Today was a pretty big day in Ponyville. Why you ask? Because a new arena was built on the farther outreaches of Ponyville about 3 weeks ago. What was the purpose for this arena? It was to host special sporting events in the future. Like Football, Boxing, MMA, and most of all professional wrestling. Wrestling was pretty popular in Equestria. There were several different wrestling organizations out there today. Organizations like Equestrian Wrestling Association, Equestrian Wrestling Federation, World Equestrian Wrestling, All-Star Equestrian Wrestling, and many many more.
However, perhaps the one that is most talked about today is Equestrian Championship Wrestling. This was a very successful wrestling company that drew very big TV ratings, sold a lot of merchandise, had great PPV buys, tremendous mainstream publicity, whether ponies would classify that as good or bad, and, most of all, drew very great crowds to the arena where the wrestling matches would take place. They drew about 10,000 fans to several arena's weekly. Fans would pay about 25 to 30 dollars to get into the arena to cheer on their favorite wrestlers and boo their most hated wrestlers.
So it was a pretty big deal to hear that three shows were taking place over this weekend at the new arena, which was called The Ponyville Convention Center.
However, what was also big was that there was going to be a press conference hyping up the event in the new arena. So there would be catering at this new arena for all the fellow wrestlers, referee's, camera crew, road agents, booker's, and many others who worked for the company. And the ponies who were going to be helping out with said catering were none other than the Apple Family, who comprised of Granny Smith, the matriach of the Apple Family, and her grandchildren, consisting of Applejack, Apple Bloom, and the oldest grandchild of both of them, Big Macintosh.
So they were very excited to be helping out with catering. Not only to help out with a new area of business, but they also were going to be around some pretty somewhat famous ponies. Not only were these ponies great athletes, but they also were big stars on TV, where they drew big ratings. So this was a big deal for them.
"So we got Apple Fritters, Apple Pies, Apple Crisps, what else do we need?" Applejack asked her family members. She had a list in her hooves that had other ideas about what to have for the catering.
"Why not some Apple Juice? The ponies could get thirsty." Apple Bloom suggested. She actually had been starting up her own Apple juice stands a while ago. So this could be a great deal for her.
"Not bad sis, but I think they'd rather have some nice and hot Apple Cider." Applejack told her now dissapointed looking little sister.
While Applejack and Apple Bloom were trying to come up with more food ideas for the catering, Big Macintosh was up in his room trying on a suit he had gotten from Rarity's Carousel Boutique. He knew he had to look his best for this. If he wanted other ponies to purchase apples from Sweet Apple Acres, he had to look presentable to everypony.
While he was in his suit, which he though he looked very good in, Granny Smith came in to his room. She looked very excited and nervous at the same time. Nervouscited as Pinkie Pie would call it.
"Big Mac, which dress should I wear? This or this?" She said as she was holding a dark red dress with some roses on it in her left hoof, and a light blue dress with some dark blue birds on it. To be fair, they both looked really good for any mare, regardless of age, to wear. He didn't understand why she was nervous about this. It was just catering. They had done this before, so why was this any different?.
"Why are you so nervous Granny? It's just catering." Big Mac asked her looking confused.
This caused Granny to put a WTF look on he face, which somewhat startled Big Mac. She could get pretty scary if she got intense.
"Just catering? This is WAY more than just catering Mac." Granny said as she looked very sternly at her grandson. Why was she like this?
"How is it more than just catering Granny?" He asked her, now looking nervous like she did a few seconds ago.
"Because Pony Boy Rhodes is gonna be there." She said frantically.
He had an eyebrow raised in confusion. "Pony Boy Rhodes? Who's that?" He asked her.
She let out a huge gasp. A gasp so big it honestly looked like she was about to keel over and have a heart attack. This, again, caused Big Mac to flinch a little bit at her. She grabbed him by his shoulders and started shaking him. For a mare her age, she was still pretty strong.
