looking guys in front of a computer in another room. One is dressed in a blue T-shirt with glasses while the other in a dress shirt with suspenders.
>The didn’t even notice everyone who just swarmed in, keeping their eyes glued to whatever it is they are doing on the computer screen.
>Celestia widens her eyes in amazement, tilting to the side the get a better look at the two heroes. “…Wow… can you tell them I said thank you?” She nods her head a little bit.
>”Where’s my sister?!” Sweetie Belle groans with her pupils dilating in worry. “I know she’s alive! I’ve been texting her all day!”
>No one who hears her can think of an answer that she’d want to hear. They remember Rarity mentioning that Sweetie Belle had texted her stating that she’s safe at the police station; it’s how they knew to come here in the first place.
>When they tell the poor girl that her sister did not make it out like (most of) everybody else, they still can’t verify whether or not she is still alive or dead. The need for preventing even more despair seems crucial at this point; everyone’s already having a hard time keeping their moods up.
>As the rest fo the group doesn’t answer, everyone else in the makeshift waiting room turns their attention the Sweetie Belle. The longer she doesn’t receive an answer from the group, the more concerned and heartbroken noises come from the rest of the crowd.
>They know, having seen this story take place before them over and over again with each new arrival. The unacceptable loss of a loved one.
>A lot of them, including everyone from the group that just arrived, turn away as Sunset walks up to Sweetie Belle and delivers the news. The ones who keep watching notice Sunset place her and over her heart multiple times to express sincerity. Sweetie Belle inevitably tears up, and Sunset changed the direction of the topic as this happens.
>At first, she was trying to get it through to Sweetie Belle that it just can’t be determined where Rarity is or what she’s doing. She explained that she most likely doesn’t have mobile phone connection and that the girl is probably too occupied with running for her life to text.
>But now that Sweetie’s eyes are beginning to well up, Sunset starts to make… suggestions… regarding going back over to the school and finding Rarity. The entire premise on its own sounds like nothing short of a long shot, at least to Sunset.
>”You gotta! She has to still be alive out there!” Rarity’s sister falls to her knees in a desperate begging mess. “These cops will protect us! They have guns! We can easily go get her!” Scootaloo tears up and turns away as an officer hears what Sweetie Belle just said and strides over.
>The officer sits down next to Sweetie Belle and Sunset on the marble floor. His light tangerine skin still has a drop of blood from an earlier episode on it… he quickly wipes it off so the girl doesn’t see.
>He takes a sorrowful gaze back at the gym filled with defenseless civilians. There must be over forty of them now. “Miss…” The officer takes a deep exhale and then briefly glances over to his exhausted but alert partners. “I’m afraid that… my squadron has to stay here. It’s our job to protect all of the citizens that come here from all over town.”
 
>The pain in pushing these words out can be felt in his tone; he didn’t want to have to say this.
>But he continues. “I…. I wish there was something we could do. But, we need to protect this place. It’s the only known safe zone left in town.”
>His words collide with Sweetie’s heart like a rock. The girl winces in discouragement. “W-what? NO! You gotta save her! She’s still out there somewhere!” Her voice begins to crack, prompting another officer to walk in their direction.
>”But remember, there’s still the national guard.” The first officer continues, trying to keep the hopelessness from invading the girl’s thoughts. “I can give them a call right now and tell them to go wherever they need to go t-” He’s interrupted by his comrade.
>”Silver?” He addresses the other officer by his name, having been listening to the entire conversation. “Will you be needing me stationed somewhere any time before six?”
>Officer Silver slowly rises to his feet, already aware of his deputy’s intentions. He’s divided on what his answer should be to this, not wanting to jeopardize the safety of the other citizens in the gym across the hall. “There’s no telling if I’ll need you between now and six. Those… people… almost got in twice already. We have to stay on our toes!” He looks at the other officer with hesitant eyes. “Mocha’s squadron isn’t enough to keep this place secured. We need to be here. I’m so sorry, I wish there was something we could do… but…” He looks back down at the crying girl.
>Sweetie’s eyes are now shut with tears still rolling out. She’s visibly shaking.
>Officer Silver has trouble choosing his next words. “Lives are at stake, here.”
>”I volunteer.” A much younger officer, likely a rookie, steps in with his hand raised. He overheard as well.
>Officer Silver and his deputy chance a glance over to him. “Moss! Didn’t you just hear me?” Officer Silver gestures to the dozens of civilians in the gym. “We. Literally. Can’t!”
>The rookie keeps his hand in the air with a stern expression locked onto his face. “I can go alone.” His ambitious words shock his superior.
>”This is not up for discussion!” Officer Silver berates him. “We cannot afford to do this.”
>Sunset covers Sweetie Belle’s ears. “One of us brought a gun with us.” She reveals, looking over at Luna.
>The officers can barely notices the handle poking out from the Vice Principal’s back pocket.
>”We could get my gym teacher to fill in for you while you’re out. I think he used to be a cop.” Sunset continues, watching Officer Moss stressfully grab the sides of his head and Officer Silver immediately go to Luna to address her about her firearm.
>Sweetie belle keeps checking her phone for a new text from Rarity.
>Vice Principal Luna was not at all reluctant to give up her firearm, given that it likely wasn’t even hers in the first place.
>As she hands it over to Officer Silver, it’s as though it has been burning a hole into her hand this whole time. The officer takes possession of the weapon, makes sure the safety is on, and examines the grooves and designs engraved into the metal surface.
>The crystal Prep emblem catches his eye first, and he asks Luna where the gun is from, and who the owner is. Luna replies with a shake of her head, indicating that the owner of the firearm has not made it to the station.
>”Alright, listen. Who is it you’re missing?” Officer Moss tries to get Sweetie to stop crying.
>A few seconds of sniffling pass before Sweetie Belle forces her eyes back open and looks up to the officer. “M-my sister…” She squeaks. “She’s at Canterlot High. That’s the high school on the west side of town.”
>Officer Moss nods his head as he listens intently to the girl speak. Just the sight alone of seeing the man nodding his head uplifts Sweetie Belle’s spirit, putting thoughts of him going to save Rarity in her head.
>”Her name’s Rarity.” She adds.
>The officer stands up and fixes his belt. “Alright, here’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to go get one of my fellow officers and tell her about what happened, and that someone on the other side of town needs to be save. She has a squad car that can get us there. And I’ll be riding with you… and we’ll protect you AND your sister.”
>Now back from talking to Luna, Officer Silver overhears the far fetched plans and gives his deputy a glance of disapproval. But after seeing those pleading eyes of a girl who wants to see her sister alive, Officer Moss won’t back down so easily.
>”It’s just me… and Officer Snow that will be gone. and for like… thirty minutes!” He tries to convince Officer Silver, who still wisely wears the same look of disapproval.