4.00 PM
I can't believe I'm finally here.
With all that I've imagined, the reality of this night is sure to make this the best night ever!
At the Gala!
(At the Gala)
At the Gala
I have changed them
all their fervour deep inside
I have warped them -
All the critters at the Gala
(At the Gala)
All their loving
will be fearing
as they run from Fluttershy
She will lead them in a stampede
right into the Gala
(All my plans will come true right here at the Gala)
(At the Gala)
~
At the Gala
(Stupid ponies)
She will sell them
(Stupid apples)
All her appletastic treats
(sounds so scummy)
But my buffet
(Big selection)
Is much larger
(All inclusive)
And has much more things to eat
(Eat a ton)
And she'll never make a centime
selling all her pastries
(All I want, Pinkie dead, is that too much to ask for?)
(All I'm hoping, wishing for might happen at the Gala)
(At the Gala)
~
At the Gala
My fake nephew
He will meet fair Rarity
He will take her for a ride here at the Gala
(At the Gala)
He will knock her
off her platform
little egotistic queen
She will throw a lot of tantrums
tonight at the Gala
(This is what I'm looking for - a plan that comes together)
(I will shatter all their dreams)
(Tonight at the Gala)
(At the Gala)
~
[Fanfare Refrain]
~
Been payin', I've been bribin'
just to tick off this Pony
Dear Rainbow Dash take no offence
But your clouds are in your sense
The Wonderbolt's processions?
They just aren't your possessions!
The Wonderbolts will shun you
right here at the Gala
(I don't want to seem so vile but it's my alma mater)
(Sacrifices must be made right here at the Grand Gala)
(At the Gala)
~
And the target of this Gala
is the pony running free
Free of conscious inner knowledge
of her powers over me
And I want to kill her slowly with a blunt ice pick, but see
Her defences
are too senseless
for me
at the Grand Gala
(Accidental slaughter at the Gala)
(At the Gala)
~
At the Gala
With my pupil
is where I'm going to be
We'll be watching all the peons as they mill about their dreams
I will keep her well protected
as chaos grows finally
(This will be the best night ever)
~
(Into the Gala, come on in)
(The pawns are placed, the match begins)
(Into the Gala we will see just who will come off better)
(Into the Gala, now's the time)
(We're all set up, just cross the line)
(Into the Gala)
Meet new friends
(Into the Gala)
Sell some apples
(Into the Gala)
Find your prince
(This is crap)
It's a bunch of nonsense
I can't
believe
I have
Achieved
all that
I need
Into the Gala
Into the Gala
And I'll have your head for supper
At the Gala!
~
I don't know what came over me, but sometimes you just have to sing.
5.00 PM
Ponies are starting to trickle in slowly.
Tonight is my night.
But yet, I'm conflicted.
Yes, I know I had the whole plan.
Yes, I know I had the song.
But still.
I'm conflicted.
It has been a rollercoaster of emotion over the past 2 weeks. Thoughts and feelings clashing, and I will have to be truthful and honest and just simply admit that I might be having some misgivings about this entire plan.
Twilight protected by my side. That's the idea.
But I feel bad. I feel wrong. Guilty, even, to take advantage of all those others just to strike at a target.
A target whom, as much as she invades my privacy and hurts to think about...
Well.
Let's just say that there is a slight feeling that I might be mistaken.
Could I possibly have been wrong for over 20 years?
And what possibly could cause such a thing?
I would think, but I'm required in the hall in an hour, and I must prepare to receive guests and my dear Twilight Sparkle.
8.20 PM
I'm not sure what wavered over me just then.
Spending three hours in the main hall just standing there gives you time to think and muse. It's a case where you're forced into thought for lack of better things to do.
I cast my mind over everything. From the day Twilight went to Ponyville, until that moment in time. Almost like a video in my head. I could see everything, hear and remember everything. Every last piece of the puzzle that originated from just one mere thought. A solution to a problem. That's what this entire thing has been about.
A solution to a problem.
What was the problem anyway?
When the last of the guests had finally paid their respects and we could finally leave, I had little time with Twilight before we headed for the main ballroom where everyone had gathered.
The sight before my eyes was exactly as I'd hoped.
Exactly.
But I didn't want it.
I didn't wish it.
It wasn't what I wanted any longer.
