Season Z, Episodes R-S: Karate

Karate (Part 2)

(By: Flame Runner)

Rainbow Dash was taking it easy and sipping some punch in the fine establishment of Sugar Cube Corner. On the table before the athletic cyan pegasus lay a half eaten muffin. She clacked her punch onto the table and sighed with a satisfied “Ahhh…”

Other partially eaten treats lay on other plates: A strudel here and a cherry tart there. Two other cups of punch went along with these other delicacies. Each tasty drink was owned by a different pony. One was Rarity. The elegant white unicorn was looking just as gorgeous this morning as usual. The other was Applejack. The hardworking earth pony had on her regular cowboy hat and was busy munching on her cherry tart. All three mares were gathered around the table and talking about the weather, the news, and anything else that mares tended to talk about.

“So I heard that the spa is getting a new facial treatment,” Rarity was explaining. “It’s supposed to be on the cutting edge.”

“Boring!” Rainbow Dash sang out loudly.

“Hmph,” grumped Rarity.

The unicorn levitated her cup up to her mouth so she could take a sip of her punch.

“Alright, alright,” Applejack broke into the conversation. “I think we’ve done hit near everythin’ there is to talk ‘bout save what we all actually came here to talk ‘bout.”

She paused and took a breath, making sure that she had the attention of both her friends.

“So, what’s up with our sisters doin’ this whole karate thin’?”

Rainbow Dash swallowed a bite of muffin before responding.

“Don’t really know. They just sort of asked if I could train them for a tournament or something. I said ‘yes’ and that’s about it.”

“I’m personally not one to go off fighting for no reason,” Rarity chipped in, “but it is useful to know how to defend oneself…even if it means getting a little sweaty.”

The prissy unicorn flinched a little at the mention of sweat.

“Well I showed them a few moves yesterday and then had Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle spar. All in all, it went fairly well for their first day,” Rainbow Dash informed the two.

“So why ‘xactly did you want to tell us this? I mean, our sisters could’a told us themselves,” Applejack pointed out.

“Well, for starters, they are your sisters and I wanted to make sure that you two were ok with it. I mean, karate can be a bit dangerous. I also wanted to see if you’d like to come and cheer your sisters on at the Junior Karate Tournament this weekend. Plus, I was hoping to learn why they were so keen on entering the tournament in the first place,” explained Dash.

“Thank you for your concern Rainbow Dash,” praised Rarity. “I have no major qualms with my sister trying out karate. Trust me, she can handle herself. I would also love to go to the tournament and cheer my sister on as I have no other plans for the weekend, but I don’t know why they would want to enter the tournament. Perhaps they want to be Cutie Mark Crusader karate champions?”

“I know why they want to enter that there tournament,” Applejack spoke up.

“Yeah? And why’s that?” asked Rainbow Dash.

The pegasus then took another swig of punch.

“My sis said they were goin’ there to beat Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon at the tournament.”

“Oh! That would make sense,” Rarity agreed with a nod of her head.

“Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon?” pried Rainbow Dash. “What makes them so important?”

“Sweetie Belle has spoken to me many times of those two little fillies. They are always giving her and the other Crusaders a rough time,” Rarity replied.

“Mm hmm,” Applejack agreed.

“Ok, ok, standing up for themselves,” Rainbow Dash thought aloud, “Oh snap! I’ve got to go and fake a nap on the clouds or those three won’t know where to find me for our practice today!”

Rainbow Dash’s eyes flew open wide and she bumped the table as she dashed out of the bakery.

“Well, go and enjoy your ‘fake’ nappin’!” Applejack chuckled a goodbye.

(Insert Theme Music Here)

* * * * * * * * *

“RAINBOW DASH!!!” a chorus of three fillies sang into the bright blue sky.

Above, on a cloud, Rainbow Dash was lounging around. She bolted into action and flew down to meet the three fillies, finally landing on her hooves instead of her face.

“You girls ready for some more karate?” asked Dash.

“Are we ever!” replied Scootaloo.

“I jus’ need to hit somethin’ after my day at school,” Apple Bloom stated.

“That’s the spirit!” Dash gave Apple Bloom a loud pat on the back. “Come on! Last one to the dojo has to spar with me!”

Rainbow Dash took off at hyper speeds, leaving a blurry rainbow trail behind her as she flew off. The three Crusaders took off after their teacher as fast as their own feet could take them.

* * * * * * * * *

The dojo was just as busy as the day before, which is to say, nopony was even in sight. Rainbow Dash was just tying her black belt around her white outfit when the three stumbled into the dojo at exactly the same time, practically crawling over each other.

“I wasn’t last!” said Sweetie Belle.

“Well neither was I!” stated Apple Bloom.

“I’ll be last! I want to spar Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo declared.

