Fight Club: The Underground

Chapters

The First Visit
Getting In
Lightning Strikes
Training

The First Visit

It's a cool, calm, quiet night in Ponyville. It's a little past one in the morning, and there isn't a pony in sight. Well, except for one. A lone Earth-Pony. A silver coated stallion, with a long, brown colored mane, and solid grey eyes, is walking the dark streets of Ponyville.

"I know it's around here somewhere... Or at least he said it was." The silver colored stallion said to himself in annoyance.
As the time past, he kept his head low, and tried to stay out of open areas as often as he could. The time seemed to go slower and slower, as the stallion starts showing frustration.

"Come on Silver Lining. You know it's right in front of your face- Ah ha!" The grey eyed stallion comes to a stop, feeling something beneath his hooves.

Silver uses his left forehoof to open a door that is seemingly invisible underneath the grass covering it. Once the door is open, talking can easily be heard inside of it. The path down is made of typical brick walls and wooden steps that you would find in basements.

"Alright, here I go." Closing the door behind him, he begins his decent down the steps. The farther down the steps he goes, the louder the talking gets. Silver comes to the last step, and is met with a large room, full of all kinds of different ponies. Silver quickly notices the open area in the middle of the room, where what appeared to be a fighting ring stained with red in some areas lays.

"Hey! Silver!" Catching his attention, Silver starts looking around the room until he spots a yellow colored Earth-Pony stallion, with a short, orange mane, and begins walking toward him.

"There you are Lightning Blitz. It took me forever to find this place." Silver explained to his friend.

"Ah, don't worry about it. At least you made it here before my fight." Lightning said, turning and looking at the ring. "There should be one more before mine. And I'm all warmed up and ready to go!"

"Just uh, don't get hurt." Silver looked tense, and rightfully so. He had never even heard of this fight club until Lightning Blitz told him. He didn't even know his friend was a fighter either.

"I will be fine! I've been doing this long enough to know how to not get hurt. Besides, my opponent tonight isn't exactly..." "Good?" Silver finishes his friends sentence. "Bingo!" Lightning and Silver join in a laugh.

The bell starts ringing, and a white colored, pink maned Earth-Pony mare steps into the center of the ring. "Ladies and gentlecolts! We are about to begin our third fight of the night! Introducing first, in the red corner, with a record of thirteen wins, five losses, Brass Hoofs!

Everypony's attention shifts to the strong looking, Orange colored Earth-Pony, with a spiked, red colored mane.
"He can be tough sometimes. But he is sloppy. I wonder how he even has thirteen wins." Lightning Blitz says unimpressed.
"And second, in the blue corner! Currently stuck in a three fight losing streak, holding a record of seven wins, eight losses, Quick Jab!" The focus is now on a green colored unicorn, with a darker green colored mane.

"Quick Jab? What in Equestira kind of name is that? And how could a unicorn be fair against an Earth-Pony?" Silver asks in confusion, causing his friend to laugh for a moment. "Quick Jab is just his in ring name. And unicorns, and pegasi both cannot use their obvious advantages, or they get disqualified and run the risk of being banned." Lightning explains.

Before Silver got the chance to say anything more, the bell is rung and the two fighters stand in a staredown. "How is a winner determined? I don't see any judges anywhere." Lightning facehoofs at the question. "The judges are out of view to keep safe if some fans don't agree with their scores. But, each fight can last up to a half hour long, unless somepony gets knocked out, or submits."

Quick Jab begins charging at his foe, causing Brass Hoofs to start moving. Quick Jab slides around Brass Hoofs and kicks one of Hoofs hindlegs out from under him, then headbutts him, making Hoofs fall to the ground.

"Wow! Quick Jab is giving it to Brass Hoofs already!" Silver says in excitement, before Lightning sighs. "You've never seen a fight at all before, have you?"

Quick Jab lunges at his fallen opponent, but Hoofs kicks his hindlegs upward, connecting with Quick Jab's stomach, making him fall. Hoofs quickly gets up and delivers a couple of kicks to Quick Jab. "I quit! I'm done!" Quick Jab yells, causing the bell to be rung.

The same white colored mare steps back into the ring. "Your winner by submission, Brass Hoofs!" The crowd starts stomping the ground and cheering in excitement. "Brass Hoofs is now fourteen and five, and now has a three fight win streak! And Quick Jab now falls to seven and nine, making his loosing streak grow to four in a row now!"

"Man, she covers everything doesn't she?" Silver nods at his own words. "Of course she does! It is her job to." Lightning chuckles, trying not to sound sarcastic. "Whelp, wish me luck! I'm next!" Lightning quickly says as he rushes off into the crowd. "Good luck! I just hope you don't get hurt..." Silver quietly worries to himself.

After the two previous fighters exit the ring, the White Mare begins to speak again. "Alright everypony! For our fourth, and final fight of the night, I introduce to you all first, in the red corner, holding the fourth overall ranking in the club, with twenty-one wins, six losses, and his impressive win streak of seven wins in a row, Lightning Blitz!"

As his name is said, the crowd becomes a little rowdy in cheers, causing Silver to comfortably sigh. "Good. This must mean he's a crowd favorite."

