//------------------------------// // Chapter 71: Capture the Flag // Story: The Other Journal // by Ganondorf8 //------------------------------// Day: Saturday Weather: Cloudy Time: 4:15pm The relay race had ended, resulting in Canterlot High winning and forcing the final event, but it came at a terrible price. My anger once again got the better of me, and Twilight became the unfortunate victim of my wrath. She needed to be told straight that she was messing with forces that were beyond her comprehension, yet I went too far, and she ran off in tears. I had once again reawakened as a monster. Things got worse when Principal Cinch began questioning the legality of CHS's victory by bringing up accusations of us cheating, yet we couldn't provide her any proof otherwise since magic was something that was difficult to explain. Now I had to deal not only with Twilight but also with the prospect of losing the Games because of factors beyond my control. Principal Celestia attempted to make me feel better, but her words made me feel worse. Now came the waiting period where everyone looked toward the final event, and people had plenty of questions. The Other Journal By Ganondorf8 April 24, 2016 Chapter 71: Capture the Flag. " Okay, Twilight! Where do you want to begin regarding the Elements of Harmony?" I asked. " I know I asked you three specific questions, but I have so many more on my mind. I'm just so ecstatic that you're willing to take a few moments to sate my curiosity despite what's coming up next in the journal." Twilight answered. Me and my big mouth. Anytime I mentioned anything that Twilight didn't know about, she wanted to know regardless of whether or not she could use it in a practical manner. Her curiosity knew no bounds, and it was beginning to get tiresome. I really wanted to continue with the journal, yet she would pout until I caved in to her demand. My answers were limited by my own knowledge and whether I had enough patience. " Sunset... I'm probably bothering you by asking about where you're from, but it's something that I've always dreamed about." Twilight said. " What do you mean?" " I've been studying for years and learned an awful lot, yet my experiences were limited to what was perceived as reality. Whenever I learned something, I would do so through a logical standpoint and refused to accept the possibility that a fantastical answer could be reached. Ever since I first met you, I've been exposed to wonders and ideas that never once crossed my mind. I suppose this is my way of saying thank you for teaching me about your world despite it not being an easy thing for you. I know you've been worried about sharing specific details, but you don't need to have such concerns. I have no intention of seeing Equestria for the time being." Twilight answered. Just when I thought I knew everything about Twilight, she decided to throw a curveball. I had banked on her wanting to see Equestria with her own eyes, and I actually had planned on taking her there for a visit someday once things had finally settled down. But to hear her say that she had no intention was certainly surprising. Was it because she was afraid of seeing something that goes beyond her perspective? Or, was she afraid that she would be thrown under the bus because of Princess Twilight? I don’t think she needs to worry about that; despite the two of them being almost identical to one another, the differences between them were obvious after a few minutes of conversation. Her Highness wouldn't hesitate when it came to wanting to visit a new place. She always geeked out over the prospect of seeing a new location, meeting new creatures, and indulging in their culture, eventually wanting to write an entire book about it. It didn't matter if the place was dangerous to ponies. Her Highness was concerned about expanding her own knowledge and perhaps showing others the intricacies of pony culture instead of being fearful. Twilight here was the complete opposite. She desired to learn but wanted it to be in a safe environment where she was in complete control. If she ventured forth into something that was beyond her limits, it would make her uncomfortable and vulnerable. Maybe I'll take her to Equestria when she's good and ready. At least she will know much about my home ahead of time by answering her questions. Granted, my answers are limited to what I remember when I lived there over three years ago, but they should still prove useful enough. " You don't want to see my world?" " I've got to complete my high school education, apply for the appropriate university, finish that off in four years, buy a house, get a job, buy a car--first I need to earn a license to drive one--and maybe settle down and start a family." Twilight answered. That wasn't quite the answer I was expecting from her. In fact, her answer told me that she was concerned with getting her life sorted out before even considering taking a trip to see Equestria. We were all reaching that point in our lives, yet she had really thought long and hard about what she wanted to do. It made me feel small in comparison, as I hadn't even begun to think about it. " So, you'll see it after all of that?" " It shouldn't take more than five years." " Are you sure you don't want to see it sooner?" " My priorities must come first, Sunset, but I can still indulge myself in knowing what your world is like." " Okay, but I hope that you change your mind. Anyway, what would you like to know first?" " Where did the Elements of Harmony come from? I know that they are powerful artefacts, but I have a suspicion that the ancestors of the modern ponies didn't have a hand in creating them. No offence, but it feels like ponies in general wouldn't understand how to create something like that." Twilight answered. " None taken. However, you are right about us ponies not creating the elements. They were created by a tree." " I'm sorry, but I thought I just heard you say that a tree made them." " And that is the truth, Twilight. The Elements of Harmony were created by an ancient tree known as the Tree of Harmony. Where it came from and where it's located I can't tell you, as that's information known only to Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Princess Twilight, but what I can say is that it's