Equestria Hockey League

Chapters

EHL Part II - Training Camp
EHL Part III - Inaugural Debut
EHL Part IV - Home Opener
EHL Part VI - Legion of Bloom
EHL Part VII - Royal Treatment
EHL Part VIII - Broad Street Bullies
EHL Part IX - Wingin' It
EHL Part 8.5 - All-Star Adventure
EHL Part X - One Rotten Apple...
EHL Part XI - For Whom the Belle Tolls
EHL Part XII - Season Wrap-Up
EHL Part XIII - Quarterfinals: Game 1
EHL Part XIV - Quarterfinals: Game 2
EHL Part XV - Quarterfinals: Game 3
EHL Part XVI - Semifinals: Game 1
EHL Part XVII - Semifinals: Game 2
EHL Part I - A New Team
EHL Part V - Shootout at the Appleloosa Corral

EHL Part II - Training Camp

Equestria Hockey League Part II – Training Camp
by XFizzle

The sun rose on a new winter day. A rooster crowing in the distance awoke Twilight Sparkle from her slumber. This day marked the beginning of the Ponyville Golden Leafs’ training camp. Twilight slowly got out of bed and prepared herself for the long day ahead. Spike also gradually came to life and helped Twilight gather up all the items and equipment they needed for camp. With jerseys, sticks, pads, skates, and nets in tow, Twilight and Spike set out for Ponyville Pond.

Upon arriving at the pond, Twilight saw her friends arriving one by one. Rainbow Dash was half asleep, using a cloud to help move her towards the pond while Applejack followed behind slowly. Fluttershy daintily fluttered down the path while Rarity, with sleeping mask still on, used her magic to move herself along. To no one’s surprise, Pinkie Pie hopped past all of them, skipping along as if she had been awake for several hours. Once all the ponies reached the pond, Twilight came up with an idea to get everyone to wake up.

“Thanks for getting here so early, girls. *Yawn* Before we start we need to wake up and get our legs moving. I say we get our skates on and do some laps around the pond. What do you say?”

“Hmm…nah. I don’t need to skate. Just give me a few more minutes,” said Rainbow as she plopped back down onto her cloud.

“Couldn’t you just use your magic to wake us up, dear?” asked Rarity. “It’s bad enough I won’t be getting all my beauty sleep in this morning!”

“No, Rarity, we have to do this the correct way. Plus my magic isn’t quite so good this early in the morning either. Now let’s on our skates and get going!”

“Right…*yawn*…behind ya’, Twi,” snorted Applejack as she unenergetically struggled to get her skates on.

“Yay! This is going to be fun! Who wants to race? Last pony in is a rotten dragon egg!” exclaimed Pinkie excitedly.

“Hey! I take offense to that!” piped up Spike.

“Hehe, sorry Spike. Now come on everypony!” as Pinkie immediately began to skate around the pond.

Never backing down from a challenge, Rainbow Dash sprung up off her cloud, quickly put her skates on, and tried to catch up to Pinkie. Within a minute, all six ponies and Spike were on the ice, moving about and waking up. After the wake up skate was finished, Twilight used her magic to construct boards around the pond to set up the rink. In the meantime, everyone put on their pads and jerseys.

Next, Twilight led everyone in a handful of stretching and conditioning drills that she had picked up on from her studies. Now that the ponies were stretched, loose, and ready to play, Twilight began to teach her teammates some basic plays and strategies.

“Alright, listen up, girls. The first play I am going to teach you is called the “dump and chase” method. It’s when a forward shoots the puck into the corner boards of the offensive zone and chases after it and tries to get it before the defense can get to it. Meanwhile, the other forwards set up their positions in the zone and wait for a pass. Any questions?”

Rainbow raised her hoof. “So we have the puck then we get rid of it? That sounds lame.”

“Well, yes, but if you get the puck before the defense, that gives you a good opportunity to be ready for the next play.”

“Lame!”

Twilight started to get a little annoyed with Rainbow but continued on.

“Anyways, to practice this, Applejack, you’re going to move the puck up the right side and shoot it into the zone. Rainbow, you’re going to chase after it and try to get it before Fluttershy does. Rarity, while those two are doing that, you’re going to stand behind the net and try to get open for the pass along the boards from Rainbow. Fluttershy and I will be the defense and try to stop you guys. Everypony got it?”

“Umm…Twilight…can you be the one who tries to get the puck before Rainbow? I’m afraid she’ll hurt me,” squeaked Fluttershy.

But Twilight didn’t hear her while blowing the whistle to start.

Applejack did as she was told and dumped the puck in. Rainbow swiftly zoomed into the zone after the puck while Rarity and Applejack followed in behind, going to their positions in the zone. Fluttershy hesitantly skated over toward the puck on the board as Rainbow was closing in. Right before Fluttershy reached the puck, Rainbow swooped in nabbed it, causing Fluttershy to spin like a top and fall to the ice in a daze. Rainbow cut across the slot, passing by a wide open Applejack, to shoot on Pinkie. Pinkie tried to stop the shot but the puck went in. Rainbow started celebrating and cheering as her teammates stared at her slightly peeved.

“What? I did what we planned! Applejack shot the puck in, then I went and got it and scored!” said Rainbow defiantly.

“You cain’t do everythin’ by yourself, Rainbow. You gotta pass it too!” said Applejack. “I was wide open n’ everything!”

“Not to mention you basically spun Fluttershy right out of her skates,” chimed in Twilight. As Twilight said this, Fluttershy finally stood up from being on the ice. She took one step and once again found herself spinning out and hitting the ice. Rarity skated over to help her out. Rainbow winced while watching Fluttershy struggle and rolled her eyes. “Fine, I’m sorry.”

They ran through the play again, this time with Rainbow’s cooperation. Twilight took her turn to try to win the puck from Rainbow. Twilight was able to poke at the puck a little but Rainbow passed it out to Rarity along the boards. Rarity circled to the side of the net and was ready to wind up for a shot. She took a long look at Pinkie, frantically searching for a good hole to aim the puck at. As she was about to shoot, Fluttershy floated by and took the puck away. Rarity stomped her hooves in frustration.

“Fluttershy! Did you not see I was about to shoot? I had my aim perfectly placed then you came in and ruined it!”

“Oh, I’m very sorry Rarity. I didn’t know you were going to shoot,” said Fluttershy.

Twilight came over to them. “No, Fluttershy you did the right thing. Rarity, you have to shoot the puck sooner. There’s no time to line up your shot that long. In the game, everything has got to be done quicker.”

“Buuuttt Twiiiiliiiight!!”

“No buts. Do your best to aim quicker next time.”

Rarity gave Twilight a pouty face as everyone went back to start the play over. The puck was shot in and once again, Rainbow went after it. Twilight met Rainbow at the boards and did a better job at poking and prying at the puck. Applejack, sensing that Rainbow was having trouble, skated in to help. Applejack barreled into the corner and knocked Rainbow over to get the puck from Twilight. Rainbow got up quickly, and angrily skated over to Applejack.

“Hey! What’s the big idea?”

“I saw you were havin’ some trouble in the corner. So I came in ta’ help.”

“Well you didn’t have to knock me over!”

“Well, maybe if you were doin’ your job I wouldn’t a have to come in to save your flank!”

Rainbow and Applejack went nose to nose until Twilight skated in between them to break it up.

“Girls! Cool it! We’re supposed to be teammates and having fun learning about hockey. Not getting in each other’s faces. Now let’s try it again from the top.” Applejack and Rainbow gave each other a sneer before going back to their starting positions.

They ran the play again. Rainbow got the puck on the boards in the corner as Twilight rushed over. This time, Twilight got the best of Rainbow and stole the puck. Twilight broke towards the other end of the ice with the puck on her stick. She was able to glide past Applejack and was off to a breakaway. Twilight saw the empty net in sight and began to feel giddy about her opportunity. Suddenly, Twilight saw a pink blur beside her.

“Hey Twlight! Whatcha doin’?”

“Pinkie?!”

“It looks like you’re on a breakaway! Isn’t it exciting? Don’t forget to shoot and score!”

“Huh?”

Twilight looked up and saw that she had already flew past the net and was now on a collision course with the boards. She used her magic to quickly turn the boards into cushions and plowed into them. Pinkie giggled and hopped all the way back down the ice back into her net. Twilight got up and skated to the other end.

“Pinkie!! You’re supposed to be the goalie! You’re not allowed to get out of your net! I almost got crushed!”

“Hehe, sorry Twilight. It’s just I was getting bored and wanted to join in on the fun!”

Twilight groaned and skated to center ice. The rest of the team followed suit. Twilight told her teammates that for the next half hour that they will just play a simple open ice scrimmage.

The puck dropped and each pony did their best to remember what they’ve learned while also trying out their own play styles. Applejack decided that she wanted to work on her checking. Rainbow collected the puck behind her own net and started sprinting down the center of the ice. Off on the right wing, Applejack anticipated Rainbow’s strides and began to charge to the center. As Rainbow drew closer, Applejack lined up her check. Rainbow took one stride past the center line when WHAM! Applejack laid out Rainbow with a devastating hip check that knocked off most of Rainbow’s padding. Rainbow took a while to get up while Applejack and the others gathered around her. Everyone showed concern for Rainbow except Applejack for she knew Rainbow would end up okay. Rainbow got to her feet, and with flames in her eyes, made a beeline straight for Applejack. The two ponies began to scuffle, and rolling around on the ice, wrestling and pulling on each other’s manes with their skates. Twilight and Rarity tried to break up the fight but ended up getting knocked around themselves. Fluttershy started to become upset and frightened. She tried raising her voice to get them all to stop.

“Girls…please stop fighting….this isn’t what teamwork is about.”

But Applejack and Rainbow ignored her and kept on with their tussle.

“Please…put an end to this.”

Ignored again, Fluttershy reached deep into her tiny well of rage and took in a deep breath.

“GIRLS!! STOP THIS FIGHTING RIGHT NOW!”

Applejack and Rainbow stopped immediately with eyes wide open and mouths agape. They quickly got up, looking at Fluttershy as if they just saw a ghost.

“Oh, I’m sorry I had to raise my voice like that, but I had no choice,” said Fluttershy in her normal, soft tone. “You were fighting and not being good teammates, and most importantly not being good friends.”

Applejack and Rainbow looked down at their hooves in shame.

“Ah’m sorry, Rainbow. I didn’t mean to hit ya’ so hard.”

“I forgive you. And I’m sorry I haven’t been a team player and passing the puck.”

“Apology accepted, sugarcube.”

As the ponies settled down and took a break on the ice, Spike came running up to them.

“Guys! I just received a letter! Check it out!”

Twilight opened the scroll and began to read it aloud:

“Dear Ponyville Golden Leafs,

I hope that your training camp is going well. I also hope that you are enjoying your time playing together and learning the great game of hockey while also learning about teamwork and being team players. May the rest of your training be fruitful and I anticipate your first game.

Your Royal Highness,
Princess Celestia”

Twilight tossed the letter aside and began speaking to her team.

“Why are we fighting each other like this? The Princess is expecting us to be learning about the power of teamwork and here we are acting like a bunch of stubborn mules. This isn’t what being on a team is all about. We’re supposed to help each other, whether its passing the puck more, or covering for a teammate when they are caught out of position. We may be hockey players, but first and foremost, we’re friends. This is not how friends behave. Let’s take a lunch break and then get back on the ice to have some fun. I know we have the ability to become a really great team. I have confidence in each and every one of you ponies. The Princess would not have requested a team be made just for us if she didn’t believe in us. Now let’s practice like a real team.”

Determined and more confident, each pony nodded in agreement. Twilight and company skated off the ice to enjoy a brief lunch break.

Twenty minutes later, the Ponyville Golden Leafs took the ice to resume their training camp. They started a new series of offense versus defense scrimmaging. The puck dropped and off they went again. The puck bounced back and forth between both sides for while, staying even. There came an instance where Fluttershy was caught too far up on the play and it allowed Applejack and Rainbow Dash a 2-on-1 opportunity with only Twilight between them. Rainbow passed the puck as AJ crossed the blue line. As Twilight drifted toward her, Applejack slapped the puck back to Rainbow who trailed a little bit behind. Twilight quickly twisted over to go after Rainbow. Sensing Twilight was closing in and the angle to the net was sharpening, Rainbow snapped the puck back to AJ who was now off to Pinkie’s side, wide open. AJ received the pass and redirected it into the wide open net before Pinkie dove across to try to stop it. Applejack and Rainbow ran into each other behind the net and hugged to celebrate the goal.

“That was awesome!” shouted Rainbow.

“Darn tootin’ it was! Great pass, Rainbow!” Applejack replied.

“Nice finish at the end!”

“Aww, shucks. Ain’t nothin’.”

Fluttershy and Twilight were glad to see Applejack and Rainbow’s teamwork on that play, but did not want to allow another goal on defense. They took the offensive and skated down the ice with the puck. Rainbow caught up to them and swiped the puck away from Fluttershy with little effort. Twilight sprinted back to prevent a breakaway for Rainbow. Rarity skated hard to be up with Rainbow on the play. Twilight nudged Rainbow a bit but Rainbow held steady. Rainbow quickly looked over to see an open Rarity waiting near the faceoff circle. Rainbow shuffled the pass toward Rarity. As she saw the puck coming towards her, Rarity took a glance at the net and picked the top right corner. The puck landed on her stick and in one fluid motion, Rarity flicked the puck straight into the corner she picked, beating Pinkie and scoring a goal. Rarity leaped up with great joy and laughed as Applejack and Rainbow skated over to her to celebrate. A loud cheer also erupted from the bench where Spike was jumping and hollering for Rarity’s goal. Rarity gave Spike a wink which made him melt.

The play was back on and once again, the offense was clicking on all cylinders. Applejack and Rainbow had another 2-on-1 opportunity. It was just Twilight back on defense again as Fluttershy was knocked around and dazed near center ice. Rainbow and AJ went to execute the play that scored them their first goal. Twilight, learning from the first time, stayed in the middle between the two forwards. Rainbow passed off to Applejack and sprinted toward the net. Applejack went to pass it back to the blazing Rainbow when Twilight stepped up into the passing lane and intercepted the puck. Twilight shoved the puck up to Fluttershy who was now back on her hooves and Fluttershy took it down to the empty net to score for the defense. Twilight and Fluttershy met at center ice to cheer for their goal.

Play resumed and Rarity had the puck. Fluttershy and Twilight stayed close to Applejack and Rainbow Dash respectively, leaving Rarity to take the puck in herself. Rarity came in closer to Pinkie and let off a sailing shot. Pinkie stared at the puck quickly coming at her. Out of pure reaction, Pinkie raised her glove hoof to snatch the puck out of the air. Pinkie began hopping around and dancing that she made the brilliant save. Twilight and Fluttershy danced with her a bit before Rarity and Applejack joined in.

Pinkie gave the puck up to Twilight who skated it down towards the other end. Applejack caught Twilight and muscled her off the puck and took it back to her side of the ice. Applejack gave the puck up to Rainbow who came in towards the net. Fluttershy was starting to get nervous, but remembered Twlight’s speech before lunch about having the ability within her. Rainbow wound up for a shot and let it go. Fluttershy closed her eyes and threw herself in front of Rainbow’s shot. The puck struck Fluttershy in the wing and bounced off into the corner. Everyone let out a cheer for Fluttershy and rushed to help her up. Fluttershy slowly got to her hooves and gave them a big smile. Rainbow gave her a high five while everypony shared a few laughs.

