“Ya want that with mustard?”
“No thanks.” The evening sun shone down on Joe’s hot dog stand, providing a warm, golden backdrop as he prepared the cheap food for the waiting pegasus.
Joe wrapped the finished hot dog and handed it to the her. “Here ya go.” She accepted it and left, leaving Joe to begin packing up his stand. He’d been selling for most of the day. His stand was on prime ground, right across from the Golden Oaks Museum. Since it was usually the first place new ponies headed once they got to Ponyville, to see Princess Sparkle’s old house, as well as the Elements of Harmony, it was the perfect spot to catch hungry tourists.
“Hey Joe, didn’t know you were back in town.” Joe looked up to see an old pal approach.
“Ey Jerry. Yeah, jus’ came in last night.”
“Whaddya doin’ back in Ponyville?”
“Eh, well.” Joe looked away sheepishly. “Things haven’t been goin’ so good since I closed down the doughnut shop. I was thinkin’ maybe I’d have some better luck ‘round here, y’know?”
“Yeah, I feel ya.” Joe went back to putting away food items into his cart. Jerry leaned in closer, making sure no one else around could hear. “So you gonna come to tonight’s fight?”
Joe chuckled. “It’s been a while since I gone to one of those. I dunno though, I gotta get up early tomorrow. Whose fightin’?”
“Heh. Get this. It’s Bulk Biceps, believe it or not, against some pint sized punk shorter than my niece.”
“You serious? That’s gonna be pretty brutal. What are the odds running?”
“The bets are something like 20:1. Pretty easy money. You should come, it’ll be like old times.”
“Yeah, maybe I’ll come if I can get outta the house. I was jus’ headin’ home.”
“All right,” said Jerry. “I’ll see ya then.”
“Yeah, see ya.” Joe packed up the last of his cart as Jerry left, before beginning to wheel it away down the street.
---------------------------------------------------
Pipsqeak panted in between strikes. Striking the practice dummy, over and over, kicking and punching; Pipsqueak had been doing it for the past hour.
He had met with the stranger the previous night near Sanctuary, Fluttershy’s home. The stranger had told him after that evening, he would be able to face ten dragons, but Pip didn’t feel much more confident than before. It was the weekend, and since he didn’t have school, he’d been practicing the things the stranger had shown him for most of the day.
Needing a breather, he took a step back from the dummy, plopping down against a rock. He pulled out a water bottle to sip on. Pip had a worried feeling in the pit of his gut. If he didn’t somehow pull it together, that mammoth was going to rip him to pieces in front of everyone.
“I guess it’s too late to back out now.” He breathed into the wind.
Pip got back up and went back to work on the practice dummy. He still had a few hours.
-----------------------------------------------
The room was crowded, as usual. The place was in a roil, as usual. Ponies besieged the money changing window, dropping bags of bits and declaring their wager. The wager stallion keeping track struggled to keep up with all the bets directed at him. He furiously marked at a large chalkboard, filling it with numbers and names.
Meanwhile, a group of ponies near the bar seemed to be making it their goal to get as drunk as possible before the fight started. Large quantities of alcohol poured from the tap, directed by a burly barkeep.
“Hey, that’s it for you.” He said sternly to an extremely intoxicated unicorn who was beckoning for more. “You already owe me from last time.”
“Ah c’mon, jus gimme sum mor this time, Ill pay ya tommorra…”
The bar was all the way across from the ring. Near the end of it stood a huge, white pegasus, a trainer speaking into his ear.
“You ready to go Bulk?”
“YEAH!” He yelled.
Pip watched him from the opposite wall. Pip had seen Bulk before. He was one of the strongest ponies in all of Equestria, and a well known bodybuilder around Ponyville. He had qualified for several bodybuilding titles, even winning the Equestria Power Lifting Tournament a couple years back. More recently though, he’d been convicted by the Equestria Games Committee for the use of illegal alchemical enhancement. After that he’d been banned from participating in any future Equestria Games, and had a bit of a falling out in Ponyville. His vacant, red eyes had always given Pip the heebie jeebies.
The stranger’s hooded figure stood nearby, keeping an eye on his pocket watch. “Ten minutes ‘till show time.” He announced to Pip.
Pip nervously surveyed the room. It was pretty smoky, there were a number of ponies at the booths smoking from long, wooden pipes. Unlike alcohol, which was allowed in small quantities, smoking had been completely outlawed under Celestia’s rule. In fact, this was the first time Pip could ever remember seeing a pony smoke in public at all. Illegal fighting, drinking, smoking, gambling, Pip wondered what would happen to these ponies if this place was found out.
