Rainbow 8

by Koiyuki

One Month Later

Applejack, decked in her burnt orange halter top and sweats, had a death grip on the 305 pounds of barbell and weight plates as she lay on the bench, Dash screaming, "C'mon, AJ, gimme one more!" The sweat poured down Applejack's face as she clenched her teeth and worked every muscle in her arms to lift that above her head, Pinkie at the ready with the bucket. With a bellowing grunt, she thrust the weight up, and locked her arms in place, waiting for Rainbow Dash's permission to stop. Dash, clad in her powder blue tracksuit, let out a chuckle as she helped put the barbell back in its resting place. "And you said you couldn't do it"

"No, I said it wasn't smart to do it, and I don't know why I agreed to it."

"Maybe because you know what my style of training can get done? Or maybe you forgot what happened a month ago?" Applejack shot daggers with her stare, and Dash shot her a smile as she helped her off the bench. "Really, though, this month has been pretty crazy, hasn't it?"

"Mighty manic, especially for you if I'm not mistaken. Haven't folks been pounding on your door ever since you offered to train 'em the way you trained Twi?" They made their way to the Plastic Pipe Handles on 2 Suspended Ropes, Dash showing her how it works while Applejack caught her breath. Without breaking stride, Dash answered, "Totally. Thankfully Pinkie and Super Egghead helped me organize everything, so I could make it jive with both my day job and Wonderbolt training. Gotta admit, though, I never figured so many folks would ever want to train Wonderbolt hard."

"The right motivation can easily keep 'em pushin' through Tartarus and back." said Applejack, taking the push up position, and going through the demonstrated motions."I mean, would you push yourself way you do if you didn't think you'd reach your goal?"

"Without a doubt! Fighting for a goal when it seems impossible is only they're ever achieved! Shoot, if you guys had enough faith in Dynamite Strength to sponsor it, why shouldn't I? Even when they're with Pinkie, they don't stop until we tell 'em to, and she's supposed to be the gentle trainer!"

"C'mon, I don't go that gentle on them!" Replied Pinkie. "Aerobics and dancing push plenty of our customers to give more than they thought they could! I know I still sweat plenty after each session!"

"Guess I'm still wrapping my head around the concept of a workout grind not feeling like punishment. Well, not conventional punishment, anyways"

"The way I see it, if you find something to like about the stuff you do, you're gonna dedicate that much of yourself to it to see it through. I mean isn't that what keeps you doing what do to become a Wonderbolt? Isn't what keeps Applejack working the fields of Sweet Apple Acres?" Applejack stopped for a moment, nodding at her, then drawing in deep breaths to finish her set of reps.

"Every day I'm out there, I remember how much joy I see on people's faces when they try our Zap Apple Jam, or have the first taste of a freshly baked apple fritter, and find the energy to bring in that last batch of apples or make that last bit of preparations for the next day, no matter how much my body wants to quit. Same way I imagine you feel about Sugarcube Corner" Dash nods at her, then gestures to the Cable Pulley as Applejack gets off, and moves towards the machine, Dash setting the weight plates she thought appropriate.

"By the way, Pinkie, I heard that place got slammed with orders after we got back to Ponyville. How'd you guys deal with it?" Pinkie showed Applejack how to use the machine, then let her practice her punching motions.

"At first, not very well. After a couple test runs, we found that cupcakes don't hold up too well against the stresses of long distance travel. None of us could really figure out what do to until I was feeding the Cake's kids and thought 'What if we could ship cupcakes in jars? It took a lot of research, experimentation and testing, but after a couple days of strike outs, we finally nailed it, and sent the first samples off to Hoshikawa for final analysis."

"Testing? Experimentation? Those sound like things that egghead would say." Applejack paused for a moment to take a drink of her specially formulated bottle of cider.

"Probably 'cause sure learned 'em straight from 'er. You know Twi loves to help folks work with that scientific method stuff. Probably has a few specially formulated samples in her collection, too, if you know what I mean" Pinkie smiled at her, and gave her a sip of the cider.

"Thanks to the work we did in the kitchen, word of mouth brought in enough business to justify expanding the business beyond Ponyville, and setting up a delivery system to help us ship our stuff all over Equestria! Why, if I remember correctly, Hoshikawa liked her sample so much, she regularly has her assistant come in to pick them up when she's on the road."

"Wait, doesn't she travel a lot? Not to mention that Ponyville and Fillydelphia ain't exactly a hop, skip and a jump apart. How could her assistant deliver the goods?"