“Alright Scoots, you can spar me. But you’ll also be taking on Apple Bloom today,” Rainbow Dash told the three. “Get on your karate outfits and then we’ll get started.”

The three fillies pried themselves off of the floor and off of each other. They opened up their saddlebags and each pulled out a bright white outfit. In the blink of an eye, the clothes were on and the fillies were ready to get started.

“Scootaloo and Apple Bloom come on into the sparing ring and we’ll get started,” commanded Rainbow Dash.

The two in question both trotted merrily over to have their spar. They each gave a bow to the other.

“You ready to lose?” Scootaloo whispered to Apple Bloom.

“In your dreams,” Apple Bloom shot back.

They both reared up onto their hind legs and took up defensive positions, with their front hooves held out in front of themselves, ready to block. Scootaloo was the first to strike. The orange filly lashed out with a quick punch followed by another and yet another. The strikes may have come fast, but Apple Bloom was able to deflect or dodge them. The earth filly dodged one quick swipe with a duck and then turned a full 180 degrees and struck Scootaloo with a powerful buck. The young pegasus was unprepared for such a comeback and the kick knocked her cleanly in the chest. Scootaloo was flung into the air and landed on her back.

“Oof!” wheezed the pegasus as she collided with the hard floor.

“That’s worth two points in a tournament,” stated Rainbow Dash. “You’ve still got a whole minute left. Scoots, if you’ve been knocked down, you need to get back up and do the whole bowing thing again or forfeit the match,” explained the cyan mare.

Scootaloo took in a deep breath and then flipped herself back onto her feet. She and Apple Bloom came back to the center of the sparing area and bowed again.

“Are ya’ ok?” asked Apple Bloom.

“I think the better question is if you’ll be ok,” teased Scootaloo.

The two regained their defensive positions and began to circle the other, looking for any weak points. This time Apple Bloom stuck out first. The young earth filly let fly a hard punch at Scootaloo. The orange pegasus crossed her front hooves and absorbed the blow, grunting and gritting her teeth. Apple Bloom launched into another powerful buck, but Scootaloo jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding the strike. The young pegasus jumped at Apple Bloom with a flying kick. Apple Bloom was only just regaining her composure after missing her own kick when Scootaloo stuck her on the side, making the earth filly fall over.

“And two points for Scootaloo!” announced Rainbow Dash. “You’ve only got fifteen seconds left, make them count.”

The two friends faced each other once again and bowed.

“I’m gonna win this!” smirked Scootaloo.

“No, I’m gonna win!” replied Apple Bloom.

The two competitors jumped back into action. 15. Apple Bloom set herself into a defensive posture. 14. Scootaloo forwent defense to lash out with a flurry of blows. 13. Punch. Block. 12. Punch. Block. 11. Punch. Block. 10. Punch. Dodge. 9. Scootaloo was thrown off balance as her next punch flew through thin air. 8. Apple Bloom jumped around to Scootaloo’s side. 7. Scootaloo used her wings to prop herself back up and face her opponent. 6. Apple Bloom lashed out with another powerful buck. 5. Scootaloo again defended herself by blocking with her front hooves crossed. 4. The pegasus may have held off the attack, but she was still sent sprawling to the ground from the sheer force. 3. Scootaloo began to jump to her feet. 2. Apple Bloom was faster and landed on top of Scootaloo. 2. The young earth filly held down Scootaloo’s front legs with her own back legs. 1. Apple Bloom punched at Scootaloo’s neck, but held back the blow at the last moment.

“Time!” Called Rainbow Dash. “And that’s three points for Apple Bloom!”

Apple Bloom released Scootaloo and then helped her friend back to her feet.

“What?!” Scootaloo called foul. “But she didn’t even hit me!”

“Nope, and that’s the rule. It would have been a solid blow, but she held it back so that you wouldn’t get hurt. Still counts and in fact hitting somepony when they’re down like that is considered illegal in competition because they wouldn’t be able to keep fighting after taking a hit like that,” explained Rainbow Dash. “Apple Bloom is the winner!”

“Wow! That was a great match!” Sweetie Belle ran up to congratulate her two friends with a beaming smile.

“Yeah! That was a lot of fun!” Apple Bloom held out a hoof for Scootaloo.

Scootaloo accepted the outstretched hoof and shook it.

“All right, good match Apple Bloom. With moves like that, Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara don’t stand a chance,” the pegasus praised her friend.

Rainbow Dash sauntered casually over to her three students.

“So, who are these fillies, Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara?” Dash asked.

All the Cutie Mark Crusaders turned their attention instantly upon Rainbow Dash.

“Who are Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara?” gasped Apple Bloom.

“They’re only the most stuck up, obnoxious, and rude fillies in the entire school!” spat Scootaloo.