He turned to the stranger. “How long has this place been around?”
“Long time. Since before Luna returned from the moon.”
“How has no pony discovered this was here in all that time?”
“We have our methods. Besides, it’s so profitable, why would anypony want it to go away? It’s all about the bits, my boy.”
That didn’t really tell him much, but it was the kind of semi-answer he had been expecting. He turned his attention to the cage. More ponies were beginning to surround it as fight time grew closer. He couldn’t help notice a few of the nearby patrons staring at him. They were talking about him in audible tones.
“Is he the one fighting? Against Bulk? That’s not even fair. What a rigged match.”
Pip tried to ignore them, annoyance rising.
“Tell me about it. Somepony set this up. He’s going to get crushed like a tin can.”
Unable to hold it in, Pip turned to face them. “I’m standing five feet away from you. I can plainly hear what you’re saying!”
The embarrassed patrons backed away slowly. Satisfied, Pip turned his attention back to the cage. The crowd around it by this time had swelled to a loud mob. Pip was beginning to feel his nerves resurface.
“Why, Pipsqueak, this is the last place I thought I would find you.” Pip turned to see Mrs. Cake approaching him. She wore a surprised look on her face. “Did you come to watch the fight?”
“Not exactly.” He answered. “Did you?”
“Well, I sometimes do, yes…” She looked a bit embarrassed. “Now Pipsqueak, you know that we never talk about who we see down here…” She seemed to be trying to make a point. “So, of course, I wouldn’t tell anypony about your being here, and you wouldn’t tell anypony about my being here.”
Pip was beginning to get the sneaking suspicion Mr. Cake didn’t know about Mrs. Cake’s late night activities. “No, I won’t tell anypony.”
“Of course.” She said, smiling.
“They have cloaks,” He pointed out. “You can wear one of those if you don’t want to be seen.”
“Yes, I know dear, its just that they are so uncomfortable. Besides, everyone around here knows me. And-”
She was cut off as what appeared to be an announcer stepped into the middle of the cage, quieting the crowd.
“Tonight,” He started, holding a card. “We have two fighters stepping into the ring.” Bulk cracked his neck, preparing to enter.
“Our first fighter has never fought before in the cage, a complete rookie.” He gestured grandly over to where Pip stood with Mrs. Cake. “Weighing in at 110 pounds… Pipsqueak!” He announced.
Pip started to move towards the cage, the crowd making way for him. He felt a hoof grab him. It was Mrs. Cake, looking shocked. “Wait, it isn’t you is it? You’re not…”
Even though he was nervous as hell, Pip couldn’t help but smile as he looked at her bewildered face. “Yup.” He said. She blanched as he turned and continued towards the cage.
He felt uncomfortable, so many eyes on him as he walked up the steps and into the cage. A pony held the mesh door open for him, closing it behind him. The cage was bright on the inside, focused lights lining the ceiling all around. The floor was made of many wooden planks painted white, and combined with the bright light, it felt uncomfortable to Pip’s eyes.
“His opponent.” Continued the announcer, gesturing towards the opposite side of the ring. “I think you all know him. Weighing in at 480 pounds… Bulk Biceps!” He stepped into the ring, barely fitting through the entrance. Seeing the huge difference between the fighters was beginning to get the crowd riled up.
A pony in the audience hit his friend, the yardman, on the shoulder. “Hey, isn’t it that kid that came looking for work the other day?” The yardman took a second look.
“Well I’ll be damned.” He murmured.
“Hey!” Pip turned his head to see the stranger yelling at him. “Just remember the things I told you. You’ll be fine!”
“Easy for him to say.” Pip said under his breath. Bulk Biceps faced him about 5 feet away, the announcer standing between them.
“This is to be a 1 against 1 fight,” the announcer had to raise his voice over the crowd to quiet them. “A winner will be declared when a fighter is knocked out, or concedes. No weapons, no eye jabs, no potions, no poisons.” With that the announcer made his way out of the cage, leaving Pip to stare at Bulk’s red eyes.
“I WILL CRUSH YOU!” Bulk yelled across at Pip.
“Fight!” The announcer shouted.
Bulk charged straight towards Pip, the crowd cheering him on. Pip stayed where he was, readying himself. He breathed. This was it.