the most majestic looking tree imaginable. At least, that's what Her Highness described about it." I said. " That sounds about right." " What do you mean?" " Equestria has different rules compared to this world, so the idea of a tree granting ancient artefacts is plausible." Twilight answered. I couldn't help but smile at her for wanting to rely on logic in order to understand what was beyond her means. She reminded me so much of Princess Twilight. Both of them in my eyes were adorkable, a combination of dorkiness and cuteness, yet their differences were enough to establish themselves with their own identities. " Are you able to tell me how the tree was able to produce the Elements?" Twilight asked. " The Tree of Harmony was first discovered by Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. They needed to find the means with which to defeat Discord, a chaos spirit who used his magic to turn Equestria upside-down until the land was nothing more than a chaos-induced nightmare. He had been ruling Equestria unopposed, and his unpredictability made him difficult to oppose, so the sisters took it upon themselves to find something that could stop him. The Elements were already there embedded within the tree by the time they found it, but they didn't know what to do at first until Celestia took the initial step." I answered. " Did the two of them use all six Elements themselves?" " Yes, because only they had the magical power to be able to wield them without fear of becoming consumed. Back then, the Elements were merely six gems that possessed great magic that could pierce any veil of darkness, but their true powers wouldn't be discovered until Princess Twilight figured it out." I answered. " It sounds like the Elements of Harmony were used to solve all of Equestria's problems." " Only the major ones where the threat of ponykind hung in the balance. After using the Elements to defeat Discord and banish Princess Luna to the moon, Princess Celestia hid them away because of what happened to her sister. They were hidden in a secret compartment beneath the throne room of the old castle and remained there for a thousand years until they were rediscovered by Princess Twilight." I answered. What was perhaps the strangest thing was that Equestria went through a peaceful existence between Luna being banished and returning when she reawakened as Nightmare Moon. Once she returned from her exile, it acted as an invitation to allow other villains to make their bid in conquering the world. The Elements got used more times in the span of a single year than during the thousand years after Nightmare Moon’s banishment. " Do the Elements allow anyone to use them?" " No, only those who were chosen. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna wielded them initially, but when Princess Twilight and the pony versions of our friends used them the first time to defeat Nightmare Moon, they became connected to the Elements. The two sisters could no longer use them when the power changed hooves." I answered. " You don't know what became of them, right?" " The last time I knew was when I stole the Element of Magic--the Element of Her Highness--in my bid to become the ruler of this world." I answered. I couldn't tell Twilight about what could've happened to Equestria. Because they had become integrated within Equestrian defence, the Elements could never be separated. Were that to happen, it would leave the others powerless. In turn, that would deny Equestria protection from evil forces until it was returned. To think that my selfish attitude almost brought about the destruction of my world, and all I cared about was becoming a princess, believing it to be my destiny. No wonder my life was so messed up until Her Highness showed me another way. That's why if I had been given an Element of Harmony, it would be Empathy. I could never allow anyone else to go through the same experience that I've been through. I would teach them not to go down the dark path I chose out of my hatred. Instead, I would show them a better path that would lead them to greatness, but how great depended on their perception. It was my way of making up for what I did. " Surely there are other artefacts out there." " Most definitely, but where and when they will be discovered is anyone's guess." " Did you discover any, Sunset?" " I was too busy studying to ever have such an interest." " That's too bad." " If I could rewind the clock, I'd have made some different choices and might’ve discovered an artefact." I said. I then placed my hands firmly on the journal, knowing what was coming up next. Unlike other situations where I showed hesitancy, this one wasn't as bad; I wasn't losing my temper or being condemned by others for doing something I shouldn't have done. I was hesitant because of what happened with Twilight. " We might as well get into the final event, or the lack of said event, since it never took place. Before that though, I want to explain what others were saying to Dean Cadance about what they witnessed in addition to questions about how the Games would be concluded." " I missed all of that." " Really?" " Yes, but I won't say what I was doing until after you've finished." " Fair enough." In the span of roughly ten minutes, my efforts to keep the magic under control had shattered into pieces. There was no point in trying to fix anything. The damage had been done, and now, Crystal Prep knew of the existence of magic. I was responsible for everything falling apart because of being bogged down with pressure and failing to give the problem enough attention. On top of that, I tried to convince Twilight to give up on trying to understand something that was beyond her scope, yet my anger clouded my judgment, and she ran away with tears down her face. Principal Cinch didn't make things any easier for me, accusing CHS of cheating during the Tri-Cross Relay. We had won the event despite all of the craziness, which was enough for her to make her accusations. While Rainbow Dash had ponied up and flew about to distract those plants, she never crossed the finish line. I did for CHS, and without the use of magic, Twilight having stolen mine at the time she stole the magic from the portal. Unfortunately, my efforts at giving CHS a legitimate chance at