Chapter 71
December 9th 12 A.B.
“Thirty minutes till Round One begins,” the announcer said over the P.A.
Spark groaned as he walked around in front of me and Nose Ring as I helped her tie on her gloves.
“Oh… what if... No what if they… no no, what if…” he muttered, running his hoof through his hair.
“Spark,” I say simply, causing him to stop and look at me. “Stop worrying.”
“But, this is serious! All the best Martial Artists are here!” he said, starting to pace again.
“Spark!” I snapped, “You have fought worst. This will be a cakewalk for you.”
He frowned, but stopped pacing at least.
“You don't see Nose Ring here panicking,” I chuckled, finishing with her gloves.
“Actually, I’m terrified,” she admitted.
I slapped her on the shoulder, giving her a nod, “that’s normal! You’re both about to go up against others who have been training for years, while you’ve only had a year of training. Usually pretty hopeless.”
“... Sensei, that doesn’t help at all!” Spark yelped, but I stood up and pulled him over to me as I grabbed each of them by the shoulder.
“But you two are Viper Claw!” I exclaimed, giving them an award winning smile. “Our style is unorthodox and no one knows how to handle us! So no matter what or who you face, you’ll kick their ass! Especially in a match with all these rules where you just gotta tap them to get a point.”
“So we got this?” Nose Ring asked.
“You fucking got this,” I chuckled, pulling them into a group hug. Then I shoved them both back, “Now go wait for me at the staging area. I gotta handle something.”
They both smile confidently back at me and give a bow.
As they walked out of the door, I chuckled. I was proud of those two.
<Question; why do you always think ‘this is my award winning smile!’ everytime you smile like that?>
[You need to watch her memories, bro. It’s all there!]
<I will not do such a thing!>
I just laugh, rolling my eyes.
{Well, Dawn, I actually was in a beauty contest as a kid, and I won ‘Best Smile’.}
<OH! An award winning smile! I get it!>
{Now, you two said you had it figured out?}
[Oh fuck yeah, wanna come in?]
{Go for it.}
ooo000<^>000ooo
I looked around the void of my mind, seeing Break and Dawn standing by my memory bank.
“So, we’re finally good?” I asked, walking up to them.
“We’ve been good for a few weeks, actually,” Dawn admitted, but sighed, “mostly. We have it all back, there’s just five seconds we can’t recover.”
“Just five seconds? That’s amazing! I can live without those five seconds,” I said, very excited to finally be ‘fixed’. Brain damage never heals, but at least the effects will be lessened with their help.
“Yeah but those five fucking seconds are weird,” Break muttered.
“How so?”
“Well,” Dawn began, tapping away at the console, “you seemed to have a massive emotional reaction in those five seconds that sent your body into overdrive. But we can’t figure it out. Those five seconds are just… gone now. Your brain apparently got so overloaded that when you received a final hit to the head, it just… erased that small amount of time.”
I just shrug and reach over them, hitting play. “Might as well see what I can then.”
The scene around us changed to the only recovered memory I haven’t seen yet.
We watched as past me walked up to the doors to Wolverine Kamae and kicked the door open, stepping in.
The scene played out pretty much as it had been described to me by the kids who had been there. Right up till Vicar suddenly lost his cool and started shaking his head around as he became very animated with his movements.
Then he slung his head to the side as he yelled ‘Break her, now!’, causing his sunglasses to fall off. Then the scene seemed to glitch as we skipped to me getting punched in the face.
“What? That is what caused my body to overload? Nothing even happened!” I said, looking around the room as the scene played out. Vicar was walking down the stairs, fuming as he adjusted his mane and sunglasses.
“That’s what we can’t figure out, nothing seems to happen. He just yells for them to break you, then the scene just jumps five seconds ahead.
“Something happened…” I muttered as the scene continued.
After it finished, I hit the play button again. “I need to see this again.”
ooo000<^>000ooo
I came out of the memories, frowning. I rewatched that scene multiple times, but I couldn’t figure out what was so traumatic that it broke my brain.
That would just have to be something I work on going forward I guess.