Bulk swung hard. Pip sprung backwards, avoiding Bulk’s savage attack. Pip could feel the force of the blow even without it hitting him. He knew that if Bulk landed even one hit like that, he was practically finished. Bulk threw himself towards Pip, aiming another powerful strike straight for him. Pip evaded again, Bulk’s hoof whizzing over his head. Pip gave more ground, moving back against the cage.
“Listen, my boy, he’s stronger than you, tougher than you, and more experienced than you.”
“Thanks for reminding me.”
“There’s only one thing you’ve got as an advantage. Speed. The worst thing a fighter can do is play into their opponent’s strengths. You can’t trade blows. Understand? The best thing you can do is keep on your feet, and look for an opportunity.”
With Pip against the back of the cage, Bulk swung downwards. Pip leapt to the right, narrowly avoiding him. Bulk bashed the ground, he hadn’t expected Pip to dodge that one. If there was a time, it was now. Just as Bulk was turning to face him, Pip slammed a hoof into the side of his broad face. Taken off guard, Pip followed up with a powerful kick under his chin before moving back. The roar of the crowd took a dip at this surprising display.
“That actually wasn’t a bad hit.” Said a spectator to his buddy.
“Eh, more like a lucky hit.”
Blood leaked out of Bulk’s nose, but otherwise, he seemed unphased. Pip had hoped it would do a bit more damage than that, but didn’t have time to think about it as Bulk made a roundabout towards him. He closed the distance with Pip, swinging for the fences. Pip ducked low. Missing, Bulk slipped off balance from the force of his own strike. Pip took the opportunity, rolling out and around him, striking him multiple times in the side and back. He again jumped out of range as Bulk came about. Pip was panting, but he felt he was getting into the rhythm of things.
Then again, Pip had hit Bulk hard, and the mammoth didn’t show any signs of slowing down at all. Bulk again attacked him, pushing him back and around the ring. Having yet to land a single hit, Bulk began to get visibly frustrated, the small earthy pony barely managing to evade him repeatedly.
“STAY STILL!” He shouted. Bulk charged Pip, attempting to ram him against the cage. Pip moved to the side, again narrowly avoiding the attack. Again, Bulk was slow to turn, and Pip used the chance to strike hard at Bulk’s back leg, just above the knee.
Finally, it seemed to have an effect, as Bulk yelled out in pain. He spun to face Pip, eyes bright with rage. Pip gulped.
“BULK ANGRY! BULK SMASH!” Bulk was on Pip, attacking even more ferociously than before. Pip sidestepped a hard left jab, but was caught by surprise as an enraged Bulk slammed him with a sudden headbutt. Pip was knocked off balance, attempting to recover from the hit. And he dodged too late.
An earth shattering blow smashed into the side of his face. A direct hit. It felt like getting slammed with a thirty pound sledge hammer. Everything went black. After what felt like a full minute mid-air, he landed hard on his back. His vision was blurry, he struggled to make out where Bulk was. He could still hear the muffled sound of the crowd, a dull roar in his ringing ears.
A voice penetrated through the crowd, Mrs. Cake’s voice.
“Move! Get out of the way!” She shouted shrilly.
The world snapped back into focus as he recognized Bulk’s form reared above Pip. Pip rolled onto his legs, springing out of the way as Bulk brought his hoofs crashing into the spot he had just been. The boards cracked and broke under the force of the hit, splintering into the air around him.
Pip stumbled back, trying to recover. He coughed, blood splattering the ground. He kept his eyes on Bulk, keeping a distance as Bulk pulled himself out of the mess of broken boards he had created. He needed to come up with something. One hit and he was nearly out of the fight, he couldn’t afford to take another. Pip tried to steady his swimming head.
“It’s not like I can knock him out. He’s so damn big I could probably hit him all day and he wouldn’t go down.”
“Everypony has an achilles heel, my boy. It’s why you must always be attentive in the ring. If you find your opponent’s weakness, you must be quick to find a way to exploit it. This isn’t something that can be trained for, you just have to think on your feet.”
Of course. Compared to the rest of him, Bulk’s legs were so much thinner. Pip had thought it was a strange proportion, but hadn’t paid much attention to it. When he had landed a hit in the back leg, it had actually hurt, because he didn’t nearly have as much bulk in that area.
Pip kept a safe distance as Bulk approached. He had a plan, or he thought he did. A gambit worth taking. If it didn’t work, well, he was probably going to lose anyway, so why not?
