The Truth About Girls (Vol. 2)

by TheMareWhoSaysNi

Troublemaker (part 5)

While the sky was getting darker and darker, Rainbow Dash’s mood was sunny. Like she never been at such a period of the year.

She’d spent the whole rest of her weekend with Soarin, playing video games, eating pizzas and watching old movies under the blanket. She had come back home only to sleep, and even the fact she’d discovered her father in the kitchen this morning hadn’t attacked her top mood.

The only problem was that, with all that, she hadn’t found time in order to make her geometry exercises. In the absence of Twilight to quickly sum her up what she should be doing, she fell back on the second mathematics’ maniac she knew: Sunset Shimmer.

How her two friends could enjoy the manipulation of theorems and figures, it remained a mystery to her. Books, now she’d been initiated, she could understand. But it would never happen with maths.

While the young woman tried hard to explain the principle of the Carnot-Al Kashi formula, Pinkie Pie was teasing Fluttershy about her and Big Macintosh. She absolutely wanted to know where they went on their very first real date, on the day before, if they already kissed, when they would see each other again… In short, everything.

Already intimidated by the only memory of this day spent with Applejack’s big brother, she couldn’t stop blushing, and the more her cheeks got colored; the more Pinkie Pie hassled her, unaware of her embarrassment.

“Can’t ya see yar makin’ things difficult for her now?” Applejack asked, blocking the way between the two young women.

“I only want to know whether it was fun or not.”

“It was fun”, Fluttershy whispered.

Since Pinkie Pie hadn’t found a boyfriend at Canterlot University’s open house, she’d thought she could compensate with the bourgeoning love story between her classmate and Big Macintosh. But if it embarrassed her, she wouldn’t insist. Fluttershy was a young person who was sensitive and mousy, that needed not to be pushed. In general, she did her best not to push her too hard, but sometimes it was difficult for her to hold back her true nature.

In order to invigorate herself, she thought she could get some comfort with Rainbow Dash’s latest exploits, since she was finally reconciled with Soarin. After all, they were cute together as well, though they weren’t a couple learning to know each other better.

Someone knocked on their door, which cut short any of the conversations, whether it was all around them or on their own tables.

Teachers never did this way, even to warn they were arrived in the middle of too much restlessness…

The surprise was a little bitter when the gang realized it was no one else but Vice-Principal Luna with Mr. Caballeron in person. What was he doing in their class? He was nothing but their physical education teacher, and their lesson with him wasn’t until the next day.

They all hoped he hadn’t found a trick to suspend them all, or something like this. With another teacher, of course, none would have thought this way, but was it necessary to bring the precision Mr. Caballeron had nothing of a regular teacher?

“Hello, everyone”, Luna claimed as everybody was going back to their own tables. “Your geometry class is cancelled. Your teacher has been victim of food poisoning this weekend. Instead, Mr. Caballeron has volunteered to give you one of the three mandatory sexual education course of the year. Have a nice day.”

She left the class after these words. While Mr. Caballeron closed the door behind her, all the students felt as if trapped on a burning ship in the middle of the ocean. Yet it was rather logic he was the one chosen for this course, since he already taught living hygiene to the ninth graders.

It would have been about any other topic; she never would have dared such an uncivility. But… Sexual education? She already knew the process of the intercourse, the main means of contraception, if not even where to abort without her father to be warned, and thought she knew her own anatomy quite well, as well as the boys’.

These accounts taken apart, sex remained for her something a bit foreign, nice at occasions, like a good meal at a restaurant could be, but in no way worthier of interest, if not less. It wasn’t something that was on her mind night and day, and to do without it wasn’t a problem at all for her, conversely. Depravation and frustration, she knew, but never with in connection with sex.

So she told Applejack, on the desk by her side, to wake her up once it would be over, and put her arms on her table, in order to have a cushion for a nap.