"YOU DON'T KNOW WHO PONY BOY RHODES IS? WHAT KINDA GRANDSON ARE YOU?" She asked in a loud, somewhat crazy like voice. She stopped shaking him, and the result was his eyeballs were rolling around like a wheel.
"No Granny I don't know who "Pony Boy Rhodes" is? Who is he?" He asked while feeling very dizzy after the shaking he received from his grandmother.
Applejack and Apple Bloom came upstairs to check on the loud voice they heard from Granny Smith. They weren't concerned, just annoyed because they heard everything Granny said to Big Mac. Mostly, this "Pony Boy Rhodes" character.
"I'm curious too Granny. Who is this "Pony Boy Rhodes" feller?" Applejack asked her grandmother, who was now looking in a mirror to make sure she didn't need have anything on her face. Luckily, she didn't.
"Yeah, and why are you so nervous about meeting him?" Apple Bloom asked her.
"Because he's only my favorite 'wrassler o' all time. That's why." She answered her two granddaughters. They looked a little surprised when Granny Smith told them that. They didn't know she was a wrestling fan.
"I didn't know you were a 'wrasslin fan Granny." Big Mac told her.
"Are you kidding? When I was a young Sprite, Pa would take me and my three big brothers to the wrasslin shows when he would save up enough money for it. And when I got older, I'd go with Apple Roll or some of my friends. And the one I'd always want to see, was Pony Boy Rhodes. Oh, those were some great times during my youth." She said, remembering her past self as an avid wrestling fan.
*********Flashback to about 44 years ago.****************
The year was 1974. Granny was about 30 or 31 years old. She was sitting in the crowd with her favorite cousin Apple Roll and her two best friends, Honey Pot and Silly String. They were very excited for the event. They had bought some concessions, Apple Roll buying about three Apple Fritters, Honey Pot buying a magazine that featured bios of all the wrestlers who worked for the company, which was Equestrian Outlaw Wrestling, and Silly String buying a t-shirt of her favorite wrestler, Iron Stallion, and Granny Smith also buying a t-shirt of her favorite wrestler of all time, Pony Boy Rhodes.
The night was pretty great so far. However, everything was all riding on the main event. It was Pony Boy Rhodes, the hard working, blue collar, everyday commen stallion, against the evil, sadistic, arrogant, Gothic Haze.
When Gothic Haze came out, it was a unanimous boo from the crowd, including Granny Smith. Then when Pony Boy Rhodes came out, it was a unanimous cheer from the crowd, including Granny Smith. The whole match, she just cheered on Pony Boy Rhodes like there was no tomorrow. It was a pretty hard fought battle, with Gothic just beating down Pony Boy, and him at times getting an upper hoof on Gothic, but in the end, Pony Boy Rhodes hit his padintent bionic elbow drop for the win. The crowd, along with Granny Smith, went completely crazy for him.
She was very happy. She knew she got her money's worth that night. It was a night she'll never forget.
**********End Flashback************
Granny had a happy look on her face remembering that night. It was a great night she spent with her cousin and two friends.
"Wow Granny, It sounds like you had a lot of fun going to those shows." Apple Bloom said to her.
"I did. And I'm not the only one. Your Pa was a pretty big wrasslin fan too." She told them. They looked a little surprised when she said that.
"Really? I never heard Pa talk about wrasslin around us when we were young." Big Mac said.
"Oh he did. Him and that Burnt Oak feller would go to the shows whenever they had some free time away from the farm. He eventually stopped going when he got older, but he still was a fan no matter what." She said remembering her deceased son she missed more than anything else in the whole world.
"Well Granny, I think it'll be great for you to meet this Pony Boy Rhodes. So let's get you all gussied up." Applejack said as she put a hoof on her grandmother's shoulder.
"Well, what dress should I wear?" Granny Smith asked looking nervous again.
All the Apple siblings looked at each other before they said "The Blue one." Granny Smith smile and went back to her room to change into her dress. The Apple siblings smiled. This was a pretty big deal for their grandmother. She had a chance to meet somepony she was a big fan of for many years. They honestly couldn't wait to get to the arena.