The focus shifts to the blue corner when the mare starts speaking. "And in the blue corner! Still new to our ranks, he is holding on to his three win, four loss record, Free Weight!" The young, brown colored, black maned, pegasus stands in his corner with pride, looking on at the crowd. Silver can't help but laugh some after hearing the name. "I really hope that's his ring name." Silver says, and as soon as he finishes his sentence, the bell rings to start the match.

Lightning quickly charges Free Weight and slams into him with his side, knocking Free Weight down. "Wow! I never even knew Lightning was a fighter, let alone good fighter!" Silver watches on, impressed with his friend.

Lightning allows Free Weight to get up. "Come on. Take a free shot!" Lightning says, and stands still, and Free Weight takes advantage, charging Lightning. Free Weight closes his eyes and lunges himself, but Lightning simply throws his right foreleg forward to hit Free Weight, smashing his hoof into him.

"Huh? That wasn't a very free shot." Silver looks on unsure at his friends actions. Lightning makes no hesitation this time to start slamming himself down onto Free Weight until, "Okay, I give! Stop!" Free Weight yells in desperation. The bell is rung, followed by the white mare stepping back into the ring, one last time.

"Ladies and Gentlecolts! The winner of our final fight of the night by submission, extending his win steak to eight, Lightning Blitz! And Free Weight falls to a three win, five loss record!" The crowd again gets rowdy, and the cheers seem like enough to block out any other noise in the room.

Lightning quickly makes his way out of the ring and rushes for the exit, grabbing Silver on his way out. "Come on! We have to beat the crowd!"

Silver gets an aggravated look being drug up the steps. "Think you could drag me any harder?" "No time to stop!" Lightning just keeps on dragging Silver along until they reach the exit and both of them climb out.

"What the hell was the purpose of dragging me like that?!" Silver yells, followed by being smacked by Lightning. "Shh! There is a reason this place is hidden you know. Now, how did you like it?" Silver shrugs. "It was okay. Both battles were a little anti-climatic."

Lightning glares at Silver with a blank look. "That's because both fights lasted sixty seconds. You should come back next time and hope to catch a good fight."

"Well, I'm not really one for fighting... But I guess I will come back one night." Silver puts on a fake smile for his friend, obviously unsure if he does want to return.

"You know, it's okay if you didn't enjoy it that much." Silver sighs for a moment. "But that doesn't mean you shouldn't give it another try! I am getting close to facing the champion after all." Lightning says trying to keep Silver interested.

"Well when you put it that way..." Silver remains with an unimpressed look, but takes a deep breath. "I will come back next time."

Lightning starts to get a grin on his face. "Great! I'm glad you're gonna come back! But hey, it's getting late. Why don't you go home and meet up with me tomorrow?"

Silver nods, waving Lightning off, then begins walking home. "Come on Silver, you just need to calm down, and stop being so uptight. Yeah, it's an underground fighting club that's probably illegal that your best friend competes in. But, it didn't seem that dangerous."

Silver keeps on marching home in the cool breeze of the summer night. After what seemed like forever, the grey eyed stallion finally gets to his home on the edge of Ponyville. The small, one bedroom house is anything but roomy, but for one stallion, he feels right at home, having just as much space as he needs.

"Three in the morning. Looks like it's going to be another night of little to no sleep." Silver sighs, plopping down onto his small bed. "I wonder what it would be like to be a fighter." He ponders to himself, and then opens a drawer and pulls out a framed picture of a grey colored stallion, with a short, blonde mane.

"I'm sure you would have loved it. You were a great fighter in your own right." Silver gently puts the picture away. "I'm sure you would love if I was a fighter. You always said you wish you had someone to train and teach to fight like you did."
Silver turns his head to look out the window, and stares blankly into the late night sky, and drifts off to sleep.

Getting In

Early morning comes on a new day. The sun shines through Silver Lining's window, forcing him to wake up. "A new day... And hopefully the start of something new." The memory of last night strikes Silver, as it did the entire time he slept. While Silver rolls out of bed and walks into his bathroom to wash his face off, more thoughts of the Fight Club come to his mind. "I wonder when the next meet is.."

Silver walks into his living room and is met by knocking. "Who the hay would be here at this hour?" The silver coated stallion walks over and answers the door, and is greeting with a lunge from the visitor.

"Lightning Blitz! What in Celesita's name are you doing here?! And why are you on top of me?!" Lightning takes a moment and hops off of Silver. "Because you will never guess what is going to happen tonight!"

Silver showing no enthusiasm, walks into his kitchen and starts to make coffee. "Something with the club, right?" Lightning's hyper expression drops for a moment. "What's gotten you down? Well..." Lightning looks around the small one bedroom house. "Besides the fact you live in a closet."

Silver facehoofs and sighs. "Coffee?.. That is, if you really need it." Lightning chuckles. "No thanks. But as I was saying, tonight is going to be big!-" "As big as your ego?" This time it was Silver's turn to laugh, getting back at Lightning for his joke.

"Touche. Back to the point. Tonight the club is meeting again and having a very important fight tonight! All of the top guys in the club are fightning tonight, including the main event, the champion, Bronze. Is going to be fightning... ME!"