Her mistake probably came from the fact that, this year, she wasn’t sitting at the back of the room, but at the third rank at the front. This way, Mr. Caballeron couldn’t miss the fact she’d decided to finish the rest of her night during his course. The least one could say was that he wasn’t going to take this with philosophy.

Because it was what fit best the image he had of her, he drew the conclusion that the lack of respect displayed by Rainbow Dash towards him was some kind of superiority complex. She probably was the type of girl to have sex with a new boy every weekend, the little debauched kind, a Lolita who already had so much experience in the matter she thought she didn’t need a course about it.

Fine. Since that was the way it was, she would see what it costed to make fun of him. Last time, her arrogant attitude had pushed him to the limit, and now was the last straw. Who did that little bitch think she was? That her father was incredibly wealthy didn’t mean she could allow anything.

“RAINBOW DASH!!” he yelled, so loud he probably was heard up to the Guiding Class.

The teenage girl rose an impervious face, in no way impressed by his sudden feat, as if she already had seen worse. What probably was the case? He’d done some researches about her, after he’d noticed there was a gap of a few months in one of her Middle School year, and what he’d discovered was something most of the students probably ignored.

It was as if he had an incredible power in his hands, a weapon hidden behind his back, in order to shoot at the least of provocations from her.

“Who the hell do you think you are? This course is as mandatory as others. Maybe you’ll learn a few things or two that will be useful for you, like a good way to avoid catching STDs, which might be the only thing you’re sure to obtain in the future.”

A shocked gasp went through the room. Alright, what she did wasn’t really smart, but it didn’t deserve to be insulted this way in front of her whole class.

No one, not even the most naïve students, had misunderstood the teacher’s innuendo. A sardonic half-smile outlined on his face as he saw the young woman’s eyes narrowing. She looked like a viper on the verge of spitting her venom on his face. But it wouldn’t happen. Because he had the antidote. All he needed was to be the first to shoot.

Mr. Caballeron made a few steps toward Rainbow Dash, still sitting at her table, to make sure he would look at her from up high.

“Do you know what’s happening when there’s a rotten fruit in a basket? It taints every other fruits, which are then only good for garbage. You’re the rotten fruit of this class, and if you think I’m going to let you corrupting everyone else, you’re wrong.”

Her jaw couldn’t go unclenched. It was even funnier than he thought, to watch her holding herself to explode. Obviously, although she was acting all boastful, she wasn’t invincible and she had her soft spots. Now he had found them, he wouldn’t let her go until she broke down.

It was a game in which he had taken the advantage of his hierarchical position. And he really loved it.

“Oh, you can look at me scornfully, it doesn’t scare me. It takes more than a young spoiled rotten bitch to disorient me. I wouldn’t even care if you were member of the royal family, for me you’re nothing but a scum, a visual and resounding nuisance. And don’t even think the fact you lost your dear mom or been in a nuthouse is going to move me. It’s laughable, by the way… Even doing yourself in is something you’re unable to succeed.”

This time, the limit had been crossed. Rainbow Dash could put up with a lot of things, but not such innuendoes. To quote her mother’s death was an unspeakable villainy, an outrage even worse than the evocation of her traumatizing stay in Green Haven or of her suicide attempt, these events which had changed her forever, which had shattered something she could never fix up.

Jumping up, she grabbed a pencil on her table, which she darted the nib at the teacher’s throat. Their eyes met, hate at an equal rate, and both were holding each other stare.

Last time she displayed such an outbreak of violence precisely dated back at the cursed period of Green Haven, when a girl had tried to molest her in the showers and that she showered her with blows, unable to hold herself back. Her punition, of course, had been at the level of her fit of rage, and she could never forget it.

Yet, it was thanks to this very painful memory that, despite her shaking hands and her heart beating so fast she thought it would kill her, she was able to overcome the feeling and not to commit the worse. This, even in the case when Sunset Shimmer wouldn’t have caught her free wrist, asking her to sit down, saying that “he wasn’t worth it.”