<I’m sorry we couldn’t get all of it back, Scamp.>
{It’s alright, thank you two for everything.}
[As much as I love ya, Scamp, I can’t wait to get back to Lance after we get back to New Ponyville. I miss taking control of his dumbass.]
<Honestly I’m going to miss you, Scamp.>
[… Yeah, me too. You’re the most badass chick I’ve ever met! Hell , most badass person I’ve ever met!]
{Thank you, guys. You’ve really grown on me, so I’m actually going to miss you.}
Stepping out of the little room we’d been given as a dressing area, I saw I was alone in the hallway. A cheering crowd could be heard down to the left, which is where I needed to be heading.
But as I walked down the hall, a door up ahead opened and Kal, the new Head Sensei of Wolverine Kamae stepped out of a room. I just glared at him as I approached, taking note he was in his pony form and not his cat form.
“Ah! Sensei Scamp, I didn’t know if I’d…”
“Cut the act,” I say as I pass him.
“Are you ever going to let us live down being slaves of Vicar?” he asked, following after me as he adjusted his stupid goggles.
“No, because I know you weren’t ‘slaves of Vicar’, you just didn’t want to go down with him,” I say, getting a frown from him.
“Have we not proven we are not like him? We’ve actually trained our Students to NOT be bullies and attack others. We’re not the same as we were under him,” he said in his defense.
But I remained unconvinced.
“Say whatever you want, I’m still watching you,” I said as I picked up my pace, leaving him behind.
“As long as you give us a chance!” He called after me, but I didn’t acknowledge him further.
Once I stepped out into the main arena of the complex we were in, I saw they were getting ready to start round one.
Nose Ring and Spark stood in the staging area, looking nervous as they watched everyone walk around them.
“You two pumped?” I asked, stepping up to them.
“Yes, Sensei,” they both responded.
“I’m just…” Spark said, looking around at the much more impressive looking competitors, who wore Gi’s covered in logos and awards.
“Don’t focus on them,” I say as I stomp my hoof, causing them both to twist to face me, standing at attention. “Alright, I promised you two that I’d have something for you if you agreed to be the two fighters for Viper Claw.”
They looked excited as I stepped up to Spark.
“I present to you,” I say, grabbing the top of his Gi’s front sleeves, “sleeveless Gi’s!”
With a hard yank, I pulled down hard on his Gi’s sleeves, attempting to rip them off in one movement, but all I achieved was slamming my student face first into the ground. The sleeves were still fully attached to the Gi.
“OOO!” I yelped, pulling him up and dusting him off as he looked at me with a dazed look. “Shit, kid! These Gi’s are really well made!”
“It’s okay, Sensei,” he mumbled, rubbing his snout.
I opened my pocket dimension and pulled out two pre-cut sleeveless Gi’s, with the Logo more prominent on their backs.
“That’s fine,” I said, handing them out to them. “The ripping off your sleeves was just supposed to be symbolic, these are your real presents.”
“Sensei Scamp!” Spark exclaimed, holding out his new Gi, a wide smile on his face.
“You two have earned them,” I said with a wide smile as they quickly changed.
“Competitors!” a voice boomed from above us. “Step up to the mat with your number! Round one begins in two minutes!”
“Alright you two,” I say, giving each a punch to the shoulder, “go out there and hit them with the claws!”
They give a bow and quickly rush to their designated mats. All around them were many other competitors doing the same. The arena was massive, big enough for all fights to happen at once. Which would be needed since there were so many fighters.
I moved to an area where I could watch both of them.
Nose Ring was up against some decently sized stallion, while Spark was against a pony his size.
Fair match ups in my opinion.
As the bell rang, the area exploded into controlled chaos.
Spark didn’t move as his opponent ran at him, only to get kicked in the face as he neared.
“Point!” the Referee for his fight yelled.
On Nose Ring’s side she dove between the legs of her opponent and punched his flank as she came out behind him.
“Point!”
Oh yeah, this was going to be an easy win for them.
They both lined up to continue the fight, as it was first to three wins.
