//------------------------------// // Chapter 20: The "Big" Night // Story: The Other Journal // by Ganondorf8 //------------------------------// Day: Wednesday Weather: Clear skies Time: 5:45pm I showed Vice Principal Luna the altered photos of Twilight Sparkle destroying the decorations in the gym, and for a moment, it looked as though that upstart was going to get what was coming to her. But I made a fatal miscalculation! Because I was desperate in making her withdraw from the competition, willingly or otherwise, I threw away the photos I cut to use for the alterations, and my ex-boyfriend Flash Sentry discovered these in the garbage can I tossed them in and effectively ruined my plan! Ugh! How could I have been so stupid as to make such an obvious oversight? What's even worse was that the students have fixed the damage Snips and Snails caused, so now the Fall Formal is going to happen as scheduled, which meant I had to get my hands on the crown that night or lose it forever. Because of her acts of "charity", that upstart has gotten the student body to rally behind her, so her victory over me was inevitable, but there was still one more option I could take. It was an extreme course of action, but I've run out of options, so she has left me with no other choice. It looks like her dragon will play his role in all of this after all. The Other Journal By Ganondorf8 November 30, 2015 Chapter 20: The "Big" Night. After taking photos of the damage Snips and Snails caused, I left the gym in order to alter them to make it look as though Twilight Sparkle was responsible. In hindsight, I suppose I should have told my minions not to go overboard, which often happened during such delicate operations. My mind, however, was fixated squarely on framing her, so in my eagerness, I left them to their own devices without giving them a clear direction on how much should be destroyed. It didn't take long for me to cut out her image from the photos taken during her soccer game with Rainbow Dash, crop them, and alter the photos of the destroyed decorations, and when I was finished, I looked over my handiwork, chuckling to myself. This would definitely eliminate her from the competition, quite possibly also getting her suspended from the school. But in an act of sheer idiocy, I tossed the cut photos into a nearby garbage can, thinking that nothing would come of it. As I began making my way over to Vice Principal Luna's office, Snips and Snails walked up towards me, their faces telling me that things went well on their end. " Did you destroy everything?" I asked. " Oh, yeah. It'll take days to fix it all. If they even try, that is." Snips answered. " We were like a tornado in there." Snips added. " Good! I've altered the photos to make it look like Twilight Sparkle caused all of that damage instead of you two, so now we need to pay a visit to Vice Principal Luna to show her what has happened. She will no doubt deny Twilight the right to compete for the crown, perhaps even going as far as suspending her. Oh, I so hope the latter happens. That way, no one would stand in my way, during or after the Formal! Hopefully, this plan will work; I don't want to rely on extreme measures just to get what I want. You two follow me, and don't let on that something is amiss." I said. The three of us then walked to Vice Principal Luna's office, smug looks on our faces because my plan was foolproof, and when I saw the upstart and her new friends wearing those stupid horse ears, tails, and even Wondercolt shirts, they stared at me with concerned looks as I knocked on the door of the vice principal. " Yes? Sunset Shimmer? What's wrong? You looked flustered." Vice Principal Luna asked upon opening her office door. " Vice Principal Luna! Something awful has happened in the gym! I was walking past the gym to my locker, and when I turned my head to check out all of the decorations, I saw that everything had been destroyed." I answered. " What!?" Vice Principal Luna exclaimed. " I'll show you!" I said, showing signs of concern in an attempt to fool her into coming along, and when she nodded in approval, I was laughing in my head over how easy it was to trick these humans into believing anything I told them. I brought her to the gym, where she witnessed the destruction of the decorations first-hand. When I, though, really looked at what Snips and Snails had done, my heart sank slightly, because I realized I never told them how far they could go. I was fixated on Twilight Sparkle that I forgot to tell them to restrain themselves, so what they did went completely overboard, and my heart began beating rapidly. Would she believe that this was an act of sabotage? Would she fall for my ruse? The only way to know would be to act calm about this minor setback, and simply go with it, while making sure to berate those two later. " This... This is just horrible." Vice Principal Luna said. " Pinkie Pie worked so hard on these decorations, and to see them all destroyed like this is just too much to bear." I said. " I am glad that you informed me of this matter, but now for the big question. Who could have done this? The Fall Formal is supposed to happen tonight, yet with the decorations in complete shambles, it could be that we must postpone it until further notice." Vice Principal Luna said. " Why would Twilight Sparkle do something like this?" I asked, sounding innocent as I played my