And so, for the next two weeks, the students of two dojos from CHS and CPA trained together for the upcoming martial arts tournament. Rarity, April, and Donnie were holding pillows to help Smolder, Sweetie Belle, and Patch with their kicks. As for Raph, Rainbow Dash, and Casey, they used a stick with a boxing glove on the end to help Scootaloo, Logan, and Gallus with their sense of blocking attacks. Applejack, Fluttershy, and Keno were helping Yona, Apple Bloom, and Shark to practice their endurance as they stomped and jumped on the mud in Applejack’s barn while it’s raining outside. Flash, Pauly, Sandbar, Teddy, and Rumble were doing push-ups while Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, Half Note, and Ocellus were doing pull-ups. Mikey, Shini, and Pinkie Pie were sparring with Lancer, Silversteam, and Clover Bloom while Bright Eyes, Heath Burns, Half Note, Melody, and the rest of the students were running their laps around the neighborhood with Princess Twilight Sparkle, Sunset Shimmer, Spike, Leo and Karai watching them. In the beach, Bright Eyes was learning a new technique alone as she was standing with one leg.
After two weeks of training, the martial arts tournament was set in CHS and the crowd was cheering on and waving their flags for different teams like CPA, CHS, Viper Kai, Hollow Shades, and unnamed schools/dojos that we don’t know about. Every participant wore their gi to represent their respective dojos. Viper Kai students wore green and black gi, Hollow Shades Martial Arts Club, wore their lime green gi, CPA Martial Arts Club wore their crimson and purple gi, and the CHS Martial Arts Club wore their blue and yellow gi. The Turtles were disguised as humans and watched the tournament with the Rainbooms, and their allies with their students by their side.
“Let the tournament begin!” Principal Celestia announced as the crowd cheered.
Principal Celestia went to sit on the bleachers with her sister and Cadence.
Bright Eyes walked around and watched Lightning Dust beat her opponent with a rough, roundhouse kick to the face. After Lightning Dust finished her match, she walked off the mat and glared at Bright Eyes while the rest of the Viper Kai students and their sensei congratulated her.
The staff member told Leo that his student was next to compete. He nodded and told Bright Eyes, “Okay Bright Eyes, you’re next.”
Bright Eyes nodded and glanced at Leo who was reading the tournament rulebook, “I’ve already read the rulebook. I know what to do.”
“You do?” Leo asked.
Bright Eyes answered, “Yeah. It’s simple. I hit them and I don’t let them hit me. Two points to advance in the preliminaries.”
Leo complimented, “Hmm, nice job. You are indeed a fast learner.”
“Wish me luck, sensei.” Bright Eyes nodded as she and her opponent entered the mat. Her opponent’s name was Piper Panflute and she’s representing Hollow Shades. She’s a bit tall, pale blue skin, and had short, purple hair with teal streaks.
They both bowed to each other and the referee asked with red and white flags up in his hands, “Ready?”
Both competitors got into their fighting stance and the referee shouted, “Fight!” They walked slowly around like a circle, waiting for either one to strike first. Then, they both fight until her opponent put her hands on Bright Eye’s shoulders and Bright Eyes knocked them off and pushed her opponent to the ground.
“Point!” The referee said.
Bright Eyes’s friends cheered as Leo helped her opponent up.
“Good job. Next time, no face.” Leo informed her.
Bright Eyes apologized, “Sorry. I couldn’t help it.”
“It’s okay. Just go.” Leo answered.
Both competitors got back into their fighting stance and the referee signaled them, “Fight!”
The two girls waited for either one to strike until Bright Eye’s opponent jumped up to attacked her, but Bright Eyes hit her with a front side kick to the back. Her opponent fell down in defeat and Bright Eyes won her first match of the first round. Bright Eyes celebrated and went to join her friends as they congratulated her while Leo nodded.
From then on, some of the competitors from their respective dojos advanced from the first round. On to the second round.
