//------------------------------// // Buck Of The Horse // Story: Pony Tales 2- Buck Wrestling // by ChrisText //------------------------------// -----Buck Of The Horse----- The day of the buck wrestling matches were to begin today. The time when Caramel had his lights knocked out to the time when Applejack had awoken was an entire day. Iron Will had granted them ''some'' time to rest, but the accommodations weren't exactly the best he had to offer. He threw Macintosh, the only colt still unconscious, and Applejack into the same cell. These underground cells were where Iron Will's lackeys would rest. For some of them, it was a test to see if they would last the night, and for others, it was an opportunity to get some strength in their legs. Preferably some late-night weight lifting would be an ideal way to gain muscle. He didn't exactly let Applejack and the others go hungry, he fed them, but it wasn't the food of their choices. It was soup, hot steaming soup, that he bragged on and on about, saying that his father used to give him this soup whenever he was feeling down. Applejack thought it was the dumbest life story she had ever heard, but she wasn't one to judge, because the soup was actually delicious. She didn't like eating it at first, since her bowl was handed to her by Iron Will's men, but once she had a taste of it she dug right in. Macintosh didn't wake up until late at night, he noticed there was no way to get out of the cell they were locked in. Kicking at the cell bars, would wake up the others, and earn him a beating, and they were stronger than they looked. Macintosh isn't a fighter, he's a lover, but he definitely isn't weak, but the stallions Iron Will had chosen to come with him were better accustomed to brawling. They're all trouble makers, and half of them he found in a bar somewhere in Vanhoover, they had been with on his search for a month. It made sense when they were used to him and his demeanor, they were actually fond of him at first, they respected a guy who wasn't weak. Caramel was in his own cell, crying himself to sleep was all he could do, because he couldn't go to sleep without crying at all. They had much time to rest, since the matches would start at 1:00 in the daytime, and the time they had all slept was 7:19 on a Saturday night. The only pony who didn't get as much rest was Caramel, because he cried on the floor in a fetal position until 10:52. There wasn't a single beam of hope in those cells, some trains in Equestria, like the ones that link Ponyville to Vanhoover, don't have anypony operating them at night, so there was nopony fast enough to reach them. Appleloosa to Vanhoover is about a 40 hours on hooves, for a Pegasus, it would take 35 hours at most, and the only ponies who are excited about this, are the buck wrestlers and the spectators. The results of their ''training'' would now unfold. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ''WELCOME EVERYPONY, TO THE SEMI-ANNUAL BUCK WRESTLING STADIUM, RUN BY YOUR FAVORITE MINOTAUR, IRON WILL, ARE YOU PONIES READY TO SEE SOME BUCKING!?'', he said as all the ponies in the bleachers cheered. ''WE'VE GOT PLENTY OF MATCHES LINED UP FOR YOU FOLKS, SO WHAT DO YOU SAY WE GET THESE FIGHTS STARTED?!'' The crowd let out screams so loud, it made Caramel's ear's ring. The attraction itself lasts 90 minutes, and there are challengers coming in from every side of Equestria. ''Wait, did Iron Will just say on the microphone, that this happens twice a year?'', said Caramel. ''Ah reckon he did, and if this is the first time it's ever happened this year, he's gonna go around ransacking towns in search of tough guys two months from now. ''Why would he make it two months from now?'', Caramel asked. ''There are placeholders for the champion, but he's never been beaten, and he obviously doesn't want to keep losing challengers waiting, so he hosts matches two months apart. ''IN THIS CORNER WE HAVE, ROAD BURN, THE TWO YEAR VETERAN, AND HERE COMES THE CHALLENGER!'' ''AND IT LOOKS LIKE THE CHALLENGER CAN BARELY STAND, HIS LEGS ARE SHAKING!'' ''LET'S PUT THIS WEAKLING OUT OF HIS MISERY, AND BEGIN THE MATCH!'' ''YEEAAHH!!!'', the crowd shouted again, and nearly deafened Caramel. ''Sit back and watch you three, you're going to be the challengers.'', Iron Will said. ''Why are we the challengers?'', Applejack asked. ''You didn't agree the first time I asked you, I won't force you to be on our side, but we wanted to take a crack at you three anyways!'', he replied. ''HOUGH!!'', the challenger let out a painful grunt and landed on his side. ''ONE, TWO, THREE, HE'S OUT!!'', Iron Will announced. The spectators were the ones to drag the losers out of the stadium. ''IT LOOKS