winning were sullied by my own irrational behaviour alongside Cinch not wanting to accept Crystal Prep having a school on equal footing. The only bright spot during those ten minutes was Principal Celestia. She had to deal with explaining what happened to Cinch, and while I wanted to say something to help her, I remained silent out of fear of making things worse. She managed to remain calm in the face of those accusations, but deep down, I knew she was disappointed that the magic flowing around had been noticed by those who didn't understand what it was. Celestia's attempt at making me feel better didn't have the desired effect either of us were hoping for. I couldn't let her take the fall for something caused by my own hands. That would've been unfair, and she didn't deserve to deal with forces from beyond this world. All that could be done now was accept the fact that magic was now known to Crystal Prep and ensure that things didn't spiral even further out of control. Fate, unfortunately, had a different idea in mind. Cinch believed that because CHS used magic to help them win the relay--which wasn't the case, as again, Rainbow didn't cross the finish line--Crystal Prep were allowed to use magic of their own to win the final event and the Friendship Games. Had I known this was going to end up happening, I would have confronted Twilight before the final event and taken her pendant from her before anything else went wrong. However, she disappeared after the relay, so I couldn't find her until it was too late. Had I been more understanding, she probably would have given it to me, knowing that I was the best person who could properly deal with it. Instead, she chose to keep it. An hour had passed since the relay ended, and everyone had gathered in the gym according to Dean Cadance's instructions. It actually felt strange seeing the gym crammed with so many students, teachers, and other members of staff. Normally, such gatherings only brought half of the students at CHS and gave off an impression that stated the school hardly had anyone in attendance. However, the same trope that had defined the Games remained in full force, much to my displeasure. Both schools occupied their own bleachers, tensions between them stronger than ever. I felt powerless to stop something that had existed long before I came here. I tried to understand the bitter rivalry between CHS and Crystal Prep, but to no avail. There was a deep rooted connection that bound both schools together, and my efforts to change that connection didn't go over very well. In addition, my friends didn't like the idea of Twilight coming to our school as a new student, despite my pleas that she deserved better than staying at Crystal Prep in utter misery. " Glad to see that everyone made it here safely." Dean Cadance said over the deadly silence that gripped the gym. I felt sorry for her for being the only one saying anything, as all everyone else was doing was staring at those from the opposite school, fierce hatred burning in their eyes. I actually wanted to say something in an attempt to brighten the mood, but I was denied when Rainbow Dash grabbed my shoulder and sternly shook her head. " I see that everyone is as tense as ever regarding the Games. Anyway, I am sure you all have questions regarding how things turned out during the Tri-Cross relay. I'll be able to answer some of those concerns in addition to providing some hints about the final event." Dean Cadance said. " What in the world happened out there with those plants?" One student asked. " I believe they were a special obstacle Principal Celestia had incorporated into the relay to provide more of a challenge for the competitors. We're not sure why those plants acted in such an aggressive manner, but rest assured that we will not have a repeat of that." Dean Cadance answered. " Are you sure about that?" " There is no other logical explanation other than that they were added at the last minute." " Why did Principal Celestia think it was a good idea to have killer plants on the track?" Another student asked. " She had no idea that those plants were dangerous." Dean Cadance answered. I could tell that she was doing her best to cover up what had happened. It wasn't going to be easy to convince everyone, but she was determined not to cause widespread panic. The CHS students were used to seeing magic, so it was the Crystal Prep students who needed the proper reassurance. They still believed that we cheated by using something that gave us a competitive edge. " What's important is that everyone is safe. Does anyone else have any questions regarding what happened out there?" Dean Cadance asked. " Why'd that one girl have wings?" " Um, you see, the thing is, I don't know why that happened." " Oh come on! Everyone saw her suddenly grow wings out of her back!" " Perhaps it was some kind of optical illusion that proved very convincing." Dean Cadance suggested. Did she seriously just say "optical illusion"? I knew she wanted to downplay the whole magic issue, but to call it something so unfounded? I felt insulted knowing that the magic from Equestria was being so dismissed. I noticed that she was sweating nervously and constantly looked behind her back at Principal Cinch, who was glaring at her with those sharp eyes of hers. Cinch still believed that CHS had cheated, yet Dean Cadance wasn't bringing that up. It was as though she were using her heart by not bringing up those accusations, yet was afraid of losing her school career were she to not accept Cinch's words as correct. No wonder so many feared Cinch. Her expression was enough to strike terror into the bravest of individuals, and all they could do was accept her way of thinking. She held a monopoly over the school district by using intimidation to force others into agreeing with whatever she says. " Look, everyone! Why don't we just accept the fact that CHS clearly won, and move on with the final event." Flash Sentry announced. " CHS won? Ha! That's a laugh! You should consider a career as a comedian." Indigo Zap shouted. " Sunset beat you fair and square!" Rainbow Dash shouted. " And Rainbow didn't even cross the line." Flash added. " What's your point?" Indigo asked. " The 'point' is that Sunset was the better rider and won using her own skill