Catering and Big Announcements
After Granny Smith got dressed, they were finally ready to do the catering at the arena. They left their farm and went straight to the arena. They brought their handy Apple cart with them carrying the food for everypony. When they made it to the arena, they saw how big it was. This place could probably fit about 30,000 ponies. It was truly a spectacle to see.
"Wow. It looks even bigger than what everypony has been saying it is." Applejack commented looking very impressed y the size of the arena.
"Eeyup." Big Mac said.
"I wonder what it looks like on the inside." Apple Bloom said curiously.
"Well we're about to find out. Let's head in." Applejack said as she walked towards the entrance along with the rest of her family. They went inside the building and were greeted by a really big and gruff old looking stallion. He looked to be about in his mid to late 50's. Maybe even really early 60's. He had a light blue coat with a short, slightly balding light brown mane. He was dressed in a suit. He must have been somepony who worked for the wrestling company.
"Are you the Apple family?" He asked in an equally gruff sounding voice.
"Yes, we are. I'm Applejack, and this is Big Macintosh, Apple Bloom, and Granny Smith. We have the food right here." Applejack said to the stallion.
"Alright good. Now follow me. I'll show ya where it is. By the way, the name is Shooter. I'm the owner and CEO of Equestrian Championship Wrestling." He said to them. He then started walking in the direction toward the destination where the catering was to be held with the Apple family following him.
"Nice to meet ya Mister Shooter." Apple Bloom said to him sweetly.
He smiled and said "Nice to meet all of you too. Any of you fans of wrestling?" He asked them.
"Well, not really, but Granny Smith here is." Applejack said pointing to her grandmother.
He looked over to her and asked "Really?"
Granny Smith answered with "Your darn tootin. I grew up on Pony Boy Rhodes. Oh, he was such a hunk back then." She said very dreamily, remembering him back in his heyday.
Shooter chuckled a bit at that comment. "So you grew up watching Equestrian Outlaw Wrestling, correct?" He asked her.
"Yep. I'd watch it every chance I had." She answered.
"I used to wrestle for that company back then too. Back when I first got into the wrestling business. Man that Pony Boy was as over as anypony that's famous now." He said with a proud smile on his face.
"So, does Pony Boy work for you as well?" Granny asked looking very excited. She hoped he did. Thankfully Shooter said...
"Yes he does. He runs the day to day operations with the rest of my road agents. Do you want to meet him?" He asked.
Granny Smith gasped again looking like she was about to have an anurism. She was super excited, she felt a filly who just got her cutie mark.
"Oh, absolutely I'd like too." She said somewhat shouting very loudly. Unintentional of course.
"Well, okay. Why don't you guys set up the catering tables, and I'll take your grandmother to see Pony Boy. That alright with you guys?" Shooter asked them.
Applejack smiled at the fact that her grandmother was finally going to meet her idol. They knew they could handle catering themselves.
"Sure. No prob at all." Applejack said.
"Eeyup." Big Mac added.
Shooter smiled and said "Okay good. It's at the center of the West end of the building. Just go straight down that way. Can't miss it." He said as he pointed toward the destination where the catering was to take place.
"Alright, thank you Mister Shooter. Just make sure to keep an eye on Granny. She tends to get a little bit crazy when she's excited." Applejack said.
"I'll keep that in mind." Shooter said as he walked away with Granny Smith. The Apple siblings then walked to their destination.
**********************************************
It took a while, but the Apple Siblings finally set up the catering tables. They had quite a variety of food for everypony. Mostly, they had Apple based products like Apple Pies, Apple Fritters, and hot Apple Cider. However, they also made sure to get other foods besides apples as well. Foods like hay burgers, daffodil sandwiches, and salads for wrestlers who want to make sure they stay in shape. The siblings were now standing at their designated position for the food. Applejack was with the Apple products, Big Mac was with other foods, and Apple Bloom was with the Apple Cider.
"Alright, everything's finished. Let's just hope everypony like it." Applejack said. Both Mac and Bloom nodded in agreement.