But they had similar results as they easily scored the remaining points against their opponents.
[They got this in the bag!]
ooo000<^>000ooo
“Come on, Spark!” I yelled as he dodged and weaved around his opponents' attacks.
“Get him!” Nose Ring yelled from next to me as we watched the fight. She’d been knocked out of the tournament while facing someone else with a strange fighting style, which is who Spark was currently facing.
We were now in the Semi-finals, and the fight was two to two.
Spark blocked a hit from the pony as he dived to the right, slamming a back leg into their chest as he did so.
“Point!”
“That’s my fucking boy!” I yelled, getting a lot of frowns from those around me.
He rushed down to me, out of breath. “I got ‘em!”
“Yeah you did!” I laughed as I gave him a Replenishment Biscuit, the item passed out to all Sensei’s to make sure their students are at one hundred percent before each fight.
He munched on it, looking excited as we turned to see who his opponent would be.
Now that we were near the end, they’d moved to one fight at a time.
I frowned, as I knew who the winner would be.
And not that much later, I was proven right as Star Chaser won three to zero, which is how he’d won all of his fights today.
“Remember Spark, you don’t have to win,” Nose Ring assured him.
“Nah, get in there and score one point for me,” I say, slapping his back.
Everyone realigned as the final round was announced.
Stepping up to the mats, I gave Spark a nod as he walked out and took his place.
Across the mat, Kal was giving Star Chaser a pep talk.
[Kal isn’t as bad as Vicar, but those fucking goggles are pissing me off!]
<Why, Break?>
[Goggles are OUR thing! Lance wears goggles and makes them look good! This guy just looks like a dork!]
Star Chaser stepped out and took his place.
The Referee made a chopping motion with his hoof, causing the two to start inching towards each other.
Wolverine Kamae had ‘borrowed’ a few of my techniques, namely fighting from the hindlegs. It was annoying, but they didn’t focus on fighting that way, so I could live with it.
Being the more aggressive one, Star Chaser advanced on Spark and opened up with a flurry of attacks, scoring a point right away as he broke through Spark’s guard.
“Point! Wolverine Kamae!”
They reset and started moving towards each other again.
Nearing each other again, Star Chaser pressed forward and laid into Spark’s guard.
“Come on, Spark!” I yelled, just as a hoof connected with his face.
“Point! Wolverine Kamae!”
“Time!” I called out, causing the Ref to hold up his hoof, sending the two kids back to their corners.
“I can’t see his attacks coming, Sensei!” Spark said, looking dejected.
“Stop watching for his attacks,” I say back, using a rag to wipe sweat from his face. “They’re all about aggression over there, while we’re more defensive and countering. Try focusing on attacking and applying pressure.”
“Yes, Sensei,” he says, giving me a bow as he returns to the mat.
As the Ref threw his hoof out, the match continued.
Just as before, the two advanced on each other. The royal colt began his usual attacks, laying into Spark’s defenses, but as he struck out for another point scoring hit, Spark sprang backwards. Performing a backflip, his back hoof caught Star Chaser in the jaw as he flipped backward. With absolute grace, he landed on all fours, facing the royal colt.
“Point! Viper Claw!”
“YES! YES!” I cheered, jumping up and down with excitement.
This seemed to shake Star Chaser to his core as they reset.
Advancing a bit slower now, they walked towards each other. But this time Spark was the one to apply the pressure, punching and kicking at Star Chaser’s blocks till he landed a solid hit on the other colt's chest.
“Point! Viper Claw!”
The crowd erupted in cheers, but I was louder as I screamed in excitement.
“Time!” Kal called out.
“Did you see that?!” Spark asked, looking very proud of himself.
“Hell yes!” I yelled, dabbing at his face with the towel. “But don’t get ahead of yourself. His confidence was shaken, but now he’ll probably be back to his normal self after his Sensei gives him a pep talk. That’s how this shit goes at least.”
“I can do this,” he said, giving me a sharp nod.
“I know you can, now get to it!” I exclaimed as he turned and moved back to his spot.
“Begin!”