The sun began to go down and the Ponyville Golden Leafs’ training camp came to a close. Everypony ended up at Twilight’s house, resting and icing their hooves and wings. They were talking and having fun, excited for the many games of hockey that were in front of them.

“Today was so much fun! I can’t wait to play some more! And I can’t wait for the after parties after each game too!” Pinkie said excitedly.

“Yeah, we were really good at the end there. Passin’ and shootin’ like a real team,” said Applejack.
“We were great! Applejack and I are going to be the terrible twosome, the dangerous duo! Back and forth! We shoot, we score!” Rainbow said as she flew around the room, acting out a two-on-one play.

Rarity glanced at Rainbow and spoke up. “Ahem!”

“Oh yeah, and you too Rarity. Heh heh,” said Rainbow sheepishly.

“Well I was very pleased with my accuracy today. I’ll able to score from anywhere and I’ll look ravishing while doing so,” Rarity smugly replied.

“I stopped the puck! Once. It hurt, but I did it!” Fluttershy said.

“Yeah, that was great! See? You can do it when you put your mind to it, Fluttershy,” Twilight said smiling.

Rainbow Dash interrupted, “And that was an awesome save you made, Pinkie Pie! I’ve never seen you move so quick.”

“I know! The puck was coming in so fast, it was like ‘rawwwrr!’ then I stared back at it like ‘grrrrr!’ and I snatched it!”

Spike suddenly bustled into the room with his stomach rumbling. “I think I’ve got another letter coming.”

He let out a fiery burp and a scroll popped out. Twilight took the scroll.

“From the Offices of the Equestria Hockey League:

Dear Ponyville Golden Leafs,

Enclosed in this scroll is your season schedule. Please be prepared to participate and good luck in the upcoming season.

Best regards,
Gary Bettpony
EHL Commissioner”

Twilight then saw another scroll and opened it and enlarged it for her friends to see.

“Week One: Ponyville Golden Leafs @ Manehattan Rangers

Ponyville Golden Leafs vs. Cloudsdale Red Wings
Week Two: Ponyville Golden Leafs @ Appleloosa Black Apples

Ponyville Golden Leafs vs. Fillydelphia Flyers
Week Three: Ponyville Golden Leafs vs. Canterlot Equestrians

Ponyville Golden Leafs @ Fillydelphia Flyers
Week Four: Ponyville Golden Leafs @ Cloudsdale Red Wings

Ponyville Golden Leafs vs. Appleloosa Black Apples
Week Five: Ponyville Golden Leafs vs. Manehattan Rangers

Ponyville Golden Leafs @ Canterlot Equestrians”

All seven in the room looked at the last line. Their final game of the season would be in Canterlot against the Equestrians. Twilight grinned as she figured the Princess had something to do with that scheduling.

The Ponyville Golden Leafs enjoyed their training camp and felt confident they had learned enough to have a fighting chance to win. They knew that as long as they used the power of teamwork and had fun, no team could get in their way. They were about to begin their journey toward the Celestia Cup and becoming Equestria Hockey League Champions.

To Be Continued

EHL Part III - Inaugural Debut

Equestria Hockey League Part III – Inaugural Debut
by XFizzle

Giant buildings shadowing every inch of the ground. Crowded streets teeming with rushing carts and carriages. Delicious smells of various shops filling the daytime air. This was Manehattan, the site of the Ponyville Golden Leafs’ first EHL game that evening. Twilight Sparkle and her team of rag-tag ponies all looked up, down, and around, admiring their urban surrounding with great wonder. Of the ponies, Rarity was the one most excited by the atmosphere, squealing and gushing over every high-class fashion boutique they passed. Pinkie Pie hopped with an extra spring in her step towards the many bakeries and eateries down the main street. Spike rode along as Twilight Sparkle’s brain rushed with flowing questions and curiosity as she encountered things she had never seen before: traffic posts, street performers, and giant billboards. Rainbow Dash found herself feeling comfortable and at peace among the hustle and bustle of the streets around her. Fluttershy quietly stuck close to her friends, not too amused by the overwhelming activity; that was until they later arrived at Central Park, home to over thousands of nature’s creatures. Finally, Applejack trotted along with the group slowly, feeling a twinge of nervousness towards the city life currently surrounding her. The Ponyville Golden Leafs explored Manehattan and saw its many sights as the time drew closer to their first game.

Twilight and friends walked a few blocks towards the arena. Turning the corner, the ponies stopped dead in their tracks. Ominously towering before them was the famed Maredison Square Garden, showered in bright spotlights held by hovering pegasi while lines of ponies on the ground filed inside. A tidal wave of anxiousness and trepidation washed over the Golden Leafs as they stared down their center stage for the evening. Twilight shook her head to break her stare and led her friends toward the team entrance.

Once inside, the Golden Leafs began to feel their nervousness creeping ever closer as they trotted through the many twists and turns of the hallway leading toward their locker room. With the locker room entrance in sight, Twilight suddenly heard a familiar voice cackling down another hallway. Intrigued, Twilight and company followed the voice until they arrived at a small lobby. There, loosening up and kicking a ball around the corridor were the Manehattan Rangers. From left to right, the Golden Leafs locked eyes with their opponents: Lyra, Octavia, Vinyl Scratch, Sapphire Shores, and the owner of the voice they had heard, The Great and Powerful Trixie.

The Rangers abruptly stopped their ritual when they noticed the Golden Leafs entering the room. One by one, an arrogant smirk emerged on the Rangers’ faces. With a playful chuckle, Trixie sauntered toward Twilight.

“Well, well, well. Look who we have here, Rangers. It appears that the intermission entertainment has arrived,” Trixie said smugly. Each Ranger let out a sinister laugh as Trixie continued.

“I didn’t know the EHL gave out teams to just everypony. What do you losers want?”

Rainbow Dash quickly flew up to Trixie and growled in her face. Twilight restrained her with magic. Rainbow struggled to break free from Twilight’s hold. “Let me go! Let me at her!” But Twilight kept her bound tight. She approached Trixie with a strong step.

“We’re here to play hockey and to kick your self-righteous flanks,” said Twilight, nostrils slightly flared.

“I’d like to see you try!” hissed Trixie back.

It was Rarity’s turn to step towards Trixie. “Oh, we will take you on! You and all your prissy little teammates!”

During the tense interaction, Pinkie Pie slowly counted all the ponies in the room. She narrowed her eyes as she realized there were only five Rangers present.

“Hey, where’s your sixth player?” interrupted Pinkie.

Trixie pointed toward the Rangers locker room. “Our goalie is currently putting her equipment on. She’s the newest addition to our great and powerful team. As if you’re going to score any goals on her.”

Applejack let out a snort and faced her teammates. “Let’s go girls before we let Trixie and her team get into our heads. We got preparations n’ things to do.”

While they turned to leave, the Rangers’ goalie entered the corridor. A sweet, young voice cut through the chilly air.

“RARITY??”

Rarity quickly turned around and before her stood her filly sister, Sweetie Belle. Sweetie Belle’s eyes illuminated as she was overjoyed to see her sister. Rarity’s jaw dropped in shock.

“S…S…Sweetie Belle! Wh…what are you doing here? And why do you have that ridiculous goalie gear on?”

Sweetie Belle leaped toward Rarity. “Didn’t mom and dad tell you? I got drafted by the Manehattan Rangers! I’m gonna try to get my cutie mark by being a goalie!”

Rarity, still in shock, tried to gather her wits and gave Sweetie Belle an awkward hug. “Aren’t you a little too young to be playing in this league? It’s going to be dangerous out there. You’re going to get hurt!”

Trixie stepped in between the sisters. “Young Sweetie Belle here has been learning about how to be an excellent goaltender. She’s quick and agile enough to make saves for us. But then again, she shouldn’t have too much of a problem tonight considering you losers are all weak!”

Sweetie Belle snuggled up next to her sister. “See you on the ice, Rarity!” Sweetie Belle happily scampered off toward the Rangers locker room along with the rest of her team. Rarity stood perfectly stiff, still piecing together the past few minutes in her mind. Twilight put a leg around Rarity and directed her and the rest of the Golden Leafs toward their locker room.

Inside their locker room, Spike was putting the finishing touches on their locker stalls. Hanging from each hook was the team’s away jerseys, an immaculate white sweater with the golden thread of the Golden Leafs’ logo shining in the light. Slightly annoyed from their encounter with the Rangers, the Golden Leafs marched to their respective stalls and put their equipment on. Rarity was still talking to herself, greatly concerned for her sister’s involvement in the game. Piece by piece, the Golden Leafs resembled true hockey players: pads, shorts, socks, jerseys, skates, then helmets. With the growing murmur of the crowd echoing through the hallway, the smell of the many concession foods permeating the air, and the chill of the ice seeping into the room, Twilight Sparkle stood tall in front of her team.

“Listen up, girls. Tonight, we take our first real step out on that ice. I know that nerves are high right now and there’s butterflies in our stomachs.” Fluttershy let out a gasp and reached for her stomach in panic. Rainbow Dash laughed at Fluttershy but Twilight yelled out.

“Focus! Now, let’s think back to our training camp. Remember when we started playing together as a team and had fun? Let’s repeat that tonight. Let’s execute on what we worked on and most importantly, let’s enjoy ourselves out there. Stage fright can easily be worked through. Let’s make small, clean passes to get our confidence up and then do what we do best. Now everypony put a skate in.”

Twilight put her skate-covered hoof in the middle of her friends. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Spike followed. Twilight pushed the pile of skates in front of her toward the floor. “Team on three. Ready? One…two…three…”

“TEAM!” each pony and Spike shouted as they raised their skates toward the sky.

Focused and ready to go with hockey sticks in mouth, the Ponyville Golden Leafs stepped out into the hallway proudly. They lined up in order by position at the door that led out onto the ice. They could hear the crowd now loudly rumbling, awaiting the arrival of the two teams. Random shouts and horns rang out through the rafters. Twilight looked up at the arena roof to see majestic blue banners of former Rangers championship glory hanging from a beam, floating calmly high above the rink. Rainbow Dash was feeding off the energy of the crowd, wings extended and shaking. Applejack and Rarity stood with stoic expressions, patiently waiting to get on the ice. Fluttershy was slightly trembling, occasionally dropping her stick out of nervousness. Pinkie Pie was bouncing about, practicing save moves and pressing her face against the glass to look at the whole scene. Suddenly, all the lights went out in the arena. Spotlights flashed open and began circling around the ice. The crowd let out a roar when a deep voice boomed from a megaphone.

“Fillies and gentlecolts, welcome to Maredison Square Garden! Where tonight, the Ponyville Golden Leafs take on YOURRR MANEHATTAAAANNN RAAAANGERRRRSSSS!!”

Another roar exploded from the arena as fog slowly rolled in over the ice surface.

“First, a warm Manehattan welcome for the visiting Ponyville Golden Leafs.”

A chorus of booing and hissing was directed toward the spotlight shining on the open door where Twilight and her friends stood. Each pony took a big gulp as they anxiously awaited their introduction.

“Starting at center, number 20, Rainbow Dash.”

Rainbow Dash skated out toward center ice. She started skating in circles fast enough to start a rainbow cyclone. The Rangers fans let their displeasure known and kept booing Rainbow Dash who then flew around angrily shaking her skates at the crowd.

“At left wing, number 9, Rarity.”

Rarity gracefully skated out onto the ice and did a pirouette to which she was greeted with jeers. Rarity was saddened by the throng of boos thrown at her and sulked toward Rainbow.

“At right wing, number 88, Applejack.”

Applejack swiftly skated out. She did a hard lap around the rink and ended up next to her teammates.

“The defense, number 42, Twilight Sparkle.”

Twilight gently skated out. She had an uneasy smile on her face as she skated toward the others.

“Also on defense, number 0, Fluttershy.”

The spotlight returned to the opened door. There was a long pause and still no sign of Fluttershy stepping out onto the ice. Ponies in the crowd turned toward each other and shrugged. As soon as the spotlight left the doorway, Fluttershy quickly stepped out and braced herself up against the boards. Inching around the boards, Fluttershy wanted to make a break for her friends but the spotlight caught her. Fluttershy sprung up into the air in fright when the light shined upon her and she bolted toward Twilight. Twilight had to catch her which incited a large laugh from the audience.

“And starting in goal, number 33, Pinkie Pie.”

Pinkie Pie hopped onto the ice, in full goalie garb, and proceeded to skate backwards toward the rest of the team. When she arrived, Pinkie faced the wrong direction until Rainbow had to tap her on the helmet. Pinkie spun around the right way and let out a giggle.

“And now the starting lineup for YOUR MANEHATTAAANNN RAAAANGERRRSSS! Starting at center, number 15, OCTAAAAVIAAA!”

Octavia skated out, holding her front skates together and shaking them in self-celebration as she was showered with cheers. She lined up across from Rainbow Dash and arrogantly blew her a kiss. Rainbow shot back a mean look with a growl.

“At left wing, number 10, LYRAAAA!!”

Lyra was next to emerge out onto the ice. She spun in circles all the way to her spot in the line. When she stopped, she was directly facing Applejack to whom she gave a little wave. Applejack rolled her eyes unimpressed.

“At right wing, number 66, VIIINYLLL SCRAAATCH!“

Scratch made her way out to the ice and put one skate up to her ear and the other out in front as if she was spinning a record on the turntable much to the delight of the crowd. She lined up across from Rarity and lowered her glasses to give Rarity a wink.

“Starting on defense, number 5, SAPPHIIIIREEE SHOOOOREEESSS!!"

Sapphire had a microphone hooked up around her ear and began to sing one of her hit songs as she skated over toward her team. The crowd ate it up and hollered for her. Sapphire ended up across from Fluttershy and struck a pose. Fluttershy couldn’t do anything but let out a squeak back.

“The other defensepony, your captain, number 4, THE GREAT AND POWERFULLLLL TRIIIIIXIIIIIEEEE!!”

As soon as the announcer finished, a plume of smoke puffed out at center ice. Out of nowhere, fireworks exploded around the arena. When the smoke settled, there stood Trixie, raising her front legs and playing to the crowd. They responded back with an even louder eruption of cheers.

“Finally, starting in goal, making her Manehattan Rangers debut, number 30, SWEEEETIEEE BELLEEEE!!”

Sweetie Belle skated out with a giant happy-go-lucky smile on her face beaming through the facemask. She made her way over to her teammates and gave Rarity a big wave. A concerned visage flushed Rarity’s face as she gave a tiny wave back to her sister.

Now that introductions were done, the noise in the arena settled down and the lights came back up. Each team skated off toward their ends of the rink, doing small laps and stretching out. Twilight motioned to her teammates to meet her at the net. The Golden Leafs converged onto the crease around Pinkie. Twilight gave a nod to each pony.

“Alright girls. Remember what I talked about in the locker room. We ready to do this?”

Pinkie pulled her mask down over her face. “Yes sir, Twilight, sir. Grrrr!”