She was right. If she reacted this way, she would be the one to blame. The most intelligent thing was in fact to turn the humiliation against the one who initiated it. Everyone had seen while their latest gym class, this quick tempered man was easy to drive into a corner. What he needed was a little push in the back.

“And you, what do you think? That just because you’re a teacher, it gives you the right to crush the others with your old worn out sneakers? We’re not your toys, we’re human beings. Everyone’s not going to respect you for the mere reason that you’re teaching something. Respect is to be earned. You can terrorize us, you can kick us in the flanks or insult us, but if you behave as if we were your property or your success’ standard bearer, we will never respect you. We’ll keep on treating you like the rotten fruit that compromises all the good elements. Teaching’s shame.”

As her diatribe went on, Rainbow Dash saw Mr. Caballeron’s face getting deformed, and the veins on his temples starting to pulsate. What had just been said wasn’t pleasant to hear, and maybe it was going too far from her prerogatives… But enough was enough. In less than a week, he had been able to terrify each of the class he was in charge of, and he already had stepped over a mark the other teacher didn’t even dare to brush, because they understood what their work was about.

However, though she ignored what Mr. Caballeron’s reaction would be, he hadn’t expected him to reply this way.

His face crimson, like on the verge of exploding, he lifted his arm so quickly no one was able to anticipate, and let his fist crush against the young woman’s face who, as tough as she was, fell back on her bottom.

A gasp of dread crossed the whole room, and immediately, the boys of the class dashed in order to control their teacher, stopping him from going even farther into violence. The man was gesticulating and screaming like a possessed person, and through the mist of her pain, Rainbow Dash recognized a form of hysteria she already had seen in the place he told about a bit earlier.

The part of her face he had hit had immediately turned purple, and she felt as if her jaw had melted down conversely to her cheek that had tripled. Thankfully, he didn’t seem to have broken any of her teeth, only flipped a molar dressing.

No man had ever hit her before. She fought with girls many times, she knew the feeling of a blade burying into flesh, but this… It was brand new. All she hoped was for it not to happen anytime soon, if not at all.

She hadn’t been taught to shut up. Ignoring her friends gathered around her, minus Applejack, Rainbow Dash got up and stepped to Mr. Caballeron, still held by the boys. No one neither expected to see her react this way… Without the least hesitation, as soon as she was near her teacher, she fought back, hitting the same spot. Of course, they didn’t have the same strength but it didn’t matter to her. What she wanted was to convey a message. She wasn’t a punching bag, some ‘good’ victim, silent and sweet. And too bad it they didn’t like it.

The door of the room then opened on Applejack followed the Vice-Principal Luna, Principal Celestia and Twilight. This was the reason why the young woman had disappeared: she left in order to gather the necessary backup that will make sure the situation wouldn’t worsen.

It was a pity that circumstances looked so disadvantageous for Rainbow Dash right now.

“She’s gone crazy! She knocked herself against her desk on purpose and after that, she hit me! Got to send her back to the loony bin!”

“He’s lying, Principal Celestia”, Sunset Shimmer intervened. “Mr. Caballeron insulted Rainbow Dash many times, and when she defended herself with words, he didn’t like it and hit her. We’re all witness.”

“All she did was giving him a taste of his own medicine!” Pinkie Pie added, to put the boot in.

“Yes, we’ve seen everything”, Fluttershy finished, soon followed by every student.

Seeing the whole class falling with Rainbow Dash, as a proof that no one dreaded him anymore, made Mr. Caballeron lose all his vehemence. Suddenly, he stopped struggling, and let himself fall back on the ground, knocked over.

Low, his eyes staring at the floor, he whispered a few inaudible words, while Celestia was stepping into the classroom, in order to observe the dreadful spectacle of chairs and tables lying down, Rainbow Dash’s swollen and dark purple cheek, her friends surrounding her, and all the students looking down on Mr. Caballeron with contempt and pity that were hard to hide.

