//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: Applejack: Undefeated // by CamWeck //------------------------------// "Hey, Applejack!" Applejack stopped chatting and turned to look at the blue Pegasus that had walked up to her table. She'd been enjoying a long lunch with Twilight and Rarity at the Sunshine and Sunflowers Sandwich shops outdoor seating area after a long morning of working out. Twilight had been enthused and impressed with her last fight but had also been insistent that they get right back to training. Still, Applejack was in a very good mood today and smiled easily at the interruption. "That's me! How can I help ya'all?" "I saw you siting over here and I thought i'd come over and Introduce myself! Since we're scheduled to fight in a couple days and all." Applejack blinked at this and cocked her head. "First I heard of it. That Lazy manager of mine mustah not gotten around to tellin' me about it yet." "Oh! Well, it was just scheduled this morning. I wouldn't be too mad at him, I probably moved across town faster than he could is all." Applejack quickly sized up her next opponent, she was an average sized pegasus with a Purpleish blue coat and yellow hair. She seemed a bit slim even, by pegasus standards, but then again, so did Rainbow Dash. "Well, it's right friendly of you to stop by uh... er.. what was your name again?" "It's Bluebell! How embarrassing, I didn't even introduce myself!" Bluebell blushed and rubbed the back of her head. When she shifted her weight Applejack was able to see a lot of long lean muscle moving under the slender mare's coat. It was apparent this little pegasus with the confident smile was a lot stronger than she looked. "That's alright, sugarcube! Here, let me introduce you to my friends, this is Twilight, and this is Rarity." The Purple and White unicorns nodded politely and gave friendly smiles to the purplish pegasus. Rarity in particular smiled broadly and quickly stood up and walked over to Bluebell. "If you don't mind my saying so, you have such a marvelous figure! All that lean muscle and those graceful legs! You simply must stop by my boutique sometime and we can see about getting a proper fitting for you." Bluebell blushed at the attention as Rarity circled around her and admired her back, legs and wings. The pegasus flared her wings and gave a little squeak when Rarity poked her flank. "And such a lovely cutie mark! A Gust of wind going through two flowers! You must be very fast!" "Y..yeah!" said the blushing pegasus, who had lowered her head a bit and managed to bring her wings back down, "Quick sprints are my specialty, would you like to see?" Rarity's eyes went wide and she clapped her hooves in delight. Twilight and Applejack exchanged a quizzical look over their friends reaction. To Twilight it looked suspiciously like the same flirtation tricks Rarity often used when she wanted something from Spike. It seemed to be working too. Bluebell had quickly fluttered over the little fence that separated the restaurant seating from the road and took a low racing stance. She glanced nervously at Rarity who smiled with heavy bedroom eyes fluttering gently. Bluebells wings fluttered back in response and her face turned bright red as she lowered her head. Suddenly, the pegasus was twenty yards down the road, a gust of wind behind her sending dust, napkins and at least one carelessly uncleanced hat blowing down the street. With a confident grin, the Pegasus turned around and charged again, this time going just as far the other way down the road, and with the same remarkable speed. This time she suddenly changed direction and shot almost straight into the air, soaring a few dozen yards before making another almost ninety degree turn and landing back where she started. The whole routine had lasted only a few seconds. Applejacks jaw dropped as she watched the display and considered what a speedy pegasus like this could do in the arena. Would she even be able to lay a hoof on something that fast? Oh sure, she knew Rainbow Dash was a quicker pegasus, but at speeds like this was it really relevant? Bluebell stood proudly in the street before suddenly being gripped and squeezed by a certain fashionista. The fighting mare seemed to turn more and more red under the sudden attentions of the beautiful unicorn. "That was amazing! I'm not sure the last time I saw flying with such control!" Rarity pulled back to gaze lasciviously into Bluebells eyes. She grinned nervously and fought desperately to keep her wings from flaring again. After a few seconds she managed to stammer a response. "Ah..haha..y..yeah!" "I bet you're just as incredible in the Arena! I can't wait to see how you strut your stuff!" "R..right! Arena! Yeah!" Rarity hugged her closer again and purred into her ear. "Be sure to stop by my boutique like we talked! Maybe, tomorrow night?" Bluebells