Rainbow Dash gave a small salute with one of her skates. Applejack was next to go around to each teammate and give them a slight headbutt. Rarity, still a bit nerved, could only produce a tiny grin. Slightly afraid, Fluttershy looked down at her skates and only looked up when Twilight tapped her on the helmet.

On the other end, Trixie was giving her squad a talk. Eyes affixed, each Ranger paid great attention to their captain. When finished, Trixie lifted her head to raise her stick in the air. The rest followed suit and together they slammed their sticks on the ice.

Each team drifted toward center ice, where the head referee stood with puck in mouth. Ponyville and Manehattan got into face-off position, ready to take each other on.

The referee raised his skate toward each goalie, asking if they were ready. Pinkie and Sweetie Belle both raised their goalie stick back. With one nod, the referee released the puck.

Game on.

The Rangers dominated play early on, placing pressure on the Golden Leafs’ defense and peppering Pinkie with shots from all angles. Pinkie was up to task and made every save so far. Ponyville was able to break Manehattan’s stride a few times, but quickly found themselves back in their own zone. After a deflection off into the corner, Octavia chased after the puck. Applejack quickly closed in and pushed Octavia to the boards, trying to push the puck away. Octavia swept the puck along to boards towards the blue line where Sapphire collected the pass. Applejack turned toward Sapphire and charged hard. Sapphire saw Lyra opened and pass the puck off. Applejack still zeroed in on Sapphire and delivered a brutal check. Immediately the referee lifted his skate with whistle ready. Rainbow glided around Lyra to take the puck away but the whistle tweeted loudly.

The referee approached Applejack. “88, you’re going to the box. Interference.”

“Aww shoot,” said Applejack as she made her way toward the penalty box.

Before the play started back up, Twilight rallied her teammates together.

“Okay, I read that on the penalty kill, the best strategy is to just shoot the puck all the way to the other end so the other team has to waste time retrieving it.”

Rainbow jumped in, “Why don’t we try to score?”

“There’s no time for arguing, just do it!” yelled Twilight shaking her head.

Play resumed and two minutes later, the Golden Leafs killed their first penalty by doing what Twilight had told them.
With Applejack back on, Ponyville maintained control of the puck. Rainbow led the play most of the time, gliding in and letting off shots. Since Rainbow didn’t take time to aim high, each shot was low enough for Sweetie Belle to block it. Each time Rainbow took the puck in and shot, Rarity and Applejack grew more annoyed as their teammate didn’t care to pass to them.

Manehattan began to recognize Rainbow’s one-pony efforts and begun to double team her. When Rainbow would receive the puck, two Rangers swarmed to her to steal the puck away. During one of these double teams, Rainbow desperately tried passing the puck off but it was stolen by Vinyl Scratch. Scratch headed down toward the Ponyville zone. Applejack skated up to her and stuck her stick out. Scratch’s front skate caught Applejack’s stick and she hit the ice like a ton of bricks. The referee quickly gathered up his whistle and blew it sharply. “Number 88, two minutes, tripping!”

Applejack, angry at herself for committing another penalty, returned to the penalty box. She whipped her stick at the bench which caught the attention of the ponies sitting around the penalty box, prompting them to taunt and tease her.

Twilight nodded to her penalty killing unit to repeat their strategy. Puck dropped and Rainbow won the faceoff back to Fluttershy. Fluttershy wound up to fire the puck down the ice but she was too weak. Trixie intercepted the puck at the blue line and passed to Scratch who had circled near the faceoff circle. Twilight stepped toward her and was able to get the puck away but Scratch won it back. Scratch caught Lyra sprinting toward the net on the other wing out of the corner of her eye. With a swift flick, the puck flew across the front of the net. Lyra let the puck rest on her stick blade for only a second before she pounded it into the net. Instantly the goal horn cried throughout the arena and the goal light flickered furiously as the Rangers mobbed Lyra in the corner. The crowd erupted into cheers as the Golden Leafs looked down in disappointment.

“GOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLLLLL!! 1-0 MANEHATTAAAANNN!! Her first of the season, number 10, LYRAAA!! Assisted by number 66, Vinyl Scratch. Lyra from Vinyl Scratch at 6:10 in the first period.”

Rainbow slammed her stick on the ice in frustration as Applejack sheepishly exited the penalty box. Both teams met at center ice for the faceoff. Play was on again and Manehattan skated with confidence having struck first blood. A few back-and-forth bursts later, Rainbow ended up with the puck down the middle. Trixie and Sapphire closed in on Rainbow who was now in the Ranger zone, heading toward their net. Rarity followed behind and tapped her stick on the ice to signal she was open. But it was too late as Trixie stole the puck from Rainbow and pushed it up to Octavia who was waiting at center ice. Octavia just had Fluttershy left in her way. Octavia went directly at Fluttershy to which Fluttershy froze up petrified. Octavia glided around Fluttershy and ripped a shot toward Pinkie. Pinkie jumped to catch it but misjudged the puck’s height. The net shook as it absorbed the puck’s force. Once again the horn roared out and the crowd leapt to their hooves.

“GOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAALLLLLLLL!! 2-0 MANEHATTAAAANNN!! Her first of the season, number 15, OCTAAAVIAAA!! Assisted by number 4, The Great and Powerful Trixie. Octavia from The Great and Powerful Trixie at 8:45 in the first period.”

Fluttershy broke out of her frozen state to her teammates looking at her concerned, except Rainbow who only showed a look of frustration. Fluttershy looked away from Rainbow who gave her a sneer. Applejack clunked Rainbow on the helmet to get her to calm down.

There was only 1:15 left in the period when Manehattan scored their second goal as EHL periods only go for ten minutes. Play resumed but neither team had a significant scoring chance. As the clock ticked down to zero, the crowd’s cheering grew louder in support of their Rangers. The arena horn blew to signal the end of the 1st period. The Rangers met at Sweetie Belle and shared helmet taps with each other while the Golden Leafs sadly skated off the ice and into their locker room.

The locker room was quiet as a library as each player kept to herself. Spike went to each pony to blow fire on their skates for sharpening. No longer being able to keep quiet, Pinkie Pie hopped up and put a smile on.

“Come on everypony! It’s not so bad. At least we’re playing hockey together as friends!”

Everyone lifted their head to look at Pinkie. Pinkie paused to think and came up with an idea.

“I know what will get our spirits back, a song!”

Rainbow let out an audible groan as Twilight sat up. “I don’t think a song is…”

“When I was a little filly and the sun was going dooooooown,
Playing hockey was so fun, having to leave made me froooown.”

Applejack interrupted, “Sorry Pinkie, but a song isn’t soundin’ so good right now. Besides I think we already heard that one.”

Pinkie bounced around and made funny faces at each one of her teammates, determined to get her friends to laugh and lighten up. No pony seemed to crack which left Pinkie a little disappointed. Suddenly, Twilight’s face twitched and out came a giggle. She had finally cracked. Applejack then chuckled a bit while Twilight’s giggle broke out into full scale laughter. Rarity and Fluttershy’s faces formed a smile and soon they joined in on the laughter. Rainbow still sat at her stall with a frown and legs folded. Her teammates all turned to her in their laughing fit and wanted her to join in. Rainbow looked at each one of them and eventually cracked a smile, but it quickly turned back into a frown. Rainbow flew up and put her helmet back on.

“Let’s get back out there. We need to score.”

Her teammates trailed behind, still laughing and feeling ten times more relaxed. Both teams returned to the ice for the start of the 2nd period.

After a brief skate, the teams lined up for the puck drop. The game resumed and Ponyville took control early. The Golden Leafs were passing quicker and crisper and finally had their legs under them thanks to Pinkie’s intermission laughing session. Rarity, Rainbow, and Applejack each recorded a shot but were stopped by Sweetie Belle. The puck wound up along the side boards where Trixie and Twilight met to battle for it. They both gave each other a shove as the puck flopped about their skates. Twilight touched the puck but felt a strange pulse repelling her back. Confused by the pulse, Twilight let her guard down and was tossed about. Trixie skated on with the puck quickly. Twilight looked at Trixie and noticed something peculiar. Trixie’s horn had been glowing and had a tiny aura emanating from it.

“She’s using magic! That’s illegal!” Twilight cried to the referee. The referee shrugged and skated on to catch up with the developing play.

Trixie brought the puck into the Ponyville zone and slapped it around the boards. Twilight made it back on defense and received a pass from Applejack who had stolen it. Trixie was closest to Twilight and started veering towards her. With a faint glow on her horn, Trixie lifter her head which made Twilight trip as if she was lassoed. The referee caught Trixie’s little cheat and blew the whistle. “Manehattan, number 4. Two minutes for tripping, and another two minutes for magic use.”

Trixie got in the referee’s face. “I wasn’t using magic! You can’t prove it!” The referee didn’t have any of it and directed her toward the penalty box. Trixie sat down on the bench in a huff.

It was time for Ponyville’s first power play. During training camp, Twilight taught her friends the box method where each skater sets up on a different part of the zone and passes back and forth until a shooting opportunity opens. The puck dropped and Ponyville gained control right away. Rarity and Applejack stood on each side of the net near the boards while Twilight and Fluttershy stood stationed along the blue line. Rainbow was the rover who tried keeping the puck alive and finding a teammate to pass to. The Golden Leafs got a few shots off but Sweetie Belle jumped and pounced on each one. The Rangers cleared the puck down the ice every chance they had. With the first two minutes of Trixie’s penalty over, Rainbow re-grouped behind Pinkie and brought the puck up. She passed it to Applejack who was waiting on the right wing. Applejack brought the puck in and drew both Lyra and Sapphire towards her. Twilight, sensing that the Rangers defense was bunching up on Applejack, started sprinting to her spot on the blue line. Twilight tapped her stick on the ice which Applejack heard and quickly passed back. Twilight reared her head back for the shot as the puck trickled toward her. In a strong swing, Twilight shot on net. The puck sailed high toward the right corner. Sweetie Belle jumped but was still too short for the save. The puck pounded the back of the net and rattled around behind the beaten Rangers goalie. A goal light illuminated above the net and Twilight jumped in joy.

“Ponyville goal, her first of the season, scored by number 42, Twilight Sparkle. Assisted by number 88, Applejack, and number 20, Rainbow Dash. Twilight Sparkle from Applejack and Rainbow Dash at 5:33 in the second period.”

The Golden Leafs smothered Twilight and celebrated their first goal as a team. Twilight received a round of helmet bumps as Trixie skated out from the penalty box hissing at her. Twilight winked at Trixie which made Trixie more infuriated.

Play resumed and Ponyville was back on the attack. Feeling more confident from their first goal, the Golden Leafs sent a barrage of pucks toward Sweetie Belle. Although her teammates were determined, Rarity became concerned about their shot assault on her sister. At one point, Rainbow passed the puck to Rarity who had an open shot. Rarity closed her eyes in apprehension and shot toward the net. The puck flew up and over the boards, way off target. Rainbow skated over to Rarity.

“What what that all about?” asked Rainbow sternly.

“Oh, I can’t stand to hurt Sweetie Belle! I’ve always looked out for her and I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I harmed her!” cried Rarity.

Rainbow gave Rarity an encouraging nudge. “She’ll be okay. She’s held up good so far.”

Rarity looked over to Sweetie Belle who was moving side to side in the crease with a big smile. Rarity eased up and let out a sigh. The puck was dropped and Ponyville regained control. Rarity stood behind the net as Rainbow tried dancing around the Ranger defense. Rainbow passed the puck to Rarity. Dodging a swipe attempt by Sapphire, Rarity quickly spun to the front of the net for a wrap around. Sweetie Belle got caught up in her padding and stumbled, leaving the net wide open. Rarity let out an excited laugh and nudged the puck in. Rarity’s teammates swarmed to her as the goal light reappeared.

“Goal. Her first of the season, number 9, Rarity. Assisted by number 20, Rainbow Dash, and number 42, Twilight Sparkle. Rarity from Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle at 7:29 of the second period.”

Rainbow nodded to Rarity. “See? That wasn’t so bad.”

The game was now tied 2-2. Ponyville rode a 2nd period surge to get back in the game. For the last 2:31 of the period, Manehattan tried answering the Ponyville rally but Pinkie denied them. The final horn eventually rang out. The crowd sat nearly quiet, not too enthused by Manehattan’s efforts in the 2nd period. Ponyville skated off to their locker room with shining smiles.

Back in the locker room, the mood was much more improved than it was during the 1st intermission. Everyone was gleefully chatting and preparing for the 3rd. Spike fixed up all their equipment and soon Ponyville was back out on the ice.

In the Manehattan locker room, Trixie was giving her teammates an earful.

“That was a pathetic excuse of an effort! Why are we tied with an expansion team? Please, somepony tell me why.”

No one answered to Trixie. Sweetie Belle started to become frightened and shook a little in her gear.

Trixie kicked open the door and walked toward the ice. The rest of the Rangers followed their angered captain out.

The 3rd period began and the puck traveled from end to end, with neither team showing an advantage. Rainbow Dash stepped up her game and was zooming all over the ice. When Trixie went to pass to Sapphire along the blue line, Rainbow glided through in to intercept it. Rainbow had a breakaway and sped toward the net. Sweetie Belle skated up a bit to cut down the angle. Rainbow fiddled the puck from side to side hoping to cross up Sweetie Belle. As Sweetie Belle skated backwards into the net, she caught a scratch in the ice and fell. A large, open net was the only thing that stood in Rainbow’s path. Rainbow’s pride overcame her and she started thinking about which celebration she was going to perform. Rainbow pushed the puck toward the net but it skipped wide. She blew past the wide open net in shock and tried to get the puck back but to no avail. When play stopped, Rainbow threw her helmet against the glass in anger.

A few minutes later, Manehattan took over the tempo of the game. They blasted shots on Pinkie but Pinkie stopped them all. Ponyville had one good series on offense where Rarity had a shot swiped out of mid air by her sister goalie. The puck was behind the net where Applejack and Octavia battled for it. The puck bounced free toward the blue line. Twilight skated up to get the puck but missed, leaving Vinyl Scratch and Trixie alone with Fluttershy for a 2-on-1 break. Fluttershy tried staying between the two Rangers but found herself getting closer to Trixie. Seeing Fluttershy coming toward her, Trixie nodded to Vinyl Scratch. Vinyl Scratch headed to the net and Trixie approached Fluttershy. Trixie’s horn sparked again and before Fluttershy knew it she was spinning out of control. Trixie let out a laugh and passed off to Vinyl Scratch who one-timed the puck in past Pinkie. The goal light spun furiously and the horn filled the air. The Rangers’ faithful stood up and cheered as Trixie hugged Vinyl Scratch behind the net.

“GOOOOOAAAAALLLLLL!! 3-2 MANEHATTAAANNN!! Her first of the season, number 66, VINYLLL SCRAAATCH! Assisted by number 4, The Great and Powerful Trixie. Vinyl Scratch from The Great and Powerful Trixie at 8:03 in the third period.”

Twilight noticed Trixie’s horn glowing during the play and rushed over to the referee.

“Did you see that? Trixie used her magic to spin out Fluttershy! The Rangers cheated!”

The referee shook his head. “Sorry, Twilight. I didn’t see anything. The goal stands.”

