I still remember the day I got that letter from Princess Celestia, when she set up the bout between Applejack and myself, and somehow got us on the undercard of Flint Rock v. Thunderlane. When I learned from Dash that it would aired live on Equestrian Box Office, or EBO, as she refers to it, I got super nervous, and doubled my efforts, so I could put up a decent showing in front of all those people. It didn’t matter whether they were in the arena or watching it from the comfort of home, I knew I had to put up a fight...although they’re probably betting a lot of their bits on Applejack to take me out in the 4th round, if not earlier.

It actually grew pretty far from my mind the deeper I got into training, but that much changed majorly when one of the commentators decided to visit. I couldn’t quite grasp who the woman with flowing silver locks was until Dash started going fanatical. The second she saw her enter, that person's black tank top, black and white sneakers and red Tartan jeans made Dash just about stop everything she was doing, Dash saying, “Oh my sweet Luna, that’s Hoshikawa, the undefeated Super Middleweight World Champ” With a smile, Hoshikawa corrected her with, “Retired World Champ. Glad to know I still got fans out there after all these years.”

After some time observing their chat, I learned that the Fillydelphia-born boxer was here to interview me for their TV package, picking my brains to better understand who I was and how to edit me into who they wanted their audience to see. It was quite a fascinating experience being under the camera’s glare, but I couldn’t help but notice someone hanging out near the back, her taped up fists pounding away on the heavy bag. In her brilliant azure halter top and shorts, she kept staring daggers in my direction as Hoshikawa asked about my training methods and motivations, punching harder when I mentioned the people I faced off against. After she said, “Alright, cut, I think we got more than enough material for the truck to work with,” though, I could feel a change in her demeanor, her ruby red eyes growing fiercer the more she spoke.

“So let me guess,” she said as she leaned towards me in her chair, “Princess Trollestia put you up to this? Because there’s no other way to explain how two people with absolutely zero ring time under their belt could be put on the undercard of one of the biggest fights of the year, when people who’ve given their lives to the business like I have got bupkis. To be honest, people like you, who were born with the crap they needed to have a good life, who never had to invest a single sweatdrop to get on the path their life took, whose connections let them spend their day reading books without ever worrying about keeping a roof over their head or food on the table, are people I’ve grown to despise down to the last hair on their buckin’ head.” Her stare never broke, but a smile formed across her face as she continued, “You’re lucky I know about all the crap you’ve been through and all the sweat you have invested. As someone who was there for Rainbow Dash’s Sonic Rainboom, I would expect no less effort from someone she’s training. That’s where Moony, over there, comes in” She gestured towards the person on the heavy bag

“IT’S TRIXIE! THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TR-R-R-RIXIE!” That person replied.

“It’s gonna Lazy Bones Bum until you backup your buckin’ ticket outta Fillydelphia!” She soon explained that she ran into Trixie while she was doing some street magic over there, which lead to her finding out more about me, and ultimately bringing her to Ponyville so she could challenge me. According to her, she’s not allowed to use her magic to throw things in the ring or otherwise disable me; if she does, “I’mma get in there and knock ‘er block off” That, of course, didn’t stop her from using it to enhance herself, as I found when she stepped towards the ring with a magic aura flowing all around her and fire in her eyes. Hoshikawa gave us the usual rules and acted as the ref in the ring, commencing the fight and letting Trixie come at me full force.

The torrential pace Trixie punched at was unlike anything I ever faced, even during spars with Dash. It was like trying to navigate a hailstorm of jabs and crosses, each one flying in at wild, near unblockable angles. She had me on the defense the whole time, and the only way it was going to stop was “When one of you drop,” as Hoshikawa put it. It was as if there was no gap in her offense, nor any way to create any, and the whole time Dash was yelling “D2O!” the shorthand she made for turning defense into offense; the longer it went on, the more uncertain I was in how I could D2O, but then, the moment she reared back for a cross, I saw my chance. I slipped away from it, and felt it scrape across my cheek as I turned my hips into a cross aimed at her head, the power shooting all the way through my arm and into the strike.

After that landed, I felt much more confident in my ability to D2O, and started using what I learned about her offense to block, dodge and parry into my own plan of attack, slowly but surely pushing her back the more I diverted the force of her blows. We actually started trading body shots, but when she threw herself into overhand hooks, I weaved into my own and felt my fist plant firmly into her face. My body was swaying into the Rainbow 8 motion the more I dodged her attacks, and by the time she caught on, I was able to block her full body straight outward and tag her on the chin with a Bingo hook. She briefly left her feet and fell back first onto the mat, an odd, glazed over look in her eyes that Dash calls the “I got rocked” stare.

Hoshikawa stood over Trixie and, in a way I never forgot, said, “You got knocked the buck out!” before helping her onto her feet. To be honest, after seeing that downward look on Trixie’s face, I felt really bad, but Hoshikawa looked dead at me and told me not to. “The kid put up a good fight, and will get what she fought for. That much is what any boxer should hope for, whether they’re amateurs or pros, and that much is what you should aim for, knowing what you put into this. It doesn’t matter that Trollestia handed this to you on a silver platter, it matters what you do with the chance, so don’t buckin’ blow it, alright?” She spoke about some of the stuff she learned interviewing Applejack, and told me if I was to stand a chance, I would have to fight as hard, if not harder than someone who’s earned everything she has by the sweat of her brow.

Progress for the Week: My preparations have finally paid off! Thanks to my work with my trainers and my physiology studies, I was able to break through the defenses of someone who had me outmatched in punch speed and land a knockout strike! It was kind of unsettling, though, that Trixie was hit so hard, Hoshikawa had to help her out of the gym. Hopefully she found whatever she wanted to find in the fight.

Goal for Next Week: Find out how far my training has taken me. After all this time pushing my body to its absolute limits, I have to be able to stand up to anything Dash has to throw at me. If I can stand up to Dash's training, then I can stand up against Applejack and win.

Song of the Moment: Lovin' You, by Electric Eel Shock f/ Joleen Grunberg
During our downtime in the interview, this is the song she played while she put work in on the heavy bag. She flowed so smoothly and effortlessly, like a far more refined version of Dash's style. I asked if that was the kind of skill I needed to win in my bout, and without breaking stride, she answered, "If my title defenses have taught me anything, it's that when two fighters have the same amount of juice left in the tank, will beats skill every time. That's why skilled fighters train to where they don't have to discover if they have the will in them"

Author's Note

On the first day of training, Twilight could barely get through to the end. Now that she's come this far, faced opponents far greater than herself and managed to capture her first win, how will she fare this time? With her family and friends waiting to see her in the bright lights of Las Pegasus, will she find it in her to make that final push? What will Dash have in store at the end of it all? Tune in next time and find out! Don't miss it!