wings flared open again and she nodded vigorously. "Well, my friends and I really must be going! But it's been sooo nice to meet you. I do hope we can see each other again. Tah, tah!" Bluebell blushed once more and looked around nervously before giving a clumsy wave and rocketing off into the air. Applejack and Twilight stared at Rarity as she waved back to the retreating pegasus. After a moment she turned and caught the looks on her friends faces. "What? I just wanted to see what she could do. Know your enemy and all that." Applejack and Twilight exchanged glances one more before looking back to their friend. "That seemed kind of mean, Rarity." The unicorn rolled her eyes and waved a hoof dismissively. "Pish-posh. We now know quite a bit about her abilities. She's very fast and can change direction with remarkable precision. She will undoubtedly use these skills in the arena, and now we can be prepared for them!" "I've never seriously fought a pegasus before. I'm guessin' they're a lot faster than unicorns and Earth Ponies." Twilight leaned forward and tapped a hoof on the table. Her horn glowed and a series of books floated out of her saddlebag. After a quick inspection all but one went back into the pack. The final book had a picture of a pegasus in a white and black Karate Gi on the cover. The book flipped open to a relatively early page. It listed a surprising variety of fighting styles and included the major symbols and signs of each. "It's more than that Applejack. They have a whole other set of limbs they can attack you with. According to my research on pegasus fighting styles, a lot of their training involves their wings one way or the other." "Ain't they kinda fragile? I'd think they'd want to be careful of those." "Not as much as you'd think. Pegasi are tough in general, able to take surprising amounts of damage without much injury. It ties into their natural magics. That's why Rainbow Dash can ram into a tree so fast her eyes poke holes through solid wood, but be otherwise fine." "Well shoot! If they're so dern tough how am I supposed to fight one of 'em at all?" Twilight shook her head and smiled at the farm pony. She was in full on lecture mode, and Applejack knew she was in for an earful. "They're tough, not invincible. Enough damage can still hurt them, even through their magical aura. Also, it only really applies during flight. Get a pegasus on the ground, and they're just as vulnerable as you or I. Besides Applejack, you're so muscular and strong, I bet you can punch right through any sort of natural defense." The purple unicorn blushed lightly and Applejack rolled her eyes at Twilights odd flattery. She looked down at the book, skimming through the passages. Suddenly she stopped and fixated on a particular picture and pointed with a hoof. "What're these thingamajigs? Some sort of school sign or something?" Twilight grinned broadly her eyes widening. She was always so happy when other ponies wanted to learn things! It was difficult for her to contain her natural excitement. "Exactly! Pegasus Martial arts traditionally mark their schools, or 'Dojo's' with symbols such as these to show off the styles they teach. They also have a tradition of going to each other schools and issuing challenges to... Applejack! Where are you going?!" The farm pony had taken off mid speech and galloped rapidly down the road, she turned and grinned to Twilight as she went. "Sorry Twi! I think I know someone who can help me a bit more'an you can!" Twilight huffed and slammed the book shut, leaning on her elbows as her favorite fighter galloped away. Rarity leaned in close to her fellow unicorn and rubbed her back gently. "Oh don't worry dear. I'm sure she just meant for this particular fight" Twilight sniffed haughtily. -----------@@@----------- "Why won't you tell us! I know you know somethin'!" Scootaloo flared her wings angrily and tried to back away further, but the tree prevented her escape. "I told you, I don't know anything! Leave me alone!" "That's a lie! You know stuff and yur gonna talk! Even if I have to make you!" Apple Bloom lowered her head and prepared to pounce on her fellow crusader. Sweetie Belle looked a bit more nervous about the idea of a fight, but stuck close to Apple Bloom. Scootaloo wasn't worried about the tubby little unicorn, in a fight she was certain she could take her in a few seconds. Apple Bloom was a whole other story though. "It's not a lie! It's just not your business!" "So you DO know what my sisters been up to! Why is she hanging around Snips fat older brother so much for!? And why is she at Twilights every day?!" The tiny orange pegasus realized she'd made a mistake and inwardly cursed herself. She didn't want her friends to know about the Arena, about why she spends so much time there herself. She'd also promised Applejack not to tell Apple Bloom anything. "Get out of my