Rainbow joined Twilight in protest. “What do you mean you didn’t see it? Princess Celestia could see it from Canterlot it was that obvious!”

“If I hear another word, you’re both getting penalties,” snorted the ref.

Twilight lightened up and led Rainbow back toward Applejack and Rarity who were tending to Fluttershy. When Fluttershy realized what had happened, tears welled up in her eyes.

“Oh, I’m so sorry everyone. I let you down and allowed them to score. It’s all my fault.”

Twilight consoled Fluttershy with a hug. “No, it’s not your fault. Trixie cheated and used her magic to make you lose control.”

Fluttershy’s eyes cleared up when she saw her friends weren’t upset at her.

Trixie skated up to the Golden Leafs and laughed.

“I told you losers that you weren’t going to win!”

The Golden Leafs stared back with a renewed fire in their eyes. Twilight looked at the clock and saw there was only 1:57 left. She called a timeout and approached Pinkie.

“Pinkie, get your goalie stuff off and grab a regular stick. We’re pulling you for a sixth skater.”

“Okie dokie lokie, Twilight!”

Pinkie Pie met Spike over at the bench and he helped remove her goalie pads. A few seconds later, Pinkie was lined up and ready to go for the faceoff. The puck dropped and the clock began its countdown. Twilight had the puck and entered the Manehattan zone. Frantically, Rainbow Dash tried to deke her way to the net, but was stopped. She passed off to Rarity who wound up for a shot but saw Vinyl Scratch diving at her. Rarity pulled the puck back and passed to Fluttershy on the blue line who then shuffled it over to Twilight. Only 40 seconds remained now as the crowd grew louder. Pinkie Pie stood in front of Sweetie Belle, blocking her sight. Applejack skated toward the center where Twilight passed the puck. Applejack fired a shot but it flew wide. The puck ricocheted off the glass and landed between Twilight and Fluttershy. 20 seconds left. Twilight reached for the puck with all her might but in flash Octavia took the puck. Octavia glided through center ice and put away the empty net goal. The crowd gave one final cheer as the Rangers celebrated with Octavia at center ice.

“GOOOOOOAAAAALLLLL!! 4-2 MANEHATTAN!! Her second of the season, number 15, OCTAAAVIAAA!! Octavia unassisted at 9:50 in the third period.”

The Ponyville Golden Leafs collectively sulked, as if a balloon was popped and lost all its air. They reset for one final faceoff at the center. The final seconds ticked away, 0:03…0:02…0:01…0:00. The final horn roared as Manehattan won their first game of the season. Streamers rained from the ceiling as Rangers fans whooped wildly for their victorious team. The Manehattan Rangers gathered around their goalie to congratulate her for a job well done. On the other end, a slight somberness hung in the air over the losing team. One by one, drenched in sweat and worn down, the Golden Leafs drifted toward their locker room. Twilight was the last one off the ice as the Rangers took their celebration to center ice. Before Twilight left, Trixie skated toward her. Trixie skated to a halt which sprayed ice flakes into Twilight’s face.

“See you later, losers!”

Twilight sighed and walked to the locker room. Her friends were nearly finished with undressing when she walked in. Even though they experienced defeat in their first game, not one pony appeared too down. Fluttershy was having a laugh with Pinkie Pie while Rarity helped Applejack re-style her mane. Twilight was surprised at upbeat display.

“Hey, girls. I hope you aren’t bummed out.”

Applejack stood up, “Nah, we’re not too beat up ‘bout it. As far as I’m concerned, we had that game won if it weren’t fer Trixie’s cheatin’.”

“After Pinkie made us laugh, I had a lot more fun,” said Fluttershy as she nudged Pinkie.

Rainbow flapped her wings up. “Yeah, even though we lost, we still kicked some flank in the second period. We were doing good then.”

Twilight smiled. “Well I’m glad you all took some positives out of this game. This was just the first game too. We have nine left to win.”

“This was just the first step toward fabulosity. We can only learn and grow from each game. Even though we might lose, we will still be the most stylish team in the EHL. I mean, did you see the jerseys Manehattan had? Bleh!” Rarity stuck her tongue out in disgust.

The ponies laughed as they finished up in the locker room. Using magic, Twilight cleaned their equipment and bundled it all up for Spike to fire-blow it back to Ponyville. Outside the arena, a carriage awaited to take them home. Twilight and friends gave Manehattan one final look before closing the carriage and heading off for Ponyville.

When the Golden Leafs returned to Ponyville late at night, Twilight had them all outside her treehouse. Sleepiness settled in as half of her friends couldn’t keep their eyes open. Twilight let out a yawn herself before speaking.

“So, let’s take a few days off then meet at Ponyville Pond for practice. We’ve got the Cloudsdale Red Wings coming here at the end of the week. In the days off, I’ll do some scouting on them.”

Pinkie giggled, “Oh boy! We get to play in front of all our friends! It’ll be so exciting!”

“Pinkie dear, how do you still energy this late at night?” Rarity lazily asked.

Pinkie Pie smiled proudly. “I don’t know, Rarity. I don’t know.”

Everypony had a laugh and then went home for the evening. The Ponyville Golden Leafs experienced their first loss but they were not deterred. They saw positive signs in their performance that they can build on in the future. The coming week would be an exciting one as they get to play in front of their fellow Ponyvillians for the first time. One little setback won’t dampen these ponies’ spirits.

To Be Continued

Three Stars for Ponyville @ Manehattan
*Octavia (MHN)
**The Great and Powerful Trixie (MHN)
*** Twilight Sparkle (PGL)

Other Scores Around the EHL (Home Team in CAPS)
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Fillydelphia 3, CANTERLOT 1
Appleloosa 2, CLOUDSDALE 0

EHL Part IV - Home Opener

Equestria Hockey League Part IV – Home Opener
by XFizzle

Two days had passed since the Ponyville Golden Leafs returned home from their tough loss to the Manehattan Rangers. During those days off, Twilight and her friends rested and completed their usual chores and jobs. On the third day, the Golden Leafs met for practice at Ponyville Pond. Instead of constructing the boards and glass on the ice, Twilight had Spike only bring two nets, the sticks, and the girls’ practice uniforms. Right on time, the remaining Golden Leafs arrived to the rink. Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie joined Twilight at the edge of the rink. The ponies shivered as they changed into their pads. A cold wind blew fiercely as grey clouds hung low over the pond in the afternoon. Twilight looked around for Applejack but there were no signs of her.

“Hey girls, did any of you hear from Applejack?” asked Twilight

Fluttershy shook her head as she laced up her skates. “No, none of us has. I hope she is alright.”

Suddenly over the hillside, a loud shout erupted. “AAAAAH’M A COMINNN’!!” Each pony turned toward the direction of the voice and there galloping in a hurry was Applejack. Not too far behind, Big Macintosh and Apple Bloom slowly made their way toward the rink, cloud puffs of frigid air billowing from their nostrils. Applejack caught up to the group and quickly changed into her practice uniform.

“Sorry I’m late everypony…we were just doin’…some winter cleanin’…in the barn and…lost track a’time,” said Applejack, huffing a breath in between words.

Twilight, in full gear, stepped out onto the ice. “That’s okay, Applejack. We weren’t ready to start anyways.”

“Hope y’all don’t mind Big Macintosh and Apple Bloom watchin’ us skate.”

Pinkie Pie clasped her last goalie pad strap and flipped her mask down. “Ooh goodie! We’ll have real fans cheering us on today!” As Pinkie said this, Big Mac and Apple Bloom reached the edge of the pond.

“H-h-howdy everyone. S-s-sure is a cold one today. Eeyup.” said Big Mac with his teeth chattering.

Apple Bloom jumped out from behind her brother and greeted the Golden Leafs one by one. “Howdy Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Fluttershy! I’m excited to watch y’all practice! Especially you Pinkie Pie.”

Pinkie gave Apple Bloom a big smile from behind her facemask. “Thanks Apple Bloom! I won’t let you down!”

The Golden Leafs all stepped out onto the ice for practice. After a few laps around the pond, they stopped in the center to stretch. Once stretching was over, Twilight addressed the team.

“For today’s practice, we’re going to work on being tougher. Manehattan was knocking us all over the ice and we couldn’t hold our ground.”

Rainbow, smirking, raised her hoof. “You mean we couldn’t hold our ice.”

Twilight snapped back, “I know what I said! Anyways, we’re going to work on our toughness. Everyone is going to have the opportunity to give out and receive checks.”

“What will our banking have anything to do with being tougher, dear?” Rarity asked.

Twilight put her hoof to her face. “No! Checking is when you hit the other player. The thing Applejack did to Rainbow Dash during training camp that started that little fight.”

“Hehe, yeah. I remember,” said Applejack as she looked over at Rainbow. Rainbow shot back a snort.

Fluttershy was next to raise her hoof. “Umm…Twilight, does that mean I’m going to get hit.”

“Yes, Fluttershy. I’m sorry but it will be for your own good if you want to make it through this season alive. You’re an easy target out there for the other teams. Don’t worry, we’ll help you.”

Fluttershy looked down and sighed. “Okay. If it will help the team, I’ll do it.”

“Great. To do this drill, we’ll all be on the ice with our sticks as if we’re in a real game. I’ll blow my whistle and shout out someone’s name. Everyone whose name wasn’t called goes over and tries to check the person I did call out. Got it?”

Applejack and Rainbow Dash stood side by side and nodded excitedly. Rarity gave her helmet and mane one final check to make sure they were tidy. Fluttershy wobbled in her skates and her wings shook nervously. Pinkie Pie skated up to Applejack and gave her a big chest bump before heading over to Apple Bloom to teach her some goaltending skills.

Tweeeeeeeeeeet “Applejack! Go!”

Immediately, Applejack skated off toward the other end of the pond with Big Macintosh cheering her on. Rainbow Dash stayed hot on Applejack’s trail trying to catch her. Fluttershy, Rarity, and Twilight remained far away, choosing to wait for Applejack to approach them before striking. Applejack laughed at Rainbow Dash as she skated down toward the center. Rainbow, recognizing she wasn’t going to land a good hit trailing directly behind Applejack, started veering off to the left of Applejack and skated faster to create an angle. Applejack quickly looked to the right and noticed Rainbow was no longer behind her. When Applejack turned back to the front, she heard a yell. “Incoming!” Rainbow Dash blazed toward her from the left side and slammed her flank into Applejack’s. Applejack stumbled in her skates but didn’t fall. After landing the hit, Rainbow was repelled back and she fell on her behind. Applejack laughed and kept on skating. Rarity, Twilight, and Fluttershy were ready to attack. All three began converging onto Applejack. Applejack saw their tactic and lowered her head. Rarity, Twilight, and Fluttershy closed in but with ramming speed, Applejack bowled over all three, leaving them splattered along the ice. Rainbow busted out laughing as Applejack kept skating with a big grin on her face. Twilight slowly got up and blew her whistle.

Tweeeeeet “Rainbow Dash….go. Ugh.”

Rainbow Dash’s laughter quickly turned into stoic determination as she began skating away from everyone. Applejack still carried momentum from her skating and was coming in fast. Rainbow kicked up her pace a notch and glided away from the rapidly approaching Applejack. Rainbow got away and curled around the edge of the pond. Rarity and Fluttershy were back up and weakly gave chase as well. Applejack changed her stride and began to cut down Rainbow’s angle. Rainbow saw this and skated faster. Applejack drew closer and prepared for a crush. In a flash, Applejack sprung toward Rainbow. Seeing Applejack flying at her, Rainbow gritted her teeth and powered her legs onward. She blasted ahead, avoiding Applejack’s attempt. Applejack looked back and saw she missed her hit. Applejack crash landed into a mound of snow head first with just her back legs showing and kicking. As Big Macintosh walked over to his fallen sister, Rainbow came toward Rarity and Fluttershy. Fluttershy closed her eyes and threw herself toward Rainbow but she also missed and landed hard on the ice. Rarity was next in the line and, like Fluttershy, threw herself toward Rainbow. Rainbow zoomed off to the side and dodged Rarity as well. Rarity landed next to Fluttershy and they helped each other up. Rainbow came to a halt to see most of her teammates sprawled out along the ice. She laughed as Twilight reached for the whistle.

Tweeeeeeeeeeeeet “Rarity! Go!”

Rarity let out a gasp and started stumbling to get away from everyone. She was a slower skater so Applejack, now recovered, and Rainbow quickly approached. Applejack ended up beside Rarity and was ready to hit. Rarity, out of instinct and self-defense, nudged her head over and poked Applejack in the forehead with her horn. Applejack stopped to tend to the bruising poke as Rainbow closed in on Rarity. Rarity leaped in fright when she saw Rainbow approaching and tried skating faster. Rainbow was now beside Rarity and went to hit. With a growl, Rarity quickly turned to Rainbow’s side and bit her in the wing. Rainbow let out a yelp in pain. Seeing Rarity’s mean streak striding right towards her, Fluttershy jumped out of the way with a squeak. Rarity kept growling like a dog, daring anyone to come at her. Twilight sighed at the current failure of the drill and blew the whistle again.

Tweeeeeeeet “Twilight Sparkle! I mean, me! Go!”

With whistle still in mouth, Twilight started sprinting away. Rarity, still skating hard, changed direction and aimed for Twilight. Twilight noticed Rarity closing in and came to a hard stop, sending Rarity flying right past. Applejack approached next and was picking up speed. Twilight, quickly figuring out velocities and angles in her head, decided to go head on toward Applejack. Right as they were going to collide, Twilight swiftly spun out of Applejack’s path, with Applejack’s momentum sending her right past. Off on the side, Fluttershy was talking to herself, trying to gather up the courage to deliver a big hit. Seeing this, Twilight turned and skated toward her. Fluttershy noticed Twilight approaching so she stomped her hoof down and began skating at her. Twilight let up on her speed and began to brace herself. Fluttershy came up to Twilight’s side, closed her eyes, and SLAM! Twilight fell to the ice in a heap. Fluttershy re-opened her eyes and noticed she was still standing, having delivered her first hit. She jumped in joy and cheered for herself until she noticed Twilight in trouble. Immediately, Fluttershy raced over and tended to her victim.

“Oh Twilight! I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to hit you so hard! Oh, please forgive me.”

Twilight got up with a loopy smile on her face. “It’s okay, Fluttershy. Just give me a minute to compose myself. That was a doozy of a hit.”

Fluttershy smiled back. “Thanks, Twilight.”

Applejack and Rainbow came up to them swiftly. “I reckon that hit was bigger than the one I gave Dashie. Good work, Fluttershy!”

“Yeah, that was awesome!” Rainbow chimed in.

Twilight, still feeling weak, gathered up the team. Pinkie Pie came back from practicing with Apple Bloom and joined the discussion.

“Well, that drill didn’t go as I planned, but we learned some things. We learned that Applejack is solid as a house.” Applejack chuckled and flexed her leg to show off her muscle. “We saw that Rainbow is too fast for anyone to catch.”

“You got that right!” yelled Rainbow confidently. Twilight weakly grinned and went on.

“We learned that Rarity has a nasty streak inside her.”

Rarity laughed and ran her skate down her mane in a brush-like motion. “Haha, well I have to everything I can to keep my mane and uniform looking ravishing and perfect. If it means I need to play dirty, I’ll play dirty.”

