//------------------------------//
// Chapter 27 - Those Left Behind - Part 2 
// Story: The Students from St. Everfree 
// by Morex25 
//------------------------------//

Tirek started at the Rainbow haired girl almost dumbfounded. He thought his appearance and general mood would’ve keep any Canterlot High kids from ever bothering him and now this small girl was calling him out. Honestly he didn’t see this coming.

He remained silent as he observed the girl who looked like she had a bone to pick with him. Aside from the already mentioned weirdly colored hair, he noticed she had light blueish skin, her small stature (although to him everyone was small) yet athletic frame and finally those big cerise-colored eyes that were currently glaring at him.

After assessing her, Tirek concluded that there wasn’t anything extraordinary about this girl and therefore she was no real threat to him. She was a distraction at best or a nuisance at worst. And in her current mood, he was betting on the later.

Tirek continued to remain silent, which in turn caused the girl to become irritated. 

“Hey! Are you even listening?!” 

The bigger boy just frowned. Now that he had paid more attention, her voice was really raspy, which wasn’t bad on it’s one but if she were continue to shrilling, then it would get grating. So against his better judgment, that told him to simply ignore her, Tirek decided to acknowledge her insistence to get his attention.

“What do you want?” He asked bluntly, he wasn’t here for pleasantries after all. Despite his rude response, the girl continued unabated. 

“I know who you really are.” She said in what Tirek could only assume was an attempt to sound ominous. Something she failed at.

“Congratu-frickin’-lations.” Tirek responded abstaining from out-right cursing just in case a teacher were to overhear him, not wanting to get in problems by the more “strict” rules he had to abide to in this school. Even so his response was delivered with the same lack of humor he intended.

Still, his words continued to fail to deter the girl in front of him.

“I saw what you did yesterday. I saw the beaten-up and bloodied bodies you left behind, and the level of violence you are capable of!” The girl paused and clenched her fist in front of her, probably for dramatic effect. “I saw the monster you really are!”

“So?” Tirek asked clearly disinterested. Honestly he had heard all of this stuff before and all of them failed to evoke whatever sense of guilt or shame they wanted him to show. And just like the others who tried before, the girl growled in anger when he refused to show the emotions the expected from him to fulfill whatever “fantasy” they envisioned in their minds based on their preconceive notions about him. 

“So?!” She repeated frustrated, most likely thinking he wasn’t taking her seriously. And she was right. “I’ll never let you do something so horrible ever again!”

Oh god! A Hero-type. 

He should’ve known he would run into this sort of people when coming to this type of school. This type of people deluded themselves into making it their personal mission to defeat him and “stop him once in for all” just because he beat-up people. People who were trying to beat Tirek up and threw the first punch in the first place. But the Hero-types didn’t care for those details and in their minds he was the “Big Bad” and nothing he said was ever considered as anything but lies or excuses. 

It reminded him of Sombra, when he sought him out for a “duel”. Except that in the case of the self-proclaimed royal, his delusions were more selfish in nature; wanting to prove he was “stronger than the Red Ogre”. 

But similar to Sombra, the Hero-types didn’t falter in their self-imposed missions with just one “battle”, instead it took several confrontations or a second more severe beating for them to relent. It varied from hero-type to another, but in the end Tirek had managed to get rid of all of them.

Except for Sombra; who after several battles had proclaimed a “cease of fire” and told him that there were more pressing matters at hand and that defeated him was no longer a priority. After several weeks of keeping up the truce, Tirek deduced Sombra had given up but made a show out of it to justify his delusions of grandeur. 

Snapping out of the past, Tirek focused once more on the girl in front of him. Unlike the previous Hero-types he had encountered before, she had the unique distinction of being the first female Hero-type to confront him, so he was a little bit of a loss as to what to do.

While the idea of having “confrontations” with her sounded awful and a complete waste of his time, he didn’t want to beat her up. Not only would it paint him as more of a monster to every other Hero-type out there, beating up a small girl was sure to leave a bitter taste on his mouth. 

At least with Chrysalis, he knew she could take as much as she dishes out. 

And let us not forget the rules imposed by his new Principal prohibiting him and the others from fighting each other or against other students. If he were to fight, even in self-defense, it would definitely cause him to be expelled.  