way! If you're going to act like such a jerk today than I'm going home! Forget crusading today!" She tried to push past her friends, but Apple Bloom would have none of it, and pressed a hoof against Scootaloo, pinning her to the tree. Sweetie Belle looked nervously back and forth before finally leaning forward and putting her own hoof against Scootaloo. She wasn't really adding much pressure, but she wanted to show solidarity with her farming friend. "No! Talk or else!" "Or else what?!" screeched Scootaloo, her eyes watering now. "Are ya gonna beat me up? You think you can slap me around?! I've been hit by ponies a lot tougher than you!" Apple Bloom blinked and leaned back, taking her hoof off of her friend. "Ah.. I didn't mean..." Scootaloo shoved the yellow earth pony aside and turned her fury on Sweetie Belle, who cringed at her friends anger. "And you! You fat little idiot! Is this what our friendship is? As soon as Apple Bloom gets mad at me you take her side and turn on me!?" Sweetie Belles eyes began to water and she tried to choke out an apology. She hadn't wanted to confront Scootaloo like this, but Apple Bloom had been so insistent. Now one of her best friends was hurt, and was hurting her back. She didn't know what else to do, and simply broke down crying. Apple Bloom frowned and began rubbing Sweetie Belles back, before shooting Scootaloo a nasty look. Scootaloo shuffled nervously before turning to run off. She hadn't meant to be so mean to Sweetie Belle. She knew the little unicorn was sensitive about her weight, and about how poorly she always did in class. Even back before they had met Apple Bloom, Sweetie used to get picked on a lot for being so slow on the uptake and a little round about the trunk. Scootaloo ran down the road from Sweet Apple Acres, not really caring where she went right now, as long as it was away from her friends. They were supposed to be having fun today. Getting together to try brainstorming new activities to get their cutie marks, not fighting over stupid secrets that weren't anypony else's stupid, hair bow wearing, business! After a while Scootaloo finally stopped and, panting from the exertion, sat under a tree. She looked around and found that she was actually pretty close to Flutteryshy's cottage. The strange grass covered cottage, almost more of a hill than a house, squatted near a stream on the outskirts of Ponyville and was fairly close to the Apple family's farm. It was a peaceful place, which was for the best as Fluttershy was a peaceful pony. Scootaloo pondered to herself as she looked over the house. Fluttershy often seemed timid and weak, but the crusaders had learned that she also had a spine of pure steel when her friends needed her. Maybe she could offer some advice on how to apologize to Sweetie without giving in and talking about the arena? Just as the little pegasus was gathering herself for the short walk, she saw a flash of orange and a yellow rush down the road at breakneck speed. Applejack galloped across the meadow and bypassed the bridge, choosing to leap high and long over the stream in front of the cabin before landing solidly at Fluttershy's door. Scootaloo was a bit surprised by the sudden and frantic appearance of the farm pony. What could be going on here? Applejack knocked gently on the door and was admitted into her shy friends home. Scootaloo was overcome with curiosity and made her way quietly down the path and closer to the cottage. After a few minutes she found herself sitting under the front window and listening to what sounded like an argument. "I've seen that thing a million times on your shelf here, and now that i know what it means... Flutters, please. I need your help." "I just don't know. It's been so long since then. I'm sure there are other ponies would could help you much better than I could." "Ah don't trust other ponies like I trust you. 'Sides, that there is a blue ribbon, I've got a few myself, and I know they mean ya'all was the best at some point!" Blue ribbons? Best at what? How could Fluttershy possibly help Applejack? Was this about the Arena at all, or something else completely different? That had to be the case. Fluttershy was cool and all, but she was no fighter. Scootaloo shook her head and tried to listen again, but whatever conversation they were having, it was over by now. She heard a creaking noise and realized the rear door to the cabin had opened. Creeping stealthily around she peeked into the back yard to see Fluttershy and Applejack standing a few feet apart in the middle of a small meadow. Fluttershy took a long deep breath and did a few quick stretches, her wings spread wide and flapped languidly in the fresh air. Scootaloo stared with brazen envy at the large graceful wings. They weren't as muscular as her hero's, but they were huge, larger than most other pegasi, as well as being perfectly