“Well, if you have to, don’t get caught. We can’t afford unnecessary penalties. And finally, we learned Fluttershy can dish out a big hit if she believes in herself.”

“Oh, I will from now on. I’ll try to hit my absolute hardest!” Fluttershy said smiling.

“Good. Let’s use what we learned today for our game against Cloudsdale tomorrow. I haven’t done my research on them yet, but I will do that tonight and give you all a scouting report in the locker room. Let’s rest up and be back here for our home opener!”

The Golden Leafs all put a skate in and on three yelled “TEAM!” Spike arrived to gather up all the equipment and each pony went off toward home. Before leaving the pond, Twilight talked to Spike.

“Spike, take a letter please.”

Spike pulled out a scroll and quill and waited for Twilight’s next words.

“Dear Princess Celestia,

Tomorrow is the Ponyville Golden Leafs’ home opener. Right now Ponyville Pond is just an empty ice rink. If you could help us build a brand new arena on the pond, we would greatly appreciate it.

Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle”

In a green flame, Spike blew the scroll into the air. Almost instantly, Spike belched out a response scroll. He unrolled it and began reading to Twilight.

”Dear Twilight,

The EHL offices have informed me of your plight earlier this week. I am sending out Canterlot’s finest crew of carpenter and masonry colts. Ponyville will have their arena done in a blink of an eye. I also was told of your first loss to Manehattan. Don’t give up and always remember to have fun with your friends. Good luck in your home opener.

Your Royal Highness,
Princess Celestia”

Relieved by the Princess’ words, Twilight and Spike headed for home. Back at the treehouse, Twilight pulled out her EHL media guide and began studying up on the Golden Leafs’ next opponent, the Cloudsdale Red Wings. A few hours of reading later, Twilight sleepily closed her books and trotted off to bed, excited for tomorrow’s big day for the Golden Leafs franchise.

The next morning, Twilight woke up early because she couldn’t control her excitement for the game. She remembered what Princess Celestia had said and she raced off toward Ponyville Pond, hoping to see a hockey arena in its place. As she galloped closer toward the pond, she saw the top of the cylindrical arena peering up over the horizon and growing taller. With each stride, Twilight’s smile grew wider. She stopped right in front of the tall arena that sat before her. It was a shining, blue-bricked arena with golden ornaments and accents lining the roof and sides. In large golden letters above the front entrance, “Ponyville Pond” flashed in the rising sunlight. Twilight squealed with delight and walked inside. The concourse was covered in royal blue banners and linens with the Golden Leafs’ logo emblazoned on each one. Concession stands and souvenir booths lined the walls, empty but ready to be filled with delicious arena fare and collectible items later in the evening. Twilight’s eyes stayed wide open in amazement as she walked about the new arena. When she walked past an opening to the arena seats, she stopped dead in her tracks. Below her, she saw the whitest, freshest sheet of ice her eyes ever saw. The red and blue lines on the ice vibrantly gleamed under the arena lights. The Ponyville Golden Leafs logo glistened and shone at center ice. Twilight looked all around, slowly taking in the magnificent scene before her.

“Pretty nice arena, huh?”

Twilight jumped a bit at the unexpected voice. She took a few seconds to calm herself down.

“Yeah, this arena is amazing!” she said as she turned toward her visitor. Suddenly, Twilight’s face went from ghostly white back to its illustrious purple color as her visitor was Princess Celestia, smiling warmly upon Twilight with her mane floating.

Overjoyed, Twilight beamed like a lighthouse at her mentor. “PRINCESS?!? What are you doing here?”

With a laugh, Princess Celestia stood alongside her student. “Why Twilight, I shoved the responsibility of managing a hockey team upon you and Ponyville. The least I could do is watch your home opener is person.”

“Oh, this will be great! I have to run and tell the girls that the Princess is here!” Twilight yelled while jumping in a circle.

The tip of Princess Celestia’s mane went up to Twilight’s lips. “Shhh, let’s keep it our little secret until tonight. I don’t want your team to be distracted before your big game.”

Twilight nodded excessively and gave the Princess a hug. Princess Celestia stepped out of the arena and onto her royal chariot. In a flash, she was gone. Twilight’s excitement doubled and she began to shake at the thought of the Princess being at their home opener later that evening. She left the arena and went back to the treehouse to prepare for the night.

Two hours before game time, the Golden Leafs met at Twilight’s house. Together, side by side, they walked toward their new arena. Twilight did a good job containing her knowledge of the arena and Princess Celestia’s presence so that her friends could share the same reaction she had. Just as Twilight did, the others saw the top of the arena as they approached. With anxiousness quickly building, the Golden Leafs broke into a gallop toward their arena. Twilight didn’t run forward with her friends, but chose to hang behind to view their reactions. Applejack and Rainbow Dash jumped and gave each other high fives while Rarity and Fluttershy stood completely still in admiration. Pinkie Pie danced around her friends, taking in the delicious smells that were filtering out from inside. Twilight reached them and directed them all toward their locker room.

On their walk to the locker room, the giggles and squeals of the Golden Leafs rang out down the hall. The ponies trotted back and forth, inspecting and admiring each new thing they passed. As a nice touch, the wall containing the locker room entrance was adorned with each pony’s cutie mark in golden paint. When the team saw their golden marks on the wall, they each yelled and ran up to hug it. After a few extra seconds of adoration, the team finally entered the locker room. There, each pony had their own stall made out of finished oak. The blue carpeting was plush and inviting. A large Golden Leafs logo was stitched and placed boldly in the center of the room. Hanging from golden hooks were their royal blue home uniforms Rarity had made. The ponies quickly put their gear on, their excitement level going through the roof.

Once dressed, Twilight stood in front of her teammates.

“Okay girls. Here’s what we need to know about the Cloudsdale Red Wings. They play a quick-paced game. They like controlling the puck and they have a great defense. They made the Celestia Cup Finals last year so they’re still very good. We’ll need to be on our best if we want to stand a chance. As for their lineup, here’s who they have. Rainbow, at center is Spitfire. She’s very crafty and has great hooves.”

Rainbow let out a fangirl-like squeal. “Oh my gosh! I’m playing across from Spitfire of the Wonderbolts?!? This is going to be awesome! I can show off my speed to Spitfire and the Wonderbolts will have to accept me!”

“Don’t get too excited, Rainbow. Tonight they’re Red Wings, not Wonderbolts. Rarity, their right wing is Soarin. He’s pretty solid and strong. He’ll stand in front of Pinkie a lot and try to block her view.”

Rainbow interrupted again with another squeal. “Soarin plays for them too?!? Even more awesome! Two of the Wonderbolts playing against me tonight. This is too cool!”

Twilight brushed off Rainbow’s star-struck squealing and continued on. “Applejack, their left wing is Gilda. She’ll play you pretty tough. You match up well with her.”

At the sound of Gilda’s name, Pinkie Pie sat up with a slight smile on her face. “Ooooh, Gilda’s back! I hope she remembered that party I threw for her! We had so much fun that day. You think she’ll remember me? Do ya?”

“I’ll do whatever I can to keep her in line, Twi,” a determined Applejack said.

“On defense, they have Pucks. He’s one of the oldest and best defenseponies in the league. He’s very good. The other defensepony is Ditzy Doo. She’s pretty…unusual to say the least. The forwards will have to find a way to outwork them while Fluttershy and I try to shut down Cloudsdale’s forwards.”

Pinkie Pie got up from her stall. “Who’s their goalie, Twilight?”

“I’m not sure. The book I read said it was some goalie named Domarenick Horsek, but he’s been retired for ages now. I guess we’ll have to find out when we get out there.”

Applejack leaped up. “Let’s go git ‘em, girls! Who’s ready for a darn good home opener?”

The Golden Leafs met at the center and put a hoof in. Twilight was last and gave some last words. “Let’s remember what we practiced and have fun tonight. Tough and fun on three!”

One…two…three…”TOUGH AND FUN!” shouted each player as their skates were raised to the sky. They exited the locker room and headed out to the hallway to wait for their introduction. On the other side of the ice, they saw the Red Wings stretching and loosening up behind their entrance door. From the hallway, the Golden Leafs heard a loud buzz bellowing out from the crowd. The murmur of all the Ponyvillians grew louder as the countdown clock ticked down toward zero. The Golden Leafs looked all over their home arena, down to each nook and cranny. A calming peace fell upon each of them as they quickly grew accustomed to their home arena. The lights dimmed which drew a loud cheer from the crowd. Spotlights illuminated on the ice and affixed themselves to an upper balcony. A familiar voice echoed out to each corner, ready to announce the lineups and the surprise guest.

“Filles and gentlecolts, welcome to Ponyville Pond for the Ponyville Golden Leafs’ home opener!! My name is Spike, the official super cool announcing dragon for the Ponyville Golden Leafs! Sit back, relax, and get ready to cheer on your Golden Leafs as they take on the visiting Cloudsdale Red Wings!”

Loud booing came at the sound of the Red Wings name. There was a small smattering of cheers as a handful of pegasi ponies came down from Cloudsdale for the game proudly wearing their Red Wings jerseys. Spike continued his announcing duties.

”Since this is Ponyville’s home opener, we have a special guest in our midst tonight. All the way from Canterlot, your benevolent leader and friend, Princess Celestia!!”

This time the whole arena cheered together in unison as Princess Celestia stepped out onto the balcony, flanked by her royal guards. She waved to everyone in attendance and took her seat. Down in the hallway, Twilight saw all her friends’ faces light up in surprise when the Princess’ name was called. Their anxiousness reached a fever pitch and they were now itching to get out on the ice.

”Now the starting lineup for the Cloudsdale Red Wings. At center, number 13, famed member of the Wonderbolts, it’s Spitfire! At left wing, number 44, Gilda! At right wing, number 96, also a famed member of the Wonderbolts, it’s Soarin! On defense, number 5, Pucks! Also on defense, number…question mark-exclamation point…whatever, it’s Ditzy Doo!”

Each member of the Red Wings flew out from their entrance door briskly as their name was called. They landed along the blue line as they awaited the announcement of their goalie.

”Starting in goal for Cloudsdale, rookie goalie number 35, it’s Scootaloo!”

Out from the door skated out Scootaloo. Her tiny wings flapped happily as she skated toward her teammates. She ended up inside her goal crease and scooted from side to side, chipping up the ice for traction.

Princess Celestia applauded as the spotlights circled around the arena. The lights then fell upon the Golden Leafs’ door. Spike started up again.

”And now, for the PONYVILLE GOLDEN LEAFS! At center, number 20, your town weatherpony and friend, it’s RAINBOW DASH! At left wing, number 9, the most beautiful pony in the arena and the owner of the Carousel Boutique, it’s the fair and lovely RARITY! On the right wing, number 88, the hard-working, apple-bucking, Sweet Apple Acres-running reliable pony pal, it’s APPLEJACK! On defense, number 42, my best friend and Ponyville’s resident egghead, it’s TWILIGHT SPARKLE! Also on defense, number 0, beloved by ponies and creatures alike, the ‘Stare Master’ FLUTTERSHY!”

The Golden Leafs skated out onto the ice with their introduction. With a more modest entrance this time around, they took the time to revel in the downpour of cheers that came from their fans and fellow city dwellers. They lined up across from the Red Wings and stared them down. The Red Wings did not look back. They instead were looking down at the ice with a quiet focus. However, Scootaloo looked up to see Rainbow Dash standing across the ice. In a flash, Scootaloo skated all the way to Rainbow and stared up at her with a happy smile.

“Oh hey Rainbow Dash! I can’t wait to see you skate circles around everyone. You’re going to be the best!”

Rainbow looked back at Scootaloo with a smug expression. “Yes, yes, you’re right, kid. I will be the best! See you in the game.”

Scootaloo propelled herself back to the net and bounced around with delight.

”And in net, number 33, the party pony with the power of perfecting desserts, it’s PINKIE PIE!”

Pinkie skated out and hopped to her place in net. She skipped around the net to cheers. The light flickered back on and the teams circled around in their zones. The teams drifted toward the center circle. The referee goes through the usual goalie check and readies the puck.

With the drop of the puck, Ponyville’s home opener was underway.

The first few minutes of the 1st period went back and forth as each team battled their nerves and committed a couple turnovers. After the 8 minute mark, the Red Wings gained control of the puck and didn’t let go. Every ten seconds or so, Gilda, Spitfire, and Soarin ripped shots on net. Pinkie found herself bouncing back and forth, up and down to make saves. Pucks and Ditzy also had a few shots along the point which Pinkie blocked. Ponyville could not get the puck away from Cloudsdale. Even after Applejack placed a check on Gilda and won the puck, Ditzy glided up and slammed Applejack right back. Shot after shot, Ponyville scrambled to gather the puck and get some offense going. It took nearly three minutes before Ponyville finally had possession in the Cloudsdale zone. The Golden Leafs still did not get a shot off though as Pucks pressured Rainbow into making a bad pass toward Rarity which Soarin swooped up. Back the other way, Cloudsdale ran a play which saw Spitfire receiving the puck behind the net. Both Soarin and Gilda streaked toward the net from the wings. By doing that, Fluttershy and Twilight closed in on the crease in front of Pinkie to stay with the Red Wing forwards. This left Ditzy open up the middle to which Spitfire passed her the puck and Ditzy let off a rocket shot through a crowd of skaters. Ponyville was lucky as Ditzy’s shot deflected off a leg and bounced out of harm’s way.

With four minutes left in the period, the Ponyville zone resembled more of a shooting gallery with each Red Wing getting two shots off. Pinkie once again stood tall and made brilliant saves to keep the game scoreless. On the other end, Scootaloo sat in front of her net daydreaming about playing alongside Rainbow Dash. She faced zero shots and it appeared to stay that way as Cloudsdale kept possession. Around the 2 minute mark, Ponyville finally caught a break and had the puck for a 2-on-1 rush. Rainbow and Applejack were pushing toward the net with Pucks back on defense. Rainbow looked for an opening to pass over to Applejack but Pucks closed in and cut her off. Rainbow gave the puck away and back came Cloudsdale. Gilda took the puck down to the corner behind Pinkie. She was met by Twilight who tried playing tough to get the puck away. Gilda powered out and passed to Spitfire who grabbed it at the faceoff circle. Fluttershy glided over to cut Spitfire off but Spitfire lightly flicked the puck between Fluttershy’s legs and blazed around her to get it back. Rarity reached her stick out to poke at Spitfire but Spitfire quickly lifted the puck up onto her stick blade and jumped over Rarity’s stick. Spitfire set the puck back down on the ice and fired a shot. Pinkie kept her eye on the puck the entire time and was able to glove it for a great save. The crowd applauded Pinkie for the save and Spitfire for her amazing puck handling display. Ten seconds remained in the period and to no one’s surprise, the Red Wings had the puck and had two more shots on Pinkie.

A horn blew throughout the arena for the end of the 1st period. It was all Cloudsdale in that period even though the score didn’t reflect it. The Ponyville crowd cheered both teams off the ice. One by one the Golden Leafs walked to their locker room.

They all reached their stalls except for Pinkie. As soon as she stepped into the room, Pinkie collapsed in an exhausted daze. She dragged herself to her spot and unwrapped a special energy cupcake. She gulped it down and soon she was back to her bouncy self. She spoke up to everyone in the room.