and ingenuity. If it wasn't for Rainbow flying around and keeping those plants distracted, you could've been seriously hurt or worse." Flash answered. That response generated an applause from the CHS students, yet the Crystal Prep students didn't feel the same way. They were still upset over how the relay ended. They believed the Games should be over by now. I hoped that Flash, Rainbow, or anyone else would tone things down before someone said something they would regret later. " You should be glad Rainbow saved your life. That plant would've made a meal out of you!" Flash shouted. " I never asked her to save me!" " That's gratitude for you." Rainbow Dash shouted. " You should be more concerned with your own kind." Sunny Flare shouted. " At least I know how to be loyal." " What's that supposed to mean?" " Indigo left Sugarcoat hanging--literally--while she sped off to win the race." " You've gotta sacrifice the weak in order to salvage the strong. Sugarcoat knew she became a liability the moment she was taken out of the race, and Indigo knew that she needed to win above all else to maintain Crystal Prep's perfection. That's the difference between our two schools. You allow friendship to leave you weak while we focus on the individual who can get it done without any trouble." Sunny Flare said. " No wonder the other schools hate you guys." " They're just jealous of our greatness." " What greatness?" Flash asked. " The kind that will allow us to beat you in the final event and take home the crown like we always do." Indigo answered. Throughout this pointless bickering, I chose to keep quiet in case I made things worse than they already were. I was ashamed at how both schools had reduced themselves all because they see winning the Friendship Games as more important than life itself. Upon looking up at both sets of bleachers, every student was arguing with one another and were showing no signs of letting up. I was perhaps the one person who had any kind of decency by not resorting to barbarism, but luckily, things quickly came to a grinding halt when the sound of a whistle broke through the noise and brought everyone to silence. I took the liberty of covering my ears ahead of time, as I knew what was coming. " Everyone stop!" Dean Cadance announced. " They started it!" Rainbow Dash shouted. " No, they did!" Indigo shouted. " That's enough!" Dean Cadance said, blowing on her whistle again, exposing everyone's ears to the obnoxious noise. " While I have no qualms over friendly bantering aimed to get everyone excited, all of you have crossed the line. The fact is CHS won and have tied the Games with each school having won one event apiece. If you don't like the result, then it's too bad because it's over with." " But--" " I'm not going to repeat myself again, Indigo." " Alright." " There will be no further questions with regards to what happened during the motocross race. I had hoped for a serious discussion that could've provided us with some insight on how to ensure it doesn't happen again during future games, but I see you lack any manners when it comes to expressing yourselves." Dean Cadance said. For the first time since coming here with the rest of Crystal Prep, she had taken on a serious stance that no one was expecting. I always thought Cadance was a motherly figure who just wanted what was best for everyone, and true to that, she had patience, but even that had its limit. Just looking at her eyes proved that she was fed up with the arguing and had put her foot down. I wasn't sure if Cinch approved of her sudden attitude adjustment, but a part of me felt that she liked it. " Because we weren't sure if the final event was going to happen, we didn't exactly prepare it." Dean Cadance said. " Will it be challenging?" A student asked with a friendly demeanour in his voice. " It's not going to be physically challenging, if that's what you were thinking. After seeing what happened during the relay, the other principals and I have decided that the final event will involve relying on your mental prowess." Dean Cadance answered. " That sounds like fun." " Fun? I was hoping for a challenge." " It will still be challenging, especially when you learn what's going to happen later when I give you the full details. For now, I can tell you that all competitors from each team will be taking part at the same time and that they will have free reign of the entire school. No room will be off limits, so consider this event to be a true test of your sleuthing skills. Of course, you will be limited to just the building." Dean Cadance said. Her "hints" left more questions than answers, but at least everyone wasn't arguing with each other like they were a few minutes ago. The blame was clearly on Rainbow Dash and Indigo for allowing their pointless rivalry to encourage others to get involved until everyone was acting irrationally. Dean Cadance had shown some real initiative by demanding everyone to stop fighting and focus on what was important. Perhaps she had the potential to become a better administrator than Cinch due to having a mixture of comfort and authority. That's when I realized that there was one person who was missing from the gathering, and that was Twilight. I wasn't looking for her earlier since I felt she would try to hide from me after what I said to her, but now I needed to talk to her before the final event. I quickly looked across the Crystal Prep bleacher, but there was no sign of her anywhere. I was surprised she had avoided an assembly. She seemed like the kind of person who wouldn't miss out on anything important. Then again, this wasn't a mandatory assembly for the competitors, so she didn't need to come if she didn't feel like it. Still, I felt concerned not only for Twilight but for the pendant she had around her neck, as well. It now contained the magic of six individuals and a magical portal. That alone made her dangerous not only to everyone around her but also to herself because she had no idea what kind of power she was holding in her hands. I had to find her quickly before something terrible happened. " I knew that the rivalry between CHS and Crystal Prep was bad, but I never thought it would reach a point where Dean Cadance had to step in. She's always been a voice of reason who helped