Thinking about it, he should’ve followed his better judgment and ignored her.

“Stop ignoring me!” Her voice snapped him out of his own thoughts after he spend an unusually long time without a response. 

Tirek’s only viable option was to talk his way out of this situation. Something he was not very good at, since for years all of his social skills outside of his family, amounted to just intimidating grunts and growls, insults, and commands to either leave him alone or to get out of his way.

“Look girl…” He tried to say his piece but was immediately cut off.

“Don’t call me “girl”! I have a name and it’s Rainbow Dash! You better remember it.” 

Not even a sentence in and he already managed to infuriate the girl further. Honestly, why the f*ck did he even tried anyways?

“Look, GIRL…” He repeated, not caring if about if he was antagonizing her further. “You don’t want me to beat up people? Then spread the word and tell everyone to leave me the HELL alone.” Clearer he couldn’t be. He wasn’t asking for much, was he?

“You say that, but someone like YOU would never keep his WORD!” Now this angered Tirek. He could accept any sort of insult directed at him, but when someone questioned the validity of his words, it rubbed him the wrong way.

Still, he didn’t let her words get under his skin. “Just stay away from me and there won’t be any trouble.” He said hoping that this time the message managed to get inside that thick skull of hers.

“It’s too late for that.” Rainbow Dash said before he stomp her right foot in front of her and put up the most intense “war face” she could. “Fight me!”

After those words, the deserted hallway fell into a sudden silence. As if the sheer absurdity of that declaration had silenced the whole world.

That is until it was broken by an odd sound coming out of Tirek’s mouth.  It started very quiet like, maybe above a whisper, but the strange sound suddenly increased in volume and frequency. It wasn’t until the sound had covered the entire hallway when Rainbow realized that the unnatural noise wasn’t some sort of sound-based attack, but was in fact just the sound of laughter.

The girl didn’t know it then, but Tirek hadn’t laughed that loud in years. Heck, many who knew him believed that he was incapable of such action. Even his own little brother Scorpan hadn’t heard him laugh in so long, he probably already forgotten how it sounded. Rainbow didn’t know how privileged she was at that moment, and instead reacted in anger for been made fun of.

“What are you laughing at? I can take you on!” She scowled more causing the giant boy to laugh even harder, which in turn infuriated her even more.

Meanwhile Tirek tried his hardest to contain this unexpected surge of laughter. It had been so long that not only it felt weird for him it was painful. Despite not feeling as bad as the start of the day thanks to the lunch lady’s cider, Tirek’s body was still somewhat sensitive and every time he laughed it sent a current of pain throughout his entire body. And he was laughing hard! So hard that he started to believe was going to die because of it.

But why? What was the cause of this sudden surge of laughter after so long? What could possibly trigger such a reaction? 

Looking back at it at a later time, Tirek blamed this situation on a combination of multiple things: from some unknown illness caused by a mosquito bite to solar flares and the alignment of the star bodies. Although it was most likely that some of the cider he ingested had lowered his inhibitions. That and… and…

THAT FACE!

How could someone possible take that sort of face seriously, especially after demanding a fight? Somehow, it had tickled his non-existent funny bone to such a degree he was physically in pain because of it. 

‘So this is the end for me?’ He thought.

Not because of a fight where all his bones had been broken and all of his blood spilled on the floor; not because of an unexpected and terrible accident caused by the stupidity of others; or after battling an unknown disease for years on end. 

No.

The frightening and mighty Tirek was brought down by his own laughter caused by a silly face from a small rainbow haired girl who said something stupid.
Clearly it was a disgraceful way to go.

Thankfully, his life was saved unknowingly by the same girl who almost caused his demise. Apparently Rainbow couldn’t contain herself after hearing Tirek roar in laughter thinking he was underestimating her and making fun of her. 

“STOP LAUGHING AT ME!” Rainbow yelled as she pivoted on her left foot and snapped her right leg forward to deliver a devastating roundhouse kick. Surprisingly enough, despite the pain and the laughing mess he was in, Tirek was able to react fast enough to put up his right arm to guard against the attack.