A stale silence sits in the room for about a minute while Silver pours himself a cup of coffee. "Is it for the championship?" Lightning's jaw nearly drops to the floor at the response. "Wh-W-What?! That's all you can say?! It's not for the championship, but if I win I will surely get a chance to fight for it!"

Silver clears his throat, then sips on his coffee. "Is it even safe for you to fight two nights in a row?" "Of course it is! I mean, last night was cake. So it's not like I will be very fatigued."

"Shouldn't you be resting though? It is only seven in the morning." Lightning's hyper expression again drops at the lack of enthusiasm. "Well, maybe. But I can do that later. So you're definetly coming to the club tonight?" "Yes.. Speaking of the club, I have a question." Silver puts is cup down and turns around to face his friend. "Sure. Anything you need to know, I can tell ya!"

"Well, how does a pony get into the club as a fighter?" "Well that's- Wait.." Lightning starts to grow a grin that stretches from ear to ear. "You want to join as a fighter?!"

Silver just nods slowly, showing hesitation. "I can't believe you wanna be a fighter! I knew the club would suck you in!" "It's not just because I had a good time at the club... Hang on." Silver walks into his bedroom and pulls out the picture he looked at last night and walks back out into the living room and sits down.

"This stallion. I looked up to this stallion for my whole life. He used to be a fighter in his own right. And a damn good one at that." Lightning's mood calms as he sits next to his friend and looks at the picture with interest.

"Who is this?" Silver quickly takes the picture and puts it away, looking aggravated and sad at the same time. "That is just a stallion." "Just a stallion? He has to be more then that if you looked up to him. Besides, I think I've seen him somewhere before..."

"I doubt that. He... Passed away a few years ago." Silver's head drops, but then quickly lifts it up with fire in his eyes. "He always wanted to have a protogue. And even though he isn't here, I want to be that for him."

Lightning bounces up with the same energy he had when he got to the house. "That's great! I tell you what. Tonight at the club, I will introduce you to the club owner. He is the one you have to go through to get in. But I have to go and start warm ups for tonight! I will catch ya later."

As quick as he came in, he leaves before Silver could get a word in, leaving him there. "Ugh. I should expect this by now."

The day moves on, at about noon, Silver gets up and finally leaves his house and makes his way to the library where he is greeted by none other then Twilight Sparkle. "Hello Silver. What can I do for you?"

"Well, I was wondering if you had any books on fighting." Twilight looks at Silver with interest. "Well it's odd enough you're here since you don't really come here too much, but you need a book on fighting? What's it for?"

Silver starts exploring the library, sticking his nose in as many places as he can. "Well.. It's hard to explain." Twilight takes the initiative by using her magic to get four books on fighting down from higher shelves. "Well, I have these four. But you can tell me what you need them for!" Twilight gives a big smile to Silver.

"Well, I want to become a fighter." "Really? I imagine you as a lover, not a fighter." Silver shoots a blank look at Twilight. "Well, while that is true, I still want to do it." Twilight levitates the books out of Silver's reach. "There isn't any proffessional circuit around here though."

"You'd be surprised. Can I please have the books?" Silver thinks to himself before he jumps up to catch them, but Twilight keeps them out of reach. "I will give you the books if you tell me where the place is and when your first fight is."

Silver sighs. I can't tell her. But I need those books... He clears his throat and proceeds to talk. "I will take you there when my first fight comes up. Deal? The purple mare nods and levitates the books down and puts them in Silver's saddlebag.

"Deal. You better not leave me hanging!" "I won't! Thank you for the books. I will catch you later." Silver waves to Twilight as he walks out the door into town.

A few hours pass, the chilly evening air sets in with the sun going down, Silver has his head in the books he got from Twilight. "Could time go any slower?" Just as he starts nodding off, loud knocks hit his door, and once again, Lightning Blitz comes charging in.

"Silver! Even better news then earlier!" Pouncing back on his friend, Silver can only give Lightning the same flat, aggravated look from the morning. "I found out that if I win my fight tonight, I WILL fight for the championship next week!" Silver kicks Lightning off of him and gets up to go back to his book. "That's great news. Anything else?"

"Really? That's all you have to say?" Silver chuckles. "That really is good. And as good as you seem, I'm sure there will be a new champ next week!" Lightning smiles at the words new champ.

"Well, unless you come up and knock me back down!" Lightning nudges Silver and laughs. "Well, if I follow what I've read, I might get up there sooner then you think!" Lightning falls over in laughter. "You can't learn how to fight from a book! What are you, an egghead?!"

Silver quickly takles Lightning to prove a point. "See? Being an egghead can have it's perks. Taking advantage when your opponent is stunned." Lightning shoves Silver off of him. "Stunned? I was laughing!"

"Stunned, laughing, whatever you want to call it. It still worked." Lightning chuckles for a moment. "It was a pretty good move. Once you get your opponent down, they are pretty much out."

Once you get your opponent down, they are pretty much out. Those words sunk into Silver's mind, making a mental note of it for the future. "So, what time should we head to the club?" Silver asks, looking over at the clock.