any students who needed counseling, yet she really let them have it." Twilight said. " Rainbow and Indigo allowed their egos to drag everyone else into the problem." I said. " Those two showed how passionate they were, but it came with a terrible price." " No one cared about the true purpose behind the Friendship Games. They were all consumed with the desire to win, and that deafened them to what they were truly saying about each other. I think it's been that way since anyone can remember. It's pretty sad that winning means ruining friendships before they even began." I said. While it sounded like I was blaming Crystal Prep for not thinking about friendship, CHS wasn't doing a good job promoting Princess Twilight's message. When I was a bully, friendship was non-existent, but that changed when Her Highness brought it back after I had almost destroyed it. Sure, we had some hiccups with the Sirens and Anon-A-Miss, but CHS managed to get through those issues without too much damage to school morale. Once the Games came around, everything suddenly changed as though Her Highness' presence had never existed. Students from both schools were arguing in a manner that I never would've dreamed of during my dark past. What CHS represented was on the verge of irreparably shattering to pieces. I know my peers wanted to win, but why did it have to come at the cost of friendship not only towards Crystal Prep but towards each other, as well? One thing I never told Twilight was what happened after the first event when half the members of both teams were eliminated. The rest of the CHS students were downright furious at Flash and the others who didn't make it to event number two. They ridiculed their efforts and called them worthless due to how poorly they performed. If not for my friends and I intervening on their behalf, things would've gotten ugly. If Princess Twilight had seen what CHS had been reduced to, she would never come back. I had my own problems, yes, but they were definitely worse than anything I could've done. " Reputation can be truly vile." " I know they wanted to prove themselves capable of beating Crystal Prep, but they lost sight of that when they allowed the competition to control their actions. You could even say that Rainbow Dash's pep talk proved too useful in giving everyone hope." I said. " They were trying to become the next Crystal Prep." " A horrible thought if I ever heard one." " Canterlot could do without anything like that." " So where were you while everyone else was in the gym?" " After our unfortunate conversation, I began thinking about how to approach the situation, as I mentioned before. I ultimately chose to keep my pendant. The thought of losing everything I had worked hard for was too much for me to bear. Deep down, I knew that I was making a mistake, but I had to keep going to satisfy the curiosity that dictated my every waking thought. Once I made my choice, I found a quiet space in one of the hallways and began reading to take my mind off of what you said. I wanted to go to the gym, but I was afraid of making eye contact with Principal Cinch." Twilight answered. " Why would you be afraid of her? After all, you didn't mess up during the relay." " You forget that I stumbled during the archery component. If I had been up to snuff like the rest of the Shadowbolts were, they would've started the motocross section roughly five minutes before both you and Rainbow Dash. You'd have never stood a chance." Twilight answered. I slapped my forehead. How could I have forgotten what happened to her? That was the reason why I argued with both Indigo and Sugarcoat to begin with. Did her mistakes truly cost Crystal Prep the relay and the Games? No. It was the crazy magic that was responsible, yet that was caused by Twilight's hands. In that sense, she screwed over the Shadowbolts, albeit unintentionally, and that does explain why she was under so much pressure before the final event. I don't think they ever figured out her connection with those plants, with the exception of Cinch. She had overheard our conversation and promptly coerced Twilight into releasing the magic she had collected without knowing what the consequences were. That's why humans should never mess around with magic unless they had been trusted with it. " How could I? It saddened me to see you suffer." " I'm glad you were looking out for me." " Despite what I said to you after the race, I wanted to make amends quickly, but I never got the chance. You kept your distance from me until the final event, and even then, you were huddled with the rest of the Shadowbolts, planning on how best to approach it." I said. Turning to the next page of the journal, I turned away after seeing the photo glued there. Once again, it had been taken by Photo Finish as a memento, but it was a photo that wounded my heart. Twilight then looked at it, and she blushed before moving back, knowing full well the significance behind the image. " I did a lot of bad things during my time at CHS but never did I have the gall to destroy the Wondercolt statue." I said. " You felt attached to it?" " In a way; it was my only way home. To destroy it would mean trapping myself here, and I had no intention of doing that. However, you destroyed it to show just how powerful you had become by absorbing our magic." I answered. What was supposed to have been an assembly designed to address concerns about what happened during the motocross section of the Tri-Cross Relay and talk about the upcoming final event had instead turned into a complete and utter disaster. The moment Indigo Zap opened her mouth and commented on what Flash said, everyone immediately began taking pot shots against one another until the gym had become a madhouse. No one cared what they were saying so long as they had the louder mouth. If not for the intervention of Dean Cadance, the arguing could have resulted in an all-out brawl. They were seriously that close to doing that. Humans were fickle creatures, believing that aggression was the way to handle their problems. In Equestria, it wasn't uncommon for ponies to be aggressive, yet we would never resort to violence in order to get our way. Violence was the humans go-to approach, often having poor results stemming from being unprepared. What I