Thought he would never say it ever, Tirek was thankful for the unprovoked attack because the moment he blocked the kick, the impact sent hundreds of pain signals to the brain that equated to a soft reboot to the system and finally putting an end to his uncontrollable laughter. Even so, the pain he now felt was so intense had he had to bite his own cheek to stop himself from screaming in pain.

After noticing her kick missed her mark, Rainbow retreaded her leg and hopped backwards to put some distance between them. “How’d you like that?” She asked feeling better now that she put an end to his “mocking” laughter. 

Tirek fought down the pain from showing in his face as he thought of how to proceed after her attack. Thinking a mile a minute for a correct path, Tirek settle for the most sensible option he could think of.

He turned around to leave.

This, of course, got him the reaction he expected from the girl.

“Hey! Where the heck are you going?!”

“Leaving.” He answered crudely still holding off the pain. “You aren’t worth my time.” Which wasn’t even a lie; he really didn’t want to waste time with people wanting to pick fights with him, and even more so when he was prohibited from fighting back. 

“What did you say?!” Rainbow demanded an answer exactly how Tirek had predicted. All Hero-Types were always the same.

“Your kick…was pathetic.” He explained with his back still turned, even so he could sense the look of angered shock from the girl was giving him. Though his words said otherwise, Tirek was in fact surprised by her kick. He had fought many people with different styles and prowess to know whenever someone was really skilled or not, and this girl delivered the textbook definition of a roundhouse kick; perfect in her technique.

But technique wasn’t everything.

Despite being perfectly executed and therefore up to standard for any sort of professional martial arts competition, Tirek had been on the receiving end of attacks that, regardless of technique or style, packed more power than the girl’s kick. Heck, if it wasn’t for the pitiable state his body currently was, it wouldn’t have hurt as much as it did.

“Pathetic?! I’ll show you…!”

“Don’t even bother…” Tirek stopped her in her tracks by just turning his head to the side to show he was still very aware of her and prepared for any sort of sudden attacks. “That kick of yours…” He drew out trying to think of something that would deter her enough from following him after he leaves. “Needs to be at least 20% more powerful for me to even feel it.” When Tirek heard her take a sudden loud breath, he knew he had hit the nail. “Until then, don’t bother me.” And with that, he walked away and left her behind. Sure, his words would only encourage her to keep pestering him more and more which would be a huge pain in the ass in the long run. But when she eventually comes back, he would probably feel a whole lot better and use the time between encounters to think of a plan to get him out of his hair.

Once he had walked enough to put a good distance between him and her, Tirek let out a groan of pain as he caressed his hurting arm he used to block her kick.

“At least next time, it won’t hurt as much.”

[x-x-x]

Scorpan tried his best to contain himself, he really did. But in the end he couldn’t keep a hold on it any longer.

He laughed.

Hard.

He knew he shouldn’t have, but he wasn’t made of rock, he was a human being.

“Stop it! You aren’t supposed to laugh!” The one responsible for his laughter complained and turned her body around both exasperated and annoyed. “It’s not funny!”

“Well, it is kinda funny.” Applebloom pointed out as she too was trying to contain her laughter. A commendable effort since Sweetie Belle was a giggling mess next to her.

“S-So sorry…Scoo…Scootaloo.” Scorpan apologized between snickers as his full on laughter was dying off.

After the three girls approached him at the library, the four of them looked for an empty classroom so that the next lesson on how to be a delinquent could commence. And that day’s lessons involved the subtle art of a delinquent’s body language.

Scorpan explained to the crusaders that calling oneself a delinquent was meaningless if you couldn’t look the part. Of course, this prompted Sweetie Belle to ask about clothes and the possibility of wearing a costume, but that was a lesson for another time. 

What the former student of the so-called Delinquent School wanted to teach the girls was to “project” with their body language a “feeling” that evoked a large impression; basically the schoolyard equivalent to workplace “Power Posing”. 

Today’s lessons involved a two-part trial that consisted first in a five steps walk up to Scorpan, they had to stand close to him in a clearly trespassing the invisible line of personal space; and the second part was to put up the best “thuggish” face he could come up with the final goal of trying to “intimidate” him.

So far he had gotten mixed results.

Applebloom did well on the first part of the trial, projecting lots of confidence during her stride which was good but it made her look more chipper than menacing. So they had to workshop that a little. As for the thuggish face, the redhead pulled of a decent looking glare, but quickly devolved into a “constipated” look. Now this part really required some work.