“Yeah! And they’re always mean and they call us names!” Sweetie Belle followed after her two friends.

“Yikes! That sounds serious,” replied Rainbow Dash. “And they’re both in the tournament?”

“Yep! And we’re goin’ to take ‘em down!” stated Apple Bloom confidently.

“Well you’ve all still got a long way to go if you really want to compete in a tournament, even if it is only a junior tournament,” Dash told them. “So, I’m going to teach you all about the three basic karate styles today.”

“Karate styles?” asked Sweetie Belle as she turned her head to an awkward angle.

“That’s right! The three basic forms of fighting. There’s the earth style, pegasus style, and unicorn style,” taught Rainbow Dash as she paced back and forth. “Each style is named after the three types of ponies because each form originally came from those ponies. Earth style uses powerful hits and kicks to take out an opponent. They move around at a decent speed to block and avoid strikes. If you take a blow, you ignore it and move on. The main motto behind the earth style: If you get hit, hit them back twice as hard.”

Rainbow Dash stopped in front of Apple Bloom and placed a hoof on the little filly’s shoulder.

“Apple Bloom, from what I’ve seen during your sparing matches, you tend to use the earth style.”

Apple Bloom’s face lit up and nodded happily. Rainbow Dash lifted her hoof off Apple Bloom and began to pace back and forth again as she continued to speak.

“Pegasus style uses super fast movements and lightning fast attacks. The style originally came from pegasus propelling themselves quickly across the battlefield with their wings. They don’t tend to hit as hard as the other fighting forms, but they don’t need to. They just need to wear their opponent down with lots of strikes. The pegasus style motto is: It doesn’t matter how hard your opponent hits if they can’t hit you.”

Rainbow Dash stopped in front of Scootaloo this time and placed a hoof upon the little pegasus.

“Scoots, you seem to follow after the pegasus style.”

Scootaloo looked like she was about to burst from excitement. She literally jumped back and performed a quick karate chop into the air with enthusiasm. Rainbow Dash chuckled at the orange filly’s antics and then finished her lecture.

“Finally, we have the unicorn style. It tends to be very difficult to concentrate on magic while on the move, so unicorns tended to move slowly in combat. That’s why the unicorn style doesn’t move much. They instead rely on their ability to deflect blows and use that deflection to manipulate their opponent to open themselves to counterstrikes. They hit solidly, but not as hard as earth style. The unicorn style motto: Let your opponent make the first mistake and punish them for it.”

Rainbow Dash stopped lastly in front of Sweetie Belle and placed a hoof on the young unicorn’s shoulder like she had done for the others.

“Sweetie Belle-” began Rainbow Dash.

“Yes! Yes! Yes! I’m unicorn style! I’m unicorn style!” Sweetie Belle bounced around excitedly.

The three Cutie Mark Crusaders all came together and stood in fighting poses.

“Earth!” yelled Apple Bloom.

“Unicorn!” shouted Sweetie Belle.

“And Pegasus!” screamed Scootaloo as she leaped high into the air and launched into a flying kick.

“Together we are the CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS!” they all yelled in unison.

They had all stopped in front of Rainbow Dash in their fighting poses.

“Now that’s what I’m takin’ about!” Rainbow Dash encouraged as she clapped her hooves on the ground. “Now all we need is one of those cool backdrops and a camera.”

Suddenly, a colorful movie quality background set crashed through the roof and landed just behind the Crusaders along with a camera which also so happened to land in Rainbow Dash’s hooves. They all looked up to see Derpy blushing and holding her front hooves nervously behind her head. Those in the dojo shrugged.

“Alright, say cheese!” stated Rainbow Dash as she pointed the camera at the three fillies in combat stances.

“Cheese!” they said as the camera flashed off.

Rainbow Dash then flew up to Derpy and handed the camera back.

“I’ll help you take care of all this stuff when we’re done practicing today,” stated the cyan mare to her wall-eyed friend.

“Thanks Rainbow Dash,” said Derpy, a grin replacing her nervous expression.

Dash flew back down to her charges and landed with all the grace of a martial arts master. The three fillies surrounded their teacher.

“Hey Rainbow Dash?” asked Scootaloo with big eyes.

“Yeah?”

“What style do you use?”

“I use every style,” replied Dash without thinking.

“Whoa! Every style?” Sweetie Belle questioned.

“Well sure. A black belt has to be able to adapt to any situation so I learned every style,” Rainbow Dash stated.

“And ya’ never entered a competition?” Apple Bloom queried.

“Nope. Too many rules for my tastes,” Rainbow Dash then turned the conversation to another subject. “Say Scoots, didn’t we have a sparing match to do?”