witnessed in the gym was, without a doubt, the lowest point CHS had ever experienced. It made what I did look pale in comparison. The purpose of the Friendship Games was for the two schools to get along, yet they had been driven apart by the prospect of seeing who was going to win. Competition had reduced everyone to mindless thugs who cared more about winning a gaudy trophy than embracing the true nature represented by the Games. Once the assembly had been adjourned, everyone went their separate ways, but we were told to meet in front of the main entrance in a few hours time. The final event was to start outside, and they needed to get the necessary preparations in place. Dean Cadance's hints about the event were vague at best. She mentioned that it would take place indoors and competitors could access all rooms no matter what. My initial thought was that we were going to play paintball. It sounded fun but was likely to be messy. What ended up being the actual event was not only disappointing but also questionable. They needed a few hours to prepare something like that!? For those next few hours, I tried to look for Twilight to apologize for how I acted. I was cruel, and she didn't deserve to be treated like an outcast. Unfortunately, my efforts were in vain. She remained elusive, and eventually, time had run out. My only hope was to get through the final event and speak with her afterwards. I also hoped that her teammates hadn't decided to chew her out again over what happened during the relay. Later, when everyone had gathered outside of the main entrance, the weather had turned really foul, but luckily, it wasn't going to be raining. I could tell that Crystal Prep weren't thrilled about having to compete in a final event. In their eyes, they had already won but were cheated out of the trophy. For CHS, it was our chance to prove our mettle by beating them without the use of magic or anything else that constituted as cheating. " Since the score's tied, the final event will determine the winner of the Friendship Games." Dean Cadance announced to the cheers of everyone aside from my friends, myself, and the Shadowbolts. Our group was worried about the magic problem, but we had no idea what was happening with the other team. " I know you've had to wait for a little while, but now we can finally get underway. So now, I welcome all of you to Capture the Flag." The moment she said that, the cheers went silent and were replaced with shocked looks from everyone. The final event was a children’s game? I didn't know what to think about the announcement, but judging from the grumbling sounds, this wasn't what anyone expected. " You may think this is a simple children's game, but you will quickly discover that we have made things a bit more interesting." Vice Principal Luna said. " This event will test our competitors’ ability to work together as a team and test their sleuthing skills. Now, I know this revelation isn't exactly what most of you were hoping for, but after what happened during the relay, we decided that something less dangerous was in order." Dean Cadance said. " It doesn't mean this was planned at the last minute." Vice Principal Luna added. " We were going to go with something similar that involved more risk-taking, but the lives of you students take precedence over everything else. I can truly say that our competitors will enjoy the experience." Dean Cadance said. Her efforts in trying to make this event sound epic failed to have the kind of impact she and the other administrators were hoping for, but then, there was no other choice. The Games had gotten dangerous, and they wanted to reduce that threat before it could cause any actual harm. " Now, I will step back and allow Vice Principal Luna to explain the rules." " Somewhere on campus, a pennant from each school has been hidden. We have made sure to hide them in locations that you normally wouldn't think of looking. Each team will be given a clue as to the general location of the flag they seek, but from there they will be on their own, searching throughout the building." Vice Principal Luna said. She was holding a pair of flags in her hand, each one representing CHS and Crystal Prep. Why was she holding them? Weren't they supposed to be hidden somewhere inside? I thought that perhaps she had forgotten, but I quickly realized what was really going on. " I hold in my hands replicas of the flags that are hidden. Take a good look at what they look like, as you will must find the one that matches your school's colours." " The security cameras have been turned on, and we'll be monitoring you and your progress." " If a team finds the flag of the opposite school, you must leave it where it is for them to find. Do not try to hide it in another location. We will know if you did. You will also be given one hour to find your respective school's flag. The first team to find their school's flag and bring it back wins. If neither team has found their flag by the end of the time limit, we shall keep going until one team succeeds." Vice Principal Luna said. " There will be no ties. This event will only end when a winner has been determined." Dean Cadance said. " Both teams will start by the base of these steps." " And as soon as our teams are ready, we'll begin." Their explanation of the event had gotten students from both schools talking about how things were going to go down. When it came to searching around the building, the advantage clearly belonged to us, yet I was certain that they had taken that into consideration. To make sure that Crystal Prep had just a fair chance as CHS, the flags had been hidden in places that were discreet, unusual, where you'd never think of looking. I actually found it liberating, but the same couldn't be said about Rainbow Dash. She had hoped for an epic grand finale but instead it was something simple. " Are they serious!?" Rainbow Dash asked. " Whatever is the matter, darling?" Rarity asked. " I was expecting something awesome, but instead we got something lame." " Um, maybe it won't be as bad as you think." Fluttershy said. " It's gonna be a snooze fest." " At least we won't have to do anything that could hurt us." " I'm in complete agreement with Fluttershy. Besides, you know that they had no other choice in the