Bulk swung at him. Pip sidestepped and tried to circle, but Bulk was prepared, moving to the side and keeping Pip in front. Bulk pushed Pip around the ring, getting close to a connecting hit multiple times. Pip failed to get around Bulk’s guard, he didn’t seem to be making any progress.
“I think the little one is running on fumes.” Said a pony to the yardman. The yardman was looking consternated, despite the jubilant crowd around him.
“C’mon Pip!” He yelled, rooting for the small earth pony.
“Hey, didn’t you put money on Bulk?”
Again, Pip was pushed against the cage, with little room to maneuver. Bulk reared up, prepared to smash him like before. He stood on his two legs, winding up the powerful attack. The broken and snapped boards bore testament to the power of what Bulk was threatening to do right now.
Now or never.
Pip rolled forward.
It was quick. The crowd gasped as Pip rolled right underneath Bulk. He spun in an instant, sending a hoof crushing with his full strength into Bulk’s right leg, just below the knee. There was a loud snap. Pip leapt the side as Bulk crashed down where he had just been.
Bulk was laid out on his stomach. Pip didn’t let up, jumping onto Bulk’s prone body. He began striking him repeatedly, over and over in his back and head. He could finish him right now. He could win the fight.
The crowd was stunned.
Mid-kick, Pip felt his leg grabbed from beneath. A fiery eyed Bulk gripped him with a vise-like animal grasp. Pip attempted to break free, but was thrown to the ground beside Bulk. Bulk held him the ground, not letting him escape. Pip struggled, kicking and hitting, but he couldn’t get out of Bulk’s hold.
He took a hard hit to the face. Pip saw stars. He couldn’t get away. Another hit. Bulk’s hit weren’t as strong without leverage, but Pip could feel the blood leaking from his face. Another hit. He couldn’t take much more of this. He reached out, trying desperately to grab Bulk, grab anything. He felt something. Another brutal hit.
“I think it’s time to call it.” The announcer prepared to step into the cage.
Pip tenaciously held onto what he had grabbed: one of the broken boards that Bulk had snapped. He breathed in, tasting the blood in his mouth, summoning all the strength he had, and swung it with all his might at Bulk’s head. The board splintered under the force of the blow. Pip bucked, breaking free of the stunned Bulk’s grip.
The crowd went ballistic.
He rolled to his feet. He didn’t have much energy left, but he could finish. Bulk held his wounded face, looking up just in time to get a kick straight in the forehead. Pip unleashed everything he had left on the vulnerable Bulk, a flurry of blows beating him into the ground. Bulk failed to respond, no longer having the strength to fight.
The stranger nudged the announcer, who was gawking at the spectacle. “Like you said, I think it’s time to call it.”
The announcer entered the ring and stopped Pip. Pip stepped back, wheezing from the exertion, and bloody from the fight.
“That's enough.” The announcer had to shout at the top of his lungs to be heard of the cacophony of the crowd. “Pip wins.”
Pip laid back on the mat, intense relief flooding him. As he closed his eyes, only one thought was on his mind.
I’m gonna buy so many Griffith cupcakes.
“Hey.” said an incessant voice. “What are you doing?”
Pip barely responded. “Huh.”
A hoof prodded his side. “I didn’t say you could go to sleep.”
Pip rolled over, seeing the stranger leaning over him. The sound of the crowd assaulted his ears. “Give me a break.”
“You can sleep once we get out of here. The crowd’s a bit riled up.” Pip climbed to his hooves. Many of the spectators were still onlooking. He could hear them talking loudly about the fight, some with anger and indignation, others with genuine excitement. The stranger led the way out of the cage. Pip was too worn out to worry about collecting the money right now. There were some ponies calling out to him, but Pip was too tired. All he wanted to do was sleep for a day. There were bandages waiting for him outside the cage.
Pip looked back towards the cage, where Bulk was apparently being helped limp out.
“Don’t worry about him my boy.” Interjected the stranger. “You should be taking a look at yourself. You look terrible. Use this.” The stranger handed him a cloth. Pip took it and wiped his face. He was surprised how much blood came off. He cleaned himself a bit before heading up the stairs.
“I feel like I can barely stand.”
“That would be the adrenaline wearing off. Perfectly normal. Did I mention you fought spectacularly? Truly a wondrous fight. You’re a real crowd pleaser.” They exited the place, the blue guard pony holding the door open. “As I thought, my instinct about you was correct. A born natural. You’re future is looking bright, my boy. Very bright indeed!”