LIKE HE DIDN'T LAST LONG, ONE TACKLE AND THREE KICKS, AND IT WAS OVER!!'' ''IT LOOKS LIKE WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO CONTINUE WITH THE MATCHES!'' ''Are these guys serious!?'', shouted Caramel. ''This isn't how you buck wrestle, he didn't even get a chance to pick himself up!'' ''I think you should save your complaints for your match little guy, because you're up next!'', Iron Will replied. He gulped and breathed in and out, eventually he choked on his own breath while walking into the arena. ''LET'S BEGIN THE NEXT MATCH, ARE YOU READY EVERYPONY?'' ''IN THIS CORNER, WE HAVE THE CHALLENGER, THE CRYBABY COLT!!'' ''CAN THE CRYBABY COLT TAKE DOWN ROAD BURN?'' ''LET THE WRESTLING BEGIN!'' Caramel's face and body was sweaty, he had Braeburn's hat on his head, he decided he would fight to avenge Braeburn. He had a strange way of buck wrestling, you aren't limited to just bucking with hind legs, fore hooves are an option as well, but no biting, magic, or flying. He swooped in on Road Burn and gave him two quick jabs to the cheek. His neck shifted to the left and he simply turned it right back. ''Is that all you got crybaby colt?'', Road Burn said mockingly. ''No wonder my brother knocked you out so easily!!'', he returned the pain with a two punches. Caramel leaned his body to the side, to stop himself from falling over. ''You know, your brother only had me beaten because I ran away!'', he bucked him dead in the face and sent him reeling back. He ran back at Braeburn and they smashed their heads together. ''You're an okay fighter, but you're too freakin' gullible!'' ''Who you callin'-UGH!!'', he interrupted Braeburn with an uppercut. He knocked the spit and his own words out of his mouth. Caramel tried his best to stand back up on his hooves. ''Come on, is that all?'', said Road Burn. ''Don't go fainting on me now rookie!'' *THUD* A single hoof to the gut ended the match. *GASP* Caramel was the pony standing victorious, except he was leaning over. ''The name is Caramel, you better get it right next time mister!'' ''Ah can't believe he pulled it off, clumsy Caramel actually pulled it off!'', Applejack said in excitement. ''He's not that weak sis', besides, he's been walking around more than we have, maybe he got some kinda training in?'', said Macintosh. ''WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT, THE CRYBABY COLT ACTUALLY SURVIVED.'' ''LETS GIVE HIM A HAND!!'' The crowd stomped and clapped their hooves together as loud as they could, and Caramel felt like he was living the dream. ''AND WITH NO DELAY, LET'S MOVE ONTO OUR NEXT MATCH!'' ''Wait, what are you talking about?'', Caramel said with butterflies in his stomach. ''This is tournament styled you know, you gotta beat the rest to get to me!'', Iron Will said. ''Oh horse apples......'', Caramel said. ''IN THIS CORNER, WE HAVE THE BROTHER OF ROAD BURN!'' ''WILL THE CRYBABY COLT WITHSTAND ANOTHER BEATING FROM THE OLDER BROTHER?'' ''LET THEIR REMATCH BEGIN!'' Caramel knew he was going to lose this match, so he thought of a plan to try and weaken him for the next challenger. ''You think you're gonna beat me like you did last time don't you?'', Braeburn said. ''Uh, yeah, and I'm gonna ruin your day CRYBABY COLT!!'' ''THE NAME IS CARAMEL YOU DUMMY!!'', Caramel shouted at the top of his lungs. Despite Caramel's injuries, his kicks were faster. ''Hah, how are ya' gonna win when you can't even hit me?'', shouted Caramel. ''You know, you shouldn't invest in speed, and no strength!'', he replied. ''How did he know I wasn't trying to hit him at all?'', he asked himself. ''I can dodge all of your baby punches and talk at the same time, don't you try and get me tired!'', he shouted. ''Now, fight like a real colt or get outta this place!'', he stomped on his left hoof, and finished him off with a right hook. He was ultimately down for the count and there was no strength left in him to get back up. ''I guess they were right about me being a crybaby...'', he said as he fell down hard. ''WELL EVERYPONY, IT LOOKS LIKE CARAMEL HAS WON YET ANOTHER MATCH!'' ''HOW DOES HE HAVE THE STRENGTH TO DO IT!?'' ''Ugh......apple bucking horse feathers.....'', Caramel uttered before he fell hard and flat on his face. ''At least I served my purpose here.......'', he said before he over dramatically passed out, *Gasp* The crowd was even more surprised and hooked on the action, they had never seen such a decisive match. Both Road Burn, and his older brother were now unconscious, but it was pure luck, if they had taken the match serious, Caramel would have been K.O'd a long time ago. ''WELL EVERYPONY, IT LOOKS LIKE THE CRYBABY COLT PUT UP A GOOD FIGHT, BUT IT'S TIME TO MOVE ON TO OUR NEXT