There was still five minutes left until the time which he had told Rarity to him him for breakfast. Boxing found an empty table and sat down, he was amazed that there was not that many other ponies around. 'Heck, maybe they all slept in.' Boxing snickered.
Boxing picked up one of the silver spoons on the table in front of him and stared into his upside down reflection, he smiled goofily and poked his tongue out.
"This place is empty, where is everypony?" a familiar voice said. Boxing jumped in place and dropped the spoon with a loud clang. Applejack was standing in front of him, she pulled out a seat and sat down.
"Applejack? That was quick." Boxing stammered.
"Eeyup" Applejack stretched her forelegs and felt bones in her back crack in a pleasant way. "Where's Rarity and Stryker?" As if on cue, a laughing Rarity stumbled into the room with the tall stallion, Stryker, by her side. "I'll get some juice." Applejack said and excused herself.
Moments later, Stryker, Boxing, Rarity and Applejack were all sitting around a the table with food in front of them and a jug of freshly squeezed apple juice in the middle between them. "Applejack, tonight I've invited Rarity to a club owned by one of my friends here in Manehatten. I was thinking that you and Boxy could join us there tonight, drinks are on me." Stryker smiled.
"Well, thank you sugarcube. I'm sure it'll be a hoot." Applejack answered.
"Alright. Well, Rarity and I we both be spectating your qualifiers. So, afterwards we will head out to the club." Stryker said.
"And what is the dress code?" Rarity asked.
"Code? nope, don't wear anything fancy sweetheart, this place is really casual." Stryker assured her as he lifted his fork to his mouth and took another bite of his food.
'Aright! We'll go clubbing and enjoy ourselves, I think I should confess my feelings for Applejack tonight. But what if she doesn't feel the same way, she'll never speak to me ever again. OH NO!' Boxing screwed his eyes shut his eyes and drifted into another Applejack fantasy.
"Boxy? Are you okay?" Stryker's voice spoke to him, Boxing opened his eyes. "You look spaced out, have you touched any sale this morning?"
"Nah, I'm fine. Just a bit nervous, weird right?" Boxing laughed it off as nothing.
~⚡~
Boxing and Applejack entered the building with Stryker and Rarity behind them, the first thing they saw was a huge yellow banner that was strung up above entrance with huge words printed on it. Qualifier Rounds. All around them, there were many ponies, but not just ponies. Boxing also spotted a few griffons among the crowd and even a donkey. 'A donkey boxing? hahaha!' he laughed to himself then turned to Applejack.
"Alright Box, Rarity and I will make our way to some seats. Good luck." Stryker said.
"Thanks." Boxing said and turned to Applejack.
"Now, you're new to this. So what happens is, they take our height and weight, then they will match us up against other ponies in the same bracket. And, if you win, then you're in. Don't take it too seriously tho, they also take your reputation and previous experience into account."
"Alright, that sounds easy enou-"
"Well, well, well. Look who we have here!" a deep rusty voice blasted from close by, a dark feathered griffon just slightly taller than Boxing pushed his way past other contestants and walked up to Applejack and Boxing. "Little Boxing Glove."
'Oh come on! Anypony but him.' Boxing turned and came face to face with the one creature he truly hated.
"Korn." Boxing said.
"Corn? like the yellow stuff?" Applejack asked.
"Applejack, this is Korn Ephoros." Boxing said bluntly.
"What are you doing here little Boxy? Last I heard, you spent your life in the gutter, wasting your money of booze and salt." Korn's words were like poison to his ears. "I'm surprised you're not dead!"
Applejack raised her hooves to stop Boxing and Korn getting closer to tearing at each other's throats. "Now wait just a apple picking minute. I'm sure Boxing has-oof." Applejack was stopped as Korn pushed her out of the way and she fell to the ground, he just ignored her and stepped closer.
"Who is this rambling swine? Your new tail? I thought you were into colts. Hahahaha!" Korn laughed obnoxiously as he walked off and disappeared into the crowd of ponies.
"Applejack." Boxing rushed to her side and helped her stand up. "Are you alright."
"Yeah. I'll be okay. Just who was that Boxing?" she brushed off her hat and placed it back on her head.
"His name is Korn Ephoros and he is also the reason I retired from professional boxing five years ago."