formed and shaped. Scootaloo looked back at her own tiny wings and stretched them out, they were small, even for other fillies her own age, and had a thin frailty to them which did not bode well for their future growth. She would fly someday, but it would be later than other pegasi her own age, and it was possible that she would never have that much power behind them. She shook her head and turned back to see what was going on in the meadow. Applejack had taken a low fighting stance, her head near the ground and her hoof scrapping at the dirt. More surprising was Fluttershy, she stood tall, with her wings half extended to either side, moving in a graceful step, almost like a trot as she circled Applejack. Her face had a haughty, look to it, one that implied an intense concentration that couldn't be bothered with the orange farm ponies existence. Scootaloo would never have believed the shy pegasus capable of such a look. With a sudden movement, Applejack flew through the air, she came out with her right hoof up and cocked for a quick knockout punch. Scootaloo shoved her hooves in her mouth to keep from crying out. A single strike from the super strong farm pony would surely land the fragile Fluttershy right in the hospital! Instead though, the half extended wing lurched forward, underneath Applejack and flipped her backwards halfway across the meadow. Scootaloo stared as Applejack landed head first into the dirt, buried up to her shoulders in grass and mud. Fluttershy's demeanor changed instantly and she quickly hovered over to Applejack spouting apologies. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to send you flying so far! I should have been more careful.. Oh, stupid, careless Fluttershy!" Applejack braced her hooves against the ground and with a mighty push pulled her head free, still covered in dirt an grass. She shook herself clean and grinned broadly at her friend. "That was PERFECT! Now that book ah Twilights said this here AirKido style was designed specifically to fight other pegasi?" Fluttershy scuffed a hoof on the ground and looked away, still embarrassed by the harm she had done to her friend. "Well, yes. Used properly it takes all of an attacking pegasus's power and uses it against them. It isn't fool proof, and there are supposedly other fighting styles it won't work against, but since it's almost purely defensive, it's not a popular style." Applejack grinned ear to ear as she listened to her yellow friend. She stomped reared back in her excitement and waved her front legs in a galloping motion. "Yee-haw! That is exactly what I wanted to hear! A little modification so i can use my hooves instead of my wings and I'll be ready for my next fight!" Fluttershy smiled nervously and ducked her head as her friend almost danced in excitement. Sensing the pegasus was uncomfortable, Applejack forced herself to calm down a bit and looked at Fluttershy with some slight embarrassment. "Sorry 'bout that. I'm just so excited to be lucky enough to have a friend like you Flutters." The yellow Pegasus smiled shyly at her friend but seemed more relaxed now that Applejack had calmed down a bit. "I'm glad I can be of help. I'm sorry I can't really go to the Arena to watch. All that fighting makes me really nervous, and it really isn't my sort of thing." "No problem, sugarcube, I understand perfectly. Though, I gotta ask. How did you get into this if'n you hate fightin' so much?" "Oh well. There was an... incident.. back in my schooling days. A couple of larger pegasi cornered me and, I think they wanted to do... well.. I'd rather not get into it. I got away so it's not so bad. I was so scared though, I couldn't go back. My father signed me up for lessons to defend myself with. I did.. okay." "Okay? Are you tellin' me that Blue Ribbon in there is just for bein' okay?" Fluttershy blushed a bit and smiled shyly. "Well, no. I won a few tournaments. But the crowds were too much. There was all this attention on me after I won. I really didn't want that. And I didn't want to fight anyway. I learned enough to take care of myself, and anything else was just unnecessary." "How come you didn't bust out these moves when we was fightin' those changlings? I bet they woulda' been real helpful!" The yellow pegasus blinked and cocked her head at her friend. "I did. I used the 'hunkering coward.' It's a very effective tripping technique for fighting multiple opponents." Applejack raised an eyebrow at this but said nothing else on the matter. The two returned to the center of the meadow and began to discuss the mechanics behind Airkido's leveraging techniques. Scootaloo couldn't believe what she was seeing or hearing. She had no idea Fluttershy was such a powerful fighter in her own right. Scootaloo was so caught up in her thoughts that it took her a moment to realize someone was poking her in the flank. She turned around