This kind of event never happened in Canterlot High before. Never, in more than a hundred years of existence, the school had to face such a case. So, ask an unseen event, get an unseen measure.

“Twilight, get Rainbow Dash to the nurse’s office, so she can get her cheek treated. We’ll talk about the sanction with regard to you later, young girl. As for you, Mr. Caballeron, please follow me in my office. I think it’s about time we have a conversation together… Everyone go to the library for the hour, and not a word to the other classes.”

Without a word, everyone obeyed to the Principal’s orders, while Twilight was picking up her friend, in order to bring her where she’d been asked to.

No one knew what would happen to her, yet no one doubted about Mr. Caballeron’s fate. It was rather improbable to see him again in Canterlot High’s corridors. In a way, the whole matter had a positive consequence. No need to ask the Crusaders anything in order to prove their teacher’s bad behavior. All it took was to look at Rainbow Dash’s tumid cheek.

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Two days of expulsion, and a letter of apology in two copies, hand-written. Since all the students had testified she only acted in order to defend herself, the punishment had been rather soft, and Rainbow Dash put up with it without a complain.

What fretted her the most in this was that it happened when her father wasn’t on a trip. When Principal Celestia had told her she was obliged to let him know about the incident, she immediately had understood what it would mean for her.

In a manner that even surprised the person in question, Mr. Rainbow Blitz had assured there was no way his daughter would go home riding her scooter, and that he would come to pick her up as soon as possible.

Of course, the big sedan with tinted windows was always impressive, but for once, the good it could make to her reputation didn’t matter to Rainbow Dash. Conversely, she even was a bit ashamed. Just in case, some had doubts, it proved Mr. Caballeron wasn’t exactly wrong about everything. She was nothing but a rotten spoiled brat. Materially, it made no doubt.

The others didn’t know what lied under the lovely surface, as soon as the paint layers of respectability were scratched a little. Maybe they had a small glimpse of it, earlier today, at the evocation of a certain period of her life, but it was only specks easy to crush, not the whole big dust ball hidden under the mattress.

On the way home, a silence like on a day of funerals floated in the car. Rainbow Dash was staring at the dark clouds in the sky, both her scar and cheek stabbing at her from time to time.

She knew it was only a matter of time. Very soon, her father was going to open his mouth, and reproaches would spring, like the flow of a fountain.

They were at a red light when, as if he had heard her thoughts, he talked to her, without looking at her, staring at the horizon instead, under thick sunglasses.

“I don’t understand why you persisting on driving this cursed scooter, when I bought a brand new car for your birthday.”

*Maybe because this car isn’t like me at all, and I hate it*, she wanted to reply. If she held herself back, it was in order not to add fuel to the fire, the way she did two days earlier with Soarin.

If only he had also decided to stop talking…

“Especially as your behavior doesn’t prove you deserve to have all this. I don’t understand, Rainbow Dash… You got everything. There are teens who’d like to have the quarter of what’s in your possession, but no, you’re unsatisfied. You still need to have a mind of your own. I’m the one to blame, I’m very aware of it.”

The end of his line had her hope… Maybe they would finally have a real open-hearted conversation.

“I shouldn’t have offered you this scooter when you’ve asked me. It’s too dangerous.”

Or not. Since that was the way things were, she was going to get out of her silence, and too bad for what would happen next. On the day when he would try to understand things for real, then maybe she would show him the consideration he was expecting from her.

“Yes, because people never die from car accidents, don’t they? Neither do they from plane accidents, while we’re at it…”

She felt her phone vibrating inside her bag, and grabbed it in the hope it would make her avoid the rest of this conversation, or at least it would help her to postpone it. All she wanted now was to go to bed and to swallow pain killers. By dozen.

The semblance of a smile started to appear on her face when she saw it was Soarin calling her. One of the girls had probably told him what happened, surely Applejack, or maybe Pinkie Pie. Like often, the young man represented a hint of light in the middle of greyness.