As if on cue, two ponies made their way to the catering. One was a really muscular stallion. He had a pitch black mane with a white coat. Next to him was a rather small, skinny looking stallion in a business suit. He was bald and had a greyish coat. They were speaking to each other as they made their way to toward the Apple siblings.
"So, today it's you and the Kingpin against the Blonde Bombers. That's what Shooter said. It's gonna be about 20 minutes, Leonidas gets the pin on Crippler. Your gonna be on Buddy on the outside." The skinny stallion said to the big stallion.
The big stallion nodded and said "Alright. Sounds like a plan. Now let's eat. I'm starving." He said.
The Apple siblings greeted the two of them. "Hey ya'll. Nice to meet you two. My name's Applejack, and this is my brother Big Macintosh and my little sister Apple Bloom. Take anything you like." She said to them very nicely.
The big stallion smiled and said "Nice to meet you all, I'm Brody and this is Loan Shark. You guys plan on being here for the show as well?"
"Oh, I don't think so. We just called to do catering with our Granny Smith. I didn't think about buying tickets for your guy's show." She said to him. Brody then reached into his pocket and pulled out four tickets.
"Well, Shooter told me to give you guys these free tickets to all three of our shows this weekend. This is as thanks for everything you've got done here." He said as he handed Applejack the tickets. Apple Bloom looked a little excited when she saw the tickets.
"Cool, can we go to these shows Applejack? Please?" She said with an innocent smile on her face, like the one that made ponies not be able to say "no".
"Hmmmm, I've never been to a wrasslin show before, but maybe it'd be a good experience. Sure why not? Thank you Mister Brody." Applejack said.
"Eeyup." Big Mac replied.
However, when Brody and Applejack were having their conversation, Loan Shark stared at Big Mac. He appeared to be mesmerized by Big Mac's appearance. Big Mac was a pretty well built stallion. Definitely looked like a guy who you could take seriously in a fight. As him and Brody got their food he approached Big Mac.
"Your names Big Macintosh, right?" He asked.
"Eeyup." Big Mac replied.
"Let me ask you something? You ever thought bout getting into the wrestling business?" He asked. Big Mac looked a little surprised when he asked him this.
"Uhhh, No. I've never seen anything wrasslin all my life. This shows gonna be my first experience. Why do you ask?" Big Mac asked him. Applejack and Apple Bloom looked a little confused as well.
Loan Shark smiled. "Well, you look like you could make it in wrestling man. I can see ponies wanting to come to arena's to see you man. You look great. Like you keep in shape. What I'm saying is, you look like a wrestler." He said with a confident smile on his face.
"Uhhh, thank you. But, I don't think I have time to be a wrestler, Mister Loan Shark." He said. All of a sudden, Loan handed a card to Big Mac.
"Well, if ya change your mind, call this guy. Red Mist. He's a great wrestling trainer. This guy can teach you all about the wrestling business man. Anyway, thanks for the food, looks great. Come on Brody." Loan Shark said as he was now walking away back to an undisclosed location in the arena. As Brody was leaving, he looked toward Big Mac and then spoke to him.
"You know, he's right. I think you'd make it big in wrestling man." He nodded to Mac. "Have a good day you guys." He then bid the Apple Siblings farewell. Big Mac looked at the card Loan Shark gave him. It had an address, which, ironically enough, was located on an outer reach in Ponyville. His home town.
"Isn't that cool, Big Mac? You could get pretty famous." Apple Bloom said all excited like.
"I dunno. Like I said I've never seen a wrasslin ring. Let alone wrestled in one." He said to his sisters. Applejack put a hoof on his back in a way to console him.
"Well, why don't we just go these shows, and see how we like it. Then, maybe we can make a decision." Applejack said confidently to her brother. He smiled at her.
"Okay, now let's get back to catering." Big Mac said. His siblings agreed and went on about their business.