"Actually, we can head over now. We just can't enter until the sun is down. Getting there early will give you the chance to meet the owner." Lightning declares headed toward the door.

Silver follows and goes out the door into the evening air. "You know, I imagine the owner is some big, strong, intimidating looking stallion. Is he?" Lightning bursts into laughter and quickly stops. "Steel Spirit? Pfft, hell no. He is like... A teddy bear. Yeah, let's go with that." "Well thanks for making him sound so much better!"

"What do you expect as better?!" "You know, somepony not with Steel in their name." Lightning facehoofs and sighs. "Really now? REALLY?!" "What?! You know how I am!" "Yeah, nothing but a pu-" Silver wacks Lightning in the back of the head. "Ow! What was that for?!"

"For what you were about to say!" "Oh quit whining."

The two continue to bicker back and forth while they await the sunset. The air grows chillier when the sun finally sets, and the streetlights come on throughout Ponyville. The two find the hidden door to the club, and begin their desent down into the main arena where there are very few ponies walking around inside.

"How did these ponies get in here already?" Silver asks while he looks around at the few ponies already here. "Those are staff. They have their own entrance somewhere else in Ponyville. Hey, there is the man of the hour!"

Lightning walks over to a slightly large, grey colored, older stallion with a short and spiked brown colored mane. "Hey boss!" "Well if it isn't my star of the night as usual! How are you today Lightning?" The stallion waves off another pony whom he was talking to.

"Well, I'm hyped up as normal, but this early visit isn't about me. Boss, meet Silver Lining!" Lightning steps out of the way so that Silver and the Stallion can shake hooves.

"Hello Silver, I am Steel Spirit. Is this your first time here?" Silver clears his throat before speaking. "No, sir. This is actually my second time here. And I've come to discuss something with you."

"Anything you need, I'm the stallion to look for. What can I do for you?" "Well-" Lightning quickly interrupts Silver to take initiative. "Silver here wants to join as a fighter! You see, there is this older stallion who was a fighter and-" Lightning is interuppted by Silver's hoof hitting him in the head again. "Ow! Bastard, stop that!" "I apologize sir." Silver gives an awkward, apologetic smile.

"No worries. So you wanna be a fighter eh? I'd ask you what makes you want to fight, but I think I got it figured out." Steel Spirit winks at Silver and starts to walk in the other direction. "Follow me you two."

The two nod and follow Steel Spirit into a room near the back of the arena, where there is a nice office, many different championship belts hang from the wall, and even a old Iron Pony trophy sits on Steel Spirit's desk. The three sit down to begin a meeting of sorts.

"Alright, so you want to be a fighter. Well, there are a few things you need to know, and you need to sign something as well." Steel Spirit says in a proffessional manner, looking at his desk at a few papers he is sorting out.

"Anything you need sir." "Well first off, I trust you know that nothing that goes on in the club, leaves the club right?" "Yes sir." Silver starts growing nervous after Steel asks the question. "The club cannot be held liable for any injuries you may suffer while fighting on in the club. But, anytime you fight, you will always get paid. And winning will pay you a royalty." Lightning shifts in his seat and tenses up like he wants to say something.

"Don't say a word Lightning. I know how much you like to talk. Now, I don't need you to sign many papers." Lightning leans forward. "What?!" Lightning stands straight up out of his chair and leans over the desk.

"Don't ask questions. I have my reasons. We can't keep everything on file. So some things have to be excluded." "Including his signing papers?!" Steel stomps his front hooves on the desk. "Lightning enough! I have reasons, I assure you. Everything I need will be on file. A few signatures are nothing."

"Uhm, sir, what about bringing other ponies to the club?" Silver is deep in hs chair by now after the yelling that just ensued. "As long as they know what happens in the club, stays in the club, then anypony can come."

"Thank you sir." Silver rises up in the chair some, finally relaxing. "Alright, now that that's done, all I need you to sign is this paper right here." Steel pulls out a piece of paper from a drawer in the desk, and pushes it across the desk, as well as a pen.

Silver after a moment of hesitation, grabs the pen in his mouth and reads the paper carefully before signing it. "What is thi-" Lightning shoves Silver to get him to sign it without any questions, and he does so.

Steel grows a big grin on his face and pulls the paper back. "Very good. Whelp gentlecolts, are we done here? Both Silver and Lightning nod and right as they get up to leave, they are met by a mare. The same white mare that was announcing the fights last night.

"May I lead you two to the main lobby?" "Sure!" Lightning quickly reacts while Silver stands and stares at the mare. Beautiful. He thinks to himself as they are led out of the office.

Steel Spirit spins around in his chair and looks up at the wall at a picture of himself in his younger years as a fighter. "Things are going to get very interesting. Very interesting indeed."

Lightning Strikes

"Who is she?" Silver stands in the middle of the main lobby of the Fight Club staring at the White colored, Pink maned mare that announces the matches for the club.

"Dude, you've been gawking at her since we left Steel's office." Lightning states to the silver colored stallion.
Silver shakes his head back in forth snapping out of his gaze. "Huh? Oh. OH! Uh, it's nothing." Silver fumbles his words a bit trying to think of what to say.