card. " Twilight Sparkle? The new transfer student who arrived only two days ago? She is the other student who decided to compete for the Fall Formal crown, is she not? Why would she be responsible for this? Unless you had proof of such a claim, I would suspect you were trying to make her look bad." Vice Principal Luna answered. " I have proof right here." I said, handing over a folder that contained the altered photos. I also cursed her under my breath; she was a lot closer to uncovering my plan than she realized, but luckily she didn't think any more on the matter. In fact, her expression told me that she was believing my words, but I needed to hammer it home, otherwise she could relapse and suspect me of using foul play. " She gave me these photos earlier and said that there was no chance anyone was going to win the crown if the Formal had to be postponed or even cancelled. I don't know what was going on in her head, but one look at those photos proves that she did it." I then buried my head into my hands as a means of providing additional sympathy, and out of the corner of my eye, Vice Principal Luna put the photos back into the folder before placing it under her arm. " Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Sunset Shimmer. I shall speak to Twilight Sparkle so that she may explain herself. Honestly, I am shocked that she would act so desperately to win that crown that she would systematically ruin things for everyone else in the school." Vice Principal Luna said. As she walked away to no doubt call Twilight Sparkle to her office, I turned around and walked off with an evil smile on my face. My plan had worked perfectly, and the upstart's days around here were numbered. At least, that was what I thought was going to happen. What I didn't notice was that Flash Sentry had watched the entire conversation unfold before he walked off. Had I known he was there, I would have made him suffer for not only breaking up with me, but also for what he was about to do. " I'm surprised Vice Principal Luna believed you." Twilight said. " With a face as cute as this, anyone would believe me." I said, pointing at my face while sheepishly grinning. Twilight simple frowned at me for what I said, and after a few seconds, I lowered my hands and relaxed on my grin. " I'm kidding, Twilight!" I said, closing my eyes while waving my hands before opening them again. " I pretended to be innocent and ignorant over the whole thing, and she believed me instantly, which meant Princess Twilight would find herself in trouble." " But you said Flash Sentry had watched the conversation." Twilight said. " He did, because he thought it was suspicious how I was able to get my hands on those photos. Despite my saying that Princess Twilight gave them to me, he knew otherwise, as not once did he ever see her using a cellphone. I mean, he didn't know if she had one or not, because he didn't know she was a pony, but he decided to investigate which lead him to finding the discarded photos in one of the library's garbage cans. He presented them to Vice Principal Luna, who immediately absolved Princess Twilight of any wrongdoing and allowed her to continue her bid to win the crown." I said. " And the decorations?" Twilight asked. " Snips and Snails went overboard in that they made sure nothing was left intact, and because of this, the Formal had to be postponed until the following day, at least. While this didn't mean a thing to the other students, Princess Twilight was beside herself with worry, as the portal to Equestria would close that night, and that meant she had to return there or else be stuck in this world for a long time. While my plan to frame her didn't work as intended, I was able to delay the Formal, so now she had to choose between the crown and seeing her friends again, who were waiting for her back in Equestria." I answered. " That must have been a difficult choice." Twilight said. " You'd think that, but no." I said smugly. " What do you mean?" Twilight asked. " Princess Twilight isn't the kind of pony who admits defeat. No matter what kind of odds are stacked against her, she will find a way to persevere, so long as she has her friends beside her." I answered. My response did sound corny, especially to someone like Twilight, who was still new to the idea of friendship, but I knew my words spoke great lengths of truth regarding my friend and mentor. Princess Twilight had been through numerous challenges in her life that tested her resolve, and through such difficulties, the magic of friendship guided her to the path of victory, even when it looked like things were hopeless. It was that very magic, the magic of friendship, that changed me; if I had never learned to accept it in my heart, I'm not sure where I'd be, right now. I placed both hands onto my chest where my heart was before closing my eyes, thinking about how much things have changed for me. Yet there was a sense of dread that loomed in the recesses. I may have changed, yet the past lingered like an old wound that refused to heal, a wound that could spread if not contained, a wound that was about to grow once I told Twilight what happened next. " Are you alright?" Twilight asked, looking concerned over what I was doing. " I'm alright. Just thinking about something, but it's nothing to worry yourself over." I answered. " If you say so." Twilight said hesitantly. " Our friends would