Rolling Thunder defeated Lightning Blue with a dropkick in the first bout. After that, Rolling Thunder used a hurricarana and put her opponent in a submission hold and tapped him out.
Next up, the match between Rover and his opponent, Frosty Orange. They both bowed as Rover continue to glare. As the referee signaled them to go, Rover kneed her in the face while she wasn’t looking and swept her off her feet to earn a point in first bout. In the second bout, Rover kicked her down to pick up the win.
Next match, Lancer vs. Thunderbass. Rumble countered Thunderbass’s attacks until Lancer grabbed his leg and threw him down on the mat to pick up the point in the first bout. After that, he put Thunderbass in an armbar that Swift once used on him and forced Thunderbass to tap out in the second bout to advance. His friends cheered him on after seeing Lancer win.
Swift Wing (formerly known as Shark) squared off against his adversary, Fido. The two competitors countered and dodged their attacks until Swift used the judo throw on Fido and took him down in the first bout to pick up the win. In the second bout, Swift kicked Fido in the face and then jump kicked him in the face again to pick up the victory.
After that, it was Bright Eye’s turn again and she went up against Amaranth Gray. They both countered each other’s moves until she kicked him down to pick up the win. She won again after using the judo throw on Amaranth and Bright Eyes advanced to the third round.
Sensei Kai started to feel worry that his enemies might catch up to his students. Second round was over and the third round commenced.
Lighting Dust was up again and entered the mat to face a nerd with orange hair named Duey Decimal from Hollow Shades. In the first bout, Lightning gave her opponent a wicked, spinning roundhouse kick to the face. Plus, her opponent was knocked out after that. The referee went to check on him and signaled the “X” with his arms. Therefore, Lightning Dust automatically advanced to the semifinals. Bright Eyes and her friends were not impressed with her performance after witnessing that move.
Rolling Thunder swept Lancer off his feet and punched him in the face. In the second bout, Rolling Thunder roundhouse kicked Lancer to the face to pick up the win. Thus, Rolling Thunder advanced to the semifinals.
Then, Swift Wing went up against Rover and he dodged Swift’s leg sweep, but he didn’t dodge Swift’s spinning roundhouse kick after that. Rover’s nose was busted and Swift automatically advanced to the semifinals.
After that match, Bright Eyes squared off against Short Fuse and bowed. They both got into their fighting stance and the referee signaled, “Fight!”
Short Fuse was like a house of fire as he used his arms to attack, but Bright Eyes repeated dodged them and blocked his attack. He broke through her defense and hit Bright Eyes on the rib, but it also made her to step out of bounds and Short Fuse picked up the win in the first bout. Second bout, Bright Eyes countered Short Fuse’s fast punches until Bright Eyes kicked him on the chest to score a point. After that, Bright Eyes performed a sweet spinning right kick to the face of Short Fuse and picked up the win, advancing Bright Eyes to the semifinals. Leo and the CHS Martial Arts Club applauded her and the crowd cheered.
“The preliminary rounds are over. The semifinals will commence shortly.” The announcer said.
Sensei Kai and Lightning Dust were not happy that their enemies had advanced to the semifinals.
The staff members began to put together a huge platform on the center of the court, along with setting up two short stairs on each side of the platform and some chairs around the platform for the crowd and photographers to get a closer view for the semifinal and final round matches.
“You did great, you two.” Karai congratulated Bright Eyes and Swift Wing.
“Thanks Karai. Sorry that you guys didn’t make it.” Swift Wing told his friends of the CHS and CPA Martial Arts Club.
Karai replied, “It’s alright, but my students did their best.”
“And mine too.” Leo added.
“Hey Swift, if we both make it to the finals, may the best fighter win.” Bright Eyes offered as he looked at him.
Swift nodded, “I look forward to that.”
The two friends shook hands after that.
