//------------------------------// // Chapter 23: Punishment // Story: The Other Journal // by Ganondorf8 //------------------------------// Day: Thursday Weather: Rainy Time: 12:00pm Principal Celestia told me that my punishment had been divided into two parts. The first involved me apologizing to every student at CHS that I had wronged during my time there, taking place at the gym, since everyone needed to be in one place. While I did agree to doing it as the first step towards understanding friendship, I knew that the students wouldn't forgive me for what I did. Even if I repeatedly apologized for hurting them, their expressions told me that my words were in vain. Once I had finished with what turned out to be an emotional experience, I was next told to repair the front of the school. This was a fair punishment, as I was the one who caused the damage because of my magical tantrum, yet my former minions, Snips and Snails, weren't as thrilled about it. At first, all three of us were working during lunch periods, after school for several hours, and from 8:00am to 4:00pm on Saturdays, complete with a thirty minute lunch break, but then my "friends" got themselves out of their punishment by claiming that they had been manipulated by me from the start. I would find myself working alone on the school's repair after that. It didn't bother me, as I knew it was meant to be. I was destined to be alone. The Other Journal By Ganondorf8 December 6, 2015 Chapter 23: Punishment. " I can't believe it!" Twilight said, throwing her arms up into the air out of frustration about what I said about Snips and Snails. I couldn't blame her for reacting like that, as I had a similar reaction when they revealed to me that they had confessed. " They were your friends, who were to blame for what happened just as much as you, yet they were able to get away with it just by blaming you?" " When they told me what they did, I just accepted it for what it was and went back to work fixing the damage." I said. " But that's not fair! They shouldn't have been allowed to just walk away like that and abandon a friend in her time of need." Twilight said. " Like I said, we were never friends, despite how often we hung out with each other. They were just tools that I used to make students' lives miserable, and they chose to stick around me in exchange for power and prestige . I did take advantage of them by promising them power in exchange for their cooperation, so in truth, they were innocent victims who were caught up in my obsession for wanting to become a ruler." I said. I began thinking about what happened in the months after I became "friends" with Snips and Snails. They never showed signs of being malicious, despite being mischievous, but that was because they just wanted to pull pranks and have fun. They never intended on hurting anyone with their antics. However, once I started to manipulate their thoughts with my words and my promises, the two boys changed where their pranks became more spiteful, and they were willing to do whatever it took to expose student secrets, all to make me happy. I didn't blame them for what they did to me in the end, as they were justified in their actions. " Despite blaming me for their change in behaviour, they didn't exactly get away scot free." I said. " What happened?" Twilight asked. " They were given three months of detention." I answered. " Basically, they were given a light sentence, while you were given a more harsh one because you were the one solely responsible for what happened." Twilight said. I nodded my head, and she promptly flung herself to the ground before letting out a massive groan out of frustration. I understood how she felt about how I was treated after the Fall Formal, yet I didn't complain about it, because I felt that my actions needed to be punished appropriately. " So, the first thing you had to do was apologize to every student at CHS, correct?" Twilight asked, lifting herself back up before fixing her hair, which got frazzled when she flung herself. " Principal Celestia was very adamant about it." I answered. " How many students did you have to apologize to?" Twilight asked. " Let's see." I said. I then began to count using my fingers, soon moving to a notepad after Twilight handed it over to me with a frown on her face, and a calculator, which she also provided me because my math work on the notepad looked terrible. As I recall, I had to spend at least two minutes with each student so that they could get the full scope of my apology, and there were a lot of faces I had to work my way through. There were also a couple of students who talked to me which did slow down my progress. I carry the two, divide by the three, add the seven to this, and finally double the result, I should have a grand total of fifty-seven. " Fifty-seven. I had to apologize to fifty-seven students, and no, I didn't need to apologize to any faculty members, as I never wronged them by any means." I said. It then dawned on me that, despite being a high school, the number of students who attended was small in number, but then, I didn't take into account anyone who may have been absent due to illness, vacation, or any other specific reason. " Only fifty-seven? I could have sworn there were more students than that when I was there to compete in the Friendship Games, but at least it meant you were only going to spend a short period of time apologizing before having to start work on repairing the front entrance." Twilight said. " That