"Uh-huh. And I'm the champion. Why are you so...." Lightning stops and only gives Silver a flat look as he gaves on at the mare that stands before him.

"She's beautiful." Beautiful. The words he never thought he would speak. He's never seen a mare as pretty as this one was. And he never has been interested in a mare before. He wants "The perfect one."

"Why don't you take a picture? It will last longer." Lighting starts laughing, disregarding the possibility that he could have sounded rude. "Why don't you go buck yourself Lightning?!" Silver snaps and blushes lightly knowing he is staring.

"You know I can just ask her to talk to us right?" Lightning states, causing Silver's eyes to widen. "Hey, Noise! Come here for a sec!" Lightning shouts to the Mare, catching her attention.

Silver's face whitens, knowing he's never really talked to girls before. "Oh, hey Lightning. And hello friend of Lightnings." The mare gives a warm smile to the two. Her Purple colored eyes glisten from the lights in the club, and Silver feels like he is starting to melt.

"H-Hi. I'm Silver Li-" Silver is stopped by a hoof being put in front of him. "I know who you are Silver Lining. Lightning here as told me plenty about you." Silver's heart drops. Who knows what kind of things Lightning could have said. "But anyway, I'm White Noise. But you can just call me Noise." She closes her eyes and gives a welcoming smile and holds her hoof out.

Silver shakes hoofs with her and glares at Lightning. "He has told you things about me, has he? Please, for his sake, tell me it wasn't anything bad." She giggles and smirks at Lightning. "Of course not. He knows better." She hits Lightning across the back of the head.

"Ow! What was that for?!" Lightning rubs the back of his head where she hit. "Just for being you. Now Lightning, you better go get ready. There are only three fights tonight remember?" Lightning looks up at the clock above the bar area, then turns and starts walking away.

"I will see you two later tonight then. I gotta go get my head in the game!" Silver and Noise wave him off and the two go and have a seat at the bar. "So how long have you known Lightning?" Noise speaks up first. "Years, and years. Since I moved here to Ponyville from Fillydelphia about eleven years ago. How about you?"

"Oh maybe a few months. Since I started working here at the club of course." She explains, then taps her hoof twice on the bar counter, and is met with the bartender putting a drink in front of each of them. "Don't worry, their free for staff."

"Huh? Oh! Awesome. Do you do anything besides work here?" Silver grabs up his drink and sips on it some. "Sadly right now, no. But luckily Mr.Steel pays me good enough to live decently." She sips on her drink as well, while some silence builds between the two.

"I'm sorry I can't talk much more. I have to go get ready to announce the matches!" Noise quickly gets up and marches away, leaving Silver there alone, only to sip on his drink some more. "Damn. I want to get to know her better..."

He sighs, and looks over at the entrance, which is being filled with ponies of all kinds as the fighting draws near. "I guess it's getting close to time. Finally. It feels like I've been sitting by myself for the last half hour." He was right. It was a while since Noise left him.

The crowd grows big, and everypony gathers around the ring, waiting for the fighting to begin. A bell begins ringing, and White Noise is seen stepping into the ring. "Mares and Gentlecolts! Welcome to the club! Tonight, we have three huge fights! The top six fighters in the club will be competing to see who is the better pony."

Two ponies make their way into the ring and head to the opposite corners. "Introducing first, in the red corner! She is the sixth ranked fighter in the club, with a record of twenty-four, six, and two, Cloud Cutter!" A dark green mare pegasus with an orange and dark green mane stands strong in the corner, looking ready for battle.

"A MARE?! Even mares fight in this club?!" Silver all of a sudden becomes unsure if he wants to fight. He doesn't know if he can bring himself to hit a mare. "And in the blue corner, he is the second ranked fighter in the club, with a record of twenty-eight, four, and o, Prometheus!" The tall stallion unicorn, while he doesn't look very strong, he has a very intimidating look on his face."

"Damn. He looks a little too serious." Silver looks on with interest at the stallion just introduced. "Oh he is. Especially since his only losses are to Bronze, the champion." Silver looks over to see a purple mare sitting next to him, with bright, blue eyes with a blue and black mane.

"Were you talking to me?" He asks in confusion. "No. I was talking to the stool I'm sitting on." Silver's ears fall in embarrassment and the Mare giggles. "Don't mind me. That was rather rude. I'm Pandora." His ears raise and he develops a smile. "Hello. I'm Silver Lining."

"Nice to meet you Silver. Oh! Looks like the fight is about to begin!" The bell rings and the two fighters quickly fly at each other, each connecting with a hoof to knock one another back. The two slide back and stop dead in their corners, glaring at one another.

They slowly move in on each other when Prometheus charges quickly, headbutting Cloud Cutter back a few steps. She shakes it off and moves in, quickly slides around Prometheus, and connects a hook into the side of his head. He quickly recovers though, coming back throwing a hoof at Cloud Cutter.

She lifts a hoof up to block and succeeds, but is met with a thrusting hoof to the neck, causing her to fall over and start coughing. Prometheus doesn't leave her anytime to recover and starts pounding on her while she's down, throwing hoofs at her mid-section when the bell rings. He doesn't let up though, forcing three security guards to run into the ring and pull him off of her while medical ponies make their way into the ring to check on her.

