//------------------------------// // Chapter 25: Musical Showcase // Story: The Other Journal // by Ganondorf8 //------------------------------// Day: Tuesday Weather: Sunny Time: 2:50pm My friends were slightly concerned with these "pony-ups" becoming inconvenient, but I reassured them that I would figure it out quickly. This problem was just the latest in a number of problems, including wanting to prove that I had reformed, my friends struggling to work together in a music band, and me being tormented by my fellow students. It was this last problem that would evolve into its own cataclysm two days before the Canterlot High Musical Showcase was to take place. Even when I wanted to help out despite not actually taking part in the showcase, no one wanted it, and they continued to glare at me because of what happened during the Fall Formal. It didn't make things better when Principal Celestia stated that this would be the best thing to happen at CHS since the Formal. My guilt continued to gnaw away at my heart. My friends did their best to make me feel appreciated, but I fear their efforts would be in vain. The Other Journal By Ganondorf8 December 10, 2015 Chapter 25: Musical Showcase. " These three girls made you suffer an emotional breakdown!?" Twilight asked, confused by my statement. " When you look at this photo, what strikes you as being odd about them?" I asked. " For one thing, they certainly have a flair for fashion, what with those flamboyant outfits they're wearing. They also give off quite the sexy vibe which, I must admit, does make me feel jealous--not that I care about stuff like that!" Twilight answered, blushing and waving her hands back and forth. I snickered at her response, and she turned away out of sheer embarrassment, but then I reached out and placed my hand on her shoulder. She turned back around shortly after. " Glad you didn't want to make me feel worse about what I just said, but they do look very beautiful, a fact that no one could possibly deny. Oh, and those jewelled pendants they wear around their necks look stunning, but why would anyone want to flaunt those about other than the wealthy? It just screams of wanting to be robbed by showing off such expensive baubles." " They weren't just accessories, but also the source of their power." I said. " What do you mean?" Twilight asked. " These three come from the same world that Princess Twilight and I call home." I answered. " Really!? Does that mean they are fellow ponies? This is most certainly fascinating. From what you've described of Equestria, ponies are categorized into four subsets based on whether or not they have horns and wings: unicorns, Pegasi, earth ponies, and alicorns, if I recall. These three must have something unique about them if they possess jewels that can grant them magical abilities." Twilight said. She then noticed my expression and quickly changed her tune when she realized that what she just said wasn't entirely correct. She was right about these three girls being from Equestria, but she was wrong about everything else. " They're not ponies? Then, what are they?" Twilight asked. " Sirens." I answered. " As in, the mythical creatures of Greek lore?" Twilight asked. " The very same. According to what Princess Twilight told us about them, they once lived in Equestria a thousand years ago. They were beautiful, but dangerous because of their singing abilities. In order to consume and digest food, the Sirens needed to also feed on the negative energy produced by living creatures. They did so by hypnotizing ponies through their singing into acting aggressively. Ponies would argue amongst themselves for even the most petty of reasons until their negative energy began to flow from them, and the Sirens would absorb this energy into their jewels, which further increased their powers. The stronger the negativity, the more powerful they would become, until all of Equestria was under their power." I answered. " They sound very dangerous, but why do they look like humans in this photo? Aren't they from Equestria?" Twilight asked. " One day, the Sirens decided to make Canterlot their next meal ticket, and despite having a few setbacks, due to their singing being archaic in the eyes of the Canterlot elite, they developed a new style of singing which enabled them to hypnotize those who had shunned them, and they grew even more powerful. Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna never knew about them or what they were doing, as another pony had tasked himself with trying to deal with them." I answered. I then turned the page, where another photo had been carefully stuck in place. It looked as though it had been taken centuries ago, and it depicted a much older pony, his luscious beard being perhaps his most unique and distinguishing feature. " Who is that?" Twilight asked. " That is Star Swirl the Bearded. He's called that because of how long his beard is, but that isn't what he's known for. Far from it. He was known as the greatest unicorn wizard to have ever lived, and was the one who not only banished the Sirens from Equestria but also created the portal that I used to come to this world. Princess Twilight views him as her greatest idol aside from Princess Celestia. She practically geeks out whenever someone talks about him." I answered. " So he was the reason you came here?" Twilight asked. " Actually, he created the portal due to a fascination with wanting to visit alternate worlds, and this world became connected with Equestria upon the mirror's