Rainbow Dash, Please Report to the Principal's Office

by TheGuineaPig45

15: Please Report to the Principal's Office (III)

Recording of FLASH SENTRY

Where I was last night? Where do I even begin?

I'm sure the other students have given you the whole "Wondercolts united" spiel, so I'll just cut to the chase. Earlier in the day, I had heard Diamond Tiara singing a heart-wrenching ballad, which caught me really off-guard. She's normally this confident and effortless queen, so I knew something was wrong. But instead of consoling her like a good friend, I just ended up watching her sorrow through the window like a creepy stalker.

Now, I know people usually ignore the spontaneous-musical-number-of-the-day, but I felt like such a jerk observing Diamond's pain and doing nothing to help. We were making a video about the magic of friendship, yet here I was, too scared to answer someone's cry for help. That's not being a good friend! If I was going to be immortalized as an example of what it means to be a Wondercolt, I had to start acting like one.

So, I ditched the video and went to Sugarcube Corner.

Wait, that sounds bad. I wasn't abandoning my peers, I promise! The opposite, actually! Twilight planned for us to pull an all-nighter filming the video, but her schedule barely included any breaks or time to rest. So, I thought I'd do my fellow Wondercolts a favor and bring them all coffee! It'd boost their spirits, give them energy, and prove that I'm not just a horrible, jerky window stalker! It was only supposed to take twenty minutes, tops — order the coffee ahead of time, pick it up from the shop, and be back at school in a flash. Oh, jeez, that pun was terrible. Did we seriously record that? Yikes.

Anyway, you know what they say about the best laid plans. Halfway back from the shop, this pair of dapper-looking salesmen — I think their names were Flib and Flab? — cornered me in an alley. At first, I thought I was gonna die. Instead, I had to listen to a twenty-minute musical presentation about a vacuum cleaner. Side note: did you know that a fraction of the dust we vacuum is comprised of our own skin?! Freaky.

Back to the point, sorry. By the time Flib and Flab finally left me alone, I was super late to my next scene, so I tried running back to school — only now, my hands were filled with dozens of coffees and a vacuum cleaner. (Yes, I bought one. Their pitch was very convincing.) I was carrying too much, which meant I couldn't really see below me, and well... one crack in the sidewalk later, I was back at Sugarcube Corner purchasing even more coffees. When I finally made it back to the school, everybody else was being rounded up by the police, so I just ditched the coffee and fell in line.

It was a rough night, to say the least, and I don't feel any better about ignoring Diamond Tiara's song. In fact, I feel even worse now, since I abandoned my friends and totally ruined Twilight's schedule. Maybe I'm not fit to be Wondercolt like everybody else. They've got the magic of friendship, while I've got nothing more than the magic of failure.

By the way, did the police mention anything about a vacuum cleaner when they called you? It was confiscated last night and well— No? Darn. Alright. I'm sure we'll reunite someday.

---

Recording of DIAMOND TIARA

Principal Celestia, I need you to expel me. What? No, I'm being serious! Please, just listen to me!

Last night, while we were in jail, I overheard Applejack say "one bad apple spoils the bunch". And when I thought about it, I realized: everything bad that's happened over the last week can be traced back to one person — me! Twilight's schedule imploding? That's because I blackmailed Applejack into giving me mullet picture and Flash Sentry heard my song. The fire alarm interrupting the emergency meeting? That's because I criticized Trixie's song and separated her from the group. Nobody wanting to talk to each other? That's because I started a school-wide riot! Not to mention, I had the idea to make the video and break into the school! I'm pretty sure I even sent the very first text about Rainbow Dash!

So, you see? This is why I need to be expelled! I am a bad influence on Canterlot High. I promise, my expulsion won't affect my parents' donations, and they won't sue you. Just punish me, please!

Am I okay? What do you mean? Um... Yes, my mother did come to school last night while we were filming the video. What did she say? Nothing I hadn't heard before. "You're an ungrateful daughter." "Actions like these are unforgivable." "How dare you soil the Rich Family name?" "Canterlot High should be ashamed to have you." "You're a toxic influence on this school." "This is why you have no friends." "It's no wonder nobody wanted to stay at your birthday party." Stuff like that. No, I didn't respond. She left before I could. Uh, no, she didn't pick me up from precinct. I walked home in the rain. No, I didn't speak to her this morning.

Wait... the Teen Center? Is that the room with the therapy dogs? I've never been there before. You said there's somebody there who'd like to talk to me? Oh, okay.

Um, thank you for your time, Principal Celestia.

---

Recording of SUNSET SHIMMER

This has been a weird week. Remember when all we had to worry about were raging she-demons and sirens from another world? Simpler times.

All jokes aside, this week has been a transformative experience. In some ways, it felt familiar — us Wondercolts have argued before. Only this time, the Dazzlings didn't hypnotize us. We did this to each other. To ourselves. We're capable of causing this much chaos and disharmony, even over text. That's kind of a sobering notion, honestly.