“Whew! I am so tired! That was a crazy period! I was over there and over there, and here and there and here and there. Wowee.”

Twilight looked over to her. “Sorry we let so many shots on you, Pinkie. You did a great job out there.

“Cloudsdale is playin’ tighter than a square apple in a round box. We cain’t get through ‘em!” exclaimed Applejack.

“I know that period was rough, but I think I realized something,” said Twilight. “Cloudsdale’s forwards didn’t try to check us too often. They are more concerned with skating and having the puck.”

Rainbow blew her mane out of her face. “Well duh, they have two of the Wonderbolts on their team! Of course they’re going to skate fast. It’s not rocket science.”

“So then we’ll take them off their game…by getting tough. Just like in practice. Let’s rock their worlds. They seem like a finesse team so if we show them a little toughness, they’re bound to fold,” Twilight said with a stern look toward Rainbow.

Rainbow jumped out her of stall. “Now you’re talking!”

“Let’s do it then. Let’s get physical!”

Twilight nodded to her teammates who nodded back with a grin.

The Golden Leafs marched back out onto the ice for the 2nd period. Cloudsdale also made their way back onto the ice ready for the new period.

With another puck drop, the 2nd period began. Ponyville started to execute their strategy. Each time a Cloudsdale skater touched the puck, a Golden Leaf was right there to deliver a hit. Just as Cloudsdale racked up shots in the 1st, Ponyville was racking up hits in the 2nd. Since Ponyville was hitting more, they had the puck more. Applejack snapped Ponyville’s first shot on net but Scootaloo jumped up to grab it. During the play stoppage, Scootaloo held up the puck in her glove and called out to Rainbow Dash to show her. Rainbow didn’t smile but gave a little approving nod.

Cloudsdale won the next faceoff and had the puck in the Ponyville zone. Spitfire passed off to Soarin along the boards. With Rarity coming in quick to hit, Soarin rushed a pass to Ditzy on the blue line. Sensing the weak pass, Rainbow Dash zoomed up to intercept it. Rainbow blasted off for a breakaway. Scootaloo strained to see who was coming towards her. When she noticed it was Rainbow Dash, she giggled and hopped up and down with excitement. Scootaloo skated up out of the crease to meet up with Rainbow.

“Hey Rainbow Dash! That was an awesome interception! Can you teach me how to do that?”

Rainbow smiled as she blew right by Scootaloo. “Sure thing, kiddo!” she muttered through the stick in her mouth.

With a wide open net, Rainbow slammed the puck in the net. The fans jumped to their hooves and a cheer exploded out along with the siren of the goal horn. The rest of the Golden Leafs skated down to celebrate Rainbow’s goal. Scootaloo glided over to join in but a frustrated Gilda grabbed Scootaloo’s jersey with her beak and dropped Scootaloo back in the net.

”GOAL! 1-0 PONYVILLE! Scoring her first goal of the season, number 20, RAINBOW DASH!”

Play resumed and Spitfire won the faceoff away from Rainbow. Spitfire kept the puck and brought it over the blue line. Twilight and Fluttershy came together in the middle to block Spitfire’s path but she deked to the right to get Fluttershy off stride then pulled the puck back and deked left to get through Twilight. With just Pinkie in front of her, Spitfire twirled a shot toward the upper left corner. Pinkie quickly tried to raise her blocker hoof but it was too late. Just like that, Cloudsdale tied the game 1-1. Spitfire skated toward center ice toward her awaiting teammates for celebratory headbutts. The goal light flickered and the crowd sat in stunned silence about what they just saw.

”Goal for Cloudsdale. Her first of the season, Spitfire!"

The Golden Leafs drifted back to center ice in shock of Spitfire’s amazing skill. They shook out of their trance and play was back on. Reviving their strategy, the Golden Leafs kept hitting and had the puck more but couldn’t get another goal. The 2nd period quickly came to close and the crowd gave the Golden Leafs an encouraging yell as they exited the ice.

Back in the locker room, Twilight and company were energetic and pleased with the period. They had plenty of hits and kept the puck mostly out of their zone to which Pinkie was grateful.
Twilight cooled down and addressed the team.

“Now that’s more like it! We were great! The hitting was strong and we had the lead for once. Good work, girls!”

“And I’m not as tired as I was last period!” piped up Pinkie.

Rainbow flew up into the air eagerly. “Did you all see my goal? I flew up, charging like a Wonderbolt, I stole the puck, blew past the little orange squirt, and pounded it in the net!”

“That was amazing, Rainbow Dash. You skated so fast and did so well,” said Fluttershy as she put her helmet back on.

Twilight spoke back up. “Now remember, we were in this same situation last game with Manehattan. Don’t let up on the toughness and get some quality shots on net. At least we won’t have a cheater to deal with. We can do this!”

The one minute warning horn blasted throughout the arena and the Golden Leafs trotted back to the ice.

Over in the Red Wings locker room, Spitfire pepped up her team by telling them to fight fire with fire; to match Ponyville’s physicality and hit back. The Red Wings accepted the mission and made their way back to the ice.

The final period began and neither team budged for the other. The hockey game felt more like a table tennis match, with one team having the puck, getting hit, then the other team claiming the puck, getting hit, and so on. Rarity had the puck in the Ponyville zone until she was hit by Soarin. Soarin took the puck and was immediately slammed by Rainbow. As soon as Rainbow turned up the ice, Gilda was there to lay a check on Rainbow. Gilda took the puck and before she could move, Applejack glided in with a hit. With each check, the crowd cheered louder, letting both teams know their toughness was being appreciated.

The Golden Leafs finally put an end to the hitting party and had the puck on offense. Applejack shot the puck around the boards to Rarity who was waiting on the other wing. Rarity brought the puck toward the net where she was pressured by Ditzy. Rarity saw Rainbow sprinting at the net and quickly slipped a pass that direction. Rainbow got the puck and flicked a shot on net but it skipped wide, eliciting an “Ooooooh” from the fans.

Cloudsdale came back the other way and dumped the puck into the Ponyville corner. Fluttershy went after the puck but was nervous she was vulnerable. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Gilda charging in hard toward her. As Gilda closed in, Fluttershy braced herself and pounced away from the corner toward the brutish griffin. Gilda’s eyes enlarged in shock when Fluttershy flew at her. WHAM! Crushed by a devastating check, Gilda flew back and hit the ice hard. The crowd erupted as Fluttershy quickly gathered herself to get the puck again. She passed it over to Twilight who passed it up and out of the zone.

Only 3 minutes remained when Rarity received Twilight’s pass. She brought the puck in but found no one open. Unsure of what to do, Rarity skated in and tried to shoot. Pucks came by and poked the puck away before Rarity could get the shot off. A little frustrated, Rarity bolted after Pucks and geared up for a hit. However, Pucks had just passed the puck off to Soarin who entered the zone. Rarity kept on her path and delivered a board rattling hit to the Cloudsdale defensepony. The referee saw this and raised his hoof for a delayed penalty. Twilight stole the puck from Soarin which caused the whistle to blow.

Tweeeeeeeet “Penalty, Ponyville number 9. Two minutes for boarding.”

Rarity skated up to the referee and began to plead her case.

“Oh, you surely don’t mean that, do you darling? I mean, a fine looking gentlecolt such as yourself just couldn’t have the heart to throw little ol’ me into the penalty box right?”

The referee stared back unamused. “Save it, lady. It’s two minutes.”

“Hmph!” Rarity pouted all the way to the box. The Ponyville fans booed as the Golden Leafs were about to embark on a very crucial penalty kill with just over two minutes left in a tie game.

The puck dropped and Cloudsdale’s power play began. Cloudsdale had a similar strategy to Ponyville, with each skater staying in a certain area and passing back and forth among themselves until a shooting opportunity presented itself. The Red Wings’ passing was crisp and right on the stick tape. Gilda passed to Pucks, Pucks to Ditzy, Ditzy to Soarin, Soarin to Spitfire behind the net, Spitfire back to Soarin, Soarin to Ditzy, Ditzy to Pucks along the blue line. The Golden Leafs moved from side to side along with the Red Wings’ passing. When it appeared a Red Wing was going to shoot, Applejack or Rainbow dove in front to block. Rarity’s penalty was down to one minute left and Cloudsdale still did not have a shot. Pucks faked a shot and passed back over to Ditzy. Ditzy passed to Soarin who was along the boards. Soarin passed back to Ditzy and quickly moved in to block Pinkie’s view. Ditzy reared back for a shot, forcing Applejack to dive for a block. Ditzy pulled back and passed to Pucks. Seeing a lane to the net, Pucks fired a swift shot. Soarin tried positioning his stick to redirect the shot but missed. The puck drilled Pinkie in the chest and bounced in front of Twilight. Twilight quickly shot the puck down the ice to kill the last few seconds of the penalty.

As Rarity stepped out of the box, the Ponyville crowd rang out in loud applause for the clutch penalty kill. The Golden Leafs fed off the energy and skated harder as the clock reached the final minute. Spitfire collected the puck behind Scootaloo and carried it up through center. She dumped it toward the corner to which Soarin gave chase. Twilight and Rarity bunched up there to get the puck before Soarin came swooping in. Twilight knocked the puck around the boards to Fluttershy. Fluttershy tried passing over to Rainbow but Spitfire brushed by to intercept. Spitfire deked around Twilight who had retreated back to the net. Pinkie stepped up to take Spitfire head on. Spitfire blasted a rifle straight toward the five hole. Pinkie collapsed her legs to block the shot and swept it over to Applejack on the side. Applejack quickly brought the puck up with 10 seconds left. She got over the blue line and halted. Rainbow speeded down the center to catch up. Applejack snapped a pass toward the net for Rainbow to pick up. 0:07…0:06…Rainbow saw the puck and reached out to touch it. 0:05…0:04…the puck landed on Rainbow’s stick blade. 0:03…0:02…0:01…Right as the potential game-winning shot was flung, Ditzy Doo appeared out from nowhere and landed a helmet-rocking check on Rainbow. 0:00.

Bzzzzzzzzzzt

The puck sailed off into the corner with Rainbow drifting lifelessly toward the boards. She hit the boards hard with a thud as the period horn blew and the Ponyville faithful gasped at the final play. The referees and the Golden Leafs rushed over to the fallen pony. Rainbow opened her eyes and slowly worked her way back to her hooves. Receiving a standing ovation, even from Princess Celestia herself, Rainbow was helped toward the locker room by her friends.

In the locker room, an EHL doctor checked over Rainbow as the rest of the team started to freak out about playing in overtime.

After shining a light in her eyes and checking her heart rate, the doctor gave Rainbow the nod of approval and left. Twilight tried calming down her team as Rainbow held an ice pack to her head.

“Girls, settle down. Overtime isn’t any different than a regular period.”

Rarity stepped up to Twilight. “Don’t you know what ‘sudden death’ means? If Cloudsdale scores, we lose! I don’t want to lose in front of the Princess! She’ll go back to Canterlot and tell all her subjects about how poorly we did and we’ll be the laughingstock of the EHL!”

“Snap out of it!” yelled Twilight as she clunked Rarity on the helmet. “Everything will be fine. And think of it this way, if we score, we win!”

“’S-s-sudden death’? That sounds s-s-scary,” said Fluttershy trembling.

Applejack stood up and faced her teammates. “It’s just an expression y’all. We need ta’ stop our worryin’ and go back to playin’ hockey. We got this.”

Pinkie bounced up and flipped her mask down. “I’m ready to go, Twilight! I’m not afraid of suddenly dying!”

Twilight let out a groan while Rainbow tossed the ice pack aside and put her equipment back on.

“Everypony shut it! We’re going back out there and winning.”

Unprepared for Rainbow’s outburst, the locker room grew silent. Twilight nodded and the Golden Leafs trotted back toward the ice.

Back on the ice, the clock only read 5 minutes as usual with overtime. Cloudsdale skated around their end and then met at the net to go over their strategy. Ponyville approached the center circle, already knowing what they needed to do: score first.

The puck dropped and the overtime period began. Rainbow won the faceoff and passed it back to Twilight. Twilight skated up and dumped the puck into the corner. Applejack rushed in after it as Pucks also charged for it. Applejack got there first and had to keep it away from Pucks’ stick. Rainbow stuck to the boards behind Applejack and tapped her stick to let her know she was open. Applejack heard the tapping and flicked the puck behind her along the boards. Rainbow retrieved it and tried darting in and out of the Red Wings skaters. Soarin dove into Rainbow’s path but she hopped over. Gilda was next to drift toward Rainbow but as Gilda went to deliver a hit, Rainbow skated harder and ducked low, causing Gilda to miss. The only defender left in Rainbow’s way was Ditzy. Rainbow held the puck off to her right hoping Ditzy would bite. Ditzy saw the puck and poked for it, just as Rainbow wanted. Rainbow quickly pulled the puck back in toward her skates and moved it to the left, completely faking out Ditzy. Rainbow now had an open path to the net. Scootaloo, now determined to deny her idol a game-winning goal, stood ready. Rainbow reared back her head to shoot.

Out from the corner, an orange and yellow blur flew in like a mystical wind to take away Rainbow’s puck. It was Spitfire and she was now off to the races. Twilight and Fluttershy scrambled back to cut Spitfire off. Spitfire was coming in on the left wing. Twilight dove across but Spitfire held up and waited for Twilight to slide by. Fluttershy then came across and tried to land a check on the Cloudsdale center. Spitfire fought back and was now flank to flank with Fluttershy. Both players were heading at Pinkie’s net at full speed. With one final nudge, Spitfire veered Fluttershy away and poked the puck to Pinkie’s left. Pinkie dove left but Spitfire had already snapped her stick back. Lifting her back hoof in the air, Spitfire performed a picture perfect hoof drag and blasted the puck into the now wide open net. All together, the Golden Leafs’ hearts sank as the puck rattled around the goal and the goal light illuminated. A giant groan rung out from the crowd as Spitfire threw herself at the boards in celebration.

"Goal by Spitfire! Cloudsdale wins in overtime 2-1!"

The remaining Red Wings dashed toward Spitfire, throwing the sticks and gloves in the air in jubilation. The Golden Leafs could only look down in disbelief and disappointment. Cloudsdale finished their celebration and skated off the ice. Still drifting sadly around the ice, Twilight and friends eventually went toward the door. Despite the heartbreaking loss, the Ponyville faithful cheered their home team off the ice, impressed by their valiant effort. Encouraged by the support, the Golden Leafs’ frowns turned into very faint smiles. They finally trotted off the ice and headed back to their locker room.

In the locker room, the mood was silent once again. No one said a word as they undressed, still feeling the bitter disappointment of defeat. After a few minutes of wrangling up their items and cleaning up, the silence was finally broken. Not by a Golden Leaf, but by two Red Wings. Spitfire and Soarin walked in and faced the Ponyville squad. Spitfire walked up to Twilight and extended her hoof for a hoofshake.

“Soarin and I just wanted to come in and compliment you girls on a game well played. No one’s pushed our team to the limit like you did tonight.”

Twilight accepted Spitfire’s hoofshake.

“Thank you. It really means a lot.”

Soarin stepped in. “Don’t get too down on yourselves. Keep it up and soon you guys will be regular contenders. We mean it.”