creation. He decided that to stop the Sirens from further causing harm to Equestria through their singing, he had to fight them at their own game: a musical battle. According to accounts from many ancient books, Star Swirl and the Sirens were responsible for creating new musical trends as a result of their conflict." I answered. I then quickly looked up at Twilight, sensing that she would be looking back at me with that frown of hers again. Sure enough, she was, complete with her arms folded. I knew it wouldn't be easy to explain this to her, but I had to try because, despite how the whole concept sounded ridiculous, even to me, this musical battle Star Swirl had with the Sirens was significant. " Twilight, what musical trends were created are insignificant to this story, but what happened after Star Swirl conceded defeat was." I said. " I must admit that this Star Swirl the Bearded and the Sirens facing off against one another in a musical battle sounds rather farfetched." Twilight said. " Even I think it sounds ridiculous, but this is what happened, according to what Star Swirl revealed in his own journal. When it became apparent that he couldn't defeat them at their own game, he decided that he needed to take extreme measures, and this became known as his greatest mistake. Instead of trying to reason with the Sirens in the hopes that he could persuade them to change their ways, he chose to simply banish them here to this world." I said. " What!? Why didn't he give them a chance?" Twilight asked. " Princess Twilight told me that despite being a powerful unicorn, who could have become an alicorn, he had one flaw: a lack of friendship. I mean, he used to understand what it meant, but late in his life, he grew bitter about it because of an incident that happened between himself and Princess Celestia that related to a different mirror. Anyway, he chose to banish the Sirens to this world in the hopes that they would never become a threat again due to losing their power, but not even Star Swirl knew what would happen eventually. He would never use the mirror again, and kept this terrible secret until his death, a secret that haunted him for the rest of his life." I answered. " The Sirens must have been waiting in this world for a thousand years before they could regain their power." Twilight said. " Actually, when the Sirens came here, they were somehow sent forward in time to the present day. No one, not even Princess Twilight, knows how that could even be possible, but they pulled it off. Their true power was Equestrian in nature, but without it, they were limited to what they were capable of when they entered this world. However, as a result of what happened when I became a demon and was subsequently defeated, they became aware of a magic which they hadn't tasted for what must have felt like forever to them." I said. To think that had I never brought magic into this world, the Sirens would never have made themselves known, and would have simply disappeared into the fabric of history. Yet, they detected the magic that my friends, Princess Twilight, and I used during the Fall Formal. While it would be easy to simply blame myself entirely for what would happen, the others would never accept it. They'd reason that they were just as much to blame because they used magic, as well. And besides, none of us knew that the Sirens were even in this world to begin with. I then turned back to the page with the Sirens because the next part of my troubled past integrates immensely with them. " Do they have names?" Twilight asked. " The one on the right is Sonata Dusk. She can be best described as ditzy--an airhead, if you will--because of her clueless nature. The one on the left is Aria Blaze, a girl who had a negative outlook on everything. She generally kept her emotions in check while being snarky towards anyone who had to listen to anything she said. Finally, the one in the middle is Adagio Dazzle, the leader of the Sirens, who desired power just as much as I did. Yet she did things I never would have considered." I answered. " And they learned that Equestrian magic existed in this world because of what happened at the Fall Formal?" Twilight asked. " Which lead them to Canterlot High, where they registered as students. Unlike myself, who had previously attended a school, albeit one that was dedicated to unicorns mastering all kinds of magic, the Sirens had no such prior educational experiences. That didn't stop them from wanting to carry out their plan, though. Before I can talk about my first encounter with them, I should tell you what happened that morning that involved a rather awkward moment in the gym. You see, the Canterlot High Musical Showcase would happen in two days at the time, and everyone was excited about it. Yet, while I desired to help to prove that I had changed, Principal Celestia merely provided more ammunition to be used against me by the other students." I answered. During the week before the Musical Showcase was to occur, both Applejack and Fluttershy experienced their own pony-ups, and I began feeling even more pressure to figure out why it was happening. So far--on the outside, at least--all of my friends were okay with it, despite how awkward it made them look in appearance. On the inside, though, they might be cursing me for doing this to them, all because I introduced magic into this world. No. They would never do something like that to me. I know we had some awkward moments when we first became friends, but they would never think such