However, last night taught me that we're equally capable of putting good out into the world. The exact same energy that drove the Wondercolts to invade Rainbow's privacy was used to plan an epic apology video which would've showcased the magic of friendship for generations of Wondercolts to come. When everyone wanted to know "the truth" — chaos. When everyone wanted to apologize — harmony. It's amazing how much can change with a simple shift in perspective.

Yes, everything went awry last night. But our unity never waivered. Right until we were in handcuffs, us Wondercolts were prepared to do whatever it took to make a glorious video. Not one person wanted to give up.

Minutes before the fire alarms went off, I called for an emergency meeting in the cafeteria. Twilight was Twilight-ing and Spoiled Rich was being toxic, so I wanted us to regroup and figure out our next steps together. And immediately, everyone began supplying genuine, meaningful suggestions to steer the plan back on track. Flash Drive suggested a collab with the Rainbooms so we only needed to record one song when Flash returned. Photo Finish and her crew gave their expensive supplies to complete novices so that more scenes could be filmed at once. Sandalwood, Zephyr Breeze, Wallflower Blush, and dozens of other students were willing to cut their testimonials to ensure we could finish the video on time. That's right — the exact same people who selfishly revealed their peers' secrets earlier were now selflessly giving up their own solo moments to shine. Pretty touching, if you ask me.

I know some people are upset about last night's outcome. Honestly, though, I think it proved that we've still got the magic of friendship inside of us. It wasn't perfect, but we did learn from our mistakes and tried to be better to one another. As a school, we need to make amends, and last night was a step in the right direction. A step that should be celebrated.

Wow. If going to jail was a step in the right direction, we really went off the deep end, huh?

---

To: Vice Principal Luna
From: Principal Celestia

Sister, I'm at a total loss. I've pieced together everything (except why Zephyr Breeze called the police), and yet I still have no idea how to proceed.

Can I be candid with you for a moment? I almost cried when I first heard that the students were producing the video on their own. Happy tears, of course. After all the fighting and the deception, they were finally coming together to create something for the next generation of Wondercolts! How could I not be touched? If they had only waited and not trespassed on school property, I would have gladly accepted the video as their apology. But alas.

However, I am inclined to agree with Sunset Shimmer — last night was a step in the right direction for the school as a whole. There were no riots or serious fights, and everyone remained united the whole time. In fact, I believe their only actual crime was breaking into the school. Certain students — like Flash, Twilight, and Trixie — are beating themselves up over individual blunders, but in all honesty, their mistakes were largely inconsequential. The video was always going to be shut down by the police, regardless of scheduling conundrums or smoke bombs. Remind me to have one-on-one sessions with them later to assure them that their well-intentioned contributions had nothing to do with the ultimate failure of the video.

With that in mind, all signs point to a school-wide punishment. Everyone trespassed, so everyone needs to face the consequences. But how am I supposed to punish such a well-meaning student body? They were simply thinking with their hearts instead of their heads — that doesn't warrant detention, suspension, or expulsion. They did do the right thing, just in the wrong way. How can I express that to them without causing any serious damage? (Side note: Thank you for convincing me to install the Teen Center and hire school counselors. They certainly came in handy today.)

I have one last interview to conduct, and it's with Rainbow Dash. She's been hurt by her peers numerous times, but she's also watched them grow and make amends. If there's any one student who could help with my decision, it's her.

Time for some déjà vu.

---

Recording of PRINCIPAL CELESTIA

Rainbow Dash, please report to the principal's office.

Comments

[Mpony1]

You know Celestia none of this would've happened if you and Rainbow had just thought this plan through.

Why would you think that calling one of the most well known student of the school to your office like that wouldn't raise any suspicions? If it was a student no body but a very few knew then no one would care cause they don't know that person, but everybody knows Rainbow Dash she's practically a celebrity, so of course everyone would be curious.

You both said you wanted to keep things private but like trixie said you kept drawing attention to it and Rainbow never even tried to come up with a good excuse that would explain why she was spending so much time in your office.

Long story short I believe no one should be punished for this mess cause you are the one who started it by coming up with this crazy plan instead of just telling her to talk to her friends or at least let her take a week off from school.

And let's not forget how you lied to everyone during the first assembly. Yes you were just trying protect Rainbow's secret but you treated your students like they were idiots and you're a teacher. I wish Trixie had called out on your obvious lie.

Just try not to do this again, ok

[Tim the Planes-pony]

10966401
Too late for that given

Recording of PRINCIPAL CELESTIA
Rainbow Dash, please report to the principal's office.

[FanOfMostEverything]

Good to see more of this story. Looking forward to seeing how you bring it all home.

[redandready45]

Can't wait for the outcome.

[Uz Naimat]

Congratulations! This story now has a TV Tropes page!

[Anybisan]

It was amazing! But will there be a sequel? I really want to see the sequel, and I'm sure we all do!

P.S. And we need to know what happened to Silverspoon!