"What a jerk! She was done after he hit her neck and he just pounded on her!" Silver stands up off of his seat and watches in anger, while Pandora gets up and starts walking away. "He gets like that sometimes. I will catch'a later."

"Huh? Oh, see ya!.. I can't believe he just wailed on her like that. I would love to fight that guy..." Silver looks up to see White Noise make her way back into the rings and walks by the medical team, carrying Cloud Cutter out of the ring. "The winner by technical knockout, Prometheus!" Her words are met with loud boos from the crowd. "Prometheus's record rises to twenty-nine, four, and o, with a winning streak now of seven!"

The crowd looks on as the next two ponies make their way into the ring, heading to their respected corners. "Alright, now for the second bout of the evening! Introducing first, in the red corner! He is the fifth ranked fighter in the club, with a record of nineteen, five, and three, Lemon Lime! The lime green earth pony stallion stands with a rather average looking build, with a yellow, wavy mane and goatee.

"And next, in the blue corner! As the third ranked fighter in the club, with a record of thirty-one, six, and one, Pandora!" The purple mare waves to the crowd getting cheers as Silver looks on in shock. "Could this night become anymore interesting?"

The bell rings and the fight begins, starting with Lemon Lime making the first move forward. Pandora stays still, making him charge for her. She calmly sidesteps an attempted headbutt by him, making him hit his head into the corner of the ring.

Pandora quickly spins around running her hoof across the floor, tripping Lemon Lime up. He doesn't let that keep him down though, as she tries to throw a hoof, but is blocked and met with a hook across the cheek. He doesn't hold up and continues on the offensive, throwing hooks left and right, while Pandora tries her best to avoid them, barely doing so.

Getting back all the way up into her corner, she uses her hind legs and pushes off the corner, rushing him. The two connect hoofs, throwing them at the same time, and the grab a hold of each other. Standing in an intense test of strength, Lemon Lime finally throws her down and hovers over her.

She kicks up with her hind legs, throwing him over her. "What a back and forth fight. I hope Lightnings fight is this good!" Silver is up out of his seat now, and has moved close to the ring to get a better view.

Pandora lunges upward and lands on Lemon Lime, smashing all four hoofs down on him. She doesn't stop there, throwing hoof after hoof until the bell finally rings. Noise marches into the ring once more to declare the winner. "What a great fight mares and gentlecolts! The winner by technical knockout-" "I wasn't beat! This is a outrage!" Lemon Lime interrupts Noise, and stops his hoof on the ground.

"If I was beat, I wouldn't have been able to fight back! She didn't even have me down that long!" He continues on in a rage. "Rules are rules. And the rules say, Pandora wins!" The crowd starts cheering, and Pandora takes a deserving bow after that victory.

The two fighters clear the ring, followed by White Noise. "Mares, and Gentlecolts, there will be a short break before the final bout of the night!"

Lightning paces the waiting room. His heart beats fast knowing this is the biggest fight he has ever fought. And to top it off, if he wins, he gets a shot at the championship. "Keep it together Lightning Blitz. I know what's about to happen. I know I can win. Bronze CAN be beat. He's not immortal or anything." He stops, and starts taking long, deep breaths. Trying to keep composed, he looks himself in the mirror. "You got this."

Silver is also nervous. He's moved back to the bar area and has taken a seat again, looking down at his drink. "I hope Lightning will be okay..."

The crowd starts getting loud, Noise is already in the ring, as well as Lightning Blitz and the champion, Bronze. "Mares and Gentlecolts! This is it! The main event! Please, bring your attention to the red corner! Standing there, he is the fourth ranked fighter in the club, with a record of twenty-two, six, and o. as well as being on a club second best, eight win streak, Lightning Blitz!"

The crowd starts cheering loudly, showing their support to the Orange stallion. "And in the blue corner! With the clubs top record, of thirty-five, one, and one, with the club's best win streak of twenty-nine, he is the champion, Bronze!"

Drawing mostly boos from the crowd, the Bronze colored stallion gives no sign of caring about what anypony thinks of him. The bell rings, the crowd goes quiet, and the two begin to stare each other down.

Seconds, and seemingly minutes start to pass during the stare down. It feels like electricity is forming between the two's stare. Finally, movement. After what seemed like minutes on end, the two start moving in on each other. It's like they know what they can do, and they know they have to remain cautious against each other. One wrong move could end it.

Lightning makes the first move, lifting his hoof up, followed by Bronze doing the same. The two connect their hoofs together and start pressing up against them with as much force as they have. Testing their strength, Bronze comes out on top, shoving Lightning back. Luckily, he doesn't go down, but he slides back.

Finally, some real fighting begins. They launch at each other, throwing hoof after hoof in the center of the ring. Blocking, and throwing, left, and right. Lightning quickly spins around after their hoofs collide, and bucks his hind legs backward at Bronze, knocking him back. Of course being the champ, he doesn't go down so easily.

Back and forth they go, taking turns getting a hit in, forcing the other to take a step back. Finally, Lightning mounts some offense, connecting with four big hits onto Bronze, knocking him back into his corner. Lightning strikes, heading full force into Bronze, throwing both his front hooves forward, and leaping at him. He hits it. Bronze is down, and Lightning is on top.

