//------------------------------// // Chapter 4: Helping Twilight Get the Crown // Story: A Sparkle's Little Dusk II: The Shining Path // by Mister E-Nonymous //------------------------------// Chapter 4: Helping Twilight Get the Crown Rainbow Dash and Dusk went down the hallways, also avoiding sight of Sunset, Snips and Snails. They basically made it to one room where they heard the voices of Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rarity. "Maybe she's the reason Rainbow Dash didn't show up for my bake sale!" "Didn't you ever ask Rainbow Dash why she didn't show up?" Rainbow Dash then walked into the classroom with Dusk just before Applejack answered. The girls looked over and saw Rainbow and Dusk coming in. "I was thinking about that," Rainbow Dash said. "Rainbow Dash?!" asked Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. Twilight was about to say it, too, but she remembered and covered her mouth. "This little guy said that he was taken to Sunset Shimmer's apartment," said Rainbow Dash, putting a hand on Dusk's shoulder. "When I gave him a ride here, he asked who told me that the bake sale date got moved." "You were told that the day of the bake sale got moved?" Applejack asked. "That actually makes sense." "It even makes more sense since it was Sunset Shimmer who told me and my team," said Rainbow Dash. "I can't believe I believed her lies." Twilight walked up to Dusk, took a knee, and hugged Dusk. Twilight then said, "I was so worried, Dusk." "So, you're the girl who's wanting to go up against Sunset Shimmer for Fall Formal Princess, eh?" Rainbow asked Twilight. "Gotta say, I'd really love to see that happen. I'll totally help you out!" "Really?" Twilight asked. "Of course," said Rainbow Dash, before pulling out a soccer ball and keeping it up in the air. "All you gotta do is beat me in a game of one-on-one." "Uh... what?" Twilight asked. Twilight, Dusk and the human version of Twilight's friends went to the soccer field, Rainbow Dash was kicking some soccer balls into a goal. Dusk leaned towards Twilight. "Soccer isn't that hard," whispered Dusk. "All you have to do is kick the ball into the goal to score. You can't touch the ball with your hands unless you're a goalie. And in a one-on-one game, there is no goalie. Usually, it goes by the most points. But, I guess in a one-on-one, it depends on how many points you have to get." "Got it," Twilight said. She then walked out towards the middle of the field. "Alright, Twilight," Rainbow said, balancing the ball on her head. "First one to five points wins." She then let it fall in front of her, and then she kicked it towards the goal behind her, leaving a fire trail. "One-zip!" Twilight went through the one-on-one game, but she lost without gaining a single point. Twilight was laying on the ground, gasping aloud to get her breath back. Dusk and the girls surrounded Twilight to see if she was alright. Rainbow then said, "That's game!" "I... really thought you were gonna... pull it off there in the end!" Rarity said, before getting a nervous laugh. Rainbow Dash leaned down and asked, "So what's the plan? How can I help you be princess instead of Sunset Shimmer?" "But... I... lost!" Twilight said, gasping. "Of course you lost," said Rainbow Dash. "I'm awesome! But I'm not gonna help just anybody try and beat Sunset Shimmer. The Fall Formal Princess should be someone with heart and determination. You've proved that you've got 'em both!" Rainbow Dash playfully punched Twilight's right arm, who was really inspired by Rainbow's words. The girls cheered for Twilight. But what they didn't know was that the group was being watched, by Sunset, Snips and Snails. Snips and Snails took some pictures of Twilight when she was playing soccer. But Sunset was a little upset that Dusk got out of her apartment. "How did that little squirt get out of my apartment?" Sunset asked. "Never mind." She then looked down at Snips and Snails and said, "Get those photos ready." Snips and Snails nodded, then the three of them headed off somewhere. Twilight, Dusk and the human version of Twilight's friends all came up with a plan to win Fall Formal Princess. The girls performed in the cafeteria, making all of the students there wanting to vote for Twilight. While the girls were performing, Dusk was walking down the halls being supervised by Cheerilee. "Now, I know that your sister is getting a lot of votes in the Fall Formal Princess, but it's gonna be decided for tonight," said Cheerilee. "Now, we should work on math." "Okay," said Dusk. Just then, something caught his ears. He then looked up and asked, "Did you hear something?" Cheerilee heard something too. Then the two of them headed for the gym, and slowly cracked it open. They saw Snips and Snails trashing the place. "I wonder why Sunset asked us to trash the gym," Snails wondered. Cheerilee then got out her cell phone and recorded what was happening. "Just do it," said Snips. "Like Sunset said, we have to trash this place enough, and blame it on Twilight so Sunset will get the crown." "Alright," said Snails. "Boy, there is no way that Sunset's not going to get the crown if Twilight is disqualified." Cheerilee then stopped recording what was happening, and then she and Dusk headed towards the principal's office to show Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna about what has happened to the gym. As soon as Twilight found out that the dance was postponed, she had to think to herself. They eventually went to that world's version of Carousel Boutique. Twilight ran into a dressing room with Spike peeking his head out of Twilight's backpack. Dusk waited outside, but was pulled in by Twilight. Rarity came towards that dressing room and asked, "Everything okay in there?" "Yes!" Twilight called out. She then said to herself. "Only it's not okay. It's not okay at all! If I don't get my crown tonight, we won't be able to go back to Equestria for another thirty moons! Oh, what are we gonna do?" Spike and Dusk looked at each other, and then Spike said, "Hmm. We tell them the truth.Let them know what's really at stake if you don't get the crown tonight. They'll help us figure somethin' out." "But what if they won't?" Twilight asked. She then looked at herself in the mirror with Dusk behind