When her father saw the name on the screen of her phone, he forbade her to pick it up, because they “needed to talk”. And he didn’t stop here.

“This boy is two years older than you. Maybe you’re in age of sexual consent, but you’re still living under my roof. I don’t want you to see him again. He’s distracting you from studies.”

“Oh really, you don’t want me to? Well, just be there and lock me in! At least, Soarin’s here when I need him.”

“Don’t get it started, Rainbow Dash! You’re not in the position of sticking your oar in with what happened in school. Two days of expulsion… What a shame! It’s going to be on your student file, and to throw a wrench in your gears for College. As if the fact you’ve been to Green Haven wasn’t enough. And you’ll have to finally keep in mind the fact that teachers aren’t your buddies. You owe them respect.”

“This guy almost called me a slut in front of my whole class! He said all I’ll ever get in life would be a STD. He hit me without a hint of remorse, in front of everyone… And I owe him respect? I can’t believe it!”

“First of all, don’t you even talk to me this way again! And, I’m sorry but you didn’t have to get back on your feet to punch his face. I already told you that nothing could be obtained thanks to violence. Your mother reared you better than that.”

How smart of him to bring up her mother, the most sensitive of all subjects. It was the best way to cut her off definitely. Now, whatever she might say, it would be a denial of what her mother had tried to teach her, as she always made of point of respect her life guidelines, which were everything that was left of her.

However, there was something else her mother taught her. It was that if violence would never fix up anything, for all that she shouldn’t let herself being pushed around and expect from the others to come and rescue her. It was important to fight to show she wasn’t a sub-being, but a human being. From a very young age, she had warned her: because she was born as a girl, there would always be among men a handful of them who would try to make her understand she didn’t have her say.

“Three women out of four would one day be the victim of a physical abuse. Does it please you that I’m now part of these amazing statistics? Was I reared for something like this? I’m sorry but I’m won’t ever be part of this hundreds of women dying every year from being beaten, because they ‘disrespected’ some assholes.”

This was something Firefly wouldn’t have denied. Since he wanted to talk about her mother, fine. She also could play that game. Maybe her reaction had been too much of a provocation, and played the teacher’s game, maybe she should have satisfied herself with new words in order to make him understand his violence would never destroy her. This all, she could admit, and in fact, she didn’t think it was unfair to demand apologies from her. But trying to make her say Mr. Caballeron should have deserved respect, and so didn’t deserve his fate, though himself had no respect for the others, it was out of question.

Satisfaction of seeing no answer from her father, yet, was bitter. Deep inside, it wasn’t what she wanted. Like often when he was making reproaches. She would like him to try to understand her, to worry just a little bit about how she was feeling, to tell her he was proud, even, not to have let herself being pushed over. At least, they had this in common: a combative side, never letting the others crush them, and who knew how to impose a vision.

But no. As always, he had to treat her like she was still thirteen, as if she had just tried to kill herself and she needed to be told what to do and where to go or else, she would do nonsense and it would ruin his own reputation. He had very harsh words for her… ‘shame’, notably, always coming back and which, each time stabbed her straight into the heart.

After a few more minutes of silence, as they were reaching their luxurious residential zone, Mr. Rainbow Blaze spoke to her again.

“I forgot but there’s something I absolutely need to do at my office. I’m leaving you home and I return downtown. I don’t know if I’m going to be back home tonight.”

If it was to tell her such a thing, Rainbow Dash would have preferred him to stay silent. It was impossible to see the look on his face, hidden under sunglasses. The only thing certain was that he still wasn’t able to look at her, even for a second, even covertly.

Holding back her tears and swallow them back happened to be impossible. Her heart seemed to be in slow motion though it was beating at full throttle.

“What, you’re going to leave me alone? After you lectured me, after trying to forbid me to see one of the only persons who understands me? You’re going to leave me alone?”