MATCH!'', Iron Will yelled into the microphone. ''Hey you, yeah, the red stallion with the orange mane, get in there, you're up next!'' Applejack had known Macintosh was a far better than Caramel, but she wouldn't be able to stand the sight of her brother being beaten. ''CAN THE BIG BAD MACINTOSH TAKE DOWN THE STRENUOUS STREXON?'' ''The strenuous strexon?'', Macintosh questioned. ''Strexon is the name, and they call me strenuous because I'm fierce!'' ''Look up the definition sometime why don't ya', in fact, I think I'll show you why they call me THE STRENUOUS STREXON!!'', he said as he lunged at Macintosh. Big Macintosh's plan was to end the match with one fierce blow to the body. ''HUUGH!!'', Macintosh blurted out. ''You see, the definition of strenuous means requiring or using great exertion, and great exertion is what I'm going to use on you!!'', he said as he drop kicked Macintosh on his left cheek. ''You know, for a guy who's as strenuous as you claim to be, you sure to talk a big game.'', he said with a raspy voice. Strexon's blows were too fast for Macintosh to follow, if he could back up, he could land a blow himself. ''Kick, punch, punch, kick, low kick, drop kick, retaliation, is this all he can do?'', Macintosh memorized his fighting patterns. ''HE'S PRACTICALLY LANDING BLOWS WHILE SPINNING IN CIRCLES FOLKS, CAN THE BIG BAD MACINTOSH ESCAPE HIS FURY?'' ''Alright, I think it's time I showed him how me and Applejack do things on the farm!'', shouted Macintosh. ''And I think it's time I stopped fooling around!'', he replied. He galloped towards Macintosh at speeds that he couldn't match, so he picked himself off the floor and raised his hind legs. ''You're going for the old classic buck?'', Strexon teased. ''How cliche could you get buddy?'' ''As cliche as you're brawling tactics, buddy!'', Macintosh shouted. The Big Bad Macintosh landed a firm blow in his gut, while he had Strexon's fore hoof clobber his face in. Strexon flew back and hit his back on the wall, that buck was all he could take, and it was the only hit that Macintosh landed on him. The red stallion had never been so injured from a simple jab to the face. ''I'm okay Applejack, I promise I am!'', he shouted at his little sister. ''You promise you are, what are ya' talkin about?'', asked Applejack. What Big Macintosh had said, left Applejack wondering why he said it like he did. Only soon did she realize why he had spoken in the manner he did. Macintosh had taken one last breath and said, ''I promise I'm okay sister, save your strength for Roid Rage, hold out for as long as you can, because Braeburn is coming back, I promise!'', he said as he fell over on his side. Applejack looked down at her opponent, the one she was supposed to fight. Roid Rage was the next pony to fight before Iron Will. ''Ah shouldn't waste the opportunity that Big Macintosh has given me.'', said AJ. ''All Ah have to do is tussle with Roid Rage. There was something odd about Roid Rage, he's almost as strong as Iron Will, and it didn't matter how many muscles that he had. Caramel and Macintosh had held their own against three of Iron Will's wrestlers, but in the midst of the battle, one thing that Applejack noticed, was that the strength of a fighter wasn't measured by how many muscles they had, or how many ponies they intimidated. ''ALRIGHT EVERYPONY, LET'S SEE WHAT HAPPENS ON THIS FOURTH MATCH.'' ''IN THIS CORNER, WE HAVE THE STRONGEST STALLION IN HERE TO DATE, ROID RAGE!!'' ''YEAH!!'', Roid Rage shouted. ''IN THIS CORNER, WE HAVE THE APPLE BUCKING FARM GIRL, APPLEJACK! ''Alright, fella, let's get this over with!'', Applejack said quickly. Roid Rage charged at Applejack flapping his tiny wings, while gritting his teeth and shouting, ''YEAH!!'' Applejack had charged at him as well, and she had a plan that would win her the round. She had ducked under his first blow, and bucked him three times in the face in three seconds. She had ran under Roid Rage and gave him a pony ride. She ran for the steel border and was going to ram the both of them into it. Roid Rage had regained his consciousness and grabbed a hold of her neck. ''What do you think you're doin'?'', Applejack shouted. ''If I'm hitting the wall, then you're hitting it with me!'', he responded. The both of them slammed face first into the steel border and injured each other. ''IT LOOKS LIKE ROID RAGE HAS TURNED APPLEJACK'S SECRET WEAPON AGAINST HER, BUT WHAT'S THIS, SHE CAN BARELY STAND UP, BUT ROID RAGE IS STILL FIGHTING ON!'' *HOOK* *BUCK* *JAB* *HEADBUTT* Roid Rage had been wailing on Applejack in any kind of way he could. ''Is this how Ah'm going to lose?'', AJ thought. ''Is this how Ah'm going to lose my very first illegal buck