Running towards the demonized Snails, I grabbed him and put in a choke-hold, not a total one though since he was lighter and skinnier than myself.
“Hey! Let me go!” he yelled, drawing everyone’s attention.
“Hey, Demonic Shimmer” I yelled, to irritate Sunset. “Shoot me.”
Everyone else not demonized looked at me like I had lost my mind and had gone nuts, but I knew what I was doing. I was providing a distraction for Flash to help Twilight and her friends, who at the moment, looked at me with faces of fear, especially Applejack, whose facial expression was enough to break my heart. But, I kept up the facade I was playing, as the demon came closer.
“You heard me. Go on. Shoot. And we both go down and you win.”
She had a ball of magic charged up, ready to attack, yet she hesitated, not wanting to destroy one of her own minions even if it meant I would die. It was what I was counting on, to help keep her distracted.
“Go on. I’m… dead anyway.”
The sounds of my voice were causing tear drops to fill the eyes of some of the other girls, who felt that I had gone insane and making a worthless sacrifice.
“I always was, right? But.. I didn’t know that till now.”
She was still hesitating, just like I wanted her to. How long that would last though, before I either died or Flash got Twilight and her friends to use their magic to stop her, was the question.
“How’s that?! Is that what you want?! Huh?! Huh… No, Na Na Na..” I taunted her, a bit crazed.
“I can still do this. Oh, I can still do this. One more kill. Aside from being academically perfect, it’s the only thing I know how to do. Bringing pride to my family and my school.”
I gave her some pleading looks, as to beg her to continue falling for my ruse, but she looked like she about had enough. She prepared to send her attack at me.
“Not that it matters now.”
She wound it up, and as she was in the process of throwing it, she was hit by combined beams of magic. I smiled happily as she groaned and writhed helplessly, feeling herself being defeated.
Flash, you magnificent ace. Just in time.
Sunset saw me smile and realized the truth.
“You faked me out?!” she screamed in agony.
“Yes I did, and you fell for it” I replied, as everyone else just stared at the scene in awe.
“While you may have the crown Sunset, you lack the most important magic of all: the magic of friendship” Twilight said decisively, as Sunset Shimmer, Snips, and Snails turned back to normal. “You will never be able to rule Equestria like that. By doing all of this, you’ve shown everyone the kind of person you really are.”
I released Snails, and was going to revel and enjoy watching Sunset beg for forgiveness, but then I heard Applejack’s voice.
“Cato! CATO!” she screamed, rushing over and hugging me tightly while crying into my chest. I petted her head and hugged her back as she continued to cry.
“You.. dumby!” she sobbed. “Y-you had me worried sick! I was actually thinking that you were actually trying to get yourself killed! Don’t do that ever again!”
My heart ached and throbbed in pain at her words, because she was right. In giving her a chance to survive, I had unintentionally toyed with her feelings for me, something that I now partially hated myself for, and something that I didn’t realize till now she even had.
“Jackie, I’m so sorry. I had to do what I had to do, to give you and the others a chance to defeat Sunset. I swear to god, I’ll never do that again” I apologized, tears running down my face. In case you were wondering, Jackie was the nickname I had made for her.
She looked up at me, a bit of fear and sadness still in her eyes. Then, she blushed and looked away. “If.. you had died, I.. don’t know what I was going to do. Gee whiskers, I would have probably been a nervous wreck if the boy I fell in love with died after pulling a potentially life-ending distraction like that..”
She paused, and realized what had said, and turned full on embarrassed. I was stunned.
Are you kidding me? Applejack is in love with me? I just couldn’t believe it. The same girl I had saved from being bullied had fallen in love with me, the nerd who had practically put his life on the line to save her and the others.
Eventually, she turned to look back up at my face. “C-Cato, what I just said, I meant it. When you were doing that practically stupid and effective distraction, it made me realize who I really wanted to spend this night with. That person was.. y-you. So, even t-though this is practically last second, to tarnation, I’m gonna do it.”
There was a moment of tension between us as she gathered her courage.
“Dance with me, Cato Hadley?” she said as clear as she could be, and at that moment, that’s when I realized something. That standing right in front of me was the person my heart wanted so much, so there was no way in hell I was going to toy with her feelings again right here.
I don’t know what came over me, but I leaned in and kissed her right on the lips. She gasped in shock, but eventually kissed back. To those talking about sparks and nuclear explosions going off inside you when you’re kissing the girl your heart wants, that was child’s play. I was feeling the Big Bang that started the universe times ten inside me kissing Applejack. It was like I was in a dream, it seemed so surreal that I was kissing the girl that I had stood up for while she was a victim of bullying. We pulled away and just gazed into each other’s eyes, not wanting to look away. For a moment, it was just us, like nothing else existed.
The sound of cheering, clapping, and whistling brought the two of us back to reality. Applejack blushed and just shyly slipped her hand into mine.
“Way to go, Cato!” shouted Bulk Biceps, while Flash just gave a smile and a thumbs up. Pinkie Pie was jumping up and down, fist pumping the air. Rarity looked on approvingly, while Fluttershy gave us a smile. Rainbow Dash was just running back and forth, cheering. Twilight and Spike both smiled while they dealt with Sunset.
I felt like I was on top of the world, as I walked back inside, holding hands with Applejack.
“So, guess this makes you my girlfriend?” I asked as we walked back in, first to the school nurse to get my bloody face cleaned up, and then to the dance floor. She blushed, and nodded.
“Yes it does, partner.”