“I’m sorry, Rainbow Dash. I just can’t.”

“It’s because I’ve talked about Mommy, isn’t it? You talked about her first, it’s not fair!”

He parked his car in front of their house. The windshield wipers were sweeping the window to get rid of the rain that had started to fall profusely. Inside only resounded now this sound as well as the purr of the engine. Even without the excuse of the road to stare at, her father still refused to look in her direction.

“Get down and go back home.”

“No.”

“Do what I tell you. Now!”

Grasping for air, tears were blurring her vision while she kept on staring at the man in front of her who, hanging at his wheel with all his might, still refused to even catch a quick glance of her.

Through her tears and pain, she could see him stretching out a hand toward her… to open up the door of his car.

“Go back home.”

There was no use in insisting. Whatever she would say or do, he had made up his mind, as often. Was it so difficult to stay with her for even an hour when she had just suffered from physical abuse, although she had done something wrong?

Her hands and legs like cotton, she obeyed reluctantly, and slammed the door as strong as she could once outside. It had no impact whatsoever on her father. Immediately, he rushed off like a shot and left her on her own. Alone. Once more.

She looked up at the first floor, then looked at the door of her house. The heavy rain poured on her like unavoidability. Anyone would have rushed inside in order to get warm and dry, but she didn’t want to. And didn’t have the strength to. This big empty impersonal house, where no laughs were resounding, where any traces of familial life had been diluted into bleach and whisky… If only some hurricane could tear it off the ground…

Her phone vibrated again in her bag, like it kept on doing since earlier. On her last legs, Rainbow Dash let herself fall on the ground, and landed on a small concrete step of the path leading to the front door. As soon as she picked up, Soarin’s voice resounded at the other end of the line. But she was unable to answer any other way than with tears.

“Dashie? What’s wrong?” he asked in a worried voice. “Girls told me about this teacher… Dashie?”

“He doesn’t love me”, she was able to utter between two sobs.

“What are you talking about?”

“My father… He doesn’t love me.”

Hush. What could he answer to such a statement? Nothing could have make her believe it wasn’t the case, anyway. He wished she were someone else, maybe even that she never came to life, or that she died instead of her mother. She was convinced of it now.

“Where are you?”

“In front of my house… I don’t want to go back there… I wish I were dead.”

“No. No! Don’t move. Please, don’t move and don’t do anything. I’m coming.”

“Yes…”

“I’ll be here in fifteen minutes. Take shelter somewhere. And you wait for me.”

Without an answer, she hung up and buried her head between her arms. It seemed to her she hadn’t cried this way for ages.

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Rain and clouds had disappeared and gave way to a radiant sun. Radio talked of a real Indian summer for the week to come. Thanks to this, passengers of the C405 bus smiled and seemed to be in a very bright mood. It was what helped to bear the twenty-three minutes journey up to downtown Canterlot.

Rainbow Dash had spent these two days looking at the rain falling, and texting her friends, reading the latest Daring Doo book, and watching her childhood favorite movie which, on second thought, included a lot of scenes that her innocent mind hadn’t apprehended until now.

She never thought she’d ever say this, but she missed school! To be back at CHS felt like being back home after a tiring trip on a train. Alright, it was a bit boring to have to respect schedules, and to be obliged to do exercises of mathematics and geometry. But it wasn’t the end of the world. She was feeling safe between these walls.

Before even going to class, she had to visit Principal Celestia’s office, in order to give her the two letters of apologies she had to write. On her way, she met a few students who congratulated her about Mr. Caballeron. Some of them even were among those criticizing her about her boasting.

Yet, this time she could brag not to have done this in order to feed her reputation. She had acted according to her own consciousness, since the aggression she had suffered from, as well as the humiliation the young Crusaders and the rest of their class had been victims of had to receive a tough answer.