“Yeah! Let’s do this!” roared Scootaloo with passion as she propelled herself into the sparing ring.

Rainbow Dash chuckled as she let her own wings propel her to the sparing area and landed, battle ready, in front of Scootaloo. The two bowed. Rainbow Dash looked calm and composed but Scootaloo was jittery with energy. They didn’t say a word, but knew when the match had begun. Scootaloo struck out first with a quick one-two punch. Rainbow Dash blocked each attack expertly and threw them to the side, leaving Scootaloo defenseless. Dash threw a blow at Scootaloo’s chest and it landed solidly, knocking the little pegaus to the floor.

The orange filly quickly hopped back up and the fight resumed. For the next two minutes Rainbow Dash showed why she was a black belt. The cyan mare went through each technique that she had recently taught about against Scootaloo. The young filly never got a blow in against Dash, but didn’t seem to care. Each time she was knocked down, she would get back up more thrilled than the last time. Finally, the training session ended and Rainbow Dash had to say good-bye to the Crusaders.

“Great practice today guys!” stated Rainbow Dash. “You’re going to start feeling all this work turn into soreness, but you’ll just have to muscle through it if you want to be tournament worthy by the weekend. Keep practicing at home and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Bye Rainbow Dash!” the three waved as they raced out of the dojo with excitement.

Rainbow Dash turned around to find Derpy standing behind her.

“Alright Derpy, now where did you say you got all of this background stuff again?”

* * * * * * * * *

The week had gone by quickly, each day the Cutie Mark Crusaders would come to practice and spar at the dojo with Rainbow Dash. Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara had still not stopped their rude behavior toward the three and the Crusaders were finally ready to take them down. Today was Saturday, competition day, and they were standing with Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Rarity in front of the competition building in the town of Hoofington. The tournament was in a large, square cement building. It was very tall and had many banners hanging down from it announcing the Junior Karate Tournament along with other major events that were to happen later that year.

“They need to hire another pony to do the decorations next year, this is just so drab,” mused Rarity.

“‘Nuff ‘bout decorations Rarity, we’ve got to get in there and sign these three up or they won’t be able to compete,” Applejack stated.

“She’s right,” Rainbow Dash agreed. “Come on, we don’t have much time to sign in before the matches start.”

The group entered the large building to find it just as plain on the inside as it was on the outside. Rarity nearly had a heart attack as she gagged at the décor.

“Dreadful! Simply dreadful!” she murmured under her breath.

But the three were soon signed in and were led away to the competition area. A large board sat in front of the Crusaders with many names and brackets drawn on it.

“Aw rats!” Scootaloo said in disappointment.

“What?” asked Apple Bloom.

“It says that me and Sweetie Belle have to fight each other first,” Scootaloo explained.

“Not only that,” Sweetie Belle chimed in, “but Diamond Tiara is in the other bracket. The only way we’ll be able to fight her is if she makes it all the way to the final round.”

“We can still fight Silver Spoon though, right?” Apple Bloom asked eagerly.

“Yep, she’s in our bracket,” Scootaloo said.

“Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle,” an announcer called.

“Guess we’re up Sweetie Belle,” Scootaloo said. “Good luck out there.”

“Yeah, you too,” Sweetie replied.

The two walked out to the competition area. There were other fighting mats and other matches taking place. Only one fighting area was open. This is where Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were to fight. The two hopped into the fighting arena and took their respective positions. They both bowed respectfully to each other.

“Good luck!” said Sweetie Belle.

“There is to be no talking during the match,” stated a referee from the sidelines.

Sweetie Belle blushed a little.

“You too,” whispered Scootaloo as she gave a wink at Sweetie Belle.

The young unicorn brightened up instantly.

“And…BEGIN!” announced the referee as she pressed a timer.

The two minutes for fighting had commenced. Scootaloo came in fast with a one-two punch. Sweetie Belle was able to deflect the blows and open Scootaloo to a counterattack just like Rainbow Dash had shown them. But Scootaloo had learned from her mistakes and jumped backward just out of Sweetie Belle’s reach. The small pegasus used her wings to propel herself at the confused unicorn. Scootaloo slammed a kick into Sweetie Belle’s back legs and knocked Sweetie to the ground. The orange pegasus then went for the same neck attack that had won Apple Bloom three points in their first spar.

“Three points!” declared the referee.

“Come on Sweetie Bell! You can do it!” cheered Rarity from the sidelines.

“Nice move Scoots!” encouraged Rainbow Dash.

Scootaloo helped Sweetie Belle to her feet and the two resumed their original positions. They bowed once again and then flung themselves back into combat. Scootaloo shot a kick at Sweetie Belle, but it was deflected. With Scootaloo off balance Sweetie made her move. Sweetie Belle came in with an uppercut. Scootaloo swung a front hoof to block the punch, but that’s what Sweetie was expecting. Scootaloo was now trying to right herself, but the momentum of her own defense caused her to lose balance. Sweetie Belle struck for a three point shot, but Scootaloo managed to somehow deflect the blow into her chest instead.