thoughts. They knew how sensitive I was. Perhaps this was all just a mind game, where they are pretending to be my friends, but really hated me because of this pony-up problem. No! I had to stop thinking such horrid thoughts! All it did was make me paranoid, and I don't need anymore stress than what I already have. In any case, it seems they only gain pony ears and pony tails whenever they play music, so it's not like it happens several times a day or something. Still, why did it only happen when they played music? When they initially transformed in order to defeat me when I became a demon, they used the magic of friendship in connection with the Elements of Harmony. So why this sudden change? The more I thought about it, the more confused I got. Unlike in Equestria, where magic makes sense because it follows a specific pattern, the magic of this world had proven to be unpredictable. That would make it difficult for me to understand why my friends pony up. Ugh! Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse for me, they did about two days before the showcase. The students of CHS were busy working on different things in order to make it the best experience the school had ever seen. While I wasn't participating as a performer, due to my lack of musical talent, I wanted to help, too. My desire was to show everyone that I had changed since those events of the Fall Formal, so I figured on just joining in somewhere and hoping someone needs me. " Um, excuse me." I said, walking over to where Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo were busy working on a banner. I wanted to help them because I wanted to do something simple; it seemed like a good place to start. Also, they were the closest to where I was standing, and I didn't want to walk across the entire gym. The three girls ignored my words, as they were fixated on painting various colours on their banner, so I tried talking to them again. " Um, excuse me." " Huh? What is it?" Applebloom asked. " Want some help?" I asked, grabbing a paintbrush from the cup Sweetie Belle was holding. " Why do y'all wanna help us?" Applebloom asked. " I figured that I could contribute a little something to the showcase, since I'm not actually participating. Also, I thought it would give me a chance to show everyone here that I'm willing to take part without having an ulterior motive." I answered. The look on Applebloom's face told me everything that I needed to know. I knew that she felt hesitant towards me helping. Nothing ever really changed for me when it came to how everyone, besides my friends, feels about me. Hopefully, Applebloom would be willing to allow the chance for me to do something. " So? Do you want me to help you out? I promise that I won't get in your way, and only do what you ask." I said. " You really do wanna help don't you?" Applebloom asked. " More than anything." I answered. " Sorry to say, but we're good right now. We don't need any help." Applebloom said. My heart felt like it had been crushed for two reasons. One, Applebloom and her friends didn't want my help because of what I did to them in the past, when I had Snips and Snails expose some of their more impractical projects around the school. Two, it was another painful reminder that what I did before being shown friendship continued to haunt me. I was being sincere when I said that I wanted to help them, but I guess words alone meant nothing to my fellow students, even if it were couple with the desire to do good. Yes, I have started referring to them as my fellow students, but it still doesn't get rid of the pain. " Sunset Shimmer! Over here!" Pinkie Pie shouted from the other side of the gym, and hearing her voice made me smile. Despite how most of the students viewed me, at least I had my friends who had forgiven me for what I did. However, I wished Pinkie hadn't shouted so loudly. The moment she called me over, everyone else started looking in my direction, talking amongst themselves. It didn't take a genius to know that they were talking about me and about how my friends were idiots for wanting to associate with the likes of me to begin with. I knew my friends didn't care what the others thought, but I still felt they might be regretting their decision a little bit. Walking towards where Pinkie was situated, I felt really uncomfortable with so many pairs of eyes watching my every move. Once I reached Pinkie, I relaxed a little and looked back to see that my onlookers had gone back to what they were doing. " That was so nerve-wracking." I said. " Yeah! I still can't believe they're treating you like that! I would have thought that all of those extracurricular activities would have been enough to make them see you as being a new you, but popular opinion seems to be saying otherwise." Pinkie Pie said. " I didn't think everyone would be here." I said. " Are you crazy? Of course they would. The Musical Showcase starts in two days, and everyone is working hard to finish off the preparations. I think it's really mean of everyone to not let you help them, but at least you know you can expect us to want your help." Pinkie Pie said. Her words, awkwardly phrased as they were, made me smile. I still wished that the other students wouldn't keep treating me the way they did. Pinkie then showed off the poster that they had been working on, and it was really impressive, with the vibrant colours, the attention to detail, and the general size. Yet, it smelt sweet. Really sweet. Like, it gave off a scent like it had just come from a