The two inched forward, staring each other down. Just as I predicted, Star Chaser no longer looked off guard, now back to his confident self.
As usual, Star Chaser started the fight, leaping forward and slamming a hoof into Spark’s guard. The two began to throw punches and kicks at each other, moving all over the mats as they did so. Neither one was able to get through the other's guard, but it was clear that Star Chaser was starting to get the upper hand.
[It’s that fucking Ego! It’s basically cheating!]
Spark caught one of Star Chaser’s hoof and threw him over himself, slamming the other colt into the ground. But as he tried to bring his hoof down on the downed colt, he rolled away, barely dodging.
Jumping back to his hooves, the royal colt dashed forward, almost landing another hit on Spark as he barely got his legs up in time to catch the hit.
With a roar, Star Chaser slammed a back leg into Spark’s raised legs, sending him sliding back, almost causing him to trip and fall. The royal colt followed after him, hitting his guard with increasingly stronger hits.
“Break out, Spark!” I yelled, watching as he started to falter. Then he was kicked back a bit as he blocked yet another kick, leaving him far enough away to counter attack. “Sweep the leg!”
Star Chaser moved towards him, standing on his hindlegs as he prepared for a final assault on Spark. But the striped colt just stared back with determination as he dove under a punch, falling to the ground and performing a sweeping kick, taking the royal colt off of his hooves.
As he crashed into the ground, Spark rolled and performed an elbow strike to his chest.
“Match point! Viper Claw!”
“That’s my motherfucking boy!” I roared as I rushed forward and picked him up as he climbed to his hooves. I held him high above me as everyone rushed forward, screaming their own forms of congratulations.
“I-I won!” Spark exclaimed, looking more shocked than excited.
“Yeah you did!” I yelled up at him as I spun us around, holding him by his waist as he threw his legs out, cheering for himself.
Below our celebration, I caught the sight of Star Chaser dejected walking towards Kal, who looked displeased, but seemed to be trying to contain his anger.
But right now wasn’t about them, it was about Spark!
ooo000<^>000ooo
“Let me see it again!” Nose Ring exclaimed as she reached out for the trophy again.
“You just held it!” Spark whined, but relented and let her hold it.
I just chuckled as I went over the paper work I’d been given by the Equestria Martial Arts Association.
<Congratulations on becoming an official Dojo, Scamp!>
{Ye, thanks buddy.}
As the two kids celebrated and I went over paperwork, someone opened the door to our train cabin.
Kal stepped in, smiling at us. HIs little gator pet, Jerry, at his feet.
“Yes?” I asked, not even turning to face him.
“I wanted to congratulate you all on your victory,” then he turned to Spark. “And you, for those amazing skills you demonstrated out there.”
“Oh, erm, thank you,” Spark replied nervously.
“Thanks, that it?” I ask, side eyeing him.
“Yes, that would be it,” he said as he stepped back, but the little docile gator remained.
“Hey,” I called after him. “You forgot your pet.”
I looked at Jerry, our eyes meeting. I glared at the little guy as he stared back at me, neither of us blinking as we entered into a staring contest of sorts. Then, unexpectedly, his tongue shot out and licked his eye, proving he was just a dumb gator.
Standing up I pushed him out of our cabin, not liking the blank stare he had on his face. But as I pulled my hoof back after pushing him out, he suddenly snapped at me, catching my hoof in his tiny jaws.
“Ah! You little shit!” I yelp, grabbing him with my mechanical paw and stepping out into the hall.
“Kal!” I yell, getting him to turn around as he was walking down the aisle of the train. “Take your fucking pet with you!”
With a grunt, I threw the little menace at Kal, who just caught him with a hoof and smiled back at me.
“Sorry about that, Scamp.”
“Sure you are,” I growl as I step back into our cabin and slam the door.
“Are you okay, Sensei?” Nose Ring asked as I sat down and looked at my lightly bleeding hoof.
“Yeah, the little shit just got me good apparently,” I grumbled as I opened my pocket dimension and pulled out a bandage, wrapping it around my leg for now. “I fucking hate gators.”