The entire hall had crashed around us, and the ballroom lay in ruin. Pandemonium erupted as Ponies became confused and frightened, which only served to heighten the devastation and injuries.
The scene laid out before me was all that I pictured happening. But when I saw it for myself, something else took over.
Run.
That was the only word I gave.
Twilight, take your friends. Take Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and yes, even Pinkamina and leave. Leave at once, before any of you get hurt and I will spend the rest of my life regretting it.
Run.
The noise and terror has quietened down a little since then. The crashes are no longer less than half a minute apart, and I can hear the ambulances on their way.
10.15 PM
I caught up with Twilight at Pony Joe's, a place where I used to bring Twilight when she was younger. The place always held fond memories for me and her.
I somehow knew that she'd end up there.
All six of them, and Spike, hanging around a table, having donuts, just like normal friends do at a normal situation, with their torn clothing and dishevelled hair.
Despite what happened tonight, I was happy. Genuinely happy.
Happy for how it turned out, and happy that all of them were safe.
I was glad enough that I just told them straight; that although the night hadn't gone the way I planned, it ended up in a good way after all.
We talked for a while, and things went pleasantly well.
And now I'm back at home, the beautiful end to a beautiful day.
But yet, this feeling still refuses to leave.
All the questions that tonight has brought just throws everything into a larger mess.
Why did I feel happy? Why did I change my mind?
At the last moment, I couldn't go through with the plan. Did I waver?
The final scene is replaying in my mind over and over and over.
Run.
Protect yourselves.
I do not want you to get hurt.
I don't... want to hurt you.
I never did.
It's all just an accident. A big accident.
An...
accident?
I remember!
Oh no... I remember. I... think I do. It's fuzzy, as if behind a curtain of mist and shrouds, but there is something there.
My head feels dizzy, and I can't see straight.
The world is collapsing around me. I remember feeling this way a thousand years ago.
I remember.
I remember someone there a long time ago. Not a child, but an adult. A lady clad in pink, with straight, long hair. A cheerful lady, always smiling and encouraging, and who always saw the hope in everything, no matter how gloomy the situation.
I can't recall her name.
I remember being there in the field with Luna, and this Pony, she came along as well. She was fun-loving but serious when need be, and smart to boot. She was there during the deliberations and she was there in the field with us.
And she... she was the one who argued.
She did.
Not Luna.
Not Luna?
Then what happened?
I remember her arguing with me. I remember her yelling. Then I was yelling, and then Luna was yelling.
Suddenly, a bright flash of heat welled up in my body, clouded my senses and took over my faculty. I felt the warmth flow upward through my head and into my horn.
Then there was a flash. A flash so bright that even I had to close my eyes. I had no idea what happened.
But when I opened my eyes, they were gone. Both of them.
And as the nature of magic, the truth trickled in slowly like honey through a siphon. They both had been sent away. For the Pony clad in pink, with her waterfall hair and wide smile, she would never return. Luna was lucky. She would spend a thousand years imprisoned in the moon and then be released.
Lucky.
I... remember being in shock...
I don't remember how I got back.
I don't remember what happened next.
I only remember the action of doing, not the reasons behind.
I remember being in bed for a long time. Was it a week? A month? I don't know. Time lost meaning and life lost flavour. I was dying for what I had done. An incredible heartwreck.
I can feel it now. This tightening of the chest. This dizziness. Not a thousand years made any cure, and time did not heal these wounds.
They were buried underground, and only recently did Luna hand me a shovel.
I was wracked with guilt. I can say this freely now. I feel guilty still. The next thing I knew I had blamed the humans for Luna's imprisonment and I waged war.
I must have forgotten all this... ever since.
Maybe my mind made things up to protect me.
But I do not feel worthy of protection.
I have committed the atrocious.
And in the last 20 years?
I do not know.
Maybe I was drawn to Ponyville for whatever reason. Maybe it was just fate being cruel and unkind that brought a pony so similar to that other pink Pony that I once knew to this place.
Maybe it was just me feeling this discomfort and just maybe it manifested itself in ways which led to my control by my emotions.
Maybe I was just lashing out against an innocent and gifted Pony from Ponyville because I simply did not want to go through the feeling of betrayal and pain again.
Maybe...
I was wrong.
I'll go talk to Luna now. I think it's best.