check the damage for themselves, and confirm that Snips and Snails were responsible under my orders, yet they never did tell anyone about it, which was surprising, but relieving. Despite the odds heavily stacked against them, they began to clean up the mess, rebuilt what had been deemed lost, and even built new things. Their efforts caught the attention of other students. Soon, a large collective entered the gym in order to pitch in, and upon finishing their work, Principal Celestia announced that the Formal would happen that night after all. Before the students left, they were encouraged to cast their votes, and everyone voted for Princess Twilight, because she had successfully brought everyone back together, practically destroying three years worth of my work in the process." I said. " How did you know that happened?" Twilight asked. " Well, I was... I was..." I answered, trying my best to come up with the right words to describe what I was doing. It actually proved difficult to explain, because my plan hit a particularly nasty roadblock in the form of common sense. It may have been a result of desperation or having lost my mind over Princess Twilight's actions, but everything had been going according to plan. " I was with Snips and Snails, hiding in a janitorial closet in the gym, where I berated them for having no concept of restraint. Even though I was outraged over my work being ruined in the span of three days, deep down, I was surprisingly happy about it all." " Why?" Twilight asked. " Because I wanted the Formal to go on just as much as Princess Twilight did, and before you say anything, I know, that statement makes no sense at all! I had committed an act of sabotage in an effort to delay the Formal until the next night, yet I was happy that it was proceeding as planned. I wanted to get home to Equestria, too, after all. Anyway, I was desperate now, and my thought process was askew, yet I had one more plan up my sleeve, one that was... extreme. My previous efforts failed, so I accepted my failure to get her to withdraw or to stop the Formal altogether. Moreover, stealing the crown from Principal Celestia's office would have exposed me in an instant." I answered. I then turned the page in the journal where something new fell out and onto the floor, where it landed with a metallic sound. Twilight picked it up and began looking over it in order to determine why it could make such a noise, and when she finished her observation, she merely scratched her head. I knew the significance behind this object, and my heart began pounding against my chest, because this was the moment of truth, where I would finally start revealing the biggest mistake of my life. " This is a chipped off piece from a sledgehammer, but why would you have this?" Twilight asked. " I was going to use a sledgehammer..." I began. " To do what?" Twilight asked. " To... destroy the Wondercolt statue and effectively destroy the portal." I answered. That night, while the other students were having the time of their lives at the Fall Formal, I was sitting by the Wondercolt statue deep in thought. All of my efforts to claim my prize had failed miserably, and that upstart was on the verge of taking my dreams away from me. Everything that I had done since first coming to this world she fixed without any problems, all those years of manipulation, lying, scheming, and more, snuffed out like a candle in mere days. I was the ruler of this school, commanding fear and respect through intimidation, but that was gone now. Twilight Sparkle... I should have been more brutal against her, but because I restrained myself, she managed to worm her way into this world and ruin my life, again. First, Equestria, and now, here. I should have shattered the portal the instant I returned here after stealing her crown. Why didn't I do that in the first place? Why did I hesitate to do something so simple, even if it meant the possibility of being caught committing an act of damaging school property? I could have put on the crown and used its power to truly rule this school, this city, and perhaps this entire world, as no one could have stood in my way. But no, I chose to play it safe by wanting to make the upstart miserable, and all I've done is inflict that upon myself. The chances of me winning the crown were slim to none, and while I could have just entered Principal Celestia's office and stolen the crown just like before, she had taken it with her earlier in the afternoon to ensure no one would take it before it was to be awarded to the winner. I supposed that I could go into the gym where everyone else was, and just accept my defeat with some semblance of dignity, yet my heart refused me to resort to such a pathetic display. The upstart wasn't about to get away with crushing my dreams a second time! My own mind began to frighten me as an idea popped into my head, which truly was a sign that I had become so desperate, I was willing to go to extreme measures to succeed. Snips and Snails, who were dressed up for the occasion, came by to see if I was okay, and while that was a touching sentiment, they were still nothing more than my minions, who were to do whatever I wanted. Actually, I was glad they were there, as I needed them for this last-ditch effort to work out in my favour. Twilight Sparkle had forced my hand, and there was no turning back, now. What I was about to do was a