//------------------------------// // 29.- Showdown! // Story: Canterlot High's Sports Challenge // by LiQuiD //------------------------------// - CHAPTER 29 - SHOWDOWN FINAL EVENT - KARATE - (BGM) The round of sixteen is finally about to come to an end, and right now you're in the locker rooms preparing your gear and putting on the gi Rarity gifted you. "Hoo boy...this is not looking good," Thunderbass says, "if we lose this event then we might get eliminated. I don't understand why Twilight and Rainbow wanted me to participate in this event, Big Mac was a better choice than me." "What about Bulk Biceps? Bulk Biceps would've been a perfect fit for this..." Heath Burns adds, "a punch from him and his opponents would've been vaporized." "Nah, Bulk Biceps hates violence, and you know that," Curly Winds adds, "besides, you saw how tired he was after the basketball match right? Those legs ain't made for running around on a court for so long." "Yeah, but don't forget about that Crimson Fire guy...he's so fast, and want to know what the worst part is? He looked like he didn't even break a sweat..." Thunderbass replies. "Twilight made a mistake...she should've called Big Mac, Brawly Beats and Bulk Biceps to fight in the Karate event," Heath Burns says, "not us..." "Come on now you guys...she thought that they would make better shots," Flash Sentry interrupts, "she saw all of our training sessions even if she didn't need to do it, and if we recall correctly they were all better at basketball than us; Kindiak Park's team just happened to be better than them though, there's no need to downplay Twilight's efforts." "How come that doesn't make me feel any better?" Thunderbass says, "maybe if we were chosen to play for the basketball event we would've gotten completely destroyed as well. What do you think Anon?" "I dunno..." you say as you put on some of Fluttershy's homemade medicine on your knee, "I just want to be get this over with and prepare for the round of eight." Your friends look at each other in disbelief because of the blunt answer you just gave them. "You really think we can win this? Just like that?" Flash Sentry asks, "come on Anon, aren't you nervous bro?" "No, I am not," you say as you apply some of Fluttershy's medicine on the hand that hit Crimson Fire, however the pain doesn't stop, "I'm actually looking forward to this ever since that Crimson Fire guy did what he did. Who does he think he is?" "Oh, so it's about Rarity after all..." Flash Sentry arches an eyebrow. "Rarity, Twilight, Flutters, and Pinkie who are doing their best to keep us motivated, our Captain Rainbow Dash, the rest of the team, Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna and don't forget the good folks at Pleasantview High..." you say to Flash Sentry, "we can't let any of them down. Otherwise all of our efforts will amount to nothing." The guys reflect on your words a bit and nod to each other, remembering the good times you've had so far with the people you've mentioned. "Look guys...the chance of us getting eliminated is there," you say after taking a deep breath, "but so is the chance of winning...so let's just focus on the latter instead of the former okay?" "Yeah, you're right Anon!" Curly Winds says as he clenches both fists, "we can win this one, just like we won the qualifiers!" "Yeah!" Flash Sentry adds, "we can't give up yet!" "Even if that Crimson Fire dude murders you Anon...we're still gonna win!" Heath Burns says. "Wait...what?" You arch an eyebrow. "YEAH!" Your four teammates yell before leaving the locker room and leaving you alone with your thoughs. "Sheesh, with friends like those..." you say before shaking your head and taking a closer look at your gi. You take a look at the message Rarity embroidered inside your gi. It's a big heart stitched with the finest thread and fanciest purple color you've ever seen that reminds you of the color of her hair. You notice that she stitched a pocket, and inside said pocket you notice that there's an envelope inside, the envelope reads For my darling Anon..., you decide to open the envelope to examine its contents and realize that there's a letter and a photograph which looks like it was taken with an instant camera. The letter reads: (BGM) Dear Anon... While it's true that we've known each other for little time...I have realized something about you, even though you might have been forced to take part in this competition by Rainbow Dash's rather rude call for help. It has been my pleasure to see you shine and become a vital part of this team, I know you agreed to become a part of the team because I asked you to, and the two of us benefited from said arrangement, you got to bond with a bunch of amazing people and I got an opportunity to finally approach you and get to know you better, it makes me glad that you kicked that ball directly to Fluttershy's face the day before that...please don't let her know that I feel that way. You let out a chuckle and keep reading. From the seemingly distant and cold person everybody thought you were, I had a hunch that you had something else in your mind, mostly that you were hurting but couldn't let anyone know. However, everyone at school sees you now as the charming and noble boy I'm...very infatuated with, from saying cute little jokes to your teammates, enduring Zephyr's and your teammates antics and yet managing to smile after every training session, caring about others first, even that blonde girl from Pleasantview High...whatever her name is. Yeah, you recall that event pretty well. Nelly sure was hurt, but why did Rarity wrote that last part down like that? Goodness I was so jealous of her when I saw you lift her in your strong arms like that, and I wished at that time that girl was me instead...that's when I realized that I felt something more for you dear Anon. A boy like you is hard to come by, not only you're full of determination and energy, you try your best everyday and always remain humble, calm and collected. After you win, I'd like to hear your thoughts about this letter. P.S. I added a photograph as well, I know it'll keep you motivated from now on. Rarity. "A photograph huh? I wonder what it's lik-OH MY GOODNESS!" You barely manage to say as you take a closer look at the photograph of herself at the beach in a very sexy pose, wearing a beautiful light blue bikini and a hat, the photograph has a kiss mark on it as well. Wow, she was right, that was one hell of a motivational boost, not only you confirmed she likes you too! She's really attracted to you as well. "DUDE! HURRY UP! WHAT'S TAKING YOU SO LONG?!" Rainbow Dash bangs on the locker door, "the event's about to start!" "Crap!" You quickly stuff the photo and the letter back in the envelope and stuff it back into the pocket, "gimme a sec!" You hastily exit the locker room only to find Rainbow Dash tapping her foot on the floor with her arms crossed. "Oh there you are!" Rainbow Dash says with an exasperated sigh, "I had to make sure you weren't gonna run away or anything like that." "Jeez Captain, what do you take me for?" You say, unknowingly giving her an awkward look. "Well? What took you so long? Better yet...why are you all sweaty and blushing like that?" Rainbow Dash arches an eyebrow. "Uhhh..." "Don't tell me you were...relieving some tension? That's so gross dude! Can't you wait until you go home to do that in your room?" Rainbow Dash says, laughing quite loudly. "You got it all wrong Dash..." you say with an annoyed tone of voice, "don't make me lose the motivation I have or I'll walk out on you and get us eliminated." "Sheesh, you're no fun Anon," Rainbow Dash quickly says after she abruptly refrains from laughing, "come on...the ceremony is about to start. Nice Gi by the way, it's different from the others. Rarity's special touch I guess." Listening to that made you feel better. You can't wait to get this event over with and go straight to talk to Rarity to clarify some things, Crimson Fire ruined what you wanted to say to Rarity before, but now you're finally ready to admit your feelings to her and finally ask her to be your girlfriend. The guys and girls from both teams that were chosen for the last event are gathered around in the middle of the court to hear some words from Superintendent Discord. "Very well, now we'll witness the last event which is Karate. Right now Kindiak Park has the lead. With the balanced system of points which the Board of Directors has developed Canterlot High might get a chance to win after all, only if they manage to win a string of matches. To win a match a player will have to land three hits." "Balanced my a-" Rainbow Dash barely manages to say before Sunset Shimmer sushes her by placing a hand on her loud mouth. "You might wonder what this string of matches means? Well then...take this competition as an elimination round. If a player from one team loses, let's say...Canterlot High, the next one will have to replace him, but they'll have to fight against the same player from the other team." Everyone listens to the rules, Twilight even writes them down, clearly contrasting with the old rule book. "If a single player manages to defeat multiple players from the other team, they will be awarded bonus points. If, let's say...Canterlot High, loses three players against a single player from Kindiak Park, Kindiak Park will be rewarded with three times the points from defeating a single player. "Well isn't my life just great!" Rainbow Dash complains once again. "The match will be over for both boys and girls if a team runs out of players, let's say...Canterlot High, runs out of players-" "The Superintendent really wants us out of the competititon," Sonata Dusk says to the rest of the team, "how mean!" "-it will all be over, and if let's say...Kindiak Park doesn't use most their players they'll be awarded more bonus points." "That's ridiculous!" Twilight, of all people shouts, "you can't let a single player get more points from doing what a team should do!" "Oh Miss Twilight Sparkle, I thought you were the smartest one in this school. Let me tell you something, the Board has already decided the rules, I just merely made these suggestions and they agreed. Now will you let me finish?" Superintendent Discord replies to an embarrassed Twilight, who just sits down and looks away. "Good...now here's adressing something Miss Twilight said...of course it would be too exhausting for a single player to carry their own team, so they can ask to be substituted any time they want. But those bonus points will be worth it you know. Besides, the 'Most Carried Award' will only be given to the player who didn't participate in any event whatsoever...like that friend of yours who injured that poor girl from Pleasantview High. What do you have planned this time?" The entire Kindiak Park crowd boos at your team, it seems Zephyr made you all infamous, and Discord is trying his best to keep that stain on your team in everyone's minds. "Consarn it! You know dang well it wasn't us!" Applejack angrily yells. "Whatever...so! Let's take a five minute break first! The first match will be...Sweetie Drops vs Oak Ridge!" (BGM) "We're kinda behind..." Rainbow Dash says while looking at the scoreboard, "alright girls...give all you've got. Sweetie Drops?" "Yes Rainbow?" "Give it all you've got so we can get bonus points okay?" "Y-yeah, I understand, I'll do my best..." Sweetie Drops says, not looking so confident in herself. "Well well well...what's going on here?" A voice calls from the bleachers. That voice... (BGM) "Mirage?" You say. You all turn around and find the Prattle Sisters standing on the last row of your supporters' bleachers. The sisters then walk down the bleachers towards your group to greet you all. "H-hi everyone, hi Anon..." Nelly shyly says. "Hey Nelly!" you happily say after noticing that she's wearing the pendant you gifted her, she must've really liked it. "Hey everyone!" Mirage says, "we wanted to see how you were doing. We just got here by bus but barely made it. We thought the event would be over by now." "Yeah!" Sandy adds, "we wanted to see how things were gonna be for you all. We mostly want to see if we didn't waste our time teaching you Karate." "You two are the worst..." Rainbow Dash squints, then just lets out a sigh. "Whatever...look, we're about to start. So just keep your traps shut and let us carry on in peace okay?" "How rude!" Mirage says after a loud gasp, "and to think we came all the way here to give you some advice. But if you don't want it then it should be fine because you've got things figured out right?" "Advice?! Well...w-we could use some advice right now don't you think guys? Uhmm...I take back what I said," Rainbow Dash says with a greedy smile on her face, "come on, speak!" "Oh so now you want our advice huh?" Sandy lifts an eyebrow, "sheesh...what was that about Mirage and I being the worst?" "Come on Captain...you're making things worse," you shove your Captain aside, "can't you see the Prattles had to get over here just to be nice with us?" "Yeah, we kinda had plans for our own celebration party but Nelly wanted to come here and she really wanted us to come along as well..." Sandy says as Nelly nervously twiddles her fingers from embarrassment. "But it's cool. I mean, we're friends isn't that right? And friends support each other!" Sandy says, "besides, with the training sessions we had you are all qualified to kick some serious butt." Now your teammates look even more motivated. "What do you think of the new rules?" Twilight asks, "we had no idea about them..." "What do you mean you all had no idea? Our Principal got an e-mail like a week ago, we thought you knew already," Mirage arches an eyebrow. "We didn't! For realzies!" Sonata says, "Principal Celestia didn't get the memo, Discord said he sent it anyways." "Well that's pretty lame..." Sandy says, "to be honest the new rules were better for us, both me and Mirage were able to take on the entire girl team by ourselves and got a lot of points from that." "Wow..." Sandalwood says, "that's kinda hot." Tennis Match grabs Sandalwood's beanie once again and pulls it down to cover his entire head all the way down to his neck. "Aaaanyways," Sandy says, "you know the drill, strike fast and cover. Don't look to counter so much otherwise the enemy will be able to predict your next moves, who's gonna go first?!" "Me..." Sweetie Drops says. "Alright, good choice Rainbow Dash! Sweetie's a fast one, she can easily land two hits from one strike, come on now Sweetie Drops, do your thing!" "O-okay!" Sweetie Drops replies, now looking more confident in herself. (BGM) "READY?!" The referee asks after both girls bow to each other, "BEGIN!" Sweetie Drops quickly dashes at that poor girl Oak, who does her best to block Sweetie's attacks, eventually Sweetie Drops lands an amazing kick with her foot on the Oak Ridge's body protector. "POINT!" "Yeah!" Rainbow Dash cheers for Sweetie Drops, "you're doing great! Keep it up!" Oak Ridge looks distraught, but then she looks at Crimson Fire, who only shakes his head in disappointment. "I'm sorry," Oak Ridge sobs for a bit, then regains her composure and quickly attacks Sweetie Drops, she manages to avoid some hits, but eventually Oak Ridge punches Sweetie in the face. "Dang, that had to hurt..." Heath Burns says. "Just you wait," Lyra says with a smug grin, "when Sweetie Drops gets angry..." The fight restarts, and Sweetie goes all out on Oak Ridge. Who deflects all of her attacks and instantly manages to hit Oak twice in the body and then the head. "2 POINTS!" The Referee yells, "Sweetie Drops wins this match!" "I-I did it..." Sweetie Drops takes a breath. "Told ya!" Lyra happily says. The crowd goes nuts, Oak Ridge looks heartbroken, and when he goes back to her team Crimson Fire goes ballistic on her. "You're useless Oak! I can't believe you actually lost against that weakling!" Crimson Fire yells at the poor girl, who tries her best not to cry, seeing him yell at her like that makes you feel bad for her, and it makes you recall how your former teammates and other classmates used the exact same words he's using right now on his teammate. The referee quickly approaches Sweetie Drops if she wants to keep going or if she wants to rest. "I want to keep going!" Sweetie Drops quickly answers. "Very well then..." The referee says, "NEXT MATCH! Sweetie Drops vs Cabernet Sauvignon...!" The matches kept going, but this time most of your teammates were defeated, Sweetie Drops lost against Cabernet Sauvignon, Lyra was able to defeat Cabernet Sauvignon only to be defeated by Bright Star who was also able to defeat Cloudy Kicks and got a x2 point bonus, Tennis Match was able to defeat Bright Star, but got suddenly defeated by Spring Breeze. It was up to Aria Blaze to defeat Spring Breeze, and she's now standing in front of Summer Joy. (BGM) "Come on Ari! You can do it!" Sonata cheers her best friend. "Shut up Sonata! Let me focus!" Aria says before the referee says: "BEGIN!" Aria decides to keep calm and collected, while slowly approaching Summer Joy, who arches an eyebrow and decides to taunt Aria by making a signal with her hand and then saying, "come on you! I'm getting bored..." "Oh no! Aria! Don't fall for her-" Sandy yells...but it's too late, Aria just went straight to attack Summer Joy, who easily retaliates by delivering a strong blow to Aria in her belly, then a punch in her left cheek. Aria is forced step away from her. "Oh no...Aria? Are you okay?!" Sonata says. "SHUT UP DUMDUM!" Aria yells at her friend, "I'M OKAY!" "2 POINTS! Another more and Summer Joy will win!" "Aria! Think for a moment!" Sandy yells, "find an opening, don't rush it! Don't let her get inside your head!" "Will that even work?" Rainbow Dash asks to Mirage. "Yep, the role of a Captain is to know your players' personalities and character well...don't tell me you didn't know that Rainbow Dash," Mirage says with a smug grin, "what Sandy is doing right now is giving her advice on her abilities according to that explosive character of hers. It's hard for Aria to stay calm, but when she focuses she can do much better than that." "Oh...well, Aria is Aria, I just let her act out of pure instinct, it has worked out so far right Anon?" Rainbow Dash asks. "Yeah, because she usually unleashes all her anger on me or Sonata," you say, "if she wanted to kick your cute butt instead you'd act more often Captain..." "Sheesh Anon, there's times when you just don't know when to keep quiet," Rainbow Dash blushes Both Mirage and Nelly let out a cute giggle. "Come on Aria! Do the third attack you practiced with us! It's really fit for this situation!" Sandy yells at Aria, who just nods, then assumes a defense position. "The third one?" Rainbow Dash asks, looking quite dumbfounded. "Honestly...it seems our lessons got through everyone but your thick skull Rainbow Dash," Mirage sighs, "watch and learn..." "What's the matter girl? Aren't you gonna attack me?!" Summer Joy taunts Aria, but this time her taunts don't get to her, Aria remains stiff. "Hmmph...suit yourself, that third point is mine!" Summer Joy says before approaching Aria and delivering a quick blow with her leg to Aria's head, Aria however manages to parry her attack with the pose Sandy asked her to do and counterattacks Summer Joy, delivering two quick blows to her. Then staying still. "2-2!" The referee calls. Aria remains silent and still, Summer Joy decides to attack once more and the result is the same. Aria parries her attack and delivers yet another strong blow to Summer Joy's face with her left hand. Her mouth protector even goes flying. "WAAAAAAHHHH!" Summer Joy starts crying, and the entire Kindiak Park team starts booing Aria Blaze. But it doesn't matter anymore. (BGM) "AND THE WINNER IS ARIA! FROM CANTERLOT HIGH!" "Aria did it! And she got a nice x2 bonus for the team! Good job sugarcube!" Applejack cheers. The points go up, and your team is at the top for now by the bare minimum, everyone gathers around Aria to congratulate her for the win, she tries to brush everyone off, she doesn't enjoy the attention like Sonata does but you can tell her that she's flattered. It's up to you and your friends to face off against the last five members from Kindiak Park High. "First match!" The referee announces as he reads the card you all handed to him, "Curly Winds vs Crimson Fire." "What the?" Rainbow Dash goes, "he wants to go first?!" Curly Winds looks so distraught, he was hoping to fight one of the other team members first. "Could it be..." Sunset Shimmer says before you all turn around to listen to her, "that he wants all those bonus points without using his reserves?" "What an idiot...he's gonna tire himself out," Trixie says. "Yeah, he won't be able to endure the five of you," Cloudy Kicks adds. You're not so sure about that statement. You all saw how he was calm and collected during the basketball match, he humilliated your teammates with those agile moves, and he still was able to brag about it. "What do you think of this Sandy?" Twilight asks, "...Sandy?" "I don't like this at all..." Sandy says while biting her thumb, "that guy looks very strong." Curly Winds approaches the center, and bows. Crimson Fire doesn't. "BEGIN!" (BGM) Curly Winds doesn't know how to start, Crimson Fire, who is taller than the rest of you quickly approaches Curly Winds, and from a distance is able to land a very quick and strong blow directly on Curly's left cheek. "POINT!" Curly Winds struggles to remain on his feet, but once the referee makes sure Curly Winds is fine, he resumes the fight, only to end quickly from a strong punch and then a kick. Curly Winds wasn't even able to fight back. "2 POINTS! Crimson Fire is the winner! Do you wish to continue?" "Yes," he says before facing you and your teammates, "WHO'S NEXT?!" "That dude is getting on my nerves..." Rainbow Dash says, "Kick his ass Anon!" "Wait Rainbow Dash!" Sandy yells, "you shouldn't play your best card right now...if Anon defeats him and loses the next match, maybe the others will win. Look at them...they also look pretty strong!" "So this was Crimson Fire's plan from the beginning. Showing off his strength and then playing mind games. Crud...what should I do?" Rainbow Dash ponders. "I'll face him Captain! The best thing I can do is try to tire him out!" Thunderbass says. "No Thunder! Don't fight against him!" Cloudy Kicks tries to stop Thunderbass, but he brushes her hand off his shoulder. "Don't worry Cloudy, I'll be fine, I'll just have to do my best...besides Sandy's right. Anon's still a bit sore from that fight they had earlier," Thunderbass says, and then he runs off to the middle of the court. "Fight?! What fight?" Nelly asks, "are you okay Anon? Did he hurt you?" "I'll explain that to you later Nelly...don't worry about it," you say while holding your injured hand, Fluttershy's medicine is doing great...but the pain still persists. "BEGIN!" Thunderbass' footwork is amazing, the guy is pretty quick, and Crimson Fire just goes after him without landing a hit. And the few hits that manage to reach Thunderbass are quickly parried by him. The crowd goes wild by Thunderbass' technique. "Good job Thunderbass! Keep going!" Mirage yells, followed by Sunset Shimmer's cheers. Crimson Fire looks like he has had enough of Thunderbass and runs after him to then land a strong punch to Thunderbass' jaw. Who makes him fall on his back, after the referee confirms the point, and looking a bit distraught Thunderbass gets on his feet and this time tries to attack Crimson Fire, who not only evades Thunderbass' attack, but counters him and sweeps his feet. An illegal technique, and therefore a nonvalid point. "You better stop pulling those cheap tricks of you and start fighting for real..." Crimson Fire says to Thunderbass, who just struggles to get up and puts his guard up, unfortunately for him Crimson Fire is able to land a kick on his face. "2 POINTS!" "Oh no! Thunderbass!" Cloud Kick yells. Thunderbass does his best to get up, and runs up to Crimson Fire, who assumes a defense position!" "Watch out!" Sandy yells as she knows the position well. Thunderbass kicks a vulnerable spot Crimson Fire left, but Crimson Fire manages to parry his hit and counter-attack, hitting Thunderbass for the third and final time... "POINT! THE WINNER IS CRIMSON FIRE!" The refereee goes "...do you wish to continue?" "Yes. Those bonus points will be mine and the MVP trophy will be mine as well," Crimson Fire laughs. "CRUD!" Rainbow Dash looks at the scoreboard, "we're down and by a lot now!" "Chill..." Sandy says, "can't you see? Your boy did good...he's kinda tired now, look at Crimson Fire, he's struggling to breathe. It would be great if you sent Heath Burns, he's got a hell of a punch." "M-me?!" Heath Burns says. "Uh-huh...come on now! Get going!" Rainbow Dash shoves Heath Burns to the court, and all he's got to do is fight. "Ready?" The referee asks, "BEGIN!" (BGM) Heath Burns approaches Crimson Fire, and evades a couple of hits from him, then the unthinkable happens... "GNHH..." Crimson Fire grunts, Heath Burns was able to land a hit on Crimson Fire's face. And a very strong one too. "POINT!" The crowd goes wild and starts rooting for Heath Burns. Crimson Fire can't believe what just happened, he even loses balance briefly. "YES! GOOD JOB SUGARCUBE!" Applejack yells. "Go Heath Burns! GO!" Pinkie Pie and Rarity go wild with their cheers, Fluttershy does as well...but using a quieter voice to not attract much attention to her. Said sudden support makes Crimson Fire angry, who then goes straight to kick Heath Burns in the chest and then uses a special technique to continue his attack and punches Heath Burns once again. "2 POINTS!" "Just how fast is this guy?!" Trixie angrily says as she watches Heath Burns taken by surprise and barely managing to stay on his feet. "Use the fourth move Heath Burns! Left side!" Sandy yells to Heath Burns who then just nods and assumes an offensive stance. "use the left side to attack!" And with that piece of advice, Heath Burns quickly approaches Crimson Fire and manages to land one of his strongest hits on his right cheek. "POINT!" "What? Is that all you've got?" Crimson Fire just smiles at Heath Burns, "I barely felt a thing..." "D-don't make fun of me!" Heath Burns yells at him before attacking Crimson Fire with the same attack. "NO HEATH! DON'T USE THE SAME ATTACK!" Sandy yells, "HE WILL-" Crimson Fire played his cards right, and used mind tricks along with a spin kick right to one of Heath Burns' cheeks... "POINT! THE WINNER IS CRIMSON FIRE!" The referee says, "do you wish to conti-" "YES! YES! You know the answer...come on now, three down! Two left to go!" "That jerk..." Rainbow Dash clenches her fist as she looks at the scoreboard, your team is staying far behind from the triple point bonus. "There's no way we can win now..." Twilight says with a defeated tone of voice. The crowd goes silent, while Kindiak Park's crowd cheers for Crimson Fire. "WHO'S NEXT?!" Crimson Fire asks, "come on...I don't have all day." As you're about to set foot on the court. You're stopped by Flash Sentry. "It's okay bro...I can take it from here," Flash says with the most determined tone of voice you've heard. "Are you sure? I can take him out," you say to Flash, "you better focus on the rest of the guys." "Nah...I'm pretty sure he'll get the quadruple point combo, but at least I can weaken him a bit more. You better get the quintuple point combo from him okay Anon?" Flash says as he runs to the middle of the court. "FLASH! DON'T!" Twilight yells, "LEAVE IT TO ANON! We need a Plan B!" "Leave him be, he's on the right track..." Sandy says to Twilight. "What are you talking about sugarcube?" Applejack asks to Sandy. "He also knows that Rainbow shouldn't play the best card she's got right now...and you'll all see why," Sandy says before looking at you.