wrestle?'' ''Actually, scratch that, I'm fine with losing an illegal buck wrestle.....'' *THUD* Roid Rage had delivered the final blow, and he's worn out from dealing so much damage. All those muscles weigh him down when he's low on stamina. ''Roid...Rage...win!!'', he said. He was about to scream his victory chant. ''YE--'', a figure had flown in the arena and bucked Roid in the face so hard, he went down in a single hit! ''B-B-B-B-B-B---BRAEBURN!?'', Iron Will let out a mighty shout on the microphone with his jaw dropped. ''Y'ALL ARE GONNA PAY FOR HURTIN' MY COUSIN YA' HEAR!!'' -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ''It looks like you picked your pitiful self out of that hole I see!'', Iron Will said nervously. ''Ya'll done made me angry, you can forget making your little announcement!'', Braeburn shouted. ''I didn't come here to play by the rules, just like you didn't!'' ''Oh, an unofficial match you say?'', Iron Will replied. ''What makes you so sure that a puny little colt like you will put up a better fight than Caramel did?'' ''ARE YOU HEARING THIS FOLKS?'' ''BRAEBURN HERE THINKS HE CAN FIGHT BETTER THAN THE CRYBABY COLT!'' ''Guys like you just don't learn their lessons the first time do they......'', Braeburn bucked him dead center in his gut. The impact caused Iron Will's microphone to fly out of his fingers. ''You know, I'm not one to mind a little head start, but you can't rush into my stadium, buck me in my stomach, and expect everypony to be fine with it!'', the minotaur yelled. ''Other than your obvious hate for me, what brings you to a place like this anyway?'' ''You really are an arrogant dummy, you started this fight when you threw me in a pit, punched our sheriff in the face, and hurt my sister!'' ''If you're going to have buck wrestling matches, then do it the right way, cus' this certainly isn't the way to do it!!'' ''Enough of your whining little baby, why don't we settle this like men......Braeburn?'', asked Iron Will. This is the first time he has ever addressed him by his name with respect. ''Sure, we can end all of this stupid and senseless violence, and maybe do things by the rules.'' ''Come at me bro!!'', Braeburn screamed. ''Alright little guy, but if that's really what you want...'', said Iron Will. The large minotaur winced for a moment. He began to take one step back with his left leg. He looked down at his stomach, and noticed the imprint that was left on his gut. he had looked back at his opponent Braeburn with concerned eyes. He limped over to the side for a moment and began to shiver. The crowd said nothing, they didn't know what to make of it, and neither did Braeburn, but he had an idea of what it meant. The minotaur bent over, and picked himself up, he ran towards Braeburn at top speeds. He was going to finish the fight with one last attack. The one last attack that would prove how self-absorbed and selfish he had been towards everypony this whole time. Braeburn did nothing but stand there, because he knew what was going to happen. Iron Will raised his fist, and shouted, ''I REGRET NOTHING!!!!!!''. The volume alone was enough to deafen Braeburn. He lunged in for the final blow. His fist stopped squarely in front of Braeburn's face. He never would've imagined, that even though he spent his time in a hole, he would've trained hard enough to keep up with them, and that he trained hard enough to escape the hole. ''Lemme tell you something else in advance, the sheriff didn't help me out of the hole, we went our separate ways, and I traveled here all by myself.'', Braeburn said. ''I know why you won't finish me off Iron Will.'' ''And I can't blame you for it either.'' ''Yeah.....'', said Iron Will silently. ''I guess you were right all along Braeburn, but there's one thing I want to tell you.'' ''When somepony tries to block, let them know that they rock.....'', he said as he bent on his knees. The next thing the crowd heard, was a loud thud on the ground. Braeburn had won, and everypony did their absolute best. Caramel did better than he could've hoped, he was still the same pretty boy to his girl friend, and he was still a crybaby colt, but he didn't do half bad. His cousin had done as good as he and Macintosh had hoped, she had hung in just in time. It was one of those journeys that he had experienced, similar to Twilight's dilemma with ''Anonymous'', one of those journeys where you get caught up in the mission, and you learn something in the end that's more rewarding than the victory. The crowd let out a mighty roar, and Braeburn had shed a tear. The only question that he could ask himself at this point was, ''Am I gonna keep buck wrestlin' after this?'' ''Actually, yeah, I think I will.''