"Magic. Kinda like what I hear Fluttershy has in her massages if what you said in that show is to be believed"

"You heard correctly" Applejack followed Dash to the heavy bag, toweling herself off while Pinkie got her gloves ready. "After my workouts, I got a head to toe massage from 'er, on Rare's recommendation. Sure as sugar beats the ice bath, not to mention I felt a whole lot more recharged after each session." Applejack slipped the gloves on, and quickly went to work on her combinations. "Have to admit, though, it felt mighty strange gettin' naked in front of 'er, not to mention how much I found myself openin' up about things."

"Like what?" Applejack stopped and smiled at her for a moment.

"That much is between me and her, but I will say it was good enough for me to suggest she open 'er own business, which I think she's close to openin', based on all flyers for animal care and intimate therapy goin' 'round"

"Intimate therapy?"

"What she calls all the massages, cuddlin', chattin' with folks and such she wants to do. I'm still not entirely sold on the concept, but from what I've seen, she's got the right stuff to make all the pieces fit"

"Like the ability to see the best in others when they're at their worst?" Applejack nodded and let out a chuckle.

"While I was training with her and Rare, Fluttershy was always the one to give me a listening ear whenever I needed one. I'm sure you know how lonely hard trainin' can get, RD, so having someone willing to just sit listen to you go on your about personal nonsense...hard to describe how good it felt, really, more so after a long day of Rare's merciless drills and workin' the farm." Dash lead her to the speed bag as she asked, "C'mon, this is Ms. "This is the worst possible thing" we're talking about, how tough can she be?"

"I take it you don't remember how she KO'ed Twi? That wasn't the kinda punch you get from dumb luck. You get it from hours in the gym, intense dedication, and never letting yourself quit, the exact same stuff she drilled into me since day one." Applejack started building her rhythm on the speed bag. "I hated every minute of her regiment, but I'm grateful she didn't let me ease up on it. If she did, I doubt I'd be half as good as I was in the ring that night. I'm sure that tough-minded thinkin' will serve 'er well in her new business ventures."

"New? Is she quitting her fashion shop?"

"On the contrary. After all the hype her shop got during the 3 month buildup, she expanded her line to include sports ware. In fact, this getup is actually plucked right from the new line-and let me tell you, it fits like a dream."

"Given all that, how'd she take what happened to you?"

"Well, all things considered, she's been a rather cool customer. On our way to the locker room, she told me about how failure can be as big a factor in how someone grows as success, asking me if I felt hungrier, if I learned anything about where I can be better, and if I realized there was a life to live beyond that night. To be perfectly honest, though, I was far too crushed to be aware of any of that until much later."

"Well, if 3 months if training amounted to an L, I probably wouldn't be too happy, either. I was actually wondering how you were doing, since you wouldn't talk to any of us the whole week after." Applejack slowed her rhythm and looked square at Dash.

"You really wanna know, RD?" Rainbow Dash nodded. Applejack stopped, and took a swig of her cider, before heading to the ring with the others, Pinkie lacing up her punch pads

"After I realized what happened, I was angry, I was humiliated, I was more doubtful about myself then than I ever was in my life. I mean, I pushed myself past my own limits for 3 months to do my family, my trainers and myself proud" Pinkie slipped her punch pads on, Applejack quickly working on her combos and defensive drills. "I knew Twi would put up a good fight, but after everything I went through to get ready, I had no doubts I was gonna win. You saw it for yourself, in the last round, didn't you? I was one good shot away from putting her away, but just like that, my win was taken out from under me. One mistake made 3 months of training worth as a much getting knocked out in front of a record crowd. It was just...it was-"

"An enormous kick to the pride jewels?" Applejack let out a hearty laugh

"You could say that. During that week, though, I found out that, despite what happened, there lots of folks out there pulling for me. The first time Big Mac brought me the letters and packages folks were sending in, I thought it was just him trying to cheer me up. Soon after, though, I started getting messages from my folks telling me how proud they of my performance, some of them in person! All of them touched my heart, but I think the one that stuck out most, though, was the one I got from Apple Bloom."

"What'd she say?"

"Wasn't so much what she said, but what she did. The morning I was getting ready to hit the market, she came up and said she was amazed by how I fought, asking if I could teach 'er how to box like me when I had the time."