Maybe there was a lesson to learn from all this. She didn’t need to show off in order to be worth the others’ interest. A bit of humility from time to time couldn’t do no harm.

Rainbow Dash knocked three times at her Principal’s door, and waited for her to tell her to enter. She couldn’t be back here with a discourtesy… or everything Mr. Caballeron had said about her wouldn’t be completely wrong.

Much to her surprise, she saw there wasn’t only Celestia in the office, but also her sister, Vice-Principal Luna.

“Sit down, Rainbow Dash”, the oldest one asked, settled behind her desk.

She obeyed and took the two letters out of her bag, that she showed to Principal Celestia. She caught one of them and passed the other one to her sister, who took it as well, and started to read it through.

“I hope you understood why I sent you home for two days, as well as why I’ve asked you to write these letters.”

“Yes. No special treatment in CHS. I’ve understood.”

“It’s perfect. What about you, Luna? Something to say?”

“Your handwriting is horrible, Rainbow Dash. But it’s perfect. You can act like you have regrets.”

The young woman displayed a small tensed smile. Indeed, pro forma, she had said she was more than sorry for what happened and drowning into remorse, when in reality, she almost was proud of what she’d done. Her mother, at least, would have be proud. And she knew, somewhere deep inside, the two grown-up women in front of her thought she had been right to act the way she had done, but couldn’t allow themselves to say so, manners oblige.

“We’re going to settle for this”, Luna finally finished, getting the second letter back in order to put them both into the archives. “Welcome back home, Rainbow Dash. I think a lot of Wondercolts missed you.”

After this, the Vice-Principal left the office with a friendly smile.

Principal Celestia hadn’t even taken a glimpse at what she’d written. Too bad. She had put all of her writing skills in these letters, even using a thesaurus dictionary to make sure she wouldn’t repeat herself.

“I think my sister said everything there was to say. Let’s just stop right here.”

Rainbow Dash was about to get up when she saw Celestia asking her to stay with a wave of her hand.

“Just one minute. I have other things to tell you… School Board has insisted for us to keep Mr. Caballeron anyway… The way they insisted to impose him to us as our new teacher although Luna and I had serious doubts. How can I say that…? His results in every other school he’d worked with are excellent, but a lot of students had complained about him, and each time Middle and High Schools had begged him to chance it somewhere else. We didn’t think Mr. Caballeron could fit in a place such as CHS, relying a lot on the students’ autonomy. It happens that we were right.”

“Seems clear but… what does it have to do with me?”

It wasn’t out of sheer impudence she asked the question. She only had thought the Principal wanted to get a thing or two straight about her behavior.

“As you know, we’ve asked School Board to keep an eye on Mr. Caballeron, and our problem was that, if we wanted to act, we needed serious evidences. But it happened that even thanks to these evidences, that we could get thanks to you, although everybody would have preferred to avoid violence, like I’ve explained you earlier, it didn’t convince School Board.”

“Do you mean that Mr. Caballeron’s still teaching in CHS?”

It that was the case, then what she did or nothing was the same result. Then the purplish bruise on her cheek had no weight and no meaning, and no other use than making her suffer until the middle of the night. And the harassments would go on, as well as humiliations.

“Thankfully, he doesn’t. However, we haven’t been able to make sure Mr. Caballeron will never teach again. It’s going to sound crazy, but he’s alleged innocent until the investigation started about him for bad treatment will be over. We only have been able to prevent him from teaching here.”

“I see.”

Inside, she was reassured. It would have been for the best if others would never have to suffer from the same trouble than them, but if school had started an investigation, it already was a good thing. Nevertheless, except for the fact it all had been possible thanks to her provocation, Rainbow Dash still wondered in what was it about her. She knew Twilight could as well have told her everything during lunch break.

It probably was easy to see, since Celestia’s smile became more understanding.

“Of course, the School Board isn’t behind this request of investigation, and you surely know, without their agreement, we can’t either undertake this kind of step.”