**************************
Shooter was walking with Granny to a backstage part of the arena. On the way to their designated area, she seemed to notice a lot of ponies who worked for Equestrian Championship Wrestling. Some were legends in the wrestling business that were now helping the younger generation work on their promo's for their upcoming matches. She even saw an older stallion who was teaching a really, really younger looking stallion on how to cut a promo. Safe to say, he still had a lot to learn. Granny knew how promo's worked. Heck, she used to get so hyped up when Pony Boy Rhodes would get on the mic and promote his upcoming match. Not only would he paint the picture of how big the match would be, but he made several fans, including herself, feel like he needed them on that road to greatness in life. Like everypony could be something if they just put their heart, mind, body, and soul in it. He was a true inspiration to her.
Shooter then spoke to Granny. "Just to let you know, I sent Brody and Loan Shark, our top heels, to give your grandkids tickets to the show. One for you as well. There for all the shows this weekend. You don't mind do you?"
"Oh, of course not. I haven't been to a wrasslin show in over 30 years. It'd be nice to see one again. And thank you for it." She said very sweetly. Shooter smiled.
As they were walking, a certain pony walked around the corner to greet Shooter. He looked like he was in his mid to late 60's. He was a kind of skinny looking stallion. With a blonde mane and light tannish coat.
"Shooter, I need to discuss something with you about the show man." He said to him.
When Granny Smith saw this stallion, she felt her like her legs were about to give. She was finally face to face with her favorite wrestler of all time. Somepony she idolized growing up as a young mare.
This was "The Equestrian Dream" Pony Boy Rhodes. The common stallion, if you will.
"Sure, but first I have somepony who wants to meet you Pony Boy. This is Miss Smith. Her and her grandkids helped out with catering. She wants to meet you." Shooter said as he presented a shocked looking Granny Smith to Pony Boy Rhodes. He went up to her and extended his hoof to her.
"So you guys helped us out, huh? Well, we appreciate it. Pony Boy Rhodes, it's nice to meet ya." He said to her in a humbling kind of way.
Granny Smith just stared at his hoof. She couldn't believe it. She was not only in front of Pony Boy Rhodes, but she was about to touch his hoof. His hoof which had defeated several ponies over the years. She smiled all super excited like, grabbed his hoof, and shook it while she kind of squeed a little bit, which kind of surprised Pony Boy a little bit. Shooter just kind of laughed a bit under his breath.
"It's nice to meet ya Mister Pony Boy Rhodes. I can't believe I'm actually meeting you. I'm such a huge fan. I remember when you had your Baltimare Death Match with Gothic Haze back in '79. I was there rooting you on the whole time." She said all excited like, seeing as how she was in the presence of her idol. "I can't tell you how much of an inspiration you made on me growing up. How, as long as we work hard at what we do, we can be anything. So, thank you for inspiring me Mister Pony Boy Rhodes." She said with a heartwarming smile on her face.
He also smiled at her in a heartwarming way as well. "Don't mention it Miss Smith. Heck, why don't you and I get a photo right here to show your grandkids." He said as he got out a camera. Granny Smith almost fainted when he brought it out. A picture with her idol? This must be a dream come true.
He tossed the camera to Shooter. Him and Granny stood next to each other, with his hoof wrapped around her. She blushed a little when he did that. As Shooter was getting ready to take the picture, she did a bold move. Something that may not seem smart, but you had to give her credit for her gutsiness.
She kissed Pony Boy on the cheek as the camera flashed. After the picture, he chuckled a little bit at Granny Smith's action. She blushed even more so.
"It was nice to meet you." He said as he touched her face with his hoof. He then turned around and left to go back to the office where the production meeting was taking place.
Granny Smith just stood there with a smile on her face. A smile filled with pride and joy.
"This was the second most amazing moment of my life." She said.
Shooter smiled and chuckled a bit after she said that. Well, after she met Pony Boy Rhodes, she bid Shooter farewell and went back over to where her grandkids were to help out with the rest of the catering. She also couldn't wait for the wrestling shows this weekend. It was going to be a great experience not just for her after all these years, but for her grandkids who had never been to a wrestling show. She just knew they were going to have a fun time.