to see Angel Bunny tapping his foot and giving her a stern look. "Oh, hi Angel." The Bunny continued to tap and frowned all the deeper at the tiny pegasus. "I uh... guess spying on people is kind of rude, huh?" she said nervously. Angel nodded and then pointed back to the road leading away from the house. "Oh but I wanted to talk to Flutters about...OW!" She was interrupted by Angel who had given her a kick to the shin. Sternly the bunny pointed to the road and Scootaloo gave a sigh of resignation. "I guess she is awfully busy right now. I'll try again later." Scootaloo made her way to the front of the house and stopped briefly to look back at Angel still following her. "I am sorry about the spying thing. I didn't mean anything by it. Could you not tell anyone? I don't want people calling me Stalkerloo or something." The Bunny smiled and patted Scootaloo on the nose before giving her a wink and turning back to the cottage. Scootaloo decided that probably meant he intended to keep her secret and turned to make her way back into town. -----------@@@----------- "I don't know nothin' about anythin'!" Snips turned away from the yellow farm pony and began to trot away, with his nose in the air. Behind him a desperate looking Apple Bloom and a rather bedraggled Sweetie Belle moved to keep up with the bigger pony. Snips was a couple of years older than the crusaders, but had stayed back in class at least one year. "Please! Yur all I got left! No one else will tell me what Applejack is up to these days!" Snips let out an exasperated sigh and turned around to face the little fillies. He liked them well enough, but some days they just got on his nerves. They usually played weird games and used words he couldn't understand so well. That's why he preferred hanging out with Snails. Snails never talked down to him like he was stupid. "Look, I just don't know! My brother has some weird job down in the warehouse district and he's working with Applejack! Other than that I got nothin'!" With that he turned once more, forgot what direction he was facing, and walked face first into a wall. While he stumbled about, Apple Bloom sat down next to Sweetie Belle and leaned against the little unicorn. "I just don't know what else to do. Applejack ain't never around no more, and no one will tell me why. What is everyone hidin' from me?" Sweetie Belle hugged her friend and suppressed a sniffle. She was still recovering from her fight with Scootaloo that afternoon, but she knew her friend needed her right now and she struggled hard to help as best she could. It was very puzzling to her why Applejack wouldn't want to hang out with her sister. The two of them had always been so close, to the point where Sweetie Belle was often quite jealous of their relationship. Clearly Apple Bloom was in a lot of pain and Sweetie wanted to do anything she could to help, but she really couldn't think of anything other than being here for her friend. "I know what she's hiding." The two crusaders blinked and turned to the new voice, seeing an unusually somber Pinkie Pie standing behind them. "Meet me at the fountain in two days, after the sun goes down. I'll show you what she's doing then. Okay?" Apple bloom swallowed hard and nodded her head. Sweetie Belle knew this would mean being out late and that her parents would yell at her, but for Apple Blooms sake, she was willing to risk it. Pinkie smiled gently at the little fillies and reached into her tail to pull out two bags filled with sweets. She gave them to the crusaders who instantly cheered up at the bounty and bounced off to find someplace comfortable to eat them. Pinkie frowned to herself and sat down, looking at the ground beneath her. She was so worked up she'd almost forgotten to take the time to cheer up friends. Applejack had been in two fights now, and Pinkie had learned a third was scheduled just a couple days from now. It was becoming too much for the pink party pony to deal with. All that violence and anger. She had to stop Applejack, no matter what. Even if it meant using her little sister against her. -----------@@@----------- Twilight and Rarity sat in the locker room under the arena, waiting for their friend to arrive. Rarity lazily lounged on a bench reading one of her fashion magazines while Twilight switched back and forth between nervously pacing back and forth and angrily pontificating at no one in particular. "Why wouldn't she talk to us at all! It's been two days! TWO DAYS!" Rarity rolled her eyes and flipped a page in her magazine as her purple friend hopped up and down. "Really Twilight, I think you could learn to trust Applejack's judgement. I'm sure she has a very good reason for her disappearance." Twilight huffed and sat down next to her Fashion obsessed friend, crossing her hooves in front of her narrow chest. "Two days. No working out. No special mixtures. No extra