gamble. If it succeeded, I would claim more power than ever before, but if it failed, then my life here was over. " Sunset Shimmer?" Snips asked. " Are you okay?" Snails asked. " What are you two doing here? I thought you would have stayed in the gym and had the time of your lives?" I asked. " Well, we were having fun, even though lots of students were glaring at us, but we remembered that you were sitting out here by yourself, so we thought we'd come outside and hang out with you for a while." Snips answered. " We wanted to cheer you up." Snails added. " I know you really wanted to win that crown, and did everything you could to prevent Twilight Sparkle from getting it, but she just kept outsmarting you. I was certain your plans would work; you're the smartest girl we know and the best friend Snails and I ever had." Snips said. His words meant absolutely nothing to me. They were a pathetic attempt to make me feel better, yet all he was doing was making himself out to be a complete idiot. If anything, these two were responsible for my plans failing! Well, I suppose they could easily make it up to me by carrying out what I had in mind. " Uh, Sunset Shimmer? Why are you smiling like that?" Snips asked. " I have something I need you two to do." I answered. " You've come up with a new scheme?" Snips asked. " What is it?" Snails asked. " First, I want you to find and bring me the heaviest sledgehammer you can get your hands on. You see, I'm going to give Twilight Sparkle an ultimatum. I'm going to smash this statue to pieces, and the portal back to Equestria along with it." I answered. The two boys were shocked over what I had just said about damaging school property, yet while they would never resort to such actions, they knew that I was being serious about it. I, on the other hand, knew that I had just mentioned Equestria to them, but at this point I no longer cared about such trivialities, as getting the crown was my only concern. " I'm not really going to smash the statue, but she will think I'll carry out my threat, and hand over the crown to me without question." " Do you think she will do it?" Snails asked. " I'll give her no alternative, as she knows what's at stake." I answered. " What if she refuses?" Snips asked. " I have something else in mind just in case, but you'll find out what it is when the time comes. I'm keeping it to myself for now, in case either of you blab it out when Twilight Sparkle and her friends come here chasing after you." I answered. " Why would they chase us?" Snips asked. " Because you two are going to kidnap her dog the moment she wins the crown, and you'll bring him here to the statue, where I'll be waiting." I answered. " Are you sure this is a good idea?" Snips asked. " Do you still want power?" I asked. " Yeah, Snails and I would still like that. You did promise, after all. But aren't you taking things a bit too far? Smashing the statue is one thing, but kidnapping an innocent dog to be used as a bargaining chip? I think you may have gone off the deep end, Sunset Shimmer." Snips answered. While he did have a valid point in that I was taking things to such extremes, I ignored his concerns, because this is what had to be. That upstart had forced me to resort to this, and she would pay dearly for it. " Relax! I'm not going to hurt the dog. His only purpose will be to lure Twilight Sparkle out here, so make sure that nothing happens to him. Have I addressed your concerns? Will you no longer question my motivations?" I asked. Snips nodded in complete silence, and when I turned to Snails, he followed along by nodding. Good; they were going to follow my orders. Yet, their hesitancy was concerning. No matter! It would all work out in the end. " Wait by the side entrance to the gym until Principal Celestia is about to announce the winner, then go inside and capture her dog without anyone noticing you. Once you're back by the entrance, make sure he tells Twilight Sparkle that he's in trouble." The boys looked at each other in confusion, but I pointed my finger indicating that I wanted them to go. As they saluted again and ran off to find me a sledgehammer and kidnap that dragon, I looked at the statue, and began thinking about what was going to happen. Soon, my dreams would come true, and the upstart would become a mere memory. " Dognapping!? Seriously!?" Twilight asked. " I was desperate!" I answered. " I know that, but did you have to take the dog?" Twilight asked. " It was the only way to force Princess Twilight to confront me in front of the statue." I answered. " Was this the biggest mistake you made?" Twilight asked. " No." I answered, my head lowering in shame, my voice becoming softer until I was merely whispering. " That would happen soon after Princess Twilight and our friends arrived at the statue, where I was waiting with the sledgehammer in hand. Do you remember when I lost it and lashed out at you when you unintentionally stole the magic from Rainbow Dash? " How could I forget that?" Twilight answered. " That wasn't the first time I lost my temper like that. My lashing out against Princess Twilight would begin the most important game of keep-away you could imagine. I guess it's easy for me to lose control of myself, as I do have a really short fuse." I said. When I looked back up at Twilight, she looked at me with a weird expression on her face. Did I say something that offended her? No, I don't