Lightning stomps down on one of Bronze's legs, but from reflexes, Bronze kicks out a leg, knocking Lightning off his hooves. Neither of them give the other a second to breathe or try to get up. Instead, they start battling on the ground, kicking and hitting one another with their hooves.

They get up, but without a moments notice, Bronze lays a big blow to the side of Lightning's head. Just when it seemed like he had a chance, he goes down. And he goes down hard. Bronze like a vulture hovers over head. Not giving in, Lightning kicks up, connecting with Bronze's mid-section.

That was it. Bronze was through holding back. He starts laying out Lightning, stomping down in various areas on his body. Lightning is fighting back though. He is trying to return the blows to no avail, and finally, the bell is rung to end the match.

"Mares and Gentlecolts, what a great match we just saw! Amazingly, Lightning hung in there, but our winner by technical knockout, Bronze!" The crowd starts getting rowdy with boos. They clearly don't like the result of the match. And neither does Silver, who rushes up to the ring to his friends aid.

"Lightning! Are you alright?!" No initial response. Nothing but a slight nod. "Damn it! Come on Lightning, I'll help you up!" Lightning shoves Silver away, obviously frustrated. This was his first chance at aiming for the championship. "I can't... Believe... I lost..."

Lightning slowly, but surely gets up. A little wobbly, but he is alright standing without support. "I will get him. I won't let this loss go without redemption." He intensifies and starts gaining his stability.

"For now, why don't we just head home?" Silver starts heading for the exit. "Yeah, let's go. I have training to do, and so do you!"

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Hello everyone! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I can't believe I took this long to finish it, but better late then never.
Anyways, I really appreciate any kind of feedback. Negative especially. Negative feedback usually has something in it telling me what I'm doing wrong, and that helps me become a better author. But, thank you all for reading, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Training

The morning sun rises in Ponyville, waking up Lightning Blitz on this new day, just hours after he lost his chance to fight for the championship. "Damn it. How could I let myself get taken down? I know that's where it all went downhill." He lays in his bed, covering his eyes from the light.

"Today I need to train, and train.... And train. I also need to get Silver geared up for his first fight." He rolls out of his bed and heads into his bathroom to wash off his face. "At least I still look good." He laughs, and carries on through his house and out his door.

"Prepare yourself Silver Lining. Today, you become a fighter!" Lightning starts marching down the road while in the meantime, Silver himself is just waking up. All he can think about is Lightning's loss last night, and how would he possibly be any good as a fighter?

"I think I might just tell Lightning I've changed my mind..." Silver gets up out of bed right as a loud thud hits his front door. "Oh, who in the hay is that"? He goes over and opens the door, and to no surprise, it's Lightning who invites himself in.

"Morning Silver! Ready to start training?" Lightning gives Silver an intense look, hoping for a good response. "Well, actually...-" "Good enough for me!" Lightning grabs a hold of him and yanks his out the door.

"Where are we going?!" The silver stallion didn't know what to do or what else to say, so he just let his friend drag him along. "We are going to the gym. And we are going to train, and train, and train, until we fall off our hooves."

Lightning had sort of a confident step as he marched to the gym with Silver. This was different then what it usually was though. There was something more to it that isn't explainable. "Think you could go any faster? We need to get there and get started!"

Silver sighs, but starts walking faster, getting ahead of Lightning. Soon it turns into a race between the two, they start getting faster as each one gets ahead of the other. They even bump into each other trying to slow one another down once they get into a running movement.

"Race to the gym?" Lightning smirks at Silver, who nods as the two start heading full speed toward the gym, until Silver collides with somepony. "Oof, I'm so sorry- AH!"

Looking down at the pony he is hovering over top of, the purple mare from last night, Pandora is laying on the ground looking up. Both lightly blush and the silence goes on for some time, and slowly grows awkward once they realize what it must look like. "Uhm, hello there Silver."

Pandora gives off a smile through the awkwardness, with Silver returning it and finally helping her up. "Uh, sorry about that. We were kind of racing." He runs his hoof through his mane.

"Oh that's fine. I was out for a morning jog myself. Where were you headed?" The mare starts jogging in place to make up for lost time.

"Lightning and I were headed to the gym actually. Today I guess I'm going to start preparing for my first fight." Silver is unsure though. After seeing the fights last night, he isn't sure if he can stand up to the competition.

"Well good luck. Lightning is no sap when training. I will catch ya later." She walks by Silver and flicks her tail up at him as she starts her jog away. "Hmm... Oh! Lightning!"

Already at the gym Lightning is quick at work on a punching bag, throwing his hooves left and right at it. "This can't be forgotten. Losing is unacceptable. Come on Lightning." A final hoof hits the bag knocking it back hard, then Lightning quickly moves over to weights.

"Leg weights.. Perfect!" He starts running in place when Silver finally comes through the door of the gym. "Silver! Get on these leg weights over here and start working the bag!"

"Huh? Oh.." Silver hesitates for a moment, but goes and does what Lightning told him to and starts working a punching bag with the leg weights on. "I hope this works..."