“Two points!” exclaimed the referee.

“That’s the spirit Sweetie Belle!” Rarity shouted.

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo set themselves into a bow once again. Only thirty seconds remained on the clock. If Sweetie Belle wanted to win, she would need to score a hit quickly. As soon as the clock resumed its countdown, the young unicorn leaped into action. She opened with a strong side kick which Scootaloo easily dodged, but then Sweetie Belle launched into a flurry of quick punches. Scootaloo moved back until she was eventually forced off of the fighting mats.

“Stop!” commanded the referee. She turned her attention to Scootaloo. “You can’t leave the combat area. If you jump out again, I’ll have to disqualify you.”

Scootaloo nodded her head in acknowledgement. She and Sweetie would have to bow and restart once more. Only fifteen seconds left.

“Come on Sweetie Belle!” pleaded Rarity.

“You’re doing great Scootaloo,” Rainbow Dash said.

The fighting resumed. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle began to circle each other, looking for a weakness in the other. The clock was ticking down for Sweetie Belle and the unicorn began to sweat a little. Both fillies were panting, but remained composed.

Sweetie Belle’s eyes lit up and she attacked. Scootaloo met the blow with a hoof of her own. Blow after blow, kick after kick, and punch after punch Sweetie Belle was either met with a solid defense or was left to hit empty air.

“TIME!” called the ref. “Scootaloo will advance to the next round against…Silver Spoon.”

The two tired filly hopped off of the mats and went to join Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Apple Bloom.

“Nice work Scootaloo. I’m impressed,” praised Rainbow.

“A very good try Sweetie Belle,” Rarity comforted her sister. “And it was a match well won Scootaloo.”

“Yeah, good fight!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed.

Scootaloo smiled.

“It was a good fight. Sorry I had to knock you out of the competition Sweetie Belle,” Scootaloo stated, both proudly and apologetically.

“But now ya’ get to go against Silver Spoon, Scootaloo!” Apple Bloom said excitedly.

“That’s right! I do!” Scootaloo’s smile turned a little mischievous.

“Give her a proper kick for me,” Sweetie Belle said.

“You got it. Hey, what about you Apple Bloom? When do you fight?”

“I already fought. When you two were busy kickin’ the suffin’ out of each other I was called out,” replied the little earth pony happily.

“And she won hooves down,” praised Applejack good naturedly.

“Scootaloo and Silver Spoon!” called the announcer.

“That’s me! I’ve got to go. Wish me luck!” Scootaloo said as she took off for her match against Silver Spoon.

“Good luck!” Apple Bloom shouted after her friend.

Scootaloo arrived on the mats to find Silver Spoon waiting.

“Hmph, so you’re fighting are you?” Silver taunted. “I didn’t even know you took karate.”

“Just started,” replied Scootaloo confidently.

“Oh, then this will be fun! Blank flank,” teased the snobby filly.

“Contestants, are you ready?” asked a referee.

Both Scootaloo and Silver Spoon nodded. As they bowed, Scootaloo shot daggers at Silver Spoon, but Silver met her gaze and gave back a haughty little chuckle.

“BEGIN!” yelled the ref.

Scootaloo surged forward with a mighty roar and lashed out at Silver Spoon, only to have Silver dodge the blow and reply with a quick gut punch of her own.

“Two points!” announced the referee.

Scootaloo was puffing angrily through her nose as the two bowed again.

“Blank flank” mouthed Silver Spoon.

The pegasus charged at Silver once again. This time harder and with an even louder scream. Once again, Silver Spoon nimbly avoided the blow unlike last time however, Scootaloo was able to turn her forward momentum into a quick sidestep and Silver Spoon missed her attack against the pegasus. Scootaloo turned back to face Silver Spoon and the duo began to circle each other. It was Silver Spoon’s turn to launch into attack mode. The young earth filly let loose a volley of rapid kicks and punches that made Scootaloo back off. The young pegasus closed her eyes, gritted her teeth, and began to block randomly. When she reopened her eyes, Silver Spoon was smiling smugly. Scootaloo was standing outside of the fighting area.

“Get back on the mats. You move out again, you get disqualified,” informed the referee.

“You can do it Scootaloo!” Apple Bloom cheered from the side.

“Come on Scoots! Use what I taught you! Find her style and figure out a defense!” commanded Rainbow Dash.

“Yeah! What she said!” shouted Sweetie Belle.

“Fighting style?” mumbled Scootaloo under her breath as she stepped back to bow and restart.