"What in Equestria happened?" Applejack asked.
"It's a very long story Applejack. I'll tell you another time, but right now we should get measured and numbered." Boxing said.
~⚡~
A short while after, Applejack and Boxing had met up again, both of them had been measured by the tournament officials and each assigned a number. Boxing with number four and Applejack was seven.
"What are these numbers for anyhow?" Applejack asked.
"Soon, they will call out a number and that's how you are matched up with your opponent. The tournament is only over this weekend so only a few spots will be available, but don't sweat it. Just remember your stance and you should be okay as long as not you're paired up with anypony who boxes regularly.
"I'm feeling more pumped than ever." Applejack giggles a little.
"THREE and FOUR! Numbers THREE and FOUR!" a voice boomed over the loudspeaker.
Boxing raised his hoof and inserted his mouthpiece. "Well, wish me luck." he said with a wink.
"I will." Applejack gently pecked him on the nose and turned to the spectator seating, she made eye contact with Rarity who waved at her excitedly. Applejack walked over and sat next to her.
"Alright, who's the lucky pony?" Boxing boasted loudly.
"That would be me!" an all too familiar voice shouted back. The jet-black griffon that haunted his nightmares stood before him with a blue harness buckled firmly around his chest, a tournament standard brace that prevented him from using his wings during fights.
"Korn?" Boxing sounded defeated already.
"The one and only, little Boxy." Korn snarled back.
!!DING DING!!
Boxing stood his ground. He knew that to swing first or show any fear at all, would be a fatal mistake and could cost him the match. From the seats above Stryker and Applejack glanced at each other.
"Oh shit, this is bad." Stryker said.
The griffon moved like lightning towards Boxing, he reacted quickly and stepped right, Korn's glove just missed him by a hair. Without warning, Korn's left arm rose up, Boxing's hooves flew up to defence and the strike was blocked. Boxing twisted and lunged forward with a jab, this time it had been Korn that defended, Boxing hitting the block with such a mighty thump that they both staggered.
"Seems, you still have your charm little Boxy." Korn spoke. "You've only got three minutes, you better make them count." Boxing lunged and jabbed again and again, but Korn easily blocked every single hit.
Boxing had missed using his skills.
'I'm was just getting warmed up'
Boxing threw another punch towards Korn, he dived his head, avoiding the strike. Korn wasn't afraid of pain, but he certainly knew how to anger Boxing. There was an opening in his defense and he rose up and struck Boxing right in the muzzle, knocking him over.
"Oof!" Boxing fell to to the canvas below with a harsh thud.
'For Celestia's sake, how is he so much more stronger than the last time we fought?'
Boxing heard the referee blow his whistle and began counting.
"ONE! TWO! THREE!" the referee started
"Seriously? An eight count?" Stryker said
"FOUR!"
"What's an eight count?" Applejack asked.
"It means Box better get his ass up and standing now." Stryker winks and points to the ring with a hoof. "Look."
"FIVE!"
"Arrg" Boxing lifted himself up again and shook his head. "That all you got Korn?" he raised his hooves again and the referee backed into a corner.
"Trust me little Boxy, I got a whole lot more." Korn threw another punch but Boxing ducked the griffons swinging fist just in time, his head was still pounding from being floored, his breath was sobbing in his throat. Boxing turned and rose up, placing himself beside Korn. Furiously he swung his hoof, attacking with all his strength, pushing the griffon back. Korn faltered, lost his footing and fell to one knee as a fatal squawk could be heard.
"My, my. Little Boxy, you certainly still have the magic touch after all." Korn hissed as he stood up again.
"Come on, bring it. I'm gonna wipe that smirk off your pretty little beak." Boxing taunted.
Korn launched another attack, hitting Boxing's blocking hooves every time. Boxing knew he was starting to get tired and grinned as he saw an opening, he struck his opponents exposed shoulder. Korn stepped back and swung his other fist, missing again. Boxing stepped forward and brought up his other hoof straight to the griffon's beak, the impact exploded with dark feathers as Korn fell flat on the canvas.
The referee blew his whistle and started to count.
"ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR! FI-"
!!DING DING!!
'Phew, yep still got it.' Boxing waved to his friends sitting in the distance. 'I just hope it was enough'
"Yee-Haw!" Applejack punched the air with uncontrollable excitement. "He did it!"