was my plan, but things didn't exactly work out that way." I said. " What do you mean?" Twilight asked. " I was to spend two minutes per student, but there was one who delayed me because he was insistent on talking to me." I answered. After the incident with the policeman and learning that I would have to repair the entrance to the school, alongside Snips and Snails, and apologize to the entire student body for my actions against them, Principal Celestia told the boys that they were free to go until lunchtime, when they had to report back. I, on the other hand, was asked to wait by the entrance to the gym until the students had been assembled. Looking inside of the double-doors, I noticed the decorations were still strewn about, and seeing them brought back immediate memories of what I had Snips and Snails do in order to frame Princess Twilight. Pinkie Pie had really outdone herself when it came to the decorations, yet I never took notice of this; my focus was only on winning the Fall Formal. I wondered if I would be asked to clean all of this up, as well, alongside Snips and Snails. That's when it dawned on me that they didn't look happy about having to help repair the front entrance. Granted, they did assist me in my plans to rule the school and conquer Equestria, yet I was telling them to do all of that against their better judgment, or lack thereof. They had no reason to be punished because of following my orders, but I guess Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna saw it differently than I did. I then began to think about the kind of fun that took place beyond those doors last night and reflected on my decision to skip it because of how infuriated I was that I had been defeated in the voting process. I could have had fun alongside everyone else, but instead I chose to remain bitter. Then again, I doubt that I would have had any fun, as everyone would have just kept their distance from me out of fear that I would intimidate them. I then sighed, knowing that, once again, my actions had condemned me to this miserable existence. After waiting around for a while, Principal Celestia made her announcement over the P.A. system. The time had come for me to begin asking for forgiveness. " Would all students please proceed to the gym! All students, please proceed to the gym!" I decided to leave the immediate area, as I doubted that the students would want to see me just before entering the gym, so I walked down a nearby hallway before stopping at a door that lead into a janitorial closet. Opening the door and walking inside, I sat down on a rickety old chair before placing my head into my hands and beginning to think about how this was going to work out. I had every intention of apologizing to everyone for my actions, yet I knew they wouldn't accept my apology, as they wouldn't trust anything that came out of my mouth. To think that here I was, wallowing inside of a mere janitor's closet, alone with my own thoughts. Whether this punishment Principal Celestia had given me would bring me closer towards understanding friendship remained to be seen, but I wasn't optimistic about it. I should have stated that I wanted to remain isolated and alone, yet she wouldn't have any of it. I admired her for wanting to help me, yet I was far too gone to be saved. I was a lost cause that should be abandoned somewhere to rot away to nothing. A few minutes later, the door opened, and Principal Celestia was standing there, her face sweating, as though she had spent some time trying to find out where I had gone. " It took me a while to find out where you disappeared to, Sunset Shimmer." Principal Celestia said. " I just needed to be alone with my thoughts for a while." I said. " The students have all gathered in the gym and are waiting for you to apologize. So, can you please come with me?" Principal Celestia asked. " I'm going to be honest for the first time in my life by saying that this punishment isn't going to go over well. I know you want me to do this as a means of healing both my and their own feelings, but they will never accept my apologies, no matter how much heart I pour into each one. I've committed far too many atrocities against them without ever showing remorse for my actions, and they still bear the emotional scars from when I bullied them, so maybe it's better for everyone in this school that I just simply leave and never come back again." I answered. Right there, I knew my words weren't going to sway Principal Celestia, because I brought up the idea of running away from my problems instead of facing them, so I decided to say something else in the hopes of making her understand how I truly felt about this. " I'm more than willing to go through with this, yet it would just be a pointless endeavour because all they desire is to see me suffer. I don't blame them for wanting horrible things to happen to me, though, as I deserve everything they choose to throw at me." " They are frustrated because you took advantage of them for three years." Principal Celestia said. " All because I saw them as inferior." I said. " What you did in the past cannot be undone, Sunset Shimmer, but I believe that you can begin a brighter future for yourself. Princess Twilight believes that you deserve a second chance, and I, too, believe this, but the only one who can make that happen is you. I know the students won't be looking forward to spending quality time listening to you apologize, yet they need to see how sincere you really are. If