her reflection. She then imagined that hers and Dusk's reflections were of them in their pony forms. "What if when they find out how different we really are...?" "Twilight, these girls rallied around you 'cause they saw what was in your heart," Spike said, putting a paw on Twilight's leg. "They aren't gonna feel any differently about you when they find out you're a pony princess in Equestria." "Spike's right," said Dusk. "I used to be a human before I went to Equestria, and if I might have met someone who was actually a pony on Earth before I went, I'd thought that person would have been crazy. But, they would need proof that they're from another world." "Like a talking dog that can be his or her witness?" Twilight asked, looking towards Spike. "Exactly," said Dusk and Spike in unison. Then they looked at each other, and said in unison, "Jinx." Twilight smiled at Spike and Dusk and said, "I'm glad you two followed me here." "Us too," said Spike. "Unless, of course, we get stuck here for another thirty moons." Twilight, Spike and Dusk then stepped out of the dressing room with the other five girls watching them. They were concerned about Twilight. Applejack then asked, "You okay?" "The Fall Formal isn't happening tonight," Twilight explained. "WHAT!?" Pinkie Pie shouted. "It had to be postponed because Sunset Shimmer had Snips and Snails ruin all of Pinkie Pie's decorations," Twilight continued explaining. "WHAT?!?" Pinkie shouted again. "But the Fall Formal has to happen tonight," Twilight demanded. "Wha...!" Pinkie was about to shout until Applejack covered her mouth with her hand, giving her a deadpanned look. Twilight sighed and said, "You see..." "You're from an alternate world and you're a pony princess there and the crown actually has a magical element embedded in it that helps power up other magical elements, and without it, they don't work anymore, and you need them to help protect your magical world, and if you don't get the crown tonight, you'll be stuck in this world and you won't be able to get back for, like, a really, really long time!" Pinkie said in one entire breath before squeeing. That made Twilight, Dusk and Spike go jaw dropped and the sound of a mule came in. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure that isn't the reason," Rainbow Dash said, deadpanned. "Nope, she's pretty much spot-on," Spike said, officially talking to the other girls for the first time. "He can talk!?" Rarity shouted, surprised by the talking dog. "Oh, yeah!" Spike said. "And back where I come from, I'm not even a dog! I'm a ferocious, fire-breathing dragon!" Pinkie Pie and Rarity were freaked out a bit by Spike talking. But Fluttershy pushed them out of her way, saying to Spike, "This is so amazing! Tell me, what are you thinking right now?" Fluttershy went to the floor, getting into Spike's face, making him confused, and Fluttershy giving him a huge smile. Spike then walked towards Rarity. "Sure would love a scratch behind the old ears!" Spike said, looking up at Rarity, making Rarity cry out. "Uh, maybe later." "But what about your brother, Dusk?" Applejack asked. "Actually, he's... not really my brother," said Twilight. "He's really my son." "That don't make sense," said Applejack. "It does if you get sprayed by a magical flower that makes you pregnant and the baby gains a soul from one who is seven or younger," said Twilight. "Dusk was originally human before he came to Equestria." "But not from this world," said Dusk. Twilight then asked Pinkie, "How did you know all that?" "Just a hunch," Pinkie said, shrugging her shoulders. "Wait a minute! Lemme get this straight. You two are ponies?" Applejack asked. "You're a princess?" Rarity asked. "You three are from another world?" Fluttershy asked. Twilight gulped, rubbed the back of her head and mumbled, "Mm-hmm." "That... is... awesome!" Rainbow shouted. Then the five of them surrounded Twilight, Dusk and Spike. Spike looked up at Twilight with a smug look, saying, "See? Told ya." Twilight was relieved that there are some people who can trust her. The girls, Spike and Dusk were in the school gym, examining the mess that Snips and Snails made. "I simply cannot believe they did all this!" Rarity said. "If I only had some kind of... party cannon that could decorate everything super fast!" Pinkie Pie said. Dusk snickered and said, "Funny she would say that. Since her other dimension self has one." Twilight chuckled at Dusk's comment and then said, "I know it seems impossible, but, maybe if we all work together?" "Now that's the kinda can-do spirit I'm lookin' for in a Fall Formal Princess!" said Applejack. "Let's do it, y'all!" "Absolutely!" Rarity said. "Rock on!" Rainbow Dash stated. "Yes, indeedily!" Pinkie Pie cheered. "Yaaay!" Fluttershy whispered. All of them put their hands in as they were saying that. The girls looked at Twilight, and then she put her hand in, and then they threw their hands up into the air. Then they started cleaning up the gym for the Fall Formal. Twilight pulled out the push brooms Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie Pie caught the push brooms that Twilight tossed towards them, but Fluttershy didn't have the effort, and let it bump her. As they were cleaning, other students were wanting to help out in cleaning the gym. Basically, everyone joined in on helping out. They all finished their cleaning, even Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna walking in. Principal Celestia then called out, "All right, everyone! Fall Formal is back on for this evening." That made all of the students there cheer. "So you'd better get out of here and start getting ready. Oh, and don't forget to cast your ballots for the Fall Formal Princess on your way out!" Then all of the students walked towards the hall, putting in their ballets for the Fall Formal Princess votes in the box for voting. The students were definitely voting for Twilight. Sunset was watching them all leave the gym from the supply closet. She then turned towards Snips and Snails and said, "You're lucky she was able to pull this off. Next time I ask you to make a mess of things, try to show a little restraint! I need this Formal to go on tonight just as much as she does." She then looked out of the door, giving an evil smile.