bakery. " What do you think?" Rarity asked. " It looks really great." I answered. " It's quite the eye-catching advertisement, thanks to Pinkie's choice of colours and my attention to detail. I believe that our poster will definitely make for a grand spectacle promoting the upcoming showcase, if I do say so myself." Rarity said. " The best part is that the poster smells like cake!" Pinkie Pie said. " It does?" Fluttershy asked. " Instead of using actual paste, I decided to go with frosting. What can I say? I love sweets, so I just had to go with frosting. The best part is that you could lick it off, if you wanted. I think I used strawberry-flavoured frosting. No wait! It's blue! I used blueberry frosting because it matched Rarity's eye colour." Pinkie Pie answered. " Mind if I take a sniff?" Fluttershy asked. " Go for it!" Pinkie Pie answered. Fluttershy then inched forward to see if she could smell the blueberry frosting, and Pinkie decided to push the entire poster into her face before pulling it off a couple of seconds later, leaving Fluttershy with a dab of frosting on the edge of her nose. I chuckled slightly; it was adorable. I then began to question why Pinkie would use frosting instead of the more normal, and functional, paste. After mulling over it for a few moments, I simply accepted it as Pinkie Pie just being Pinkie Pie. To think, her eccentricities used to annoy me to no end, but now they've grown on me, and I always got a laugh whenever she did something completely out of the blue. " Um, Fluttershy..." Applejack began. " What is it?" Fluttershy asked. " You've got a little something on your..." Applejack answered, trying her best not to mention that Fluttershy still had the dab of frosting on her nose. " I do? Let me try to get rid of it." Fluttershy said. She then ran her hand down the side of her face in the hopes that she had gotten rid of the frosting, but Applejack shook her head, prompting Fluttershy to run her hand on the bridge of her nose. Again, she missed the frosting. While I should have said something about this little ordeal, I chose to say nothing, in case I ended up accidentally offending Fluttershy. After spending some time getting to know her, I've gotten to know more about her anxiety issues with people she's uncomfortable with. Perhaps one day she'll overcome this fear, but she should do so at her own pace. " Did... did I get it?" Fluttershy asked. " Not exactly." Applejack answered. " Really? I could have sworn that I did." Fluttershy said. " Why don't you let me get that for you?" I asked, finally getting the courage to say something. Fluttershy nodded, and Applejack handed me a towel, letting me gently wipe the frosting off of Fluttershy's nose. Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna, at that precise moment, entered the gym, and everyone immediately turned towards them out of courtesy before continuing with what they were doing. While I have gotten closer to Principal Celestia, having given me words of encouragement to deal with the aftermath of my little episode from the Formal, I can't say the same about Vice Principal Luna. The two of us don't really see eye to eye, and I often wondered how she felt about me. After all, I did lie to her when I tried to frame Princess Twilight, and I suspect she hadn't forgiven me for that little stunt. I don't blame her for not being amused by my presence. " Good afternoon, students." Principal Celestia said in a booming voice that got everyone's attention. " I came here just to let all of you know how pleased we are that so many of you have decided to participate in the first ever Canterlot High Musical Showcase. I did not think that it would receive such a positive response, but judging from all of your hard work, everyone is thrilled to show off their musical talents. It does not matter whether you are a professional performer or someone who has only just started out. What matters is that everyone has a wonderful experience." Because the students had gotten more positive since Princess Twilight brought them together as friends, they were eager to do something of great importance, and I just had to marvel at their determination. Before, when I was ruling the school, such ideas would never have happened, as everyone had been driven apart by my actions. Seeing them all happy made my heart feel good, but I knew, deep down, that there was still some animosity left. The pain may have gone away, but something still lingered, refusing to die. " I still can't believe CHS is going through with this." I said. " It's for a good cause, after all." Applejack said. " This is a wonderful opportunity to raise money for all our after-school programs here at CHS." Principal Celestia said. Despite having taken part in a lot of extracurricular activities, there had been a limit as to what I could do because the school budget couldn't afford certain things. That's why the students wanted a musical showcase: to earn the school some additional money while having fun in the process. I then noticed Twinkleshine in one corner of the gym. Knowing her, she was already working on bringing in even more funds. I would have waved to her, but I doubted she would want to do the same. I did expose a big secret of hers, and I doubted she had forgiven me. " I think it's going to be one of the most exciting events we've had here since the Fall Formal last month." Principal Celestia said. My heart sank the moment she mentioned that, and I quickly darted my eyes around to see if my suspicions were