matter, Rainbow Dash. If someone had gotten hurt during the last event, this school would be embroiled in a lawsuit from parents who would deem CHS too dangerous for their children. We'd all be pulled out immediately and the school closed down. We're already teetering on a thin rope because of Principal Cinch accusing us of cheating, so we need to make sure nothing else goes wrong." Rarity said. " This event will test us, um, just not in a crazy manner." " And what is that supposed to mean?" Rainbow Dash asked. " Well, you, err, have been allowing your ego to run wild because of that one student from Crystal Prep." " Yeah, I guess I have, but I can't help it. That Indigo Zap just rubs me the wrong way." " I can attest to that." I said. " Reckon we all oughta get ourselves prepared for the final event. I know it ain't really your thing, Rainbow Dash, but this is what they wanted to go with, so we might as well just do what we can to find our flag." Applejack said. I could always count on her to be the voice of reason for our group. There were times where she got carried away and contributed to the conflict, but she knew what to say for the most part to help us through some tight spots. " I'm surprised y'all have so much trouble with somethin' so simple as Capture the Flag. Heck, it ain't hard at all." " Easy for you to say." " Findin' things is easy if you know what to look for. Why, I've combed over Sweet Apple Acres countless times lookin' for things one of my family needs." " Which is why we'll be relying on you." " Okay, but I'm gonna make sure y'all contribute." That's when I noticed Fluttershy twiddling her thumbs. She usually did that when she had something important to say, but her shyness made it difficult for her. Did she secretly doubt our ability to win the final event? It wouldn't surprise me. She was the least physically-oriented among my friends, her focus being supportive without actually doing anything strenuous. No one noticed what she was doing initially, but when I coughed a few times to get everyone's attention, Fluttershy immediately stopped and just stared at us with a blank look. " Is something wrong?" I asked. " I've, um, been thinking." Fluttershy answered. " About what?" " I don't feel like playing these games anymore." " What!? Why would you say that?" Rainbow Dash asked. " For some reason, I just don't have the energy to want to compete against the Shadowbolts anymore. It's like I want to just give up right now and go home before I do something to humiliate myself." Fluttershy answered. " Well, we have to play! This is the last event!" " Again, I must agree with Fluttershy. It's a little hard to focus with all the magic-stealing and portal-opening. Things were going smoothly until Twilight began stealing our magic, and seeing what happened during the relay is difficult to ignore." Rarity said. " I hear what you're saying, but we shouldn't allow that to distract us. We can still pull this off if we give it a hundred percent." " Perhaps, darling, but Sunset said that the magic has gotten so far out of control, not even she is able to do anything about it. If Princess Twilight were here, she and Sunset could easily resolve things without any problems. However, she is, not and we must turn to our resident magic expert instead. We can still compete, but we don't have the usual spark that we've relied on for a long time." Rarity said. For a moment, it looked like she would claim that Her Highness was our one and only saviour, implying that I was nothing more than a poser who thought she knew what to do. I was relieved to know she also included me in her synopsis. Rarity was correct, though. Her Highness and I could have solved the whole magic problem, but with the main portal to Equestria no longer working, it fell onto me to ensure that everything turned out for the best. It was unwanted pressure that only served to question my own ability, yet I had no other choice. Speaking of Twilight, I could see her standing on the opposite side of the front yard with her teammates. I couldn't tell what her expression was, but she kept her distance, as though she didn't want anything to do with them after what they said. I wanted to go over there and apologize, but something was holding me back. Was it fear of further upsetting her? Perhaps, but I had to go through with it. Her pendant had absorbed all of our magic and was now a ticking time bomb. Were it to be opened in its current condition, there was no telling what might happen. " Sunset? Is something bothering you?" Fluttershy asked. " I'm not doing a good job of hiding it, am I?" I asked. " You don't need to hide it from us." " It's just... I feel awful about what I said to Twilight." " You were pretty bad. I've seen you get angry lots of times, but that was the worst I've ever seen. I know you're upset over how she has been messing around with our magic, but you can't blame her for wanting to know the truth. She just wanted to learn. She didn't mean to do all the stuff she did, and I’m sure she will gladly apologize for putting our lives in danger. She's actually really nice once you sit down and speak with her. I definitely felt comfortable around Twilight when we talked about bringing our pets to school." Fluttershy said. Her words made me slap my head in response. I was already feeling bad enough over what I had said, and she made me feel even worse by telling me Twilight was a sweet and innocent person who had just made a couple of bad mistakes. Now I really wanted to apologize for acting like a total jerk. My reaction didn't go unnoticed by my friends. They all looked at Fluttershy with disapproving glares, and all she did was hide behind Pinkie Pie in the hopes of being ignored for the duration of the Games. Fluttershy never intends to hurt people's feelings, yet she still manages to do so sometimes. Applejack then walked up to me and placed her hand on my shoulder to cheer me up. " Let's just get through this last event and prove we're not a bunch of cheaters. I know we can win if we get down and dirty by outplayin' 'em at every turn. We’ll make them accept that we were better and didn’t just win with our magic. Sunset, right now, y'all need to focus on the event. You can go over and apologize once everythin' has been