The rest of the Golden Leafs smiled upon receiving this praise. Rainbow Dash was still sulking at her stall, upset about the loss.

Spitfire approached Rainbow with a smile. “Hey Rainbow, you had some pretty cool moves out there. Since we’re still going to be in town tomorrow, you wanna hang out and show us around?”

Rainbow looked up at Spitfire and her icy frown melted to a big grin. “You bet! I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Spitfire and Soarin said goodbye to the Golden Leafs and left. Twilight was about to speak to her team when Spike ran into the room with a scroll. Twilight opened it and read it aloud.

”Dear Ponyville Golden Leafs,

I am very proud with your performance this evening. You showed passion and heart down on the ice. Most importantly, it appeared you were having fun. Do not let this loss dampen your spirits. I am confident you will reach greatness someday. I wish I could have visited you after the game but I had to return to Canterlot on official royal business. I greatly look forward to seeing you play in Canterlot soon.

Your Royal Highness,
Princess Celestia”

Twilight looked up from the scroll to see her friends’ faces. They looked much more upbeat and encouraged from the Wonderbolts’ visit and the Princess Celestia’s letter. Spike packed up the equipment and the Golden Leafs headed back to Twilight’s treehouse.

Back at the treehouse, the girls were chatting and even sharing a few laughs. Spike lit the fireplace and each pony curled up in front of the fire to rest and to heal their sores. Twilight made hot chocolate with Pinkie Pie’s help and handed them out. Twilight glanced at the schedule and saw their next game was in Appleloosa.

“Hey Applejack, do you think you could let your family in Appleloosa know we’re coming? We’re going to need to take a train there and we’ll need a place to stay for the night. It would be very much appreciated.”

“No problem, Twi. I’ll send a message out to Braeburn and see what he can do. I’m lookin’ forward to goin’ back there to see him and Bloomberg again.”

“Great.” Twilight then spoke up for every pony to hear. “Okay girls. Tonight, we took another step towards winning. We had a lead and took the game to overtime. I’m proud of every one of you. With a little bit more practice and hard work, I’m sure we can get over the hump and win a game.”

Pinkie giggled. “Silly Twilight. We’re ponies! We don’t have humps! Camels have humps!”

The others laughed at Pinkie and Twilight’s exchange. After the laughs settled, Twilight continued.

“Our next game is in Appleloosa against the Black Apples. Applejack is going to work on getting us a ride there. Let’s take a few days off then it’s off to Appleloosa!”

“Yeah!” her friends shouted.

Even though Ponyville suffered another loss, the Golden Leafs gained valuable crunch time experience and held their first lead. Their effort was praised throughout Ponyville the following days. Ponyville citizens expressed their excitement for future Golden Leafs games whenever they saw one of the players roaming about the town. Seeing the excitement spreading through town gave Twilight and friends added confidence and a will to work harder so their fans could eventually witness a win. For now though, it was time to travel to Appleloosa to take on a new opponent.

To Be Continued

Three Stars for Cloudsdale @ Ponyville
* Spitfire (CRW)
** Pinkie Pie (PGL)
*** Rainbow Dash (PGL)

Other Scores Around the EHL (Home Team in CAPS)
---
MANEHATTAN 3, Fillydelphia 2
APPLELOOSA 3, Canterlot 0

EHL Standings (W-L)
---
Appleloosa 2-0
Manehattan 2-0
Cloudsdale 1-1
Fillydelphia 1-1
Canterlot 0-2
Ponyville 0-2

EHL Part VI - Legion of Bloom

Equestria Hockey League Part VI – Legion of Bloom
by XFizzle

Twenty-four hours removed from the Ponyville Golden Leafs’ first victory over the Appleloosa Black Apples, Twilight Sparkle awoke to begin a new day. Twilight slinked to the side of the bed and put all her hooves to the floor. After a big yawn and stretch, she made her way down the stairs a bit dazed. With eyes half shut, Twilight landed in the common room and surveyed the area. She saw some books lying askew on shelves, the curtains ruffled and swaying in the morning breeze, and a pile of golden flakes on the table. Unmotivated to clean up her living room, Twilight turned around to head back upstairs when a cold splash of fear sent a shockwave throughout her body. She ran to the table and saw the dangerous poison joke plant swaying innocently as if it was mocking her. Twilight’s mind began to spin like a top as she inspected the golden flakes, panicking about what joke might have befallen her this time. Twilight ran upstairs to the mirror to check her horn. Looking at her reflection, Twilight didn’t notice anything peculiar or different. She let out a sigh of relief until boisterous knocking on the door downstairs grabbed her attention. Upon opening the door, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie leapt into the treehouse and mobbed Twilight, sending them all falling to the floor with a thud. After getting up, the ponies began to panic.

“I knew it! I just knew it! Trixie would never be that kind to send us flowers! Oh what a wretched trick!” cried Rarity.

Rainbow flew up into the air “You didn’t know anything, Rarity! Twilight was the one who thought it was suspicious! What are we going to do? WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DOOOO?!?”

“Oh no! What’s happened to us this time? I hope I didn’t lose my ability to talk! It would just horrible if I couldn’t talk again! I remember last time when we were infected by the poison joke. It was sooooo bad! My tongue was all puffy and blue and I couldn’t say anything!” shrieked Pinkie.

“Pinkie! You are talking! Calm down!” yelled Twilight.

Hoping to ease everybody’s nerves, Applejack chimed in. “Well this time I ain’t tiny. From the looks of it, it seems we ain’t affected. Rainbow’s wings are fine, Pinkie can talk, Rarity’s mane is still the same, and Twilight’s horn isn’t floppin’ around.”

Everyone took a deep breath of relaxation at Applejack’s assessment. Twilight walked over to her bookshelf to begin looking for her copy of Supernaturals: Natural Remedies and Cure-Alls that are Simply Super. “Perhaps Applejack is right girls. Maybe the poison joke didn’t work this time.”

Fluttershy nestled herself down onto a pillow. “We will be alright girls. Now let’s all quiet down and enjoy a nice rest,” she said in her normal, soft voice.

“NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!”

Fluttershy flew up and squeaked in fright as Twilight flung books from her book shelves. “It’s not here! I can’t find my book!”

The others gasped and quickly re-entered panic mode. Before the craziness got out of hand, Twilight stopped her searching and addressed her friends.

“As of right now, we don’t know if the poison joke has affected us or not. I say we all relax and let’s have our practice after lunch as scheduled.”

Applejack shook her head in agreement. “I agree. Maybe we missed the bullet and nothin’ will come over us.”

Rarity, Pinkie, and Rainbow nodded hesitantly, although still showing signs of nervousness and fright. Twilight used her magic to dispense of the poison joke plant and sent her friends along their way.

It was practice time as the Golden Leafs met up at Ponyville Pond. Afraid of the poison joke’s effects, each pony slowly put on their uniforms and gingerly stepped out onto the ice. When it appeared nothing harmful or unfortunate was going to happen, the girls let out a sigh of relief and begun their practice routine. After taking their normal skating laps and going through their stretches, Twilight spoke up.

“Okay Golden Leafs. Our next opponent is the Fillydelphia Flyers. They’re known for being a skilled, but dirty team. We have to be sharp and poised if we’re going to win. They have a set of very talented twins who we’ll need to keep in check; Caramela and Caramelo, the two wingers.”

Rainbow raised her hoof. Annoyed by this, Twilight promptly interrupted. “Rainbow, why is it that you’re ALWAYS the first pony to raise her hoof after I go over something? Can’t you just listen to what I have to say and accept it?”

“Oh, I wasn’t going to say anything. I was just stretching some more.”

Twilight face-hoofed and continued on. “So today we’re going to practice defensive assignments and covering the opponent. Using my magic, I’ll have these pony-sized mannequins play like the Flyers do and we’ll go from there. Any questions?” Twilight directed an intense stare at Rainbow. Rainbow pretended to raise her hoof but stopped and shook her head no.

With a blow of the whistle, Twilight’s mannequins appeared out of thin air and began to skate like real players. The puck dropped in front of the center dummy and play was on. Without waiting, Rainbow Dash flew at her opposing player. When she came in closer, her wings suddenly sprang up and redirected her away causing her to miss the dummy.

Rainbow screeched to a stop and turned around toward her teammates. “What? What just happened?”

“Your wings popped out and forced you away!” gasped Rarity.

The fake opponent passed the puck to the left wing dummy which stood in front of Applejack. Sensing a good opportunity for a check, Applejack started her stride. Even though Applejack’s legs were moving, she was skating slower than a snail. She clenched her teeth and tried powering her legs more but didn’t move any faster.

“Now what in tarnation?! I cain’t move at all! My legs are churnin’ but I ain’t burnin’!”

“It’s the poison joke! We’re doooooomed!” yelled Pinkie from out her goalie mask.

With uneasiness growing inside her, Twilight naively tried to dismiss it. “Uhh maybe her skates are just dull?”

The right wing mannequin zipped across the middle of the zone and passed off to the left wing dummy. Rarity attempted to skate closer but as soon as she took her first step, her legs gave out from under her and she tripped face first. Rarity slowly got up and cried.

“Oh it’s no use! We are infected! I don’t know what happened to my legs! We’re ruined!”

Again, Twilight tried to dismiss it. “Oh Rarity, you were just clumsy. Get back up and you’ll be fine.”

Now standing, Rarity tried a few quick strides but quickly tumbled back down to the ice. She remained sprawled out on the ice and began weeping.

The left wing dummy passed over to the center dummy who was behind the net. Fluttershy quickly turned around to go cover the puck holder. As Fluttershy skated toward the center dummy, her helmet expanded in size and blocked her sight. Fluttershy screamed as she kept skating blindly toward the back of the net. The center dummy dodged the incoming Fluttershy and passed the puck around the boards. Visually impaired, Fluttershy rammed into the side post of the net and knocked Pinkie over. Pinkie helped Fluttershy up and turned to Twilight.

“Now do you believe Twilight? Now do you believe that…we’re dooooooooomed?!”

“Uhh maybe her helmet straps need to be tightened? I’ll get Spike right on that.”

“TWILIGHT!” everypony yelled.

Twilight stammered to defend her notion. “But we don’t know if Pinkie or I are infected yet. We could get by with a few of you having equipment issues.”

By this time, the puck was back on the stick of the left wing dummy. The dummy wound up for a shot but the erratically skating Rainbow was able to swoop by and alter the shot. The puck weakly skidded along the ice and ended up on Twilight’s stick. As Twilight shot the puck away, her stick nearly crumbled inside her mouth. The wooden stick softened into rubber and flopped at the puck. Twilight looked down in disbelief at the center dummy picked up the puck and took it to the net. The mannequin flicked a quick shot right at Pinkie. She stuck her glove out for the save but couldn’t catch it. Like a slippery bar of soap, the puck squirted out of Pinkie’s glove and landed next to her. The right wing dummy was waiting there at the doorstep to put in the rebound. With that goal, all the Golden Leafs turned to Twilight with a mix of despair and irritation on their faces.

Twilight sighed in defeat. “I guess we are infected by the poison joke. But how are we going to get a cure in time? We play Fillydelphia tonight!”

“We gotta go to Zecora’s! She knows how to fix us up. We gotta go now if we wanna be ready in time!” said Applejack as she began taking off her uniform.

Quickly following Applejack’s lead, the Golden Leafs rushed off to the locker room to change before heading out toward the Everfree Forest.

Swiftly galloping through the Everfree Forest, the Golden Leafs arrived at Zecora’s house. More panic swept over them as they saw there was no light shining from inside.

“Look at the door! A note!” said Pinkie anxiously.

Twilight ran up to the door to read the note.

”If it is help that you seek, I’ll be back in about a week. I am off to Canterlot with my latest remedy invention. To present and sell at the Equestria Pharmeceutical Convention.

- Zecora

Immediately Rarity and Rainbow hugged each other in a panic. “We’re dooooomed!”

“Hey! That’s my line!” yelled Pinkie.

The ponies began arguing and freaking out. Twilight tried to get in between to calm her friends down but was drowned out by their anguish and sorrow. With horn glowing, Twilight shut her friends’ mouths like zippers.

“We don’t need Zecora! I think I still remember the recipe from last time. Let’s go back to the treehouse, make the remedy, then we’ll be on our way.”

Staring at Twilight, the others closed their eyes to show calmness. As soon as Twilight unzipped their mouths open, everypony was back to arguing and yelling. Not affording to waste any more time, Twilight galloped off to which the others followed.

Back at the treehouse, Twilight furiously whipped together the remedy with Spike’s help. The other ponies were sleeping around the living room thanks to a much needed lullaby sung by Fluttershy when they arrived. Spike’s tiny arms weren’t enough to swirl the potion so Twilight nudged him aside to take over.

“Sorry, Spike. I’ve got to get this remedy done quickly. Oh I hope I remembered the right ingredients and amounts!”

“What about your copy of the Supernaturals book?”

“I don’t know what happened to it. I looked everywhere and couldn’t find it.”

“Did you try asking Aloe and Lotus at the spa?”

Completely forgetting the spa ponies had asked for Zecora’s recipe, Twilight smacked herself with her hoof. “No, but there’s no time now. I have to finish this!”

“You know you could’ve asked Apple Bloom too, she went and gathered the ingredients for Zecora.”

Twilight spun the stirring stick faster. “You’re not helping Spike!”

“I just calls it hows I sees it Twilight,” said Spike in a fake tough guy voice as he walked away.

A few more twirls and the remedy was done. Twilight jumped inside the pot. She paused to wait for it to kick in but remembered it would be back on the ice where they would notice if it worked. One by one, Twilight rushed around the living room waking up the others and getting them to bathe in their share of the remedy. After drying off, the Golden Leafs left for Ponyville Pond.

While walking toward the players’ entrance, the Golden Leafs noticed a crowd of ponies standing around a booth in front of the arena. Upon further inspection, they saw the same golden flowers that had arrived in Trixie’s gift basket. With a gasp and an angry growl, the Golden Leafs trotted up to the booth. It was a flower shop selling various plants, including roses, lilies, daises, and the golden flowers. Rarity and Twilight used their magic to pull the golden flowers off the cart and beat them against the ground. The ponies around the cart fled in shock as the Golden Leafs thwarted the new batch of golden plants. Before Twilight and company could leave, three voices erupted from a distance and grew louder.

“What’s the big idea?”

“Yeah! What are you doing with our flowers?”

“Get out of here you meanies!”

It was the Flower Sisters; Rose, Lily, and Daisy. They galloped up to the Golden Leafs in a huff. Rarity walked up to them and pointed to the golden flowers.

“These flowers of yours contain poison joke! They look gold, but it chips off to reveal its true self!”

“How dare you! We would never sell poison joke!” said Rose with a scowl.

“Oh yeah? We’ll see about that!” yelled Rainbow as she flew up to Rose.

Lily walked to the beaten golden flowers and picked it up by her teeth. She approached the Golden Leafs and spit them out toward them, to which the Leafs repelled in fright.

“See? We told you. They’re just our special species of golden flowers our grandmother taught us how to grow. You owe us big time!” squealed Daisy.

Rainbow turned her attention to Daisy. “We don’t owe you anything! You-“

Twilight yanked Rainbow by the tail to bring her down. With extreme guilt, Twilight apologized to the Flower Sisters.