correct. Sure enough, they were. The other students had stopped what they were doing and looked at me with those cold expressions. All of those eyes staring my way made me drop down to the floor, bury my head into my knees, and silently begin weeping. I wish that she hadn't said that. Now my confidence felt shaky, despite the reassurance I had from my friends a few moments ago. Principal Celestia took notice of my reaction, and covered her mouth with her hand upon realizing that she had unintentionally reminded me, and everyone else, of what I did. I had hoped to have made a good impression on everyone, but it seemed that was nothing more than a pipe dream now, with fate working against me. Pinkie Pie tried to comfort me, but I didn't react to her gestures. She sadly got back up and began talking with the others. I felt pain at that moment, a pain I thought had disappeared when friendship entered my life. But it was a pain that I could never escape from. The other students resumed their activities, while Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna left the gym in silence, the former knowing what she had done. " Surely, Principal Celestia didn't mean to make you feel miserable." Twilight said. " No. It was completely an accident, so I eventually forgave her. Yet, I don't think she could forgive herself for a while." I said. " It must have been so hard for you, Sunset, seeing those expressions, a reminder that they still couldn't accept you." Twilight said. " Like I said, it all worked out in the end, but back then, it proved to be very taxing on my mental state. I had only recently come out of a downward spiral, where I viewed myself as nothing but a soulless being. And now, those thoughts had woven themselves back into my mind. Did the other students care? No. They just wanted to see me suffer because of what I did, and they relished it. It seemed they wanted me to suffer as long as they did, but I don't know if that's true or not; I never asked about it. That was just the feeling I had." I said. Twilight then scooted closer before giving me a hug. Her grip was quite powerful, and I struggled to breathe. I didn't say anything, though, as I knew she wanted this, because of everything I've been through. Twilight had seen a lot of herself through me, thanks to my past, yet there was much about her that remained an enigma. I would ask questions about her experiences, but that might be an invasion of privacy. She might not like the idea of confessing anything along those lines, unlike myself, who had done nothing but that all evening. " Maybe transferring to Canterlot High was a mistake." Twilight said. " I can't believe you just said that!" I shouted. " But, everyone treated you so horribly." Twilight said. " I know, and I accepted their tormenting, despite how I felt about it. It took a long time for me to finally earn their trust, and while we all still remember what we all did to one another, it drew us all closer as friends. In fact, everyone at CHS looks up to me to figure out how the magic I brought into this world works. I've gotten a good grasp of it, but there is still much more for me to figure out." I said. " They see you as a beacon of hope?" Twilight asked. " Um, no, I wouldn't go that far. I think you may have been reading too many of those science fiction books. I'd say they see me as someone who is committed to Canterlot High and the Wondercolts and is always there to lend a hand when needed. Now, could you please release your grip? I'm on the verge of fainting, here." I answered. Twilight quickly released me, and I spent some time catching my breath. I know she can be affectionate, as far as a friend goes, yet she did need to show some signs of restraint. Then again, she didn't have much in the way of friends until after the Friendship Games, so these experiences were new to her. She had no concept on how to properly judge the situation. In time, this will become a nonissue. " Back to the subject of these Sirens. Did you know what they were when you first met them?" Twilight asked. " No. They were pretty clever at concealing their powers." I answered. " And when they used those powers?" Twilight asked. " I still didn't know what they were. I only knew that they, like me, came from Equestria. The only thing I was relying on was a hunch, sensing that something was off regarding their behaviour. They acted calm and collected like regular students, but they became very defensive of those jewelled pendants they wore around their necks. Of course, now I know that those jewels were the source of their power. Had I attempted to remove them, I could have prevented them from doing what they did to the entire student body." I answered. Looking down at the photo of the Sirens, I placed my hand firmly in the center before closing my eyes, and thinking about that initial encounter with them. Had I actually carried out what I just said to Twilight, I would have been labelled as anything but a hero. The student body would have viewed me as a petty thief, jealous of someone else's jewellery and wanting to have them for myself. At the same time, I didn't know who the Sirens were, back then, and I could have wronged three innocent girls just because I sensed something off about them. To preserve my desire for wanting to prove that I had changed, I had to give the Sirens the benefit of the doubt and silence my own thoughts of them. " When did they arrive at CHS?" Twilight asked. " That same morning where I had my 'incident' in the gym, but before