"Of course it will! Be more positive for once! And after this get ready to spar. I want to see what you got!" Silver stops moving and gets a blank look on his face.

"Y-y-you want to f-fight me?" "Of course! Just some sparring. Nothing serious." Lightning knows he is serious. He has wanted this chance to fight his best friend since Silver said he wanted to join the club, and he was finally going to get that chance.

Silver isn't so sure what to think though. He doesn't believe he is anywhere close to prepared for even sparring. He rarely works out. "You're sure about this?"

Lightning chuckles and walks over, putting a hoof on Silver's shoulder. "Don't worry. I'm not gonna hurt you! I just wanna see whatcha got." With that said, Lightning hops up into the fighting ring in the gym, waving Silver to follow.

"Oh man. I'm gonna get pummeled. There is no way I'm ready for this." He hops up into the ring as well, and puts on an intense look. But there is no way I'm going down without a fight! I must do my best!"

The two take a moment to have a stare down when all of a sudden, the bell rings. To their shock, they quickly look over and see the purple mare, Pandora standing ringside next to the bell. "Sorry if I startled you guys. I was getting bored of watching you two admire one another."

The stallions facehoof at the same time. "We were not admiring each other!" Both yell, then stare at each other with intent to attack this time. "Prove it." Pandora says with a grin on her face.

That's all Silver needed to hear to give him a spark. He quickly charges over to Lightning and throws himself into him, knocking him down for a moment. "Finally fighting huh? Well take this!" Lightning quickly hops up and throws a hoof at Silver, barely missing with the first, but throws a second and connects with Silver's rib cage.

"Well... That wasn't so bad for a first hit." That's all the words the silver colored stallion can get in, as he has to jump back to dodge more attempted hits. Finally he throws one back, he misses, but gained confidence and throws another.

Trying to hit Lightning multiple times, Silver finally hits one, connecting with Lightning's upper torso. The two back off of each other to breathe for a moment. "Heh, looks like I finally got you." Silver says huffing, trying to catch his breath.

"One shot. Want a medal?" Lightning chuckles. "Give him a break. It's his first time." Pandora defends Silver while she watches on in amusement.

The two collide, headbutting one another, pushing against the other in a test of strength type of move. The bell is rung again by Pandora, and the two back off of each other. "Hey, what gives?" Lightning yells from in the ring. "You two don't want to over do it. Besides, I've seen enough." Pandora starts to walk away with the same grin she's had the whole time.

"Wait a damn minute! Who said you get to determine how long we fight?" Silver demands an explanation. But, she keeps walking leaving the two stallions confused as to what to do.

"So, what do we do now?" Silver inquires. "We wait till tomorrow, and repeat this process until your first fight. Which is in four days." Lightning is keeps a serious tone in his voice. On the inside, he wants to make sure that Silver will win his first fight no matter what it takes.

The two exit the ring, and the gym. They wave each other off to officially begin their normal days. "That was interesting. I'm not sure if Lightning went easy on me, or if I actually did good. I just have to keep focus on improving before Friday. Four days. Looking up to the sky, Silver puts on a confident smile and heads on to make a living as a mailpony.

Lightning on the other hand, besides fighting, works as a handyman for Town Hall. Fixing up anything that needs to be fixed around town. "Silver was okay, but he needs to step up tomorrow. I hope he was just nervous." To noponies surprise, out of nowhere, Lightning is bumped into by Pandora.

"Will you please stop coming in out of nowhere?" "What's the matter? Don't like me Lightning?" Pandora teases on like she normally does with him. "What do you want?" "Somepony is snippy today. I just came to talk about Silver."

Lightning stops walking and puts his head down. He is angry, but doesn't want her to see. "Don't say it Pandora. He has potential." To his surprise he is met with her hoof on his shoulder. "I know he does. I was just going to say, don't let him get hurt. I know how I was when you first entered the club. I was harder on you then I shoulda been."

"Yeah you were! You had no right to say some of the things you said to me!" Lightning yells and backs off of her hoof. "I know. And I'm sorry. You know what I was mixed up in then as well. I just don't want to see another victim of the clubs influences."

"And neither do I. I'm hoping he can defend himself from that. The club isn't kind to newcomers. Too many now have been forced out from what they got into." Lightning keeps his head down and his eyes closed. Until Pandora hugs him that is, which even though he is stunned, he returns the hug.

"The past is done. We have to look at the future. Especially Friday night." Pandora tries to comfort Lightning. "You're right. For now, I know you have your eye on Silver for more then just the club." She smirks. She knows she's caught red hoofed. She has taken 'interest' in Silver.

"I'm not sure how you found that out, but it's not what you think. Anyway, I have to get out of here and go to work. I will catch ya later Lightning." She flicks her tail and as fast as she came in, she's gone again. "I will never understand that mare."

Lightning looks up and puts on a huge smile. "I have a feeling things are going to get interesting. Friday can't come soon enough!"

Thank you all for being patient, as I wrote half of this chapter tonight alone. I know I need to work on it faster, and probably will now that I've gotten this far.

But in the next chapter, the clubs past will be explained, as well as a romance finally heating up. Things are going to get good! I promise! Until next time everypony.