Minutes later, the announcer of the tournament announced, “Alright folks. It is now time for the semifinal matches of this year’s martial arts tournament. In the first round, it will be Swift Wing who was a former member of the Viper Kai dojo and now represents The Wondercolt Martial Arts Club taking on Viper Kai’s Lightning Dust!”
The two combatants entered on the center of the battlefield as the crowd cheered. The two former comrades locked eyes onto each other and bowed. They both get into their fighting stance as they waited for the referee to start the match.
In the bleachers, Princess Twilight Sparkle, Blade Swipe, April, Casey, Keno, Shini, Principal Cadence, Celestia, and Luna watched on and observed the match.
The referee shouted, “Ready? Fight!”
Fight’s on as Swift Wing went for a flying front kick, but Lightning dodged it and they both started countering each other’s attacks. Lightning Dust ducked Swift’s high kicks and rolled over his sweep kicks as well. Swift caught up to her and he went for a left roundhouse kick, but Lightning timed his attack and hit him with a front kick to the chest, making Swift fell onto the mat. Swift’s comrades and senseis cringed and Lightning charged right at Swift who was already down, but the referee moved Swift out of the way and Lightning missed her opportunity to strike. The referee held Lightning back to protect Swift and she stepped back as Kai continued to observe the match. Swift got up as the referee gave Lightning the win in the first bout.
“Point! Lightning Dust.” The ref announced.
As Leo, Sunset, and their students looked on, one of the staff members told them that Bright Eyes was next. Leo and Sunset accompanied Bright Eyes to move as the referee signaled the combatants to fight again.
“You’re getting real slow, Swift. That’s what happens you leave Viper Kai.” Lightning reminded Swift.
Swift ignored Lightning’s comment and told her, “Just shut up and fight.”
The two combatants got into their fighting stance and the referee shouted, “Fight!”
Swift Wing and Lightning Dust went at it again and countered each other’s attacks until Swift flipped over as she grabbed Lightning’s arm and put him in a submission hold. As Swift turned Lightning’s body slowly up, he tapped out. Lightning continued to torture Swift in her submission hold until the ref broke it up and moved her aside to let Swift catch his breath.
“Point! Swift Wing.” The ref announced.
“Who’s slow now, Lightning?” Swift taunted Lightning as she got up.
Lightning fired back, “I’ll make you eat those words.”
The referee allowed them to fight again and the two combatants countered each other’s moves until Lightning swept Swift off his feet and hit him with an elbow drop to the chest, resulting Lightning Dust to pick up the victory and move on to the finals.
“Point! Lightning Dust.” The ref announced.
The Viper Kai students celebrated as the referee raised Lightning’s arm up. Leo and Bright Eyes looked at the TV monitor, showing that Lightning’s moving on to the finals. Bright Eyes felt nervous as if this will be her toughest challenge if her dojo wants to win the cash prize.
“Up next in the semifinals, representing Viper Kai, Rolling Thunder!” The ring announcer said as Rolling Thunder head onto the platform as her teammates cheered. “And representing CHS, Bright Eyes!” The ring announcer announced as Bright Eyes stood up from her seat.
“Empty your mind. Focus.” Leo reminded Bright Eyes as she nodded and went up on the center of the platform.
“C’mon Bright Eyes! You got this! WOO!” Princess Twilight cheered along with the crowd.
Bright Eyes and Rolling Thunder bowed and got into their fighting stance. The referee stood between them and said, “Ready? And fight!”
Both combatants walked sideways and waited for either one to anticipate their moves. Then, Rolling Thunder started kicking, but Bright Eyes dodged and blocked them until she swept Rolling Thunder off her feet and punched her on the stomach.
“Point! Bright Eyes.” The ref announced.
“Yes!” Princess Twilight cheered with excitement from the audience while Leo nodded, “Good job.”
Rolling Thunder got up and as she and Bright Eyes got back into starting position.
“Ready? Fight!” The referee shouted.