that encounter took place, our friends and I had an important discussion in the music room that we would constantly hang out in. It was a sanctuary where we could play our music without distraction and channel our magical energies without fear of retribution. When we first started using the room, I had no magic because of having lost it when I was defeated, so all I ever did was watched the others play." I answered. An hour later, after the disaster that occurred in the gym, my friends and I were hanging out in one of the many music rooms that CHS had to offer. We could have chosen any one of the rooms to act as a sanctuary where we could be by ourselves, but this one in particular just screamed out to us, telling us it was the right one for our needs. Inside of this music room, various instruments were scattered about. Some were hanging on hooks on the walls, others were propped up on stands, and some were just sitting there, waiting for someone to come along and use them. Rainbow Dash had taken the liberty of asking for permission to allow us to use this particular room for practice, so once everyone had set up their respective instruments, they were ready to perform a song. Well, that was their original plan, but something came up that changed all of that. That something was me, deeply hurt by Celestia's words. Despite my friends trying their best to cheer me up, I couldn't shake off the fact that Principal Celestia had gone and said what she did. The students still had painful memories of what I did to them over the past three years, and mentioning what happened during the Fall Formal felt like I had been punched in my gut. I know that I committed a horrible act by hypnotizing everyone into becoming my teenage army. Yet, I had hoped to have moved on from such an awful experience. So, here I am, once again wallowing away in misery, my actions of the past continuing to plague me at every turn. " That was the worst experience of my entire life." I said. " I'll admit that Principal Celestia did overstep her boundaries when she mentioned the Fall Formal like that, but I reckon she didn't intend on making you feel guilty over what you did." Applejack said. " I know she didn't mean to, and her expression after the fact proved it. I wish she hadn't mentioned it at all, though. Everyone just glared at me. Again. I've not been letting it get to me for the last couple of weeks, but what just happened in the gym stressed me out again. I really was starting to think that maybe the other students were getting closer towards forgiving me. Now, I'm not so sure." I said. " What's done is done. There ain't much we can do about it." Applejack said. " I know, but still, I wish they would forgive me." I said. " It's not easy for them to overcome their own pain as a result of your actions, darling. They still see you as the bully who made their lives miserable for such a long time, and now that the shoe is on the other foot, they want to make you suffer. It's sort of a revenge mentality, but not to the same extreme. So far, all they've done is isolate you from their activities, talk about you behind your back, laugh at you, bump into you, and stare coldly at you." Rarity said. Hearing her say that made me bury my head into my hands, and the others looked at Rarity, frowns on their faces, her own face blushing in embarrassment. I know she was trying to mean well with her approach, but sometimes, I feel as though Rarity doesn't take the time to think before she speaks. " I didn't mean to offend you, Sunset Shimmer, so perhaps, we should change the subject to the musical showcase happening in a couple of days?" " It's gonna be so awesome playing the songs I've come up with!" Rainbow Dash said. " Um, we do have other songs besides yours." Fluttershy said. " We'll get to those Fluttershy, but I think we should focus on our main ones if we really wanna rock the showcase." Rainbow Dash said. " Okay, if you say so." Fluttershy said. " I still can't believe that we're actually doing this. If this had been any other kind of showcase--you know, sports, video games, all that--I'd still take part because, you know, I'm awesome. But, music has always been a passion of mine, which is why I purchased my old guitar years ago. Granted, I didn't take good care of it, but I'll be sure that my new one will get the attention it deserves." Rainbow Dash said. The others agreed with what she had to say with regards to their own passions for music, yet Applejack kept on looking at me because of what happened earlier in the gym. While I was fine with them changing the subject to what was really important, I still had some frustration bottled inside, and I wanted to bring it out. " Hey y'all! Why don't we let Sunset Shimmer get all of that stress inside her out? I reckon it'll make her feel better." Applejack suggested. " There's no need for me to do that." I said. My choice was instantly overwritten when the girls started urging me to express my feelings. I eventually caved in to them, because they had my best interests at heart. " Okay, I'm still feeling upset about what Principal Celestia said, regarding the showcase being just as exciting as the Fall Formal was. I know it was just a few weeks ago when it happened, but why did she bring it up and remind everyone of what I did? I'm not going to deny that I royally messed up! I stole Princess Twilight's crown to gain unimaginable power so that I could rule over Equestria with an iron fist, err, hoof. Ugh! No matter what, I'm never gonna be