It was a beautiful day in Ponyville as Rainbow Dash walked through town with a spring in her step. She had just finished with her daily workout and was heading to Sugarcube Corner to see if Pinkie Pie wanted to hang out. She walked through the doors to find Mr. Cake at the counter, "Hello Rainbow Dash." he said.
"Hey Mr. Cake, is Pinkie in? I was looking to hang out today." Rainbow said.
"Oh, she's downstairs in the basement training. You can go down there if you like." Mr. Cake said.
Rainbow was confused by this statement, what was Pinkie training for? There was only one way she could get her answers. She went downstairs to the basement to discover a surprising site. The last time Rainbow Dash saw this room, it was nothing more than shelves and cooking ingredients, now it was a full scale gym. There were exercise machines lining the walls, motivational posters have been hung up, and a small boxing ring has been set up in the center. Pinkie was at a punching bag to the left of the ring, wearing light blue boxing gloves and matching speedo with white polka dots. It was the exact same outfit she wore when Rainbow set up that boxing match between her and Spike a few days back.
Pinkie was punching at the bag with reckless abandon while workout music played from a radio right next to her, "Uh, Pinkie?" Rainbow asked over the music. Pinkie stopped her punching and noticed Rainbow, prompting her to turn off the music.
"Hey Dashie, welcome to my new private gym. Pretty cool huh?" Pinkie asked.
"Yeah, why do have a gym?" Rainbow asked.
"Because I'm Ponyville's boxing champion silly, don't you remember? A champion's gotta keep up her physique." Pinkie said.
Rainbow suddenly filled in the blanks, "Pinkie, you do know you're not actually boxing champion right? I only had you become a boxer so Spike could have an opponent." Rainbow explained.
"Wow, that was great match wasn't it? Spike had me on the ropes in the beginning but I shot back strong and won." Pinkie said, pointing to a boxing belt that hung on the wall among the posters. Where she got it, Rainbow couldn't find out.
"Pinkie, you barely know anything about boxing. Just because you beat Spike means you automatically become boxing champion of the town? Heck, this town doesn't even have such a title." Rainbow said.
"It does now, and besides, after the match I started getting into it more. I read books, watched matches, and got myself a new workout routine. Right now I might be the champion of just the town, but one day I will become champion of Equestria." Pinkie said with stars in her eyes.
Rainbow gave a heavy sigh, "No offense Pinkie, but I've hardly ever seen you fight without that Party Cannon of yours. Also, you couldn't even buck a single apple out of one of Applejack's trees."
Pinkie just stared at her, "Dashie, if you're going to say something offensive to somepony, then you shouldn't say it at all. Like I said, I've been training and have gotten stronger as a result. Here's an idea, why don't we have a little spar and you can see what I'm talking about."
"Pinkie..." Rainbow said in an annoyed tone.
"Come on Dashie, I know you want a shot at the champ." Pinkie said in a singsong voice. Rainbow just sighed, guess she was going to learn the hard way.
A few minutes later, Rainbow and Pinkie were in the ring together. Pinkie was on one side doing some stretches and air punches to get herself warmed up and Rainbow was on the other doing the same. She was dressed in a pair of red boxing gloves and a matching speedo with her cutie mark on the front, "I'll ask again Pinkie, why do I have to wear this thing?" she asked.
"Boxers wear them sometimes, don't you like the design?" Pinkie asked.
"Boxers also wear shorts, why didn't you get those instead?" Rainbow asked.
"These allow for better movement, plus I think they look cute." Pinkie said. They met at the center of the ring and touched gloves, "So, this will be a three round spar and will end when they run out or one of us is knocked out."
"Sounds good." Rainbow said, she didn't want to have to hurt her friend in order to prove a point, but desperate times calls for desperate measures. Gummy rang a bell and the two mares started to circle each other. Rainbow decided to end this as quickly as possible, she started out with fast jab only for Pinkie to dodge.
"Too slow." Pinkie said. Rainbow attacked again, only for Pinkie to dodge once more, "Saw that coming." she said. Rainbow kept attacking, her punches getting faster and faster, but Pinkie kept dodging. Rainbow started to get more and more frustrated with each missed punch, how was Pinkie this good at boxing in just a few short days? Rainbow started to tire out, her punches getting slower before she stopped altogether, panting with her gloves lowered, "Here's a little boxing lesson for you Dashie." Pinkie said before she hit Rainbow's cheek with a hook, "Sometimes it's best to back off when your opponent is dodging a lot." she then punched her other cheek, "When that happens, it's best to counter." A punch to the belly, "Also, you need to shorten the length of your punches." And a hard jab to the nose.
Rainbow was left dazed and swaying near the edge of the ring with a sleepy look on her face, "But the most important lesson of all, don't underestimate your opponent." Pinkie said as she wound up an uppercut and launched it into Rainbow's chin, sending her out of the ring and onto the padded floor outside of it. Pinkie looked down at Rainbow, her tongue was out, her eyes were twirling, and butterflies floated around her head, "Good thing I got that floor padded huh?" Pinkie asked.
There was only one thing going through Rainbow's mind at that point, "I gotta find someone who can take her down."
After her humiliating loss, Rainbow went to the rest of her friends to see if they could help her teach Pinkie a lesson or two. So far they have been no help at all, with Fluttershy obviously not wanting to do out of fear of being hurt. Rarity had absolutely no interest in participating in such a 'barbaric' pastime. Applejack just suggested that she should be supportive of Pinkie, even going so far as to suggest helping her train. That only left Twilight left, Rainbow went to her castle and took a deep breath as she went inside and found Twilight dusting the bookshelves in the castle's library, "Twi, I need your help." she asked.
"With what exactly?" Twilight said, setting her duster down.
"You know how I convinced Pinkie to be a boxing champion so we could set up that boxing match for Spike? Well, she kind of took it literally and I need your help to talk her down." Rainbow explained.
"I warned you this would happen, so how do you suggest I talk to her?" Twilight asked.
"Challenge her to a match and beat her." Rainbow simply said.
"Rainbow, I'm not going to beat Pinkie up just to make her stop doing something that you basically convinced her to do." Twilight said.
"I'm not asking for much, just use a little of that Alicorn strength of yours to send her a message." Rainbow asked.
"I only use that for real emergencies, not petty things like this." Twilight said.
"Think about it Twi, say Pinkie gets into a real match and gets beaten badly. It would be devastating for her. Don't you think it could soften the blow a bit if she got beaten by one of her friends?" Rainbow explained.
Twilight was surprised at how much of a rational thought that was, but she still had her doubts, "OK, but I don't know how to box."
"I could teach you a few things, I'm a pretty competent boxer myself. Also, I'm sure you have some books on it around here somewhere." Rainbow said, looking around the library.
"I guess that could work, all I have to do is give her taste of what she's potentially up against? I don't have to beat her up?" Twilight asked.
"Yes, it will go smoothly if you just do that." Rainbow said.
"OK then, tell Pinkie that I challenge her to a match." Twilight said.
"Got it, thanks Twi." Rainbow said before she left. Twilight was still left with mixed feelings, she wasn't sure how the match will go. She just need to do her best and control herself.
The match between Pinkie and Twilight had been set for next week. During that time, Rainbow helped Twilight train thanks to her own boxing knowledge and some books from the library. Pinkie trained hard as well, excited that one of her friends actually challenged her. The day of the match came and a boxing ring was set up in the center of town, the same one where Pinkie had her match with Spike. Pinkie sat at one corner wearing her boxing outfit, Fluttershy acting as her second. Twilight stood in her corner with Rainbow at her side, she wore a pair of deep purple gloves and a matching boxing speedo with stars printed on it. Pinkie had provided her with it after Rainbow forgot to get her a pair of boxing shorts.
"Alright Twi, ready to knock Pinkie down a peg?" Rainbow asked while massaging Twilight's shoulders.
"I'm a little nervous, but I think I'm ready." Twilight said.
Meanwhile, Pinkie was excitedly bouncing her seat while Fluttershy tried to put in her mouth guard, "Are you sure about this Pinkie?" she asked after another attempt to put in the mouth guard missed.
"Of course! I'm really excited to fight Twilight." Pinkie said.
Spike, who was serving as the ref for the fight, waved the both of them over, "Alright girls, first to down their opponent for ten seconds wins. Also, no flying, low blows, magic, or shenanigans. Bump gloves and wait for the bell." he said as both mares bumped their gloves in respect. After that they went to their corners and received more help from their respective seconds, Twilight was given water by Rainbow and Fluttershy finally managed to put Pinkie's mouth guard in. The bell rang and both mares started to circle each other as the crowd cheered them on. Twilight decided to end this quickly by throwing a jab a Pinkie's face, only for her to dodge and counter with a hook that sent Twilight stumbling.
"Twi, be careful!" Rainbow shouted, prompting Twilight to cover up. Pinkie then slugged her in the belly, making her guard lower before she hit Twilight in the chin with an uppercut, making her go down. Spike started counting while Rainbow urged Twilight to stand up, which she did at the count of four. Pinkie went right back to dominating, pounding Twilight every which way possible. Her head was sent in multiple directions and the air left her lungs repeatedly, "Come on Twi, hit her back already!" Rainbow shouted.
"You didn't-oof!-say she was-ugh!-this good!" Twi said in between being hit. Pinkie then wound up a big punch and smacked Twilight across the face, making her spin towards a corner where she leaned on a post. Twilight wiped her nose while she waited for the stars to go away, "How did Pinkie get this strong? How am I supposed to-" she started to say before she looked at what was on her glove after she used it to wipe her nose: blood, her blood. Everything seemed to slow down for Twilight for a second, her friend actually made her bleed! Her eye started to twitch and her breathing became ragged, the whole world started turning red.
Pinkie moved towards Twilight and prepared to make the final attack, "Sorry Twilight, looks like I'm still-" she started to say before her words were interrupted by Twilight's glove slamming into her cheek. Her head snapped sideways as she fell onto her back, her eyes turned into swirls and her mouth hung open. Spike reached the count of ten and declared Twilight the winner, Rainbow ran into the ring and congratulated her while the crowd cheered.
Twilight however, was still trying to process everything. She looked at her glove, then at Pinkie, "What just happened?" she wondered.
"Uhh..." Pinkie groaned as she woke up in a room at the Ponyville Hospital. Bandages were placed around her head and she was dressed in a hospital gown.
"Hey there Pinks, you feeling OK?" a voice asked her, causing her to rub her eyes and see her friends surrounding the bed she was in.
"Thank goodness, we were so worried." Fluttershy said.
"What happened?" Pinkie asked.
"You basically gave Twilight a bloody nose and she went mad and knocked you unconscious." Rarity explained. Pinkie looked over to Twilight, who had a sheepish look on her face and some dried up blood under her nose.
"You've been out for three whole days, that Alicorn strength sure packs a wallop." Applejack said.
"Sorry about that Pinkie, I kinda lost control there." Twilight said.
"It's fine, not everypony can stand the sight of their own blood. That was amazing though." Pinkie said.
"So, are you finally going to stop this boxing champion nonsense?" Rainbow asked.
"Of course, besides since Twilight beat me, she's the new champion." Pinkie said, suddenly taking out her champion belt from her mane.
"Uh, Pinkie I-" Twilight started to say before Pinkie interrupted her.
"Maybe I can be your new manager and coach, we can book you some matches, put you on a new exercise routine, and then we-"
"Pinkie!" Twilight shouted, "I'm not interested in being a boxing champion, I still have my duties as princess remember?"
"So, which one of us is going to be champion?" Pinkie asked.
"No one Pinks, like I said, you being champion was just something I told you to be so we could help Spike.
"I know, but like I said I started getting into it. Boxing is really fun. I'm thinking of making it my new hobby, just to keep in shape. Maybe you girls can join me sometimes, that way we can all have fun." Pinkie suggested.
They were all silent for a minute before Rainbow spoke up, "Well, I'm really impressed with that gym you built, I could be your sparring partner."
"Count me in too, I could use somethin' to do during the off seasons." Applejack said.
"Maybe I'll give it a try." Fluttershy quietly said.
"I will as well, but I'm making us new outfits." Rarity said.
Twilight just smiled at this, when it comes to bringing others together, Pinkie is the undefeated champion.