think so, otherwise she would have said so. Was she still upset over kidnapping Princess Twilight's version of Spike? Maybe, but the journal stated I didn't want him to be hurt. I began scratching my chin with my right index finger in the hopes of figuring out why she had that look, and as I continued looking at her, she maintained that expression, which made me feel uncomfortable. Then it hit me like a lightning bolt, but why would she react to that of all things? Might as well ask the question anyway and hope for a decent enough answer. " Um, Twilight? Is your face like that because I said we played keep-away?" I asked. " The fate of this world came down to a game played by kindergartners?" Twilight asked incredulously. " Yes." I answered. " Can you blame me for my confusion? I honestly wasn't expecting that kind of answer from you. But I guess it does make sense when you look at it from a much grander perspective." Twilight said. She then held up the chip of metal from the sledgehammer in-between her left index finger and thumb, combing over it through extensive observations. She even wrote something down on a notepad, which she took out from her backpack. I smiled and rolled my eyes, as she was just being her egghead self, yet I quickly became curious as to what kind of observation she had. I could see the sweat dripping from her forehead, a sign that she was focusing all of her skills on trying to figure out whatever conundrum she had on her mind. After a few minutes, she breathed out, before putting her pen and pad on the ground and handing the chip back to me, where I slid it in-between a previous page in the journal. " Judging from my analysis of the chip, I can confirm that you never used the sledgehammer to destroy the Wondercolt statue." Twilight said. " Um..." I said trying to come up with a response. She should have known that was the case a lot sooner, as the statue was in perfect condition when we were all outside during the final event of the Friendship Games. In fact, it was in perfect condition when she and I had that mishap where her pendant stole the portal. " Yet, that chip did not come off the sledgehammer naturally, or in an attempt to shine it up. I'm certain that you did hit something with it, though." Twilight said. " I didn't destroy the statue, but I did connect with something by complete accident." I said. When Snips and Snails went back to the gym in order to kidnap that dragon, I just stood there, waiting for the upstart and her friends to come along. Yet I didn't realize how boring this whole experience would be. Knowing that I would be waiting for a while until they came back, I grabbed the handle of the sledgehammer, lifting it up above my head, and began swinging it around in order to get adjusted to how much weight it had. My first swing resulted in me falling over, where it landed with a heavy thud on the nearby grass. After picking myself up, I picked it up and swung it again, and this time, I managed to keep my footing, yet the sledgehammer connected ever so slightly with the edge of the statue's base. I winced; I didn't want to destroy the statue, especially before I could even present my ultimatum. Cursing at my own stupidity, I tossed the sledgehammer towards the school entrance, where it banged into the bottom step with another heavy thud before landing on the ground with a clunk from the wooden handle. A small chip came off from the head from the collision. I walked over to where the sledgehammer had landed and pocketed the chip; I didn't want anyone to know that I had just thrown another temper tantrum. I picked up the sledgehammer and walked back to the statue, where I chose to just wait and not do anything else. The step had quite the large indentation, but hopefully, no one would take any notice of it, for my sake. That's when I heard sounds of a dog barking. Snips and Snails were heading back this way, yet they were going through the school itself, rather than using the side entrance like I told them. I should have known those two were going to screw this up, but as long as they get here, I could easily overlook their obvious blunder. After waiting for several more minutes, the two boys came bursting out of the double-doors, the mutt in their possession, and began running towards me. The doors opened again, and the upstart was standing there with her friends behind her. That's when I saw it: her crown on top of her head. I knew this would be my last chance to claim its power, so I needed to make sure to play my cards right. " That's close enough!" I announced. " So this is where you've been?" Princess Twilight asked. " You just couldn't accept the fact that Twilight here beat you for Princess of the Fall Formal, so you decided to sulk because someone finally dethroned you after so many years." Rainbow Dash gloated, hands firmly on her hips. My left eye twitched for a brief moment upon hearing her say that, but I quickly shrugged it off, as I needed to maintain my composure if I wanted to pull this off. The upstart then looked at that egomaniac with a frown, and she went silent, which meant she had overstepped her boundaries. I'd have to make sure to punish her later. " Spike!" Princess Twilight shouted. " Twilight!" Spike shouted. " Don't hurt him!" Princess Twilight shouted. " Now why would I want to do something like that? I'm not a monster! I knew you wouldn't come here to the statue willingly, so I needed to coerce you into coming, which is why I had my minions abduct your mongrel. You can relax, upstart, as I told them to make sure no harm would befall him. Frankly, I'm surprised they pulled that off without accidentally having him collide with a locker or something. I did stress for them to leave through the side entrance, though, but they had to go through the building instead." I said, glaring at my minions briefly. " Well, I'm here. Let him go." Princess Twilight said. " Very true. I'll keep my word. Let him go. Gently." I said, turning towards Snips and Snails, who were confused by my decision. I then narrowed my eyes into a glare, and they put the dragon down. He ran over towards the upstart, who began to take notice of what I was holding above my head. I smiled at her, knowing she was looking at it. " Curious as to why I'm holding this sledgehammer? You look like you're just dying to know. Fine, I'll tell you. I'm going to use it to smash the Wondercolt statue to pieces, destroying the portal in the process." " What!?" Princess Twilight exclaimed. " Y'all can't do that!" Applejack shouted. " Oh, but I can. And I will, unless Her Highness here follows what I say. You don't belong here, Twilight Sparkle, so I'm giving you a choice. If you hand over the crown to me right now, you can return home to Equestria, and that will be the end of it. If you choose to keep it, then I'll smash the statue, and you'll be stuck here forever." I said. " Twilight! Ya can't give her your crown!" Applejack shouted. " Either way, I'll win; she can't have both." I said. " That's not fair!" Rainbow Dash shouted. " Tick tock, Twilight! You don't have much time to give me an answer. The portal will be closing in less than an hour, and you'll be stuck here for a long time until it opens up again." I said. The expression on the upstart's face filled me with glee, as she just didn't know what to do. As for myself, I had several ideas in mind that I would implement, depending on her decision. Hopefully, I wouldn't have to rely on the more extreme ideas, as long as she gives me the crown. " Well? What is your decision?" I asked. " No!" Twilight answered. " Come again?" I asked. " I said, 'No'!" Twilight answered. " What!? You refuse to give me your crown in exchange for going home? Are you insane? Equestria! Your friends! All of this and more will be lost to you forever if you don't give it to me right now! Don't you see what I'm about to do to the portal? I'll give you one last chance to rethink your decision, Twilight." I said. The upstart shook her head, indicating that she was firm with her decision. Thankfully, this was something I planned for. I just knew her pride as a princess of Equestria would come into play, and I have ensnared her within my trap. Now I had to play my hand carefully to avoid being called out. The moment she ignores me, thinking that she succeeded in thwarting my plan, I'll rush over and steal the crown before she even knows what happened. It might not be my best idea, but at this moment, I was desperate to rely on anything to get that crown in my hands. " I know what you're capable of doing Sunset Shimmer, and this is without the use of magic. I've seen that you have become so obsessed with wanting my crown, you're willing to resort to vandalism in order to achieve your goal. Everyone here can see the desperation in your face. I won't yield, no matter how much you may threaten me, my friends, or the portal back home. Equestria will find a way to survive without my Element of Harmony, as our world has faced far worse things long before they were discovered. If you were to get my crown and use its power, this world will not be able to hold on; you'd be unstoppable. And I can't let that happen" Princess Twilight said. " So you're sticking to your feelings?" I asked. " Go ahead and destroy the portal! No matter what happens, you will not be getting this crown." Princess Twilight answered. " Fine. You win." I said, dropping the sledgehammer behind me where it landed on the grass with a loud thud. As her friends began encircling her to perform one of those pitiful bonding moments, I chuckled to myself, as everything was going exactly as I planned. She was so distracted by being mauled about, she won't even notice me rushing up towards her and snatching the crown in one fell swoop. I would need to take the others into consideration, though. Rainbow Dash is faster than I am, and Applejack has more upper body strength, but that's what my minions are for. They'll handle her friends while I make my move. Just as I was about to dash towards the upstart, I found myself unable to move due to hearing what they were saying about her. " You... are... so awesome!" Rainbow Dash shouted, pushing her hands against her cheeks to scrunch up her face for some reason. " I can't believe you were gonna give up going back ta your home just to protect our world." Applejack said. " No wonder you're a real princess, darling. You certainly understand what it means to put others ahead of yourself." Rarity said. " Whoever made you a princess sure knew what they were doin'." Applejack said. Hearing those words made me lose my composure, so I shook my head repeatedly to try to get those thoughts out of my head. It was to no avail, as my anger grew strong once again, and I was about to let them have it. My plan on stealing the crown would still happen, but not in the way that I had hoped. " Oh yes! She's very special!" I shouted. " And what's that supposed to mean?" Rainbow Dash asked, turning back toward me. " Give me that crown!" I answered, running forward as fast as I could towards the upstart. No one was able to react fast enough, not even Rainbow Dash, due to how sudden my actions were, and I tackled the upstart to the ground. Her crown fell off her head and rolled along the ground, stopping a few seconds later. Twilight Sparkle then began grappling with me, our hands clasping one another's firmly as we tried to overpower the other in an attempt to cast our opponent aside in order to get the crown. I then turned towards Snips and Snails who were just standing there, and then towards the crown, which was suddenly in the mouth of that mongrel. " Grab him, you fools!" I shouted, prompting them to salute and chase after the mongrel, who managed to wiggle his way underneath them both. I eventually managed to toss Twilight Sparkle aside, and reached for the crown, but that dragon tossed the crown, where it was caught by Rainbow Dash. She didn't get to gloat about it, though, as Snips tackled her down to the ground, causing the crown to roll towards the school entrance. I chased after it, only to have the upstart grab me by my legs, pulling me down. I tried to kick her face to get her to let me go, while Snails ran towards the crown, only to be thwarted by Pinkie Pie, who threw some confectionary into his face, making him slam into the wall, where he collapsed. It fell onto me to succeed where they were failing. After kicking the upstart in the face, she relinquished her hold on my legs, and I lunged forward towards the crown. I was mere inches away when that dragon grabbed it by his teeth and took it away. I bared my teeth before chasing after him. He ran through both Snips and Snails, the latter having managed to recover from hitting that wall, and I ran through them as well, knocking both boys aside, my focus solely on the crown. " Spike! Spike!" Rainbow Dash shouted, prompting him to toss the crown to her, where she caught it. " That's mine!" I shouted. " Guess again!" Rainbow Dash shouted as she tossed the crown to Rarity, who then tossed it to Fluttershy where she caught it after it smacked her in the head. I then ran towards the frightened girl who didn't even try to run away, proving how pathetic she truly was. But before I could reach her, a lasso came out from nowhere, wrapped itself around her, and pulled her away leaving me to catch my breath before resuming the chase. " You okay, Fluttershy?" Rainbow Dash asked. Fluttershy nodded her head, and the two ran away as I approached. From there, things began spiraling out of control. Every time I tried to grab the crown, one of those girls would toss it to someone else, forcing me to run in their direction, and this process would be repeated for several minutes. They had turned this situation into a game of keep-away, and I was the one who wasn't allowed to hold the crown. My plan could still happen, though, but I needed to get the crown, first. " Catch it!" shouted Rarity. " It's mine!" I shouted. " I've got it!" Snips shouted. " Y'all had it, you mean!" Applejack shouted. " Over here!" Rainbow Dash shouted. " Take it!" Spike shouted. " The crown is mine!" Snails shouted. " Not anymore!" Princess Twilight shouted as she caught her crown, but she had no time to celebrate as my minions both collided with her, causing her to toss the crown into the air out of fear that it would be damaged. " I'll take that!" I announced catching the crown with my hands and holding it firmly. I had a twisted expression on my face; at long last, the crown was in my hands, and that meant all of the magical power contained within it was about to become mine to do with as I saw fit. At first I just stood there, staring at it with a fixated expression. Snips and Snails asked me if I was okay, and their words snapped me back into reality, shaking my head to get back in gear. " At last! More power than I could ever imagine! This is the moment that I've been waiting for, and now it's come! I win, Twilight Sparkle. I win!" With a smug look on my face, I placed the crown onto my head. Nothing happened at first, but then, suddenly, the crown began reacting to me, its inherent magic seeping forth. I had no idea what was about to happen, but as long as it meant my dreams coming true, I didn't care what happened. " That explains the game of keep-away." Twilight said. " And now we come to where I made the biggest mistake of my life, and it doesn't take a genius to know what caused it." I said. " It was putting on the crown, right?" Twilight asked. I nodded my head slowly. After all, I already told her what I became while she was a demon herself. I've been dreading this moment for quite some time now, but I knew it couldn't be held off any longer. Twilight needed to know the truth! The fact that I already told her what happened didn't mean a thing! That was a minor revelation! Now came the ugly truth, the thing I had held back for such a long time. Grabbing the edge of the current journal page, my hand started shaking, my fear evident. Twilight reached out and grabbed my hand with her own, smiling at me as reassurance that she would be there for me. So, gulping slowly, I turned the page. Both of us looked away from what we saw.