able to live that down!" " You were pretty bad at the Fall Formal." Fluttershy said. " Don't I know it!" I shouted, face-palming. " What I mean is, you, um, you became really awful when you put on her crown. It completely changed you into something horrible, and, um, I don't think anyone is going to be able to forget about it for quite some time." Fluttershy said. " All because I wanted to be a princess!" I said. " But, I don't think you were, um, really bad until you changed." Fluttershy said. " No, I was bad from the very beginning of that encounter, and wearing the crown only further augmented my inner desires. A demon. I turned into a raging she-demon. One who had become completely consumed, poisoned, corrupted by the magic of Equestria. It warped me into a twisted monster who almost killed all of you, my friends." I said. " And tried to turn everyone here into teenage zombies for your own personal army!" Pinkie Pie said. " That was perhaps my lowest point." I said. " What makes you think that?" Pinkie Pie asked. " I treated everyone, including you five, as nothing more than pawns for my own personal amusement. Everyone was merely a tool to further my own ambition, and when I changed into that demon, I didn't care what happened to the students at that point. They were there for me to use as I saw fit! I... I never meant for it to go that far! I could have stopped myself and prevented it, but my heart wanted me to keep going. The hatred within my heart proved to be too powerful!" I answered. I then buried my head into my hands and began crying again, but this was not to make my friends feel pity towards me. No, it was a genuine cry, because I did such a horrible thing. While the magical rainbow that my friends and Princess Twilight used against me had freed me from the darkness that corrupted my heart, I was still regretful over my actions. My heart may have been healing over the last little while, yet the process proved difficult to overcome. " Are you okay, darling?" Rarity asked. " I'll be alright." I answered. " Feeling better now?" Rarity asked. " I just needed to cry to get all of that out. I know it won't be easy for me from now on, since the whole student body seems to be against me." I answered. " Oh, darling, you have us, and we've forgiven you for your past, ahem, booboos." Rarity said. Did she seriously just say "booboos"? In any case, I did feel better after getting all of that frustration off my chest, but I knew that I had a long way to go in order to finally earn the forgiveness, and trust, of my fellow students. Hopefully, their constant tormenting didn't get to me. Otherwise, I could suffer a relapse and end up becoming the "bad girl" all over again, just to get back at them. In that scenario, it would be a never-ending cycle of hated. Rainbow Dash, who had been silent for quite a while now, had finally gotten bored with all of the talking and motioned that they begin playing their instruments, because they only had a short amount of time before the music rooms were locked up for the night. As the Rainbooms--a name that, again, sounds egotistical, since Rainbow Dash was both lead singer and band leader, according to herself--prepared to start performing, I got myself settled down, intending to listen to them play their hearts out. What I didn't know, then, was that soon, something would come to CHS, and it would test everyone in ways that made what I did look tame in comparison. " The Sirens, right?" Twilight asked. " Thanks to the actions of Princess Twilight, the students had grown closer together after I had driven them apart for years. But now, the Sirens were poised to have everyone at each other's throats, and all in the name of their desire." I answered. " I don't think we ever did discuss what they wanted." Twilight said. " Despite having such terrifying power, and being able to turn everyone against each other to feed on the resulting negative energy, the Sirens had no aspirations for wanting to take over the world. Nor did they want to gain power for the sake of it. In truth, they wanted this world to adore them." I said. " Seriously!?" Twilight asked. " It's not what I would call the most thought-out plan out there, but their beauty was complemented with their desire for attention. Their belief was that, by hypnotizing everyone in the world and having them bend to their will, they would forever be appreciated. In their eyes, popularity was what they wanted, and they would do anything in order to get as much of it as possible. In a way, they were similar to me, but while I focused on a high school, they focused on a much grander scale." I answered. " That does make some sense, I guess. Sirens desired attention because it meant feeding off of their victims and never having to worry about food. But these three weren't like the actual Sirens of Greek mythology, were they? Because they came from Equestria, did they have a different approach?" Twilight asked. " They wanted their Equestrian magic back. It was lost to them when Star Swirl the Bearded banished them to this world, and they were desperate to get it back because they couldn't fathom living out an existence without it. With their magic at their disposal, they could have everyone eating out of their hands merely by singing, using their true Siren forms against any who tried opposing them." I answered. " At the very least, the Sirens had no idea what you did." Twilight said. " Oh they knew about me, Twilight, but what I didn't know was when they found out." I said.