Sweetie Belle was the next one to try and, oh boy, did she not do well in the first part. The problem was that her gait was TOO good; as in the type that people strived to achieve by walking with several books on top of their heads. Apparently, her big sister had instructed Sweetie Belle in the “proper” way a lady should walk: perfectly balanced and graceful. So unless Sweetie decided to tarnish all those hours of practice then she’ll forever be terrible at this. On the other hand, her ability to project intense emotion in those big eyes of hers was incredible. A shame that the way she puckered her lips negated any fear she could’ve evoked. 

And finally there was Scootaloo, who managed to pull off the first part of the trial with no problem at all. Instead of an elegant or confident swagger like the other two, the purple head went for a more aloof and laidback approach, projecting this “aura” that said: “Don’t mess with me or I’ll mess you up”. Scorpan deduced she must have been practicing this sort of thing beforehand, but didn’t bring it up and kept that thought to himself. After the first part was a success, he wondered how the girl would do in the second part of it. And then, she did…something.

Scorpan didn’t know why, but Scootaloo’s face evoked the exact opposite of what he was asking for. He tried holding it down, but after the third attempt, it had become too much for him and that is why he erupted in a very loud and hearty laugh.  

“You say you’re sorry, but you are still laughing.” Scootaloo pouted. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle didn’t get quite the same reaction as her and that annoyed her. It didn’t help that her fellow crusaders also joined in with him. But what annoyed her more was that they were laughing at her best impression of Rainbow Dash!

“Sorry…I didn’t mean to offend you.” Scorpan apologized again now that his laughter was under control. “It’s just… It was sort of cute actually.”

After hearing his words, the purplehead turned her face away when she felt it getting a little bit hot. It was embarrassing when people called her that, and this time was no different, especially since it was the first time that a boy had done so.

“Don’t call me that…”

After apologizing once more to the offended girl, Scorpan then turn to address the three of them. “I guess we better call it quits for today. I got to see all that I needed.”

“Uh? What do you mean by that?” Sweetie asked curious. “None of us completed the trial.”

“Actually, the purpose of this exercise wasn’t for you to complete it.” He revealed earning even more confused stares in return. “What it was meant to do was show me what you were capable of and what came natural for you girls. Yes, you could practice and practice until you get it right against me, but then it would always look rehearsed or forced if you tried it on other people. Instead, with what I have observed today I will be able to come up with a work plan that will accommodate to your strengths instead of you accommodating to the work plan. It will also help me work around and assist you in any “areas of opportunity” you may have.”

“Wow! Have you ever considered becoming a teacher?” Applebloom said impressed by his planning and level of dedication to teaching them. 

“Eh? I haven’t really considered it.” He confessed scratching the back of his head. In fact he hadn’t considered exactly what he wanted to do with his life. He did intend to go to college but he hadn’t thought of what career to pursue. 

“I think you’ll be an excellent teacher!” Sweetie Belle agreed with Applebloom suggestion wholeheartedly. Despite not really “succeeding” in today’s lesson, they had lots of fun with him while they learned stuff! It was way better than classes with Ms. Harshwhinny.

“Thanks.” He was really flattered by the unexpected praise from these two. It was a really nice change in contrast with classmates and his brother. Speaking of which… 

“Um…girls?...Could I ask you something?”

“You already did, doofus.” Scootaloo responded as a small jab for calling “that”.

“No, not that…”He said mollified that a bit of humor helped with how awkward he felt trying to phrase his request. “I just…uh…wanted to ask…I…I need help. With my brother.” He wasn’t sure if their offer from yesterday still stood, but he only hoped that they would listen to him before they inevitably turned him down.

“Sure! We’ll help you!” Applebloom was the first one to jump at him, sounding very confident.

“After all your help is the least we could do.” Sweetie Belle was next, looking at him thankful and ready to help.

“I guess I’ll help too.” Scootaloo said not as eager as the other two, “I don’t like feeling like I owe someone.” But at least she didn’t go back on her word.

Scorpan was honestly surprised by the reactions he got from the crusaders. It had been so long since someone had offered him their help so willingly and earnestly. 
It moved him.

“Thanks…”

[x-x-x]