Rolling Thunder struck again with her kicks, but Bright Eyes dodged and moved out of the way. Her opponent turned around and Rolling Thunder continued kicking at her, but Bright Eyes blocked and proceeded to throw a punch. Rolling Thunder dodged it, but Bright Eyes roundhouse kicked her in the face as a surprise attack.
“Stop. Point. Bright Eyes.” The referee announced.
“Yeah! There you go, Bright Eyes!” Princess Twilight cheered.
Blade Swipe nodded, “That was pretty impressive.”
Rolling Thunder got up and warned Bright Eyes, “That was a lucky point, but it’s going to be your last.”
“Why? Leaving early to fix that stupid haircut of yours.” Bright Eyes shot back as she walked back to her fighting position and smirked, but Rolling Thunder moved the ref out of the way and proceeded to grab Bright Eyes’s leg and attacked her knee. Rolling Thunder put Bright Eyes on the floor of the mat and continued to attack her on the knee repeatedly with her vicious elbows until the referee stopped Rolling Thunder from doing further harm to Bright Eyes.
Princess Twilight, Leo, Celestia, Luna, Cadence and the rest of Bright Eyes’ friends were shocked that they witnessed pure brutality from Viper Kai. Not only that, some of the Viper Kai students were shocked too. Leo, Princess Twilight, and her friends went to aid Bright Eyes while the referee told Rolling Thunder, “Illegal contact. You’re disqualified!”
Rolling Thunder was angry and upset. She replied, “What? That’s ridiculous!”
Leo turned and glanced at Sensei Kai who was smiling and chuckling at Rolling Thunder’s assault on Bright Eyes. The crowd started booing at Rolling Thunder and she started to feel upset about what she had done to Bright Eyes. Sensei Kai was satisfied and told Rolling Thunder as she went off the mat, “Good job. Now that’s what Viper Kai’s all about.”
“Yeah, if you say so.” Rolling Thunder said in an upset tone and looked away as she went back to join her comrades.
Leo and Princess Twilight observed Kai and both were conflicted by Kai’s teachings. They turned their attention back at Bright Eyes who’s still agonizing in pain after that.
“With that disqualification. Bright Eyes earns a trip to the finals. We’ll see you back here after a short break.” The ring announcer announced.
Bright Eyes laid on an exam bed while Leo watched and Nurse Redheart examined Bright Eyes’a injured knee. After a few minutes of examination, Bright Eyes asked Nurse Redheart, “Is my knee pretty bad?”
“Unfortunately, yes. But you did great out there. You’ve brought honor to your family.” Nurse Redheart answered and Bright Eyes understood.
As Nurse Redheart left her office, Donnie, Sunset, Karai, and the rest of Bright Eyes’s friends entered the nurse’s office to check on Bright Eyes.
“You okay, Bright Eyes?” Blade Swipe asked.
Bright Eyes answered, “Yeah, I’m okay.”
Then, Bright Eyes and her friends started hearing an announcement from the ring announcer with Sensei Kai and Lightning Dust standing on the middle of the mat.
“Bright Eyes has 2 minutes to return to the match. If she’s unable to return, the Viper Kai Dojo wins by default.”
Princess Twilight, Raph, Karai, and the rest of their friends and students reacted simultaneously, “WHAT?!”
“They can’t be serious with this. We gotta do something quick.” Raph suggested.
“I’ll sub in for Bright Eyes.” Lancer suggested.
Everyone argued of who’s replacing Bright Eyes until she had enough and said, “Enough! Can you all give me and Leo a second?”
“Okay. We’ll leave you be. C’mon guys, let’s go.” Sunset ordered as she and her friends went back to the gym (where the tournament’s held) except Leo and Princess Twilight.
After they left, Bright Eyes took a deep breath and asked her teachers, “Do you think I could have won?”
“Win or lose doesn’t matter, Bright Eyes.” Princess Twilight answered.
Bright Eyes shook her head, “You know that’s not what I meant.”