settled." Applejack said. Her words were enough to make me feel better, and I gained a new resolve. I might not have been able to speak to Twilight straight away, but I would have a chance later on once the final event was finished. I only hoped that her teammates and school hadn't reduced her to further tears. Crystal Prep had never been in a situation where their dominion was on the verge of collapsing before their eyes. As such, they would pull out all the stops to ensure that they walked away with the crown. I was more concerned with Twilight than with winning a competition whose presence had become detrimental. I believed Principal Cinch and the Shadowbolts were going to blame Twilight for losing the relay despite the fact that it was a close race until the very end. Why was she taking so much abuse in the first place? One of my initial theories involved Cinch using someone or something to force Twilight into competing, but I never thought much about it. I didn't know enough of Twilight's background to articulate a reasonable response. After speaking to her directly--more like shouting at her--I had a better understanding, and my theory now held water. My ears suddenly perked up upon hearing what sounded like singing. I turned my head towards Twilight, and the Shadowbolts along with Cinch were walking towards her. Why were they singing all of a sudden? Why were they ganging up on Twilight? Why wasn't anyone coming to her defence? I honestly thought that Twilight would have been smart enough to not be enticed into releasing the magic she had stolen. Had she possessed a stronger backbone, she would have said no to Cinch's pressure and immediately run away. That did not come to pass. Instead, she allowed her curiosity and their words to convince her to open up her pendant. Twilight believed her dreams were about to come true, but what happened was nothing but the stuff of nightmares. " You know, I never did ask you about your opinion of Capture the Flag." I said. " I guess it was something we overlooked once we started talking as friends, considering the event was never actually played. Your analysis of it is something I agree with, yet I can't really provide an opinion, since I never played it when I was growing up. In fact, I never played any children's games. My focus was always on my studies, so whenever there was recess, everyone else went outside to play, while I remained in the library." Twilight said. " Really? I thought you would've wanted to make friends?" " At the time, my heart was closed off to the notion of forging friendships. I had read numerous books about how friendship, though powerful, was flawed and that it was a force that could easily be shattered. I didn't want to go through such disappointment, so I kept to myself. Now that I look back on it, I'll admit my thoughts were wrong regarding friendship. I should have done more to come out of my shell, like Fluttershy does, and made a friend who wasn't a dog. My life might have taken a different path instead of what I ended up doing." Twilight answered. " Now you have many friends." " And I appreciate what they mean to me. Listen, I need to get up and walk around for a while. My legs have gotten stiff, and I could do with straightening them out before they fall asleep or something. I'll just be about a couple of minutes. Do you want to come along?" Twilight asked. " I think I'll pass." I answered. I thought about it but decided to stay where I was. For one thing, I had already left my position earlier, so I didn't need to leave again. The other thing was that I wanted to reflect upon what she said. This also helped Twilight. She didn't know her way around the library despite having transferred over to CHS a few weeks ago, so by staying behind, she would know how to find her way back. The moment Twilight disappeared behind a book shelf, I began thinking about how she had grown up by herself without any friends. I had been through a similar experience, wanting to focus on my studies instead of making friends. However, my opinion of friendship was different. Twilight didn't want to be disappointed, while I thought of it as weak and depriving ponies of a good education. Princess Twilight had a similar upbringing to Twilight. She was more focused on becoming the best student Princess Celestia ever had and never took the time to forge a friendship until Spike entered her life. She viewed him in his role as an assistant instead of a friend initially, but that changed over time as the two became closer. In that sense, the two Twilights were better off than I was. My life was filled with anger over how my parents ignored me in favour of my siblings. Had I been given the proper love from them, my life would have been the same as Twilight and Princess Twilight. No wonder the former had been so fascinated when I began sharing my past with her. I had kept so much to myself without ever telling anyone until she came along. By opening myself up about my life in Equestria and this world, I've gained a whole new appreciation that tells me that perhaps it wasn't as bad as I made it out to be. I just wish that I had known about it much sooner. " My legs feel so much better." " WAAAAH!" I exclaimed, falling down onto my back. " I didn't mean to scare you, Sunset. I take it you were in deep thought?" " Yeah, just thinking about my childhood again." " Ever wish you could repeat it?" " I'd love to in order to prevent my mistakes from ever happening." I answered. I knew that was nothing but wishful thinking. Using time travel magic or anything similar was too risky because of unfortunate consequences. " A shame you never played Capture the Flag, Twilight. We had that game in Equestria, but we mainly played games that don't exist in this world due to them being impossible for humans, usually using magic or flight." " You never played them either, did you?" " No, and I wish I had." " Sunset..." " That's in the past now, and besides, I've been able to experience other kinds of games that have brought me great joy. Of course, the Friendship Games wasn't one of them. There are many reasons for that, including what happened to you when you chose to open your pendant." I said. " I was pressured into opening it." " Twilight, you must tell me how they coerced you."