"Yes dear, we saw." Rarity added.
"Not exactly. While it's true he got a knockout and in a real match the ref would have continued counting to eight, but it was only one round. All the fights today will be one round and that also affects the score that everyone will get." Stryker said. "Remember Korn also got a knockout. But we will find out afterwards."
"FIVE and SIX! Numbers FIVE and SIX!" shouted the voice on the loudspeaker.
Boxing slowly walked up to the seat where his friends sat with a bag of crushed ice pressed against his skull. Stryker practically jumped out of his seat and hugged his brother tightly.
"Ooof, Stryker, please." Boxing pleaded.
"Oh, sorry." Stryker released his grip and ruffled Boxing's mane. "Dude! was that a haymaker? It's been awhile since you've had to resort to one of those, you never slug."
"I'm fine, thanks for asking." Boxing smirks.
~⚡~
"SEVEN and EIGHT! Numbers SEVEN and EIGHT!"
"Well, this is it. I guess It's my turn to whoops some tail." Applejack stood up. "Is it too late to back out?"
"NO!"
"Yes." Stryker and Boxing say in unison.
"What we mean to say is, we're sure you will do fine. Your chances of getting paired with Take Down or Emerald are slim because of their technique and style." Boxing stared into her eyes longingly.
'She has the most beautiful green eyes, I just wanna k-'
"SEVEN! Number SEVEN!" the voice boomed again.
"I better go." Applejack flipped off her hat and placed it on Boxing's head.
Applejack approached the ring and stepped through the ropes onto the canvas, opposite her was a blue unicorn the same size of herself. Attached to his horn is what looks like a glowing metal bracelet, Applejack remembered Boxing telling her it was a bracelet that stopped all unicorns from using magic inside the ring during a fight.
!!DING DING!!
The unicorn danced to the left faster than Applejack could register, she readied her hooves for a block. Even all morning training with Boxing could not prepare her for what was about to happen. The unicorn took his chance, faking to the left then to the right. Applejack swung with her left, the unicorn dodged and swung his right hoof, landing his punch on Applejack's chest. She stepped back and regained her balance, successfully blocking his next strike and leaving himself open for attack.
Applejack saw her opportunity and acted upon it, swinging her left hoof up hard and striking him hard. The unicorn staggered back and coughed harshly, he stepped forward once more and then jabbed forward with a one-two combo, hoping it would penetrate her blocking. But it didn't.
Applejack had noticed that the unicorn dropped his guard in the process, swinging her right hoof straight up, she struck again. The blue unicorn fell over and shielded his face.
"ONE! TWO! THR-"
The referee stopped counting as the unicorn got back up to his hooves and nodded to the referee, signalling that he was ready to continue. He stepped forward again and darted his left hoof forward, striking Applejack's chest. He tried to mimic his action with the other hoof, reality paused for a moment as Applejack tried to calculate how she could block the incoming attack. Applejack took a mental note of their stances and how familiar it looked to her.
She knocked his hoof out of the way with hers, then raised her other hoof up to strike his vulnerability, just like Boxing had shown her earlier in the gym. She landed the punch and knocked the blue stallion off his balance, he twisted and cried in pain as his whole face kissed the canvas.
"ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR! FI-"
!!DING DING!!
"Alright! Go Applejack!" Boxing stood up and cheered, Applejack looked down at him from the ring and smiled. "Wow! I can't believe that just happened."
"Yeah she has some strength in her." Stryker said. "She certainly has the traits of a boxer puncher."
"Yeah I noticed that." Boxing agreed.
Applejack removed her gloves and stepped out the ring, she trotted over to join her friends.
"Did y'all see that? I gave them what for!" she took her hat back from Boxing and placed it on her head.
"It was excellent, you are excellent." Boxing said. "Are you sure you haven't boxed before?"
"Nope, never." Applejack replied.
"Well, you did really well." Stryker said. "After we get back both of your results, what say we get some food? A little lunch?" Stryker asked. "Rarity dear?" he puts out a hoof to her and she takes it in her own.
"Thank you Stryker." Rarity said.
'Well this day was just great, just wonderful. So far we have spent the whole day together, that's it! tonight I'm going to tell her how I feel.'