Her teachers thought about it until Leo answered, “Yes, I think you had a good chance.”
“So, do your healing technique or whatever it is that you do.” Bright Eyes suggested, feeling the urge to get back up.
Leo informed her, “You don’t need to fight anymore. You have proven everything you need to prove.”
Bright Eyes sighed and told Leo, “What, that I can get beat up easily, and then quit? That’s not balance, that’s not real Kung-Fu. Princess Twilight told me, that when life knocks me down, I could choose whether or not to get back up. Well, I’m trying to get back up. So why won’t you help me?”
“Because... we cannot watch you get hurt anymore.” Leo answered with a slight of regret.
Bright Eyes begged him, “Please, Leo. Please.”
“Just tell me, Bright Eyes. Why? Why do you need to go back out there so badly?” Leo questioned, feeling worried that his student might get hurt again.
Bright Eyes took a deep breath and answered, “Because I’m still scared. Deep down, I’m scared of losing to Lightning and I’m also angry because I want Lightning to pay for everything that she and the Viper Kai dojo caused throughout these past weeks. I’m sick and tired of it.”
Princess Twilight understood what Bright Eyes said. She told her pupil, “I understand what you meant. Your rival, Lightning Dust is not some villain that wants to take over the world. She’s just a girl with a lot of demons. Celestia always told me that there’s no such thing as a bad student. Only a bad teacher.”
Leo joined in and added, “Master Splinter taught me and my brothers about that lesson too. Swift had the worst teacher there ever was, his uncle. It sent him down to the wrong path, but you’ll don’t have to go down to that path. You don’t have to become ‘him’. Trust me, you let go all of that anger and fear, and we’ll guarantee you that no matter what happens tonight, you’re gonna go home feeling great.”
“You’re right. No matter what happens tonight, when I leave, I want to prove to everyone that I’m not scared anymore.” Bright Eyes nodded and hoped that her teachers understood that she wants to finish the fight.
So, Leo and Princess Twilight performed the healing technique to heal Bright Eyes’s injury while the ring announcer had started making his announcement.
Back to the tournament, the ring announcer announced with the trophy in his arm, “Due to her injury, Bright Eyes cannot return to the ring...”
Princess Twilight and Leo rushed in towards the judge panel. Leo told them, “Wait, Bright Eyes will fight.”
The judges nodded and one of them spoke up, “Hold on.”
“Therefore, the champion goes to V...” The ring announcer stopped and head towards the judge panel while everyone became confused and murmured.
“Bright Eyes will go on with the match.” One of the judges whispered to the ring announcer’s ear and the ring announcer nodded.
While everyone was waiting, the ring announcer went back to the ring and he announced, “Bright Eyes will go on with the match!”
The crowd erupted with cheers and the Viper Kai dojo was shocked with the announcement and Bright Eyes entered the gym. Everyone in the crowd and the dojos except Viper Kai clapped for Bright Eyes as she made her way to the ring. Sensei Kai walked down and pretended to smile as he was clapping at Leo, Princess Twilight, and their friends, but they were not pleased at all to see him.
“I gotta admit, your student got some guts,” Sensei Kai shot down his smile and frowned to warn them with a whisper, “But she’ll never last long against my best student. And my dojo will melt this whole snowflake generation when we win.”
Sensei Kai walked away while Leo and his friends glared at him.
Bright Eyes entered the ring and Lightning Dust glared at her. “We were gonna win if you hadn’t show up.”
“Too bad. You want your trophy? You have to get through me first. I’m not afraid of you anymore!” Bright Eyes reminded her.
“We’ll see about that.” Lightning Dust replied.
The stage was set as the crowd cheered for the two competitors standing in the center of the mat as they bowed to each other and got into their fighting stance.
The referee asked, “Ready?”
The two rivals stared at each other and waited for either of them to strike. It’s a heated rivalry between two girls and only one will close the book of their rivalry and walk away with the win for the cash prize and trophy.