training. She needs me if she wants to stay in proper fighting form. It's not fair of her to leave me in the lurch for two days like this." "I wouldn't worry too much. She's been pretty busy from what I know." The two unicorns turned to see Scootaloo make her way down the hall and set her bucket and towel next to them. She grinned mischievously and took a seat before continuing. "I saw her making arrangements to get some special training just for this match. I'm sure she'll be fine when she gets here." Twilight did not look reassured and turned away, grumbling something about how she could provide any special training Applejack needed. Rarity ignored her and looked to the tiny pegasus for some clarification, but Scootaloo seemed content to keep her mouth shut and simply wait with the others. A few minutes later Applejack trotted down the stairs with a prance in her step and a smile on her face. She grinned to he friends but was interrupted before she could speak by Twilight rushing over and gripping her tight. "Applejack! Where were you! You just ran off and vanished and didn't say anything and didn't show up for any of our scheduled workouts and I was so worried and are you staying fit and in shape and what have you been eating because if you went off diet i'm going to be so mad at you how could you leave me like that?!" "Whooooa! Slow down there Twi! I was just off seein' Fluttershy about pegasus fightin' techniques is all! I only had a few days to learn a lot so I slept at her place and helped her take care of her chores and such!" Twilight flushed and backed away from the farm pony, nervously rubbing the back of one leg with the other. She stopped though as her brain caught up to Applejacks speech. "Fluttershy?" "Yup. Turns out she used to know a buncha' this stuff from her youngin' days. I learned a few tricks that oughta' give me an edge in this fight." Twilight and Rarity exchanged a curious look and glanced down at Scootaloo who gave them a knowing wink. Applejack stored her hat in a locker and began a few stretches as her unicorn friends made their way upstairs to grab some seats for the fight. Applejack and Scootaloo made their way up stairs and to the fighters entrance, they walked down the short hallway and stopped hard in their tracks. There, peeking through the entrance curtain and out at the arena were Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. Next to them, Pinke stood with a stern look on her face. Applejacks jaw went slack as she stared at the three intruders. Pinkie reached out and tapped Apple Bloom on the back, causing her and Sweetie to turn around with confused looks on their faces. "Applejack? What's goin' on here? Pinke says you're going to get into some big fight?" Applejack worked her jaw for a moment, unable to find any words. She was stunned, ashamed, and more than a little hurt. She glared daggers at Pinkie, who returned the look with a cool stare of her own. "It... It isn't quite that simple Apple Bloom. I'm real sorry about not tellin' ya about this sooner, but I felt it was kind of private. Look, I need to go handle something, can you go with Scootaloo and we'll talk about this later?" Scootaloo looked shocked and nervous herself. She dropped the bucket and looked over to Applejack. "But.. what if you need me?" "I won't tonight. I'm right grateful for yur help, but right now, I need you to see to my sister. Alright?" Scootaloo looked at her friends who were giving her as confused a look as they had given Applejack. With a deep sigh Scootaloo looked back to her fighter, and nodded her head. Applejack nodded back and made her way to the curtain to wait for the announcer. Scootaloo led the other crusaders back down to the locker rooms, and as Pinkie moved to join them, Applejack stuck out her leg and blocked the Pink Pony. "You and I, we're gonna have some words of our own after I'm done with Apple Bloom." Pinkie frowned and pushed Applejacks leg out of the way before following the others down. Applejack, with a look of pure rage in her eyes turned to the curtain. -----------@@@----------- "From this corner, we have, the fast, the furious, "The Purple Flash" Bluebell!" Bluebell grinned and did a little dance. She was going to win tonight. She HAD to. Her visit to carousel boutique had been awkward at first, for her anyway. But Rarity, oh Rarity! The beautiful mare had been in control the whole time. The beautiful but simple dresses, the deliciously prepared food, the music and conversation. The way Rarity treated her and made Bluebell feel things she had never felt before. As the fighting pegasus made her way down the aisle and to the arena she grinned broadly, her eyes almost derping at the thought of those final words, that last promise that Rarity had made the previous night. "Win tomorrow, and we can do whatever you want" The Fashionista had leaned in and