“Yeah, it was a piece of cake.” Pip said, still barely believing what had happened. He headed out.
“Ah, yes, I’ll get you your money tomorrow. Don’t worry a thing about it!” The stranger yelled after him.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Pip gazed into the mirror. He looked pretty miserable. Not to mention he was sore from head to foot. He’d slept for about ten hours, only begrudgingly pulling himself out of bed to eat. The sun streaming in through the bathroom window was an unpleasant reminder that he still had to go to school.
And yet, he was also smiling. He could hardly believe it himself. He had done it. Despite hurting all over, he could still feel some of the adrenaline pumping through him from the night before. It was the same satisfaction of beating Button, but amplified many times over. What was it? It was a like… a feeling of power, of accomplishment.
“Wow.” He breathed, gazing at his own beaten up face in the mirror. Had it really even happened?
He put on a baseball cap to help cover up some of his more visible injuries. The bright light stung his eyes as he stepped out his front door. He shuffled through the field towards town. It was already past noon, and school was half finished. He would just skip, but he’d already skipped too many times this semester; Cheerilee had told him he could only have 1 more absence before getting a dropped grade.
Scootaloo trotted out of the mechanic’s shop, across the street from the passing Pip. He hadn’t seen her in a while. She’d dropped out of school last year, supposedly to enter some motorbike races in Fillydelphia. Pip had heard from Sweetie that she had placed top 16 in the Ponymoto 400 this year. Pip didn’t know why she was back in Ponyville though. Spotting Pip, she waved. He waved back, continuing on towards the school.
“Take a seat Mr. Pipsqueak, we were just starting on the differences between Equestrian and Griffon geopolitics.”
Kill me now...
Despite the mind-numbing subject matter, Pip was at least happy he hadn’t been punished for missing half the school day. Mr. Rhombus didn’t even give him a dirty look. In fact, he actually didn’t seem to mind at all. Pip took his usual seat at the back of the class.
It took him about ten minutes to fall asleep.
Pip awoke to the sound of the bell. The other ponies were gathering their things and heading out the door. It was strange that Mr. Rhombus hadn’t woken him up like he usually did. He’d slept through almost the entire class. Not that he was complaining. He stretched he left. Walking into the sun, he contemplated what to do with the rest of the day.
“As promised, your money.” Startled, Pip turned just in time to get hit in the face with a bag of bits. The stranger stood leaning against the side of the school. Apparently he had been waiting for Pip.
“What the hell? How about handing it to me?” He said, picking up the bag, about the size of a football. It was surprisingly heavy
“I figured the champion that beat Bulk Biceps would have the reflexes to catch it.” He said, shrugging. “Guess you’re still worn out. Oh well. But listen, I have your next fight lined up already.”
“Next fight? I thought I said I was only doing one fight.”
“Well,” The stranger responded in a conceding tone. “I certainly can’t force you to do anything.”
Pip hesitated before sighing. “Well… when is it.”
The stranger gave a broad smile. It was strange, and kind of creepy, how his face was completely dark behind the hood, except for his bright smile and horn. “Next week, my boy. Plenty of time to rest and find a partner.”
“Partner?”
“Yes, well, your next opponents only fight as a pair. You’ll need to find a partner, it’s going to be a 2 on 2 match. Pretty exciting, you agree? The crowd loves it.”
Pip didn’t respond to that. “And who are they, my opponents?”
“They go by Snail and Sniper in the ring.”
That name sounded familiar to Pip, reminiscent to two colts who used to be his schoolmates. “You don’t mean Snips and Snails do you?”
The stranger shrugged. “Maybe. I only know their stage name. Either way, you do know somepony who could fight with you, right?”
“What would make you think I knew anypony willing to participate in an underground fight club. No, I don’t.”
“That’s a bit unfortunate. But perfectly all right. I’ve got the perfect pony in mind.”
“Who?”
“The old champion. The only earth pony to ever hold the title, actually. I think you know him.”
“What? Who is it?” Pip repeated, genuinely curious and surprised. Instead of answering, the stranger dismissed him, turning away.
“Two days at this time, we’ll meet up. I’ll re-introduce you two. Until then, relax my boy. Spend your well-earned money, have a blast.” Pip watched him leave. The way he danced around a conversation was frustrating. He wanted to know who it was the stranger was talking about, and had a mind to chase the him down and force an answer. But then again, he had a big bag of bits just waiting to be spent.