She had just under one minute to score and win.

“Let me make it easy on you,” taunted Silver Spoon quietly as they bowed.

The two began circling once again.

“Make what easy?” whispered Scootaloo.

“I use the pegasus style and I know that you use pegasus style. I just happen to be better,” gloated the little brat as she flipped her hair nonchalantly around her head.

“Bad move,” mumbled Scooatloo.

The orange pegasus dove at Silver Spoon when the snob of a filly flipped her hair and landed a solid gut punch.

“Oof!” cried Silver Spoon.

“Two points!” announced the referee.

Silver Spoon recovered and looked incredulously at her orange competitor who was smirking giddily. The match was tied. Silver’s eyes shrunk to pinpricks as the two bowed once more.

“Nice goin’! Scootaloo!” cheered Applejack.

“A clean blow indeed!” Rarity chimed in.

The two snapped into defense immediately. Time was ticking and neither wanted a tie. Scootaloo swung herself into a punishing flurry of strikes against Silver Spoon, just as the snobbish filly had done to Scootaloo earlier. Instead of looking frightened though, Silver Spoon just dodged the charging pegasus. Scootaloo propelled herself to the edge of the arena with her own attack and Silver Spoon came up behind her.

“Blank flank,” Silver whispered into Scootaloo’s ear as she tapped the pegasus gently.

Scootaloo lost her balance on the edge of the mats and then fell. She groaned, expecting Silver Spoon to be at her throat for the three point shot. But the bratty filly wasn’t there; instead she was standing behind Scootaloo and generally looking smug. It wasn’t until Scootaloo actually looked at her surroundings that she found out why. She had fallen off the mats.

“I’m sorry,” stated the referee mare, “but you’re disqualified. Silver Spoon is the winner!”

A crowd cheered all around the two fillies. One filly was happy, the other slowly trotted toward her friends with her head bowed low.

“Nice try Scootaloo,” Rarity smiled sheepishly at the downcast filly.

“But ‘nice try’ doesn’t win,” replied the orange pegasus.

“…and Apple Bloom!” the ponies caught only the last half of what the announcer said.

“Oh! That’s me! I’d better get goin’!” Apple Bloom stated as she left to go and fight in another match.

“You really did try hard,” Sweetie Belle encouraged her friend with a weak smile of her own.

“I know. I just wish that I had tried harder,” Scootaloo declared passionately. “Now Apple Bloom is the only one left.”

The fighting continued all around Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack. They were all cheering for Apple Bloom and keeping a close eye on Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara whenever they fought. Apple Bloom was able to just barely defeat her next opponent and move on to the semi-finals, but Silver Spoon wasn’t quite so lucky. Apple Bloom had been robbed of her chance at fighting Silver Spoon and claiming revenge for her friends. Diamond Tiara, however, was still going strong. The posh filly knew what she was doing and deftly defeated her opponent to make it to the semi-finals herself. Apple Bloom had a chance at fighting Diamond, if only the farm pony could make it to the finals.

The fighting continued on both sides, Apple Bloom gave out solid blows and took in strong hits as well. Through sheer willpower and quick thinking, young Apple Bloom was somehow able to defeat her last competitor and make it to the final round. As fate would have it, Diamond Tiara also won her match. The two would be facing off for the victory, but it was worth much more than a trophy or ribbon.

Apple Bloom was catching her breath with her friends and family just before the final showdown.

“You’ve got this Apple Bloom!” Scootaloo was saying.

Apple Bloom was slowly regaining her breath and also rubbing her head a bit. She had taken a good number of blows, and it was showing.

“I’ve never seen anypony do so well after just a week of training,” Rainbow Dash praised. “You might even win this thing.”

“That’s right sis,” Applejack nodded her agreement while putting an icepack on her sister. “Ya jus’ keep your head out there and the match is yours.”

“Thanks sis,” sighed Apple Bloom, glad to have the refreshing relief of an icepack on her sore body.

“Apple Bloom,” began Rarity, “we’ve been watching Diamond Tiara and-”

“-and we know that she uses earth style like you!” interrupted Sweetie Belle enthusiastically.

Rarity gave a disapproving glace at her young sister, but it quickly turned into a smile and a small chuckle.

“At least I know what I’m up against. Thanks,” replied Apple Bloom.

“And now…for the final round of the Junior Karate Tournament…” the announcer declared to those watching. “Diamond Tiara and Apple Bloom!”

“That’s your cue sis.”

Applejack gave her sister a small and comforting nudge as the young filly walked up to the centermost fighting mats. Coming from the other side, head held high and proud, was Diamond Tiara. The crowd erupted with whoops and hollers.

“You’re goin’ down!” Apple Bloom declared when Tiara got close enough to hear.