“But so, who would be influent enough for them to… Oh.”

Obviousness suddenly struck her, and the blow was so stunning that she felt as if she was pinned against her chair and never could get off.

“Yes”, Principal Celestia nodded. “It comes from your father.”

So… Did it mean it at least had a bit of affection for her? It was a possibility, indeed, although deep inside a small voice whispered to her he probably had done that in order to erase the ‘shame’ and to turn over a new leaf, an image of ideal father for the rest of the world, and too bad if this was nothing but a big lie.

Despite this, when she finally left the office, her heart was a bit lighter than when she arrived. At least, he had done something for her, even if it was indirectly. Yet she knew her psychiatrist was right when he had told her long ago that they would have to talk about some criticisms and malfunctions, somehow.

Everything went back to normal when she stepped into her classroom and was welcomed by a giant hug from her friends. Even Twilight had deserted the Guiding Class until the bell, just to wish her a good comeback in school.

“I’ve missed you so much, girls! With all this rain and no scooter, I couldn’t even meet you!”

“We missed you too”, the five girls answered at the same time.

While she was settling at her table, Rainbow Dash saw them looking at each other with a knowing look, and Twilight nodding. When she looked up, she discovered Fluttershy coming her way, hands behind her back, and a small bag of tricks-style smile on her face, like the one from a child proud to show their mother a drawing made at school.

“Rainbow Dash”, Pinkie Pie started. “In the name of the whole group, plus Rarity of course, let’s not forget Rarity, she isn’t there all the time, but we think about her always, and she isn’t less important than the others…”

“PINKIE!” the five others yelled at the same time.

“We have sumethin’ to give ya”, Applejack resumed.

“Please accept this symbol of our friendship”, Sunset Shimmer finished.

Finally, Fluttershy showed what she had in her hands… Her friendship bracelet. With all this, she had almost forgot it had been broken by Mr. Caballeron at the beginning of last Friday’s exhausting gym class, right after it had been fixed up.

Strange… Maybe it was the light, but she had the impression that it looked a bit different.

“It’s a new one”, Fluttershy explained to her. “I did my best to try to save the former, but it happened to be impossible.”

“RIP bracelet. We put it inside a small box and buried it by CHS’ horse statue”, Pinkie Pie confessed.

No one confirmed whether yes or not, they had done something like this or it only was another one of their friend’s eccentricities. And it didn’t matter at all.

The feelings she felt were the same than when she received the former one for the very first time. This token of their friendship, representing each other complementarity, was worthier than any valuable treasure of the world.

Too bad if this was too sappy… Rainbow Dash didn’t hesitate, and got up in order to cuddle her friends again. With their friendship, they erased everything bad surrounding her, every misfortune and tears. They were her family, not the one she was born in, but the one she chose and which would never break.

And she knew this was the way they felt too. They could try to destroy them, it was impossible. Together, they were invincible.

Comments

[Dusk_Writer]

I really wonder what goes through Rainbow Blitz's mind when he talks to Dash. The man's a mystery.

“Yes”, Principal Celestia nodded. “It comes from your father.”

Yeah…he makes me curious.

[MidnightShy21]

Awhh, this was a heart breaking chapter but the last part was so beautiful. This chapter was put together great. It's just... Amazing

[Midday Giggle]

What could he answer to such a statement? Nothing could have make her believe it wasn’t the case, anyway. He wished she were someone else, maybe even that she never came to life, or that she died instead of her mother. She was convinced of it now.

“Where are you?”

“In front of my house… I don’t want to go back there… I wish I were dead.”

“No. No! Don’t move. Please, don’t move and don’t do anything. I’m coming.”

Oh wow... That was... Wow...

I have no words. Really.

[Easy breezey]

Awwww this nearly made.me cry!!!! I it!!! I was really starting to hate Mr. Cabaleron.

[Soradashie40]

I love soarin in this story! He is soooo sweet! Great story!