Sunset Shimmer kept her spine stright up like a scarecrow, as she looked at the paved ground in front of her and at the formation of the Crystal Academy at alternate times. Her nervousness, coupled with the cold weather of the overcast day, made her shake a little.
As the notes of the "Viva la Decìma Brigada" badly played by the Crystal Cademy's band faded, Principal Cinch, Twilight Sparkle and the five Champions of the other disciplines of the academy walked forward in the middle ground.
"This is the moment of truth..." Sunset Shimmer whispered to herself.
However, her whisper did not fall on deaf ears.
"Dè, relax. Remember, I have this under control," Appiano whispered as he poked Sunset's shoulder, prompting her to look in his direction. appiano was arching eyebrows, while smirking and pointing at his amulet.
"I may have given up in using it for attract chicks, but that doesn't mean I forgot how to use this." He said. "As soon as Cinch starts to say anything to Twilight, I'll make sure to make her speak up about her errors."
Sunset Shimmer nodded, not calmed down one bit.
"If we need it and he fails..." Sunset cringed.
There was a tense silence, as everybody stood still, the only movement comign from the cold breeze blowing from northeast.
Principal Cinch nudged Twilight forward, causing her to stumble forward, for then turn around to look at the Principal. The Principal went on to set her head on Twilight's shoulder and whisper something in her ear.
Sunset watched, as Appiano spat on the amulet, moved his finger around on the gem rapidly, then pointed his sparkling red index and middle finger it towards Principal Cinch.
"You'll tell everybody the truth and only the truth to me. E così sia fatta la mia volontà!" He said with a hint of triumph. Tehre was a quick red spream that traveled from Appiano's hand to Principal's Cinch heaad, before wrapping itself around the Principal, thusly giving her a turbant-like headgear. Everybody gasped, as Appiano then moved forward.
"Dè, that's interesting," Appiano said, as he walked with swung steps in the middle ground "Are you perchance telling your student that her enrolling in university is in jeopardy because she didn't want to partake to this Games?"
Principal Cinch nodded.
"Exactly. If she wants to have higher education, she will have to obey me, unleash the power contained inside that amulet and thus make my own school win yet again, proving my methods right." She said, inflating her chest.
Appiano grinned, as he went next to Principal Cinch, makign a shruging gesture.
"And what are you methods? Incentives on the mechanical arts and implicit declaration of their superiority over the Trivium and Quadrivium, persecution of the Renaissance Men and Women of tomorrow and glorification of people that will either little more than Instrumenta Vocalia or creators of inefficent systems, like the ones from where your beloved husband, Sombra Franco De Compostela, came from?"
"Indeed. The Spain of the past is my model of my education, and Skottland of the present gives me new ideas." she declared, with a little bow and a snicker "It did them a lot of good."
Appiano gestured with his left hand, making his wrist rapidly turn back and forth.
"Yeah. Just look at World War Two and the fate of many falangists, and at the fake cities the Skottish have set up next to their border, in the pathetic attempt to impress the English and prove that their policies did not make them backwards." Appiano said mockingly.
Sunset Shimmer smiled, now that he understood what Appiano was talking about. From the Crystal academy a loud murmur came. Principal Cinch recoiled.
"H-how dare you?" She said "What do you know? And what is your authority?"
"History is teacher for life, and even my quite limited knowledge of it makes me think that your way has a point in its basis, but it's completely wrong in any passage of its execution," Appiano said brushing against Principal Cinch as he walked around her.
"As for the authority," He took his glowing amulet off and held it up high "I do not recognize me as my liege, my boss, or any position of power, but as a woman that has done wrong and hidden her sins away. The fact that I had to use this gem, one that has shaped the world in the past, for do it matters little."
He then turned towards the crowd of the Crystla Academy, spreading his arms out.
"Since it would be hycritical for me to hide my own faults in this competition, I shall expose you what I have done to reach victory, not unlike how your Principal tried." He said, as he then listed all of his ploys and plots.
Once appiano was done telling the entire thruth, from how he had strenghtened his body during the Flower Wars, to how he had gotten two of the Academy's champions out of the way by the means of staged pub brawl, passing throught his attempts to get a dog to walk around the stadium, so to unnerve some of the sportsmen.
"I have done this for my own school, and for my will to be victorious. Admittedly, I have went over the edge of the acceptable. I, Appiano Appiani, as Head of the Council, will propose to give up our victory, and instead give it to you, knowing well how it came to be." Appiano said. "Such an action, I'm sure of it, will be approved by the ones Principal Celestia delegated to me, and I am sure that my fairness and honesty shall leave a mark on you, and remind you why these games were made. ot to push for crystallization and create wedges, like your Principal and her despicable husband seem to believe, but the compelte opposite."
Appiano bowed, and turned towards his school's formaion, slowly and triumphally walking. There were cheers and boos, whisteles of both apprecciatory and shaming kind, insults, dirty and underwear thrown at appiano, who however stood immobile. Then, the two formations broke down, as the Crystal Academy rushed forward, towards theirformer adversaries.