“Ha! In your dreams maybe…blank flank.” replied Diamond Tiara.

Apple Bloom growled as the two took their positions on the floor. They both bowed, never taking their narrowed eyes off the other, and then the final round began.

“BEGIN!” announced a ref.

The two fillies instantly struck defensive poses. Apple Bloom was the first to lash out. She struck out with her front hooves for a strong opener. Tiara blocked the attack easily and then chuckled.

“That the best you can do blank flank?” Diamond Tiara sneered.

“No taunting!” commanded a referee but it was too late, the words had already been spoken.

“Hiya!” yelled Apple Bloom as she turned herself for a powerful buck directed at Diamond Tiara’s head. Tiara was able to block the move, but the force still sent her reeling backwards. Apple Bloom turned back around and sent forth a relentless punch. But the punch hit nothing but air as Diamond Tiara deftly dodged the blow and sent back one of her own toward Apple Bloom. Apple Bloom pulled up a hoof just in time to knock the attack away.

Diamond Tiara was not finished yet though, it was now the snooty filly’s turn to pummel her opponent with blow after blow. It took everything in Apple Bloom arsenal to stay fast enough for Tiara’s attacks. One wrong move could give Diamond a point advantage which the farm pony didn’t want to give up. Somehow, Apple Bloom managed to hold her ground until Diamond Tiara relented.

They both stared at each other, breathing in heavily and visibly shaking from their exertion. Only one minute had passed.

“Ya’ got this Apple Bloom!” the young earth filly heard her big sister yell from the sidelines.

“Come on! Remember what I taught you!” Rainbow’s scream mingled with the rest of the crowd.

That’s when it struck Apple Bloom that to win she would have to change fighting styles, just like a black belt. A strategy formed in the young earth filly’s brain as she began to grin evilly at Diamond Tiara. The farm pony waited for Tiara to strike and when the punch came, she deflected the blow like she had seen Sweetie Belle do. The punch was twisted so as to leave Diamond Tiara vulnerable to a counter strike. Apple Bloom struck at the opportunity with a fake punch. Tiara was counting on the counter and brought up another hoof to defend herself, but the blow never came. Instead, Apple Bloom swished out a quick leg sweep and took the prissy filly by surprise. Down fell Tiara and Apple Bloom jumped at her chance. She pinned down Diamond Tiara’s front hooves and went for the neck, making sure to not hit it full force.

“Three points!” declared the referee.

The crowd went wild.

“Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!” Scootaloo danced and screamed from the sidelines.

“Nice job Apple Bloom!” Sweetie Belle yelled her support.

Apple Bloom couldn’t have looked happier in that moment, but Diamond Tiara still had plenty of time to recover her losses. Tiara snorted as she got back to her feet. The two faced off once more.

“Bet ya’ ain’t so high and mighty now, are ya’?” taunted Apple Bloom quietly.

“Not bad, for a blank flank,” is all Diamond Tiara whispered back.

Apple Bloom’s face flushed with rage as they bowed. The each got back into the spirit of the fight soon, with Apple Bloom knocking off some steam as she sent punch after punch at Diamond Tiara, like she’d seen Scootaloo do.

“Blank flank,” whispered Diamond Tiara haughtily after each blow.

This only caused Apple Bloom to strike harder and faster as the farm filly growled with rage.

“That…all…you’ve…got…blank…flank?” Tiara managed to breathe out between each punishing blow.

Apple Bloom was growing restless, sporadic, and tired and that was exactly where Diamond Tiara wanted her. Then something totally unpredicted came after the next taunt.

“Enough!” roared Apple Bloom as she lost all self control and tackled Diamond Tiara to the ground.

Apple Bloom crushed Tiara’s hooves into the ground and began to pummel the taunting filly in the face.

“Stop! Stop! Illegal maneuver! Stop!” shouted the referee as she rushed in to break up the beating.

Apple Bloom didn’t stop; however, instead she started hitting harder.

“That’s for callin’ me names! And this one is for trippin’ Scootaloo! And this one-!”

Apple Bloom was suddenly wrenched off of Diamond Tiara by a strong ref, still kicking, punching, and screaming. The crowd gasped in horror until the entire room became silent except for the sound of pitiful whimpering coming from Diamond Tiara before the snooty filly finally broke down into tears.

“Disqualified!” roared the announcer. “Diamond Tiara is the winner!”

Nopony clapped. Not a sound was to be heard in the room except for Tiara’s painful wailing. The referee set Apple Bloom down with her friends and sister.

“You might not want to bring her back next year,” stated the ref before heading off.

Apple Bloom didn’t really care; she was still huffing and had a manic look in her eyes.

“I got her! We got our revenge! We got her!” gloated Apple Bloom.

