"This is the big night. You ready for this?" Rinbow Dash asks in the locker room as Aria makes the final preparations for the semi finals of the tournament. She now sports a shirt with Aria's insignia on it, having taken over as her head trainer. It'd been about two weeks since all the craziness with Trixie had gone down and everything seemed to be going back to normal.
"You know it. Been waiting for this." Aria says as she bounces around the room, shadow boxing. She'd swept through her quarter final match no problem and now she was going up against her rival, Rope-a-Dope in just a few minutes. She now sports a new pair of boxing trunks as well as a new robe and shirt to match courtesy of Rarity. "I was really hoping we'd make it to the finals for this match."
"Yeah, but you know how the brackets are. Just go out there, be awesome and win this thing." Dash gives her usual ecstatic enthusiasm.
"Thanks. I'll do my best." As she finishes her warm ups a knock comes at the door.
"They're ready for you." Curly says as he and Wiz Kid wait outside. Aria and Dash emerge a short time later as the group make their way down to the gymnasium. The group emerge to the thunderous applause of many of the other students as they make their way to the ring, Crimson Napalm and his band mates playing a song for her ring walk off to the side. Aria looks over at him as he turns his head slightly to give her a quick wink as she climbs through the ropes into the ring.
In the bleachers, the other girls cheer her on, having made a huge banner in preparation for the occasion. "Go Aria, you rock!" Fluttershy shouts out in excitement, taking everyone by surprise. She stops, realizing what she's done. "Oh, I'm sorry. Was that too loud?"
"No way. That was awesome." Pinkie says.
"Nice that you're getting into the spirit of things Fluttershy." Applejack says as they watch as both boxers prepare. Aria turns as she is introduced, waving to the group as they do the same.
"And doesn't the outfit I designed for her look absolutely fabulous?" Rarity states, watching through a pair of opera glasses for a better view as the referee comes in and gives the signal for the two competitors to approach the center of the ring and gives them the instructions. A few moments later the bell rings, signaling the start of round one. Aria, mimicking her past performances, quickly closes on the inside, ducking and shifting to the side to avoid punches. All the while Rope-a-Dope moves away, throwing jabs with her longer arms to keep her opponent back. The round closes without much happening as the two return to their corners as the bell rings.
Aria takes a seat in on the stool as Wiz gives her a drink of water. "How do you feel so far?" Dash asks as Curly wipes her face with a towel.
"I'm good. Just feeling her out. I know what she can do, but I doubt she's coming back in with the same plan as last time." Aria says, putting her mouthpiece back in and heading back out as the bell rings for round two. She comes out on her toes as Rope-a-Dope continues her barrage of jabs to keep Aria back. The purple haired girl pushes through, throwing a hard left. Her opponent neutralizes the heavy blow by wrapping her arms around Aria in a clinch. The referee separates them a few seconds later as the pale skinned girl begins moving around the ring, seemingly dancing as she continues to bombard her target with blows at will. She surprises her foe as she leaps forward, catching Aria with a powerful blow to the side of her head that puts her on her seat.
The crowd roars loudly as the referee begins the count. Aria remains seated, slightly dazed from the blow. "Come on Aria, get up!" Dash shouts from her corner.
"Don't let her beat you!" Sonata shouts out as Adagio and the others join in. Aria rises at the count of eight as the referee checks that she is alright. "I'm okay." She says as she puts brings her gloves back to her face. Rope-a-Dope moves in to finish it, leaping forward and backing Aria into a corner. Crouching down, Aria springs forward, hitting her target with her right hand. The crowd shouts in excitement as Rope-a-Dope goes down herself. The bell ring a few seconds after as she gets to her feet and the two head back to their corners.
"That was crazy, daring and reckless." Dash says as they bring out the stool for her. "And I wouldn't have done it any different."
"I guess all that work you had me do with Cloudy Kicks on the soccer field actually paid off. My legs are feeling stronger than ever." Aria says before taking a drink of water.
"Yeah, now you know she's gettable. She can't take you lightly anymore." Curly says.
"But you still have to be careful, because now she's going to be working extra hard to pay you back for that." Wiz Kid states as they finish their prep for the next round.
"Woo hoo. Go Aria, go!" Fuchsia shouts as she and Lavender cheer on the siren. "This sure is exciting huh Trixie?" She gets a slight response from her band leader, who is much more reserved than her friends as she simply watches with her arms folded. The match continues as round three ends, with many of the spectators giving Aria a round of applause as she heads back to her corner.
"You're doing great out there. Just keep doing what you're doing and it's in the bag."
"Thanks Dash. Two more rounds." Aria says as she looks across the ring at her opponent. "But she's not making this easy."
"You okay kid?" Rope-a-Dope's trainer asks as they give her water and massage her shoulders.
"I sense the end is growing near. With that it's time to kick it into final gear." She says as the bell rings and she heads back out. The two square off in the center of the ring as Rope-a-Dope circles Aria, throwing jab after jab as her opponent keeps moving forward. Aria finally gets inside, forcing the girl against the ropes and begins throwing punches at every angle.
"Go for it Aria!" Rainbow shouts as their friends in the stands roar in agreement as the girl unloads on her pinned target. Punch after punch lands as Rope-a-Dope keeps her guard up, protecting her face. For about forty seconds this continues, with the pinned girl every so often leaning back against the ropes or moving her upper body to dodge the occasional blow. Aria throws a hard right only to be stopped as her opponent, having leaned back again, leaps off the ropes and catches her in a clinch. The two are quickly separated and continue. Rope-a-Dope takes advantage of the break and rushes forward as Aria, now tired out from her earlier attack is almost defenseless.
"Cover up!" Curly shouts as she complies by crossing her arms across her face to block as many punches as she can as her opponent opens up with lightning fast swings, forcing around the ring. As the last thirty seconds wind down, Rope-a-Dope delivers a flurry of punches which finally burn through Aria's guard, causing her to fall to one knee, attempting to keep herself from falling over by supporting herself on her right glove. The referee once again begins the count as Aria is stunned by the speed of the strike. She finally makes it back to her feet by the nine count on shaky legs. She gets her guard up again and weathers another assault as the bell sounds, ending round four.
The entire audience is in an uproar as they watch the two head back to their corners in preparation for the final round. "Wow, she's not looking too good." Lavender says, observing Aria.
"One more of those and she's done for." Fuchsia adds as the two look over as Trixie calmly stands up and leaves the aisle. Her friends trade confused stares as they watch her make her way down to the ring.
"She's faster than I thought." Aria says as she breaths heavily. "I knew I had her but I couldn't..."
"Relax, you did everything right. She was just ready is all." Dash says as she wipes Aria's face with a towel.
"That must have been her plan all along, to let you to burn yourself out. The fight's just about even, and now she can dictate the last round." Wiz Kid says looking over at the other side of the ring.
"Well, well, well. Looks like the great Aria Blaze isn't so hot after all." Trixie says as she approaches them.
"What do you think you're doing?" Curly says defensively.
"Helping." She whispers to him as she walks past the three and through the ropes, looking Aria straight in the face as she sits. "Don't tell me you've run out of steam. You certainly had no lack of endurance when it came to finding your sister. You even had the audacity to threaten The Great and Powerful Trixie. If you're bold enough to do that, than you've got enough guts to see this to the end, because Trixie doesn't lose to quitters. Now toughen up and show that you can at least finish this." She exits through the ropes as Aria stands up, putting her mouthpiece in.
"What was that all about?" Dash asks.
"I think she was trying to help." Aria says. "And it worked." The two contestants meet in the center of the ring for the final round as they touch gloves.
"From this I can see that a great fighter you will be." Rope-a-Dope says.
"Right back at ya." The two separate and get into their stances. The pale skinned girl makes her footwork count this round as she dances around Aria again. Aria in response, steps back, moving away from the other boxer. Before she knows it, her back hits the corner and Rope-a-Dope moves in and throws a punch. The purple skinned siren swiftly ducks under it and leaps upward with a punch that knocks her to the ground. The girl is up at six as she and Aria trad blows. The two finally stop as the dark haired girl moves away, Aria giving chase.
"Come on Aria! You got this girl!" Applejack says as she and Sonata get everyone chanting her name.
Rope-a-Dope fights back with a flurry of punches. Aria quickly backs away, then lunges forward, connecting a left to the girl's side. She is countered as her opponent connects with a downward punch to the left side of her face, causing her to stagger forward. Aria fights back, as the two trade blows again before they get into a clinch again. She holds on as the last few seconds dwindle down and the final bell sounds. "Aw man, I never want to fight you again. Too exhausting." Aria says.
"I agree. No Blaze vs. Rope-a-Dope III." She says as the referee takes the two by one hand each and stands in the center of the ring as everyone awaits the decision.
"So nervous. It's a real nail biter." Pinkie says.
"Yes, I just wish you'd bite your own Miss Pie." Rarity says, pulling her hand away from Pinkie.
Everyone looks on nervously as the referee finally makes the decision, raising Aria's hand in victory, much to her surprise. The crowd cheers loudly as her friends rush down to congratulate her on her win. "That was great. Could have been at least twenty percent more awesome though." Dash jokes as everyone rushes into the ring. Rope-a-Dope makes her way over as she and Aria hug before she exits the ring.
"Aria you did it!" Sonata says, jumping for joy.
"Never doubted you for a second little sister." Adagio says with a smirk.
"That's my girl." Crimson Napalm says as he lifts her up, Ticki sitting on top of his hair.
Aria looks over and sees Trixie and The Illusions standing off to the side and makes her way over with her friends. "Thanks Trixie, for what you said."
"Don't look too much into it. I had my reasons." The magician says with her arms folded.
"Like what?" Pinkie asks.
"Th...That's none of your business!" She says, a bit frazzled.
"Come on Trixie. Group hug." Sonata says as everyone piles in.
"No stop, get off. No hugging." Trixie says as everyone gathers around with Photo Finish ready to take a photo of the winner and her friends.
"Don't fight it Trixie, trust me. Just go with it." Adagio says as Trixie joins everyone in a big smile for the camera.