"I was wondering why she came to me training after everything her friends told me about how dead set she was against the sport. If I'm not mistaken, she should be out with Twi doing warm ups right now" Rhythmic footsteps were heard coming closer to where they were, Dash immediately throwing the bottle in her hand towards the entrance. As quickly as it flew from her grip, an unseen force stopped it, suspending it in the air as Dash said, "Good to see your magic skills haven't gotten rusty, Twi" Twilight, in her purple and pink trimmed windbreaker and sweats, tossed the bottle back as she entered the gym, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Apple Bloom's friends close behind

"Good to see you think I'm still sharp enough to catch an object flying right at my face."

"Wouldn't expect any less from someone who made a record crowd fall silent. I just hope getting your magic back hasn't made you lazy again." From a corner of the ring, Twilight watched Applejack intently drill her combinations and defensive tactics, leaning on the ropes.

"Considering that a habit takes 66 days of consistent effort for it to take hold, I think it's safe to say I'll more apt to the regiment we went through all these months. Can't say it was all fun and games, though."

"I wouldn't expect anyone to say working out hard enough to puke is. Unless they're into that sort of thing, of course." Dash offered Applejack a swing of her cider. "Anyways, how've been doing since the big fight? Haven't heard a whole lot from you after that big after party we had"

"The first couple weeks, I was fielding a lot of interviews from different media outlets, including The Manehatten Times, Bint Magazine, Foal Free Press, and lots of fitness and science publications asking about my methods and training. I can only imagine how professional athletes deal with this every day, especially with those autograph seekers and persistent hecklers."

"Why who would ever want to heckle you?" Asked Rarity, dressed in her azure short shorts and white hoodie with azure on the underarms, a gym bag slung on her shoulder.

"I found out shortly after Spike reported back on how my Whinny was doing." Applejack stopped for a moment and turned her attention to Twilight.

"You have a Whinny?" Pinkie slapped her upside the head, Applejack promptly returning her focus to Pinkie. "I got one awhile back for the business, and I haven't a lick of you on there."

"Spike convinced me to start one after I started working with Scootaloo and Sweetie. At first, it wasn't followed by that many people, so I had some really great interactions. After the EBO special aired, however, that changed in a hurry, and my followers increased just as rapidly as the amount of 'shade,' as Dash calls it, I got thrown at me. Of course, being around the academic crowd as long as I have, it doesn't really phase me when someone says I should go back to the kitchen, fellate them, or sends me some half-hearted death threat. Among them, however, I saw something from someone I never expected."

"Well, who was it, sugarcube?"

"May I ask you to stop for a moment, and direct your attention to the young lady in the light gold tank top and trunks?" She gestured towards Fluttershy. "In her original message, she said she was quite unhappy with what Pinkie said about her. If you could please reiterate it, Fluttershy" Fluttershy's glare was pointed right at Pinkie

"You said that my methods would get Applejack destroyed. You said that a tree hugger like me could never really train a winner. You said that me training Applejack was like a tortoise teaching someone how to run."

"We talked it over during the month, and it seems she wants to box you, much like how I boxed against Trixie." Slack-jawed, Pinkie said, "You can't be serious, can you?" Twilight used her magic to open the gym bag, and lift out a pair of pale pink boxing gloves

"You tell me. Are you game?" Pinkie nodded and Twilight handed the gloves to Fluttershy, Dash scrambling to grab Pinkie's hanging on the wall behind her. Dash chucked the gloves at Pinkie, and Fluttershy stepped towards the ring, Twilight laying down the ground rules.

"One round, no time limit, only ends when someone either can't beat the 10 count or gets KO'ed, no below the belt stuff." They squared up in the center of the ring, Twilight teleporting beside them, and acting as ref. "Ready? Touch gloves, and get it on!"

Author's Note:

And that's all, folks! Thanks for sticking around for the whole ride, and I'm fixing to serve you something good again real soon! If you wanna hear the the soundtrack to this story, check it out here!

Comments

[Seether00]

Still was rooting for Applejack, but whatever. Cue Rocky ending song!

[Koiyuki]

3610553
So was everyone else besides Twilight's crew-and they still are! Everyone loves someone who does it like the greats, and respects their traditions

[Koiyuki]

3760080 I appreciate the input, ma'am. To be perfectly honest, this is the first big project I've ever tackled and saw through to completion in ages, and outside the unfamiliarity with the cast thing, have been aspects that've followed me ever since I took up the craft. If possible, I'd actually love to discuss these things in great depth and detail over private messages and such. All those things are things I seek to improve, and I know a more objective perspective like yours would help me get there

[Littletugsjr]

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[Littletugsjr]

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[Littletugsjr]

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[Railway Sodor equestria]

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