“We’re deeply sorry ladies. It’s just that we were given a bouquet of those golden flowers which turned out to be poison joke. Because of the poison joke, we can’t play hockey very well. We’re sorry to have destroyed your work and we’ll pay you back.”

“We don’t want your money!” said Rose. “We’ll see you out on the ice!”

Turning their noses up into the air, the Flower Sisters closed up their cart and walked to the visitor’s entrance to the arena.

The Golden Leafs watched on as their opponents entered the arena. Out of nowhere, Apple Bloom appeared and happily skipped in behind the Flower Sisters. Applejack saw her little sister and was immediately confused and concerned.

“What in tarnation…APPLE BLOOM! Y’all get back here…ya’hear!”

Apple Bloom didn’t hear her sister’s call and continued inside. Applejack tried yelling again but it was no use. The Golden Leafs reached their entrance and made their way to the locker room.

Inside the locker room, the Golden Leafs were finishing putting on their gear. An aura of uncertainty and hesitation filled the air as the girls wondered if Twilight’s potion was going to rid them of their hockey-related ailments. Fluttershy checked her helmet inside and out for any funny business. She put it on like normal and it fit perfectly. The two minute warning horn buzzed inside the arena, prompting Twilight to address her team.

“Alright girls. We won’t know if the poison joke still affects us until we step out on that ice. If there’s still some lingering misfortune, then try as hard as you can to overcome your issue. We’ll have to learn to play through this adversity.”

Rainbow began to raise her hoof until she remembered what Twilight told her at practice. Instead, she just blurted out. “What’s adversity?”

“A disadvantage! Now let’s get out there and do our best!”

Somewhat inspired but mostly apprehensive, the Golden Leafs took to the ice.

The Ponyville fans were much more vocal and supportive for the second home game since the Golden Leafs were coming off their first victory. A loud “GO LEAFS GO!” chant broke out as the lights went down and the introductions began. Spike introduced the Fillydelphia Flyers first.
The forwards for Fillydelphia from left wing to center to right wing were #33 Caramela, #14 Rose, and #22 Caramelo. Fillydelphia’s defense consisted of the remaining Flower Sisters, #3 Daisy and #20 Lily. Their goalie, the third and final Cutie Mark Crusader the Golden Leafs will have faced, was #32 Apple Bloom. Hoping to not only to earn her cutie mark but to prove herself to Applejack, Apple Bloom prepped inside the crease with a purpose. She was more focused and determined than her fellow Crusaders during their performances against the Golden Leafs.

Quickly following the Flyers’ emergence onto the ice were the Golden Leafs’ introductions. Spike repeated his script from the home opener to lead each Golden Leaf onto the ice. The fans roared louder as each skater was announced. Applejack looked toward the Flyers’ end to see Apple Bloom hopping around the crease, practicing her save maneuvers. Applejack swiftly skated down to her with slightly angry visage.

“Apple Bloom! You take off them goalie pads right now you hear me?!”

“I cain’t Applejack! I’m the Flyers’ goalie! I’ve been playin’ for them for a few games now!”

“Then how come I ain’t seen you leave the farm?”

“Ya know all them visits to Aunt and Uncle Orange’s that Granny Smith and Big Macintosh have been tellin’ you about? Hehe.”

“What the hay? Granny and Mac haven’t told me anythin’.”

Before Applejack could go on, the referee skated over to direct Applejack back to the Ponyville side of the ice. Apple Bloom lifted up her mask and gave Applejack a wink and stuck out her tongue. Both teams set up at the faceoff circle to begin. With the Flower Sisters’ anger from the pre-game altercation, Applejack’s confusion toward Apple Bloom, and the looming uncertainty about the effectiveness of Twilight’s poison joke remedy, the puck dropped to begin the game.

Fillydelphia won the opening faceoff and the Golden Leafs retreated back into their zone, afraid to challenge the Flyer forwards in fear of the poison joke. Daisy passed to Caramelo who took it into the offensive end. Caramelo whipped the puck around the boards to Caramela who was waiting for it. The Golden Leafs collapsed into their penalty kill set-up, allowing the Flyers to pass back and forth and around. Tired of sitting back and letting the Flyers buzz around them, Twilight stepped over to battle Caramela for the puck. After a few pokes and jabs, Twilight won control of the puck and attempted to pass. As Twilight nudged her head to pass, her stick softened up again. The now rubber stick flopped and only pushed the puck a few feet forward. Lily noticed Twilight’s struggle and stepped up to steal the puck back. Lily zipped a pass over to Caramelo on the right wing. Caramelo stalled as his sister circled around Fluttershy and broke open in the slot. Caramelo flicked a pass to the center where Caramela one-timed it on net. The puck was too quick for Pinkie as it clanged the bottom of the crossbar and ended up in the net. The Caramel twins met behind the net to celebrate while the Golden Leafs drifted toward Twilight in frustration.

”Fillydelphia goal scored by number 33 Caramela! Assisted by number 22 Caramelo and number 20 Lily.”

“Ugh! The potion didn’t work! Great job Twilight!” Rainbow sneered.

Applejack tapped Rainbow on the helmet. “Chill out Rainbow. I didn’t see y’all try to help!”

“We’re doooooooomed!” yelled Pinkie from the crease.

Twilight looked away from her teammates. “I’m sorry everypony. I thought I remembered enough of the recipe. If we lose, I’ll take the blame.”

“It’s okay, dear. We’re a team so if we lose, it will be all our faults. Especially Rainbow’s,” said Rarity as she skated up to Twilight to console her.

Rainbow stepped toward Rarity with nostrils flared. “Hey!”

The referee approached the girls and directed them to center ice for the faceoff. Fillydelphia had the puck once again and entered the Ponyville zone. Rose carried the puck in through the neutral zone and looked for an open teammate. Rainbow was done being hesitant and skated over to try to steal the puck. As Rainbow approached, Rose skated toward the right boards. Rose passed the puck back to the blue line to Daisy which made Rainbow change her direction. However, Rainbow’s wings popped out and kept her drifting toward Rose. Both Rainbow and Rose yelled as they crashed into the glass together. The referee blazed over with whistle chirping. The Ponyville crowd began booing as the referee made the penalty announcement.

“Ponyville number 20, two minutes for interference.”

Frustrated, Rainbow pushed Rose off of her and skated to the penalty box. The Fillydelphia power play soon began and they peppered shots on Pinkie. Due to Pinkie’s slippery pads, the puck squirted back to Fillydelphia after each attempt. Caramela had the puck on the left wing boards looking to make a play. Fluttershy skated toward her but quickly lost sight as her helmet dropped over her face. Caramela stepped aside as Fluttershy crashed into the boards and passed it over to Daisy on the blue line. Daisy slapped a shot on net, through the Golden Leafs’ box. As the puck flew toward the net, Rose peeled around from behind the net to the center and tipped the puck in flight. Pinkie shifted across the crease but didn’t plan on the redirection. The puck pounded the back of the net for the Fillydelphia power play goal.

”Fillydelphia power play goal scored by number 14, Rose! Assisted by number 33 Caramelo and number 3 Daisy!”

A chorus of booing rung out into the arena air as the Flyers converged upon Rose to cheer for their goal. Twilight received another angry glare from Rainbow who exited the penalty box. Twilight could only look down in response.

Play was back on and finally Ponyville had the puck. Despite her floppy stick, Twilight was able to push the puck to Rarity on the left wing. Rarity entered the zone and tried with all her might to stay balanced and skate down into the corner. It was to no avail as Lily skated around and poked the puck away. As Rarity began to give chase, she fell forward and caught Lily’s back skate, causing her to fall. The referee held his hoof up and blew the whistle when Rainbow touched the puck. Rarity got up from the ice and stumbled toward the penalty box while pouting.

“Ponyville number 9, two minutes for tripping.”

The other Golden Leafs threw up their front legs in frustration as they found themselves back on the penalty kill. Fillydelphia won the faceoff and went back to work passing around the Golden Leafs’ formation. Daisy passed along the blue line to Lily who passed off to Caramela on the left wing. Caramela cycled behind the net where Twilight skated to cut her off. Caramela skated side by side with Twilight behind the net toward the corner. Rose bolted through the center and tapped her stick for Caramella. Caramela scooted the puck between her legs toward Rose who was open to Pinkie’s right. Fluttershy approached her but was blinded again, skating wildly toward the net. Seeing Fluttershy coming up on Rose, Caramelo sprinted to the other side of the net and called for the puck. Rose flicked it through the crease, out and away from Pinkie’s poke check attempt. The puck arrived right to Caramelo who slammed it in. It was now becoming a familiar sight; the Flyers celebrating a goal, a Golden Leaf dejectedly exiting the penalty box, and the crowd voicing their displeasure.

”Fillydelphia power play goal, scored by number 33, Caramelo! Assisted by number 14, Rose, and number 22, Caramela!”

The Golden Leafs were quickly becoming discouraged. They sadly drifted over for a new faceoff and lost it again. Luckily, there were only a few seconds left in the period. The final horn for the first period sounded like temporary relief for Ponyville as they were outscored, outshot, and outskilled the 1st period.

Amidst heavy booing, the Golden Leafs retreated to their locker room.

Back in the locker room, the mood was grim and deflating. Each pony kept to themselves, especially Twilight who was feeling the weight of guilt and failure pushing upon her shoulders. Seeing the gloomy disposition of her teammates, Applejack decided to take over the pep talk.

“We need ta’ stop feelin’ sorry for ourselves and get back ta’ business. Sure it ain’t lookin’ pretty out there right now but we still have the talent to get back in this thing! We just need to focus harder to overcome the poison joke. I want each and every one of y’all to stand up, look me in the eye, and promise me your best effort this period!”

Applejack stood in front of Rainbow. Rainbow stared back unenthused and stuck her tongue out. Applejack narrowed her eyes and delivered a headbutt to her friend. Rainbow reeled from the hit and promised Applejack her best effort. Going down the line, the rest of the Golden Leafs made their promise. Twilight stood up and flashed a smile.

“Thanks, Applejack.”

“No problem, Twi. We’ll get through this.”

With their mood a little less dour, the Golden Leafs trotted out for the 2nd period.

The 2nd period started much better for the Golden Leafs. Rainbow won the faceoff to Fluttershy who passed to Applejack entering the zone. Applejack, despite her slow skating, endured a check and kept control of the puck. She went down into the corner with Caramela right on her. Rainbow darted back and forth toward them and grabbed the puck. Rainbow’s wings pushed her in all different directions which threw off the Fillydelphia defense. Rainbow was able to fire off Ponyville’s first shot which was caught by a leaping Apple Bloom. Apple Bloom gave the puck off to Rose who skated up the center. Rarity veered over to challenge Rose and was stumbling along beside her. As Rarity poked at the puck, her legs gave out. She was able to dive away from Rose without touching her. Rose noticed Rarity’s fall and fell herself, acting like she was tripped. The referee blew the whistle and skated over toward the two fallen ponies.

“Fillydelphia, number 14, two minutes for embellishment.”

The Ponyville crowd cheered as Rose angrily stood up and argued the call. The referee pointed toward the penalty box and Rose skated to it, still arguing. The Golden Leafs caught a break and were about to begin their first power play of the evening. Rainbow won the ensuing faceoff and pushed it to Twilight. Twilight quickly got to her spot along the blue line and passed over to Fluttershy before her stick turned to mush. Fluttershy watched as her teammates struggled to get to their positions so she fired at the net. Rainbow’s wings propelled her into the path of the flying puck. Without noticing the puck, Rainbow’s skate deflected it up into the corner of the net where Apple Bloom was too short to jump up and reach. The goal horn blared out and the goal light flickered catching Rainbow off guard. She jumped when she realized the goal and was quickly mobbed by her teammates.

”GOOOAAALLL!! On the power play, number 20, Rainbow Dash! Assisted by number 0, Fluttershy, and number 42, Twilight Sparkle!”

Ponyville was finally on the board and their fans gave out a rare cheer. Rose stormed out of the penalty box as the teams drifted in for the faceoff. Fillydelphia won the faceoff and were in Ponyville’s zone. After a few shots on Pinkie, Fluttershy was able to shoot the puck out to Rainbow. Fillydelphia ramped up their physicality and were soon hitting any Golden Leaf who even sniffed the puck. This new strategy overwhelmed Ponyville because they did not have the power or the control to hit back due to the poison joke. Fillydelphia had the puck back in the Golden Leaf zone and were firing away.

With nearly a minute left in the 2nd period, a shot on Pinkie ricocheted all the way down the center of the ice. Applejack had a head start and tried skating after it. Soon both teams were on her tail trying to get the puck. Rose caught up to Applejack and sneakily dug a knee into her side, knocking Applejack off track. Applejack spun into the boards while Rose sprinted back toward the Ponyville zone. Rose was able to deke out Fluttershy and danced around Twilight and her flopping stick. With a head fake, Rose caught Pinkie out of position and drilled the puck into the top left corner for the unassisted goal.

”Goal Fillydelphia! Scored unassisted by number 14, Rose!

All the momentum the Golden Leafs had built up with their power play goal quickly disintegrated. Now down 4-1, they waited for the last fifteen seconds of the 2nd period to run out so they could regroup one last time.

On cue, the horn sounded and a groan rang out from the Golden Leafs faithful. It was time to get back to the drawing board and figure out a way to rise above the poison joke and the Flyers.

Twilight and friends gathered together to devise a strategy that would help them get back into the game.

“How about we whip up some baked bads and send them over to their locker room? I love baking! Applejack, you can help me again!” Pinkie suggested.

Twilight dismissed Pinkie’s idea. “Nah, that’s not going to work. How about we play bad on purpose so it counteracts with the poison joke? Thus, we’ll be good again!”

As the Golden Leafs strategized, the doors to the locker room burst open. A brown hooded pony rushed into the room with a bottle hanging from her neck. With a flip of her hood, the pony was revealed to be a zebra. Zecora had returned and was panting with exhaustion. The Golden Leafs’ eyes lit up in extreme delight as they ran to meet her.

“A cry I heard, from you pony folk, about the troubles you received from the poison joke. I was made aware by your dragon friend, so I left to put your strife to an end.”

Twilight smiled at Spike and gave him a playful nudge. Zecora distributed her remedy out to everypony as she continued on. The Golden Leafs chugged down the potion and were immediately energized.

“Do you like it? My new medicine drink? It works faster than you can blink. Off I’ll go with no need to thank. Now get out there and kick some flank!”

In unison, Twilight and friends shouted their thanks to the departing Zecora. They stood up with immense confidence bubbling up inside them. Anxious, they galloped to the rink for the start of the 3rd period.

Fillydelphia and Ponyville met at center ice for the faceoff. Rainbow and Rose tied up each other with the puck at their hooves. Applejack, in a full, swift stride, swept up the puck and took it into the Fillydelphia zone. Rainbow sprinted straight down the center, wings staying in place. Applejack sniped the pass through Caramela’s legs onto Rainbow’s stick. Rainbow dangled around a diving Lily and entered the crease. Rainbow skidded to stop, spraying ice flakes into Apple Bloom’s mask. Apple Bloom let out a “HEY!” as Rainbow pounