Chapter 61
June 19th 12 A.B.
“Tomorrow is the last day of the school year! And your last chance to sign up for the summer programs! You need to hurry, sign ups this year have been lacking!” the clerk said over the P.A. system, sounding a bit desperate. “So please head on down!”
Spark closed his locker, looking up and down the halls as everyone mingled about. Since it was the last two days of school, most classes were letting their students do whatever they wanted, so most kids were just wandering the halls.
However Spark wasn’t sure what he wanted to do, as he’d finished his books, and had no desire to start a new one right now.
“Dude, guess who just asked me out,” Lurka said as he stepped up beside Spark.
“Bezmith?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Bezmith!” Lurka exclaimed, ignoring that Spark guessed correctly. “One of her friends came up to me and asked if I was interested, so I said hell yeah! Almost last day of the year and I get myself a marefriend!”
“I knew you had it in you,” Spark joked as they slugged each other in the shoulders. “Are you still coming to classes over the summer? Viper Claw needs everyone to keep up their training.”
“Yeah yeah, I’ll keep coming,” Lurka said as he waved him off. “I’m almost caught up to you at this point! Can’t stop now!”
“Sure you are,” he chuckled, rolling his eyes.
The two of them walked through the halls, avoiding the ponies that were running up and down them, cheering and just having fun.
“This place is turning into a madhouse,” Spark commented as they walked up stairs, heading to the second floor.
“Yo!” Lightning yelled as he and Azure Moon walked up to them as they reached the second floor.
“Hey guys!” Lurka yelled, bumping hooves with the other colt.
“We partying up?” Blaze laughed as he and Lilly joined them as well.
“Sweet, Viper Claw party,” Duke Venture yelled as he also joined up with them.
Spark looked around at their little group and chuckled, “I’m not used to seeing all of us together like this outside of class.”
“Yeah, but it feels cool, right? Like we’re a gang!” Lurka said, striking a pose.
“Let’s not call ourselves a gang,” Lilly said as Kelmoon walked up to them.
She smiled as she approached her friends, her mane still covering most of her face. “Hey everyone! Are we doing something?”
“No, we all just kind of got together out of nowhere,” Spark admitted as they continued walking down the hall together as one large group.
A few other kids from Viper Claw joined up with them as they went, all of them just laughing and chatting.
“How’s it feel?!” they heard a filly yell from down the hallway where a crowd was forming.
“Uh oh, someone's about to fight,” Lurka snickered as they made their way down there.
As they neared the group, they could just make out two fillies in the middle, one on the ground cowering and the other standing above her.
“You like bullying?! Well how's it feel to be the one bullied?!” Jelly Bean screamed as she stood over a crying filly, one of the local bullies named Reea Taffy.
“What's going on,” Spark asked one of the kids at the edge of the group.
“Dude, Jelly Bean snapped! Reea Taffy was making fun of her crippled dad and she just got DECKED!” the kid exclaimed, clearly very excited at what he was seeing.
“Deserves her right,” Blaze remarks, growling a bit.
Jelly Bean kicked her in the gut, causing her to cry out in pain. She kicked her again, yelling in anger.
“Enough!” Spark yelled as he pushed his way through the crowd. “You got her, Jelly Bean, no need to hit her while she’s down.”
“Spark?!” Jelly Bean yelped as she saw him, then frowned. “Don’t defend her! She called my Dad a junkie retard!”
“I get it, she needed to get hit for that,” Spark said, holding up his wings to appease her as he walked towards her. “But you become the bad guy when you beat her when she’s down. Be the bigger pony, Jelly. Walk away.”
“No!” she yelled as she kicked the much older pony again, causing her to cry out.
“Jelly Bean, stop!” Spark said as he got between her and the crying Reea Taffy, grabbing the little fillies hoof before she could do anymore damage.
“You’re defending her!” she screamed, eyes flashing with disbelief and anger.
“No, but I can’t let you go down a path like that! Let the school handle her, she’ll be punished for saying something like that! Mr. Bleak will make sure of it!” Spark assured her as he held tight to her hoof as she fought to get away from him and resume her attacks on the downed filly.
“Get your hoof off her!” Star Chaser boomed as he flew into the area and landed by Spark, pulling his hoof off of Jelly Bean.
“Star Chaser,” Spark said in surprise as four other ponies pushed through the crowd behind him, all wearing Wolverine Kamae apparel.
“She’s beat up a bully, you gonna stop that?” Star Chaser asked, eyes narrowing.
Spark frowned as he yanked his hoof away from the other colt. “No, I’m not going to let her beat on an already down pony, no matter how much of a bitch she is.”
“Hey…” Reea Taffy whimpered from the ground.
Star Chaser stepped forward and bumped chest with Spark, “Stay the hell out of Wolverine Kamae business, Viper Claw trash.”
“Back up, buddy!” Blaze yelled as he and the others pushed their way through the crowd, coming to Spark’s aid.
“Ah, a whole lot of Viper Claw trash,” Star Chaser remarked as more Wolverine Kamae members began to come forward from all angles.
“Jelly Bean,” Spark said carefully, “This isn’t like you, you need-”
“Talk to me, not her, she’s doing exactly as she should,” Star Chaser said, bumping chest with him again.
Jelly Bean glared as she took a step back and stood next to a few other members of Wolverine Kamae.
“You just can’t stand that Wolverine Kamae has helped all of us become better ponies,” Star Chaser sneered.
Spark stared into his eyes, “It’s made all of you bullies.”
This did not sit well with Star Chaser as he growled and grabbed Spark by the shirt. With a twist, he broke free of the sudden grab and pushed the royal colt away.
“You dare touch me?!” He screamed as he slammed into Spark, the two exchanging blows as they hit the wall.
All around them erupted into chaos as Wolverine kamae and Viper Claw members clashed together. Screams echoed down the hall as they all began attacking each other, causing the onlookers to start cheering and whip out their phones to record the whole thing.
Spark broke free of Star Chaser’s attacks long enough to jump to his hindlegs and deliver a kick straight to his snout, this sent the royal colt back as two more colts rushed towards him.
With practiced ease, he sidestepped the first colt and slammed an elbow into the other's face. As the first tried to turn on him, he jumped up and slammed his back hoof down on the kids forehead, dropping him as well.
Star Chaser tackled him from behind and lifted him up, slamming him down on the hard floor. As he jumped up and tried to slam a hoof down on Spark’s face, he rolled hard to the side and jumped up to his hooves, catching the royal colt's jaw with a back leg as he came up.
Another colt charged towards him, but he dropped himself and slid under the colt, lifting him up and throwing the poor colt into the wall next to them.
He sees a Viper Claw member slam into Star Chaser, freeing him up to handle some other members of Wolverine Kamae.
Duke Venture was on the defensive as a colt went to town on him, swinging and bucking crazily as he tried to break through the younger colts defenses.
Just as he seemed to be about to lose, Spark slammed into the colt and grabbed his leg. With a heave, he threw him over his shoulder and slammed him straight down onto the ground, following up with a swift kick to the head.
“Whoa! Thanks, Spark!” Duke Venture yelled as he ran and jumped onto the back of a much larger pony.
Spark turned and saw Star Chaser’s horn flash as he teleported behind the kid he was fighting and buck him into a wall. He didn’t see Spark as he dove over and slammed a shoulder into him. As the royal colt slammed into the wall, Spark followed up his body slam with a jab to the gut, causing Star Chaser to let out a gasp.
With a twirl, Spark grabbed him by the neck and threw him as hard as he could over his shoulder and down onto the ground, knocking the fight out of the royal colt.
But he didn’t have time to think as Blitz bucked him in the side hard enough to send him sprawling to the ground.
“Fucker!” Butch yelled as he came out of nowhere and elbow dropped onto Spark’s face.
Five ponies surrounded him as they kicked the downed Spark, all of them going as hard as they could.
“Get off of him!” Lilly yelled as she and three others slammed into the backs of the colts and began to lay into them. This allowed Spark to recover and jump up, slamming his hoof into the jaw of a colt as he came up. With a roar, he spun and performed a quick three hit combo on another colt, causing them to lose the ability to breath for a moment as they dropped to the floor.
Blitz blocked a hit from Lurka and countered with a hit to the face, sending Lurka backwards as Hardhoof tackled him to the ground.
Spark grabbed Blitz in a headlock and squeezed, causing the larger Blitz to panic, but he could do nothing as Spark held tight and slowly put him to sleep. Once he was out, for the moment, Spark sprang up and kicked Hardhoof off of Lurka.
“Thanks!” he yelled as he returned the favor and jumped onto Hardhoof, wailing on him.
The fighting around him was picking up as it seemed to be spilling down the halls and into classrooms. The screaming of attacking ponies only increased as more joined the fray.
His ear twitched as he spun and barely caught the charging form of Star Chaser as his horn almost impaled him. He held the other colt back, both struggling as they fought for control of the other.
Lilly kicked Star Chaser in the back leg, causing him to fall to his knees. Before she could help further, another filly grabbed her and threw her over her shoulder and into a wall.
With Star Chaser down on his knees, Spark was able to gain control and kicked forward, hitting him in the chest. But before he could throw another kick, another colt slammed into his side, sending him sideways into the wall.
The two jumped on him, pelting him with kicks and hooves as he did his best to block the attacks.
He caught the hoof of the other colt and pulled him forward hard, slamming his head into his. As the colt fell, he dove sideways and kicked the falling colt into Star Chaser.
As he recovered from his dive, he jumped forward using his wings to propel himself and slammed into another colt who was fighting Lightning. This allowed Lightning to gain the upper hand and perform a perfect two hit combo to the other colt's face, followed by him grabbing the dazed colt and throwing him over himself into another.
“Badass!” He yelled as he dove into another fight with three other colts.
Spark jumped into the air suddenly just as Star Chaser tried to grab him. As he flew above the other colt, he kicked down hard, hitting him in the back of the head. Finally, the royal colt collapsed, not looking to be getting up anytime soon.
But even with that small victory, he saw they were fighting a losing battle as more and more Wolverine Kamae rushed in to join the fight. Sure a few other Viper Claw had shown up, but they were outnumbered three to one.
Not to mention all the injured and down ponies, most of them Wolverine Kamae, but a good few Viper Claw were down as well.
Letting out an annoyed grunt, he dove forward towards six approaching colts, dodging and weaving his way through them as he countered their attacks with ease. As he came out the other side of them, they all collapsed.
His eyes darted around as he saw each of his friends were fighting more than one opponent, and there was no way he could help them all.
“EVERYONE FREEZE!” a booming voice called out as a magical aura filled the area, causing everyone to stop moving.
Mr. Bleak and four teachers walked into the frozen crowd, looking furious. The horns of the teachers were glowing as they kept up the aura around the students.
“What is the meaning of this?!” Mr. Bleak roared, causing everyone to avert their eyes.
His eyes rested on Spark, who was standing tall on his hindlegs, unconscious and moaning ponies all around him.
“A disagreement got out of hand,” he said simply, causing Mr. Bleak’s eye to twitch.
ooo000<^>000ooo
“From the top! Tell me what happened!” Mr. Bleak roared as he walked along all the kids as they all sat on the floor in the gym.
“I recorded it!” a kid yelled out. “The whole thing!”
“Give me your phone!” Mr. Bleak yelled, causing the kid to run to him and hand over the phone.
He hit play and watched the video, which started right after Jelly Bean hit Reea Taffy the first time. He watched the whole event unfold as Spark jumped in and tried to de-escalate, followed by Star Chaser coming in to defend his friend. Then the fight that followed.
“Hm,” he scowled as he looked out over the crowd of kids. “From what I can see, this was caused by tensions between your two groups.”
He walked around them, seeming to be deep in thought as he walked.
“I’ve made my decision. Wolverine Kamae and Viper Claw are BANNED from the school grounds starting next year. No Martial Arts of any kind will be allowed to be practiced or used on school grounds. There will be no warnings. If this rule is broken, you are expelled on the spot!”
Everyone let out groans at this, but he held up a hoof. “This drama will not be allowed in school next year. I will not have it! We can not have students attacking each other on such a level as this! Little rumbles on the playground were one thing, but this! This was akin to a prison riot!”
The doors to the gym burst open as a teacher led parents into the gym.
“Your parents are here to collect you,” Mr. Bleak said sternly. “As of this moment, the school year is finished.”
Spark turned and saw his Mom stomp into the room, eyes burning with anger as she scanned the room for him. Unluckily for him, he stuck out like a sore thumb with his strips.
“SPARK GREENFIELD!” She roared as she stomped towards him.
“Oh fuck, bye Spark,” Lurka said as his own Mom grabbed him and yanked him away.
“Hi… Mom…” he said sheepishly as her horn glowed just as angrily as her eyes.
They flashed away and reappeared in the Viper Claw Dojo.
“Scamp!” Twilight screamed.
“Yep! Coming!” Scamp yelled from the office as she suddenly burst out into the Training Hall, a toothbrush in her mouth. “Sorry, I didn’t expect… Spark?! What happened to you?!”
He smiled nervously as she looked at all the cuts and bruises on his face and body.
“You’re Martial Arts did this to him!” Twilight screamed as she stomped up to Scamp and squared up with her.
“Eh, I think my Martial Art’s saved him,” Scamp said, raising an eyebrow. “What exactly happened?”
“The entire school erupted into a massive fight between your Dojo and Vicar’s!” Twilight yelled, fuming as she stared down the other mare.
“But why?” she asked, looking at Spark.
“Um…” he began, looking at his Mom.
“Go on, tell us both!” she snapped.
“... Jelly Bean was taking it too far with retaliating against a bully, and I tried to stop her from going too far. But Star Chaser and Wolverine Kamae came in and turned it into a fight. Everyone else just jumped in to help.” He looked between them, “I swear! I didn’t think it’d get this out of hand! I was just trying to do the right thing!”
Twilight clenched her eyes shut, lips trembling.
“Twilight, from what I’ve heard, it sounds like-” Scamp started, but Twilight cut her off.
“No, what it sounds like is the tension between your two Dojo’s is starting to affect the children. That’s it, Scamp, I’m pulling Spark from your classes.”
“What?! Mom, no!” Spark yelled, but she shot him a glare.
“Twilight, that’s not necessary, Spark loves it here. He’s making great-”
“Stop, my mind is made up. It is done,” she stated, stomping her hoof.
“Mom!” Spark yelled, but her horn flashed, sending him away to his room.
“Scamp, I love and respect you, but keep Viper Claw away from my son,” Twilight said evenly, staring into the eye of the other mare.
Scamp stared back, looking very displeased.
Shayla ran out of the back office, looking around. “Spark?” she ran past Twilight and sniffed the ground where he’d been standing. “Spark?!”
“Twilight,” Scamp said carefully. “Taking him out at this point will only hurt him. Both mentally and physically. Wolverine Kamae won’t just let him be after something like today happened. They’ll-”
“No, I’ve said it, and it is done. He is going to stick to studying and will get into a good college after next year. If I have too, I’ll homeschool him. But he will never touch Martial Art’s again. That is final,” she said, her horn flashing, taking her away as well.
Shayla frowned up at Scamp as her lip trembled, “Spark come back?”
Scamp’s shoulders slumped as she picked up her daughter. “I don’t think so, sweetie. But you’ll still see him when he babysits you.”
Her lip trembles even more as she looks around the room.
With a heavy sigh, Scamp puts her tooth brush back in her mouth and walks back into the office.