“Whatever.” He mumbled, opening the bag. Sitting behind a tree, he poured the bits out on the ground. He had never possessed so many bits at one time before. He scooped them through his hooves, savoring the feel.
Wait a minute…
He counted the bits, setting them aside. “There’s only 70 bits here…”
“Hello there Pip.” Called a familiar voice. Cheerilee walked towards him from across the schoolyard. Pip hurriedly scooped up the money, depositing it into his saddle bag. “I saw you the other day, I guess you didn’t notice me.” Ugh, he could hear the concern in her voice. She was going to ask about him getting hurt.
“Yeah, guess I missed you.” He responded. Upon getting closer, she began to peer closely at him. He lowered his head, attempting to mask some of his wounds under the brim of his cap. It didn’t work.
“Oh my…” She murmured. “These look painful. Are you all right?”
“They really aren’t as bad as they look.” He covered, “Ehrm, barely hurts at all.”
Cheerilee reached towards Pip’s face to examine him more closely, the motherly side of her coming out. “Pip, what happened?” Pip instinctively pulled back.
“I, uh… slipped, and, fell down some… stairs…” He cursed himself for being such a terrible liar.
“You got all those injuries… from falling down a set of stairs?” She wasn’t buying it.
“It was… uh… a long staircase…”
Seriously? Is this the best I can come up with?
There was an awkward silence as Cheerilee looked down at him, incredulously, but caringly. “Well, all right then Pip. Try to be careful going down stairs from now on.”
“I will.” He said.
“And try to be on time tomorrow.”
“I’ll try.”
He breathed a sigh of relief when she was gone. He felt some guilt about lying, but it wasn’t as if he could tell her the truth. Besides, he thought, eyes moving towards Sugar Cube Corner, he had more important things to worry about.
--------------------------------------------
“You want how many?!” The mare behind the counter asked again in disbelief.
“Four dozen.” He repeated, presenting the bits to her.
“Uh… okay. Coming right up.”
Four dozen griffith chocolate cupcakes. A dream come true. And he was going to eat them all in one sitting. Hm. Maybe he should have gotten five dozen. His gluttonous thoughts were interrupted by a greying old stallion at the nearby table, old man Waddle. He was another pony Pip had known for most of his life, a frequenter to Sugar Cube, and one of the oldest ponies in Ponyville. He’d been living in the Ponyville Retirement Village for years now, longer than anypony else.
“Where’d you get those deep pockets young man?” He asked in a crackled old voice, “Seems like just yesterday you were looking for work.”
“Well, I found some. I’ve been, uh… working hard!” He answered in an attempted believable tone.
“You just make sure not to spend it all in one place now, you hear? Why, I remember when I was a colt, there was a time when Ms. Dawn gave me a bit for cleaning out her gutters for her, of course a bit was worth a lot more back then, and bits looked different back then too, sorta a silver color, not yellow-like it is today, and they had ridges, not smooth. Anyway, I spent it on a new comic they were selling, now keep in mind it wasn’t like they are today, there was a lot more story, not just a bunch of nonsense fightin’ like there is in stories nowadays, I tell you stories just aren’t like they used to be -”
“All right,” interjected his nurse, who was sitting across from him. “I think that’s enough. I’m sure Mr. Pip has important things to do.” She pointed behind him to where his cupcakes were being brought.
“Here you go.” Said the mare, handing 4 sizeable bags to him. Pip said goodbye to Waddle before rushing out the door.
“Eh, I guess no pony wants to listen to an old man like me.” Waddle said, half to himself.
“Don’t talk like that.” Said the nurse, “I’ll listen. What were you saying about stories?”
--------------------------------------------------
Across a distance, two ponies talked in the dead of night, their voices reverberating through the still air.
“How can you be sure?”
“He’s a born fighter; real talent. His cutie mark is a sure sign as well, like I said -”
“Stop. I don’t need to hear another one of your sale pitches.”
“Sale pitch? Surely you know I wouldn’t come to you if I wasn’t absolutely sure he was something special. It almost sounds like you don’t trust me.”
“I don’t. However, this time, I will do as you’ve requested. Keep in mind that he will be there next fight. But if this stallion isn’t everything you’ve claimed… I will be annoyed.”
“Of course. You won’t regret it.”