they believe you are truly regretful for hurting them, that you desire to change, I am sure they will forgive you for your transgressions against them." Principal Celestia said. Her words for a brief moment filled my heart with hope, but deep down, I knew this wasn't going to work. I should have just said outright that I'd rather get to work on repairing the school entrance as opposed to interacting with the other students, but before I could say anything, Celestia decided to take the matter out of my hands. " Please come with me back to the gym. Your fellow students are waiting for you." " I don't deserve to have them be referred to as my 'fellow students'." I said. " Deeply noted, but your attitude is sure to change once you start apologizing." Principal Celestia said. Knowing that I had no other choice in the matter, she ushered me into following behind her and back to the gym, where we both entered the double doors together. My entire body froze in an instant. There, looking at me with their skeptical eyes were the other CHS students, and already they began talking amongst themselves; probably wondering what I was doing there. I took a step backward out of fear for what they were going to say in response, but Principal Celestia placed her hand onto my shoulder to comfort me. My body began feeling at ease because of her kindness, yet I still felt her intention was misguided because of those expressions. " Attention students! You have all been asked to come here in order for Sunset Shimmer to give each and every one of you an apology for what she has done to each of you since she first came to our school. She will spend at least two minutes with everyone, and as soon as you have received an apology from her, you're free to return to class." " Is it too late for me to just leave?" I asked. " Everything will be fine." Principal Celestia answered. " Tell that to them." I said, prompting her to take a look for herself. Her smile quickly disappeared when she saw that the other students continued to look at me with skepticism, and some were baring their teeth to intimidate me, just like how I did the same to them. " Just give it a try, Sunset." Principal Celestia said, her face regaining its smile before she gave me a gentle shove using the hand she had placed on my shoulder moments earlier. I sighed before walking forward towards a random student, and I quickly turned to face Celestia who nodded, indicating she wanted me to go through with it. Turning back to the student, I could tell that she wasn't thrilled about having to look at me, but I gulped before proceeding, bowing my head out of respect. " I'm sorry! I am so, so sorry for everything that I did to you." I said, tears beginning to trickle down my face. The student merely looked at me before slightly nodding, which is when she proceeded to leave the gym without saying anything, without even waiting the full two minutes. I didn't know if that was her way of acknowledging my apology as sincere, but I had no time to contemplate it, as I still had about fifty-six more students before I was finished with this nightmare scenario. For the next half-hour, I would walk over to each student, none of them thrilled about me approaching them, and I would apologize to each of them. " I'm very sorry for having hurt you." " I know that this seems weird coming from the likes of me, but I want you to know that I am sorry for making your life miserable." " I'm so, so sorry for what I did!" " While this doesn't even make up for hurting you like I did, I apologize sincerely for my actions." " I'm sorry!" " Sorry... I'm just so sorry." " I came here to say that I am sorry for everything that I did when I was so messed up!" These apologies, along with many more, were spoken without ever taking a break, as I wanted to keep on going, even if it meant losing my voice in the process. Most of the students simply nodded before taking their leave, but a few of them did smile, which must have meant that they had forgiven me, yet I couldn't tell if they were as sincere as I was. When I approached the next student, I was shocked to discover that it was Flash Sentry. My heart began giving me mixed emotions because he and I used to be an item. He knows now that I was dating him for popularity and that I took full advantage of the kindness that he gave me in an attempt to change my perspective. Yet, now here we were, face-to-face, while I struggled to find the appropriate words. " I've seen you apologizing to the other students before making your way to me, and I gotta admit that the old you would never have tried doing anything of the sort. I don't know what Twilight and the others did to make you come to your senses, but I really am liking the improvement." Flash Sentry said. " Regardless, I came to apologize to you for having manipulated you for years, taking advantage of your popularity and kindness, and generally being the biggest brat this school has ever known. Flash, I don't know if words alone will ever be enough to receive your forgiveness, but I just want to say that I am sorry. I am sorry... for everything! For being a horrible girlfriend, manipulator, bully, and downright monster, I am sorry from the bottom of my heart." I said. Flash then looked at me with an expression on his face that screamed speechless. He wasn't expecting me to go all out like that, nor was I, but he was struggling to come up with an appropriate response, which made me felt like I had humiliated myself as opposed