The earth filly looked at her two friends for support and compliments, but saw only expressions of confusion. Scootaloo opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it.

“What’s the matter?! Isn’t this why we came here? For revenge?” Apple Bloom demanded.

Her two friends looked over to the crying Diamond Tiara, who had a trophy by her side. The pitiful filly hadn’t noticed it nor did she care. She was bawling into her dad’s shoulder and whimpering. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle looked at each other.

“Is this really what we wanted?” Scootaloo asked the little unicorn.

Another voice broke the scene however, it was Applejack.

“Apple Bloom!” she said sternly. “Now I’m surprised at ya’! Doin’ somethin’ like that to another filly. I don’t care if it was Diamond Tiara or not, look at the poor thin’. Go on; take a good long look at her.”

Apple Bloom finally looked over at her handiwork and she was horrified by what she saw. Apple Bloom’s manic expression turned to one of absolute sorrow.

“Is that really what ya’ wanted?” Applejack pried. “It sure doesn’t look like it.”

“N-No. That’s not…I mean…I didn’t…” Apple Bloom looked back at her big sister with tears forming in her own eyes.

“Revenge,” stated Rarity disdainfully. “What a nasty word. Sweetie Belle, you were in on this whole revenge plan?”

Sweetie Belle hung her head low. “Yes.”

“And you too Scoots?” asked Rainbow Dash. “I was training you so you could take revenge?”

“I’m sorry Rainbow Dash! It wasn’t meant to end like that!” pleaded Scootaloo.

“Well girls, that’s jus’ how revenge works,” Applejack stated sternly, but lovingly. “Ya’ see, when somepony tries to take revenge, in the end everypony ends up hurt. Ain’t nopony can win a game of revenge.”

“Quite right,” agreed Rarity, “revenge will always take you further than you ever meant to or wanted to go.”

“Yep,” Rainbow Dash added, “you would have won the tournament Apple Bloom, but instead you humiliated yourself in front of hundreds of others, beat up another filly, and lost.”

All three Cutie Mark Crusaders looked up sadly at their friends and family.

“We’re really really sorry,” Sweetie Belle spoke for them all.

“Is there anythin’ I can do to make it right?” Apple Bloom asked.

“It won’t fix everythin’ sis, but you can start by apologizin’ to Diamond Tiara,” Applejack stated.

“But she actually deserved it!” protested Scootaloo.

“She probably did,” commented Rainbow Dash, “but that still doesn’t make what Apple Bloom did right. It takes a strong pony to not only admit that they were wrong, but to also apologize to those they hurt…even if they deserved it.”

“You’re right,” Apple Bloom agreed slowly and softly. “What I did was wrong, even if it was Diamond Tiara. I’m gonna apologize right now.”

Apple Bloom took a big gulp and willed herself over to the sobbing Diamond Tiara. Unsurprisingly, Silver Spoon was with her friend.

“You want to rub it in?” Silver spat at Apple Bloom.

“N-No,” Apple Bloom replied shakily. “Actually, I wanted to say that I’m sorry. What I did was wrong. You may be mean to us, but that doesn’t give me the right to hurt you back. If we kept that up, then we’d both end up cryin’ on our families’ shoulders. So, I’m sorry Diamond Tiara.”

Tiara finally looked at Apple Bloom to reveal red, tear heavy eyes and a bruise over her left eye.

“You should be,” was all she said before turning away again.

Apple Bloom looked pained at the damage she’d caused and turned to leave, but Silver Spoon held her back by placing a hoof on Apple Bloom’s shoulder.

“Thanks, Apple Bloom,” Silver whispered in the farm pony’s ear before letting her go.

Apple Bloom walked away with a few wet eyes of her own, but also with more confidence in her gait.

“I’ll bet that you three learned a valuable lesson today,” Applejack stated as Apple Bloom came to rejoin her group.

“Did we ever!” Scootaloo sighed.

“Then I think that the Princess might like to know about it,” reminded Rarity.

“You got it sis,” Sweetie Belle said.

* * * * * * * * *

Princess Celestia,

Hi Princess! It’s the Cutie Mark Crusaders! And boy, did we ever learn one tough lesson. We got really upset with some bullies at our school and decided to take matters into our own hooves, we wanted revenge. But when the plan was all said and done, we had wasted an entire week that we could have spent earning our cutie marks and instead ended up with a bunch of bruises. We also really hurt another pony in the process, even if she deserved it, we still felt terrible about what we had done. Not only did we hurt ourselves by trying to take revenge, but we hurt her too. Nopony can win a game of revenge; it’ll only hurt everypony and leave nopony happy. Now we’ve got a whole week of crusading to catch up on! Wish us luck!

-The Cutie Mark Crusaders