whispered the words into Bluebells ear. It had been so close and sensual, her hot breath had flowed over the pegasus's skin and she could feel the unicorns teeth brush the edge of her earlobe. Her wings had popped up and no amount of willpower or pushing would return them to their normal state. She had been incredibly embarrassed, but that beautiful, perfect mare had taken it all in stride, giving an understanding, even encouraging smile. Bluebell was going to win. No matter what, she was going to pound this little farm pony into the earth. She was going to win, and then she was going to go see Rarity and .. and... She shivered at the thought. When had she gotten into the ring? She didn't remember hopping the ropes, but here she was, standing on the tightly packed dirt floor. "And from this corner, our rising star from the apple farm! The Undefeated APPLEJACK!" The crowd roared it's approval and Bluebell took a moment to clear her head. She needed to focus. She knew Applejack would be a strong opponent, so she needed this match to be short. A few quick power rams and a solid headbutt or two ought to put the little hayseed down. Yeah, get pumped, get ready. No mercy. Anything for Rarity. Bluebell opened her eyes and walked to the center of the ring to bump hooves with her opponent. No, her dead meat opponent. No. The loser. Yeah, think of her, as having already lost. Bluebell grinned and looked up into Applejack's face, and froze. Applejack's eyes were bright green, and filled with a horrifying strength that Bluebell had never seen before. She knew she was the same height as Applejack, maybe just a bit shorter, but she felt the farm pony looming over her. Applejack projected a terrible fury that swept away everything else, the crowd, the arena, the lights, everything was gone. Her whole world was Applejacks unspeakable wrath. Was she fighting a pony, or some goddess of anger and destruction? Bluebell swallowed hard and her mind blanked out, all her previous thoughts, her hopes and desires crushed with the weight of absolute certainty. She was going to lose. The hoofbump ritual finished and Bluebell turned back to her corner, shaking, this time not in anticipation, but in fear. She shook her head and took a few deep breathes. Keep it together Blue! You're faster than she is, and you're stronger than you look. A few quick rams, she'll never see it coming. This'll all be over in ten seconds flat. Turning to face her opponent, she lowered herself to a fighting stance and waited for the bell. The second it rang she shot forward at her top speed. She'd hit bigger tougher ponies and sent them flailing. The one time she'd fought Titan this dash attack had been her only solid hit and it had knocked the larger unicorn halfway across the ring. Oh he'd come back and beaten her anyway, but nopony can take a strike as strong as hers, and this little farm pony was no Titan. Wait.. where was she going? She'd been on target, she'd been right up to Applejack, and she'd felt a hoof hook her wing? Now she was sailing, in a spiral! What was happening? Ow! She felt the ropes dig into her flesh and stretch out as they absorbed her momentum and brought her to a full stop, stretched out and over the audience. For a moment, upside down and dizzy she saw AppleJack, standing int he center of the ring. Calmly, the farm pony turned around and cocked back a single leg. Bluebell had to move! She had to get out of the way! The ropes suddenly began to put pressure back on her body, and like a slingshot propelled her back to the center of the ring. She struggled to regain herself, but she was too entangled, too upside down and turned around. As she shot across the ring and to her certain doom she gave into her despair, and tearfully surrendered all her dreams of Rarity. -----------@@@----------- Applejack angrily stomped her way down the stairs to the locker room. She intended to storm in and immediately set herself at Pinkie, but instead found herself once more in the sudden embrace of a purple unicorn. "That was INCREDIBLE! You beat her in ten seconds flat! TEN SECONDS! I timed it!" Twilight squeezed the startled Applejack and managed to lift her up and give her a little spin. The Farm pony was not used to such treatment and needed a few seconds to regain her bearings. This was fortunate, as Twilight was not used to giving such treatment, and found that even this quick lift of the heavier Farm pony had strained her thinner muscles quite a bit. She fell back and panted happily. Rarity gave an encouraging smile but then glanced down to the cutie mark crusaders. She was holding Sweetie Belle, and gently brushing the fillies hair. Sweetie's eye lids drooped heavily, worn out by the days exhausting revelation as well as the late hour. Scootaloo stood to the side looking embarrassed and depressed, staring into her water bucket. Apple