to giving him an apology. " That was... unexpected." Flash Sentry began. " But?" I asked. " While I can easily forgive you for what you did to me personally, I'm still reluctant on one thing that no one, not even yourself, has brought up." Flash Sentry answered. " What's that?" I asked. " You need to forgive yourself, Sunset Shimmer. I know it hasn't even been a day since what happened, but you need to overcome these feelings you have towards yourself before they spiral out of control and beyond your means of rectifying. Until you can do that, all of these apologies, mine included, won't have much of a meaning. You don't have to forgive yourself right away; I'm sure there's more to this than appearances suggest. But, just think about what I said." Flash Sentry answered. I then said nothing to him, turning my face away in the process, and he merely shrugged his shoulders before walking off. How could I forgive myself for what I've done? I've caused nothing but pain since the day I first came into this world, and not just here, but in Equestria as well! Did my apologies really hold no meaning? If that were the case, then my actions in the gym had been for nothing. I should have just left right then, but I doubted Principal Celestia would understand. No one understood what I was really going through, and that was perhaps for the best, as I didn't want to be a burden, so I resumed apologizing to the other students with even less enthusiasm than before. After spending another half-hour apologizing, the last student left the gym, leaving just Principal Celestia and myself. She placed her hand on my shoulder and smiled to give me some confidence that I had done the right thing, yet she was curious as to why Princess Twilight's friends never came to the gym to receive an apology. It was only at that moment when I realized they never came. They had been asked by Her Highness to help me understand friendship, so why had they decided to avoid coming here? I know I've hurt them more than the other students because of how special they were, but were they really that adamant against showing me another way? After mulling over it for a couple of minutes, Principal Celestia told me that I would have a chance to apologize to them later. For now, I was to head back to the front entrance and start the repairs, which would take me a long time to complete. As both of us walked away from the gym, we didn't notice that we were being watched by five figures who chose to keep their distance. " It sounds to me like Flash Sentry was trying to help you." Twilight said. " He always had an optimistic look on everything; he rarely allowed his judgment to get the better of him. That's why he was the most popular guy in school. His way of thinking drew students from all walks of life to him, yet he never let popularity consume him, unlike myself. Strange thing about Flash was that after the Fall Formal, he started to display some characteristics which he never mentioned to anyone before, such as being nervous and clumsy." I said. " Do you still love him?" Twilight asked. " You'd be surprised how often I get asked that question." I answered. Looking back on my relationship with Flash, it was always a one-sided affair; he was devoted to our love, while I was using him to further my own popularity. On the surface, we were a match made in heaven and were the ire of other couples, who were jealous that the two of us had so much influence over the school. In truth, we were mismatched from the beginning. He wanted to have a fun relationship, and I wanted power by intimidating others into fearing my presence. Flash deserved better than me, and while, back then, I was furious over him dumping me, as I see him right now, he made the right call. He had since moved on to Princess Twilight, and I remained single, which suited me fine. One thing I would never get tired of seeing was Flash and Princess Twilight bumping into one another. It was like those two are magnets, always running into each other. " I see Flash Sentry as a good friend who appreciates me for all that I've accomplished, but I could never love him again, because I never loved him in the first place. I mean, there was a very tiny spark, but it flickered out of existence over time." I said. " I didn't mean to pry into your love life." Twilight said. " It's okay. I never really had much of one." I said. " Why didn't our friends go to the gym?" Twilight asked. " They would reveal to me later on that the reason why they couldn't was because of how awkward the situation was for them. Princess Twilight had asked them from the bottom of her heart to help me understand friendship, yet it was something that proved difficult for them on an emotional level. Just because they could easily forgive me didn't mean that they could forget straight away. They needed time to figure things out, but, in fairness, they also said that they waited too long to come to a decision. You see, by the time they were willing to give me a chance, I had been working on repairing the front of the school, and I had pushed my body to the limits of endurance." I answered. " I knew it! They wanted you to suffer!" Twilight shouted. " No! It wasn't anything like that! If they wanted me to suffer, they would have done it themselves, but they didn't, simply because they were conflicted over the whole ordeal. I'll explain this to you in more detail, Twilight, but first I need to tell you how the repair job went." I said. I used powerful dark magic to destroy the front entrance to CHS when I clenched my fist, crumbling the structure into a single heap before tossing it aside like it were nothing. What remained was a painful reminder that I had been consumed, poisoned by the magic contained within Princess Twilight's crown. Now, I had to repair the entrance and restore it to the way it was before the incident happened. Despite having pulled the structure from its foundation using magic, it had managed to remain somewhat intact, but there were some parts that needed to be replaced, which Principal Celestia said she was going to do the moment she left Snips, Snails, and I to begin the long and arduous process of fixing it. According to Celestia, we had to start by using cement to strengthen what remained of the foundation before moving onto the next step. That involved using a combination of the leftover structure and some new materials to slowly restore the entrance back to the way it was. We also had to constantly apply additional cement coatings to ensure that the structure would be stronger than ever, so that it wouldn't be destroyed again. As for the crater in-between the entrance and the Wondercolt statue, Principal Celestia would hire a contractor to fill the hole up. Once she left us, I began to apply the initial cement coating by using the trowel she had given me earlier, and while it was difficult at first, as I had never done any kind of physical labour, I quickly got used to it. Snips and Snails, on the other hand constantly complained about being forced to do something so mundane, and they even criticized me constantly of dragging them into something just because I needed helpers to expose the secrets of the entire student body. Their job was to use the wheelbarrows to bring the cement to me where I would apply it to the foundation. Their task involved simply walking short distances that involved little effort, while I had the more difficult job. If anything, I should've been the one complaining. This would become our routine. We came out to the work site during lunch periods, several hours after school, and the majority of our Saturdays to work our hardest on repairing the entrance. I never once complained; I knew this was my fault, so I had to accept my punishment accordingly. Snips and Snails, however, never stopped complaining, and they made sure to let me know their feelings on the matter. One week after starting the repairs, I came out during the lunch period, rolled up my sleeves, and proceeded to apply the cement, yet the two boys were nowhere to be found. Had they gotten sick, unable to assist me? No, they were pretty healthy the other day, so it couldn't be that, so maybe they decided to ditch their obligation? They may have been mischievous, but they wouldn't stoop to something that low. So, where exactly could they have been? I decided to pay it no mind, as I had to continue working; this was my punishment, after all. Unfortunately, I would eventually get my answer when they came out of the destroyed entrance, smug looks on their faces, which made me curious. " Why aren't you two helping me?" I asked. " We don't need to do anything like that no more." Snips answered. " Yeah! We're off the hook!" Snails added. " What!? How did you manage to pull that off? As I recall, you two were given this punishment for being my accomplices." I said. " That's all we were, though: 'accomplices'." Snips said. " We were just following your orders." Snails added. " Snails and I started to think about this since the other day, and we both came to the same conclusion. Neither of us did what we did willingly. You came to us for help, and you made us your helpers, or 'minions', as you called us. So, we were manipulated by your desires to rule CHS with an iron fist. We paid a visit to Principal Celestia's office and confessed that we were victims just like everyone else whose lives you made miserable. She mulled over it for a few minutes before agreeing with our perspective, so the two of us no longer have to help you fix the school entrance. In fact, you've got to do the whole thing on your own!" Snips said. " Yeah! You don't have anyone to help you." Snails added. Hearing this revelation shocked me to the core. Yet, at the same time, I had a feeling this would happen. I couldn't complain about the reasoning behind their decision, as they were manipulated into committing actions that were against what they believed was right, so I had no desire to berate them over having abandoned me. They were free from their obligation, as they were victims... victims of my own lust for power. Fate, once again, had delivered a reminder that I was destined to be alone, and this was more true now than ever before. I now found myself having to repair what I caused on my own. I had no one to help me. Yet, I chose to accept that without any complaints, so I congratulated Snips and Snails for being relieved of something so mundane to them and resumed covering another cracked area in cement so that it could be strengthened for when I applied the materials later. " Why aren't you complaining?" Snips asked. " Because there's no need for me to do so." I answered. " We thought you'd be mad." Snails said. " This was my punishment alone to begin with, and you two were dragged into it unfairly because I used you to carry out my deeds. Principal Celestia should never have forced you into helping me to begin with, as what happened here was caused by my hands, and mine alone. You don't need to worry about me, as I'll be sticking through with this, even if it will now take even longer to complete the repairs." I said. The two boys were taken aback by my display of wanting to punish myself even more than I already had been, yet they eventually laughed, saying that I was being way too serious for their liking. This prompted me to turn my face towards them coldly, which stopped their mocking, but then I turned back the other way before speaking again. " I wasn't joking around when I said all of that. I knew this would happen. I am destined to always be alone. It's especially true now, after what happened last week, when I became a raging she-demon. No one can help me deal with my problems. I'm meant to suffer in complete isolation. The students have decreed so because of how I hurt them. If you two want to treat me the same way I treated you, go right ahead. I won't stop you." I said. " Wow! You really are serious." Snips said. " We thought you were joking." Snails added. " I've done horrible things, so I deserve to suffer the consequences. Nothing more needs to be said about the matter! You two should go and hang out with the other students. They will no doubt welcome you with open arms. Me? I'll just remain here and continue working on the repairs. I've no intention of leaving this spot. I have to carry out my punishment... alone." I said. The two boys then looked at each other for a moment before deciding to walk off, but not before mentioning that they were given three months' detention for their pranks. That changed nothing, however. I was still alone to fix what I had destroyed, so I continued working without showing any signs of wanting to stop for anyone. During the next couple of days, students would come and go through the entrance, making sure to laugh at me and bump into me intentionally every now and then, but I kept on working, as I didn't desire to complain about their behaviour. I had no right to call anyone out. That was a privilege no longer allocated to me. The students also took note of my presence at the entrance as rumours began circulating that I was, in fact, ditching my responsibilities. This wasn't true, as not once did I ever have to leave the work site for any particular reason. Even during the half-hour lunch break on Saturdays, I brought a light lunch, as I was more focused on getting the job done as opposed to stuffing my face with food. I remained at my post while taking hordes of mockery. Three days later, I finally managed to coat the foundation with cement, so now I had to attach the material into place while providing additional coats so that it would all hold together. If there was one piece of good fortune, it was Principal Celestia telling me that the new material had arrived that morning, and was to be applied when necessary. She even asked me if I was okay with working on my own, and I responded by saying that this was my fate, my destiny. No one wanted to help me because of what I did to them. As I continued, sweat pouring down my body, as the experience proved difficult, I didn't take notice of who was watching me from a distance. " I can't believe that she has to do everything on her own." Rarity said. " Sunset Shimmer really does want ta prove that she's changed, yet I can't take much more of her doin' everythin' on her own." Applejack said. " Agreed. She wants to understand friendship, yet this isn't the way to go about it! She should be asking students to help her; what she is doing is clearly far too much for just one person to handle. Speaking of our fellow students, they have really been taking advantage of this whole 'getting back at Sunset for what she did' thing, and I fear that Sunset is going to suffer a mental breakdown if they continue with their ridicule." Rarity said. " Just because she made their lives miserable don't mean they can do the same thing to her." Applejack said. " It is cruel indeed, Applejack, yet the students here at CHS haven't forgotten how she manipulated them by destroying their friendships, exposing their secrets, and far worse. Even the five of us have been hesitant towards helping her learn about friendship, even though we did say to Twilight that we would try." Rarity said. " I'm glad you brought her up." Applejack began. " What are you talking about?" Rainbow Dash asked, having decided to get involved with the conversation by speaking for Rarity. The apple farmer removed her Stetson hat and ran her fingers through her hair before placing her hat back on her head. She asked the other girls to move away from me in hopes that I wouldn't overhear anything they had to say. It wouldn't have mattered had they stayed where they were, as I was more focused on repairing the school entrance than on gossip about me. Once the girls were at a safe enough distance, Rainbow Dash continued, as she felt that Applejack had left them hanging. " Okay, so why does Rarity mentioning Twilight mean we have to come over here where Sunset Shimmer can't hear us?" " Twilight wanted us to help Sunset, and she had every bit o' faith that we could teach her about friendship, yet in the two weeks that Twilight went back home to her world, we ain't even attempted to do anything for Sunset." Applejack answered. " We're still trying to figure out how to approach this." Rainbow Dash said. " Really? I reckon we're holdin' back because we don't want to be mistreated by the others." Applejack said. " Maybe, but I mean, what are we supposed to do?" Rainbow Dash asked. " Remember when we first started attending CHS before Sunset Shimmer came along? We each went through different situations where we didn't want to be treated differently because of the kind of people we were, yet we managed to overcome those difficulties by understanding what friendship really meant. Right now, Sunset is struggling to find herself, as she don't know anything about friendship, so maybe it's time we helped her out. If we just sit by and do nothing, she will forever be alone, and that's something no one deserves, no matter what their past actions were like." Applejack answered. I had since taken notice of Princess Twilight's friends, and while they were showing some "unique" expressions, I chose to ignore them because they decided to walk away, most likely to ridicule me out of earshot. I don't blame them for not wanting to help me. I was a lost cause, a girl who had no concept of what friendship was. I suppose the best I could do would be for them to acknowledge my existence, but that would mean being subjected to more teasing, and it would be on a more personal level, as those five were my regular targets. Another week went by where I continued repairing the front entrance, and by this time, most of the foundation was in place. There was still the issue of how to fix the top recesses of the entrance, though. That would involve at least two people: one to hold the ladder, and the other to apply the materials and cement. During this ordeal, I had worked my body to the limit, and while I did tone up my abs and other muscles, I had reached a point where I just couldn't continue. I knew I had to keep going, though, as this was my punishment, and only I was meant to fix what only I caused. Principal Celestia had praised me for working fast to get the repairs done with proficiency, but she was concerned that I was overdoing it. Yet, I insisted that I could handle things, as it was my burden alone. Eventually, I came to the conclusion that my stubbornness had bitten off more than it could chew, and I collapsed to my knees, knowing that I had reached my limit. Looking up at what still needed to be fixed, I tried getting back onto my feet and continue, but my body refused to budge an inch. I quickly darted my head left and right in a panicking motion out of fear that the other students would see me slacking off, and my heart sank when I saw that Princess Twilight's friends were standing behind me. I had no idea how long they had been watching me, but I ignored them and tried standing up. It was no use. I began to cry because I had never felt so vulnerable before in my entire life, but I made sure to keep my sobbing away from my onlookers. Otherwise, they would take advantage of it by making me feel even worse than I already do. I sometimes wished that I had never left Equestria and simply accepted Princess Celestia's decision to end my time as her personal protégé, for I truly felt that I had just hit the lowest point. That's when someone placed a hand on my shoulder. I gasped and turned to see who had startled me. I saw that Rainbow Dash had come forward, a smile on her face, which left me confused as to her intentions. " Need some help?" Rainbow Dash asked. " Why would you want to help me after everything I've done to you and your friends?" I asked. " Because Twilight believed that you deserve a second chance, and we're about to give it to you." Applejack answered. " We're sorry that we didn't act sooner, darling, but we're here for you now, and will do whatever we can to help you." Rarity said. Of all the students at this school, these five opened their hearts to me, even after how I treated them with such contempt. A part of me wanted to refuse their request, as this was my punishment, but I allowed my heart to speak on my behalf, and I accepted their help without complaining. The girls all smiled back before proceeding to see what was left to repair. I had completed much of the work, and they insisted that I step back and relax, as I had worked myself to the brink. As I sat on the ground and watched them doing everything that I had done prior, a warm feeling came alive in my heart, and for the first time in my life, it felt wonderful. Is this what it felt like to have friends? As they continued assisting me, Principal Celestia was watching from a safe distance. She had a smile on her face, as she knew that this is what I had to experience before I could begin to heal. " That was so nice of them to help you in your hour of need, even if they waited almost three weeks to do so." Twilight said. " It was better late than never." I said. " So you finally had some friends?" Twilight asked. " I'll admit that it was a new experience for me, and we did have some trust issues at first because of the past, but they were able to slowly accept me into their circle of friends, and they even stood up for me when the other students continued their usual treatment." I answered. Turning to the next page of the journal, my eyes opened wide with surprise. I recognized what was taped to the page. I was told about these incidents from my friends. While it would have been nice to have seen what happened with my own eyes, I was preoccupied with other things that related to wanting to become a better person and move on from my troubled past. " Are those pony ears and tails?" Twilight asked. " Yep." I answered. " Why do you have those?" Twilight asked. " Let's just say that Princess Twilight left a little something behind." I answered.