Bloom, though, was staring at Applejack, her eyes wide and confused. With a deep breath, Applejack trotted over and sat in front of her sister. "I know this must be all confusing and such. I want you to know, I ain't mad at'cha. And I am sorry I kept this from ya'" "But what is it, sis? I don't understand what this place is! Everypony keeps talkin' about fightin', but you always tell me I shouldn't get into fights, but here you are gettin' into fights! Is this why you ain't around to play with me no more? I just don't know what's goin' on!" Applejack winced at her sisters words and looked sadly down at the floor. "Well, it ain't like regular fightin'. It's sorta like how, when we have those festivals at the farm, we do that hog wrestling? Ya'all is fightin' the pig, but you ain't really FIGHTIN' the pig, ya understand?" Apple Bloom frowned and cocked her head, her eyes crossed in thought. "So... it's like a game? Or a contest?" "Exactly! There's even some prize money to be had, which i'm usin' to help with the farm. Now it's a mite more dangerous and a whole lot tougher than wrestlin' a pig, so it ain't something for little fillies to be trying, or watching." The tiny pony frowned and puffed up her chest, trying to stand on the tips of her hooves to make herself as tall as possible. "I'm a big pony! I can handle it! Sides, you let Scootaloo watch!" The two farmers turned to Scootaloo, who seemed to shrink even smaller under their gaze. Applejack used her hoof to turn her sisters head back and looked into her eyes. "Scootaloo has family that works here. And I don't think she's right happy about having to be here so much, so I get her to help me. And I right need that help she gives. You don't have to come here, and I'd rather if you didn't in the future. Please? For my sake?" Apple Bloom looked down and nodded her head dejectedly. Her sister looked worried for a moment before hitting on an idea, she leaned in and gave the little filly a hug. "Ya'all can still help me out a bit outside the ring! I could sure use a tough little helper for when i'm training!" The smaller farm pony grinned broadly and nodded her head up and down, suddenly very excited. She ran over and poked Sweetie Belle who blinked and looked at her friends broad smile. Sweetie Belle didn't need much in life, and if her friend was happy, than so was she. "Cute Mark Crusader Personal Trainers!" screamed the little farm filly at the top of her lungs. Sweetie Belles eyes went wide at the new idea and she clapped hooves with Apple Bloom. The two of them turned to see Scootaloo shuffling nervously over. "S..sweetie Belle? I'm really sorry for what I said to you the other day. I didn't mean it." Sweetie Belle grinned broadly and hugged her pegasus friend. "That's okay! We shouldn't have been pushing you so hard to talk about something you didn't want to!" The Three fillies gave a quick group hug before Apple Bloom realized that her sister had her hoof on her back, "One more thing, Sis. Can you promise not to tell Granny or Big Mac about all this? I don't want them worryin' none." Apple Bloom nodded her head and was about to make a pinkie promise when she was suddenly interrupted. "No need to make that promise. If you don't tell them, I will." Applejack turned red in fury and spun around to get right in Pinkies face. "You two-timing, treacherous, varmint! How dare you use my family against me! I oughta buck you right back to Sugar Cube Corner!" Pinkie raised an eyebrow calmly and looked down at the crusaders. Applejack followed her stare and flinched at the confused, slightly scared look on her sisters face. "It's making you worse. The more you do this, the more you learn to love this violence the more violent you'll become." Applejack turned back to Pinkie who continued her cold stare. "I will do whatever it takes to stop you Applejack. I don't know why you're doing this, but if it means telling your Granny on you, then I'll do it." Applejack glared angrily back at her friend and finally turned to walk away. "Fine. I'll tell them myself. Come on everypony, let's get on out of here." Applejack led the way as the rest of the ponies left the locker room. Twilight lagged behind the rest, and when they were gone she turned to talk to Pinkie. "Why are you doing this?" Pinkie looked at Twilight and her facade of cold ice melted into pure despair. "I have to. I have to save Applejack. I just wish the rest of you could see that too." The pink pony walked to the stairs on the opposite side of the Lockers and turned back to give Twilight one last pleading look. "I love you guys, and I'll do whatever it takes to stop Applejack. No matter what." Twilight watched her friend walk up the steps, and wondered if she would be strong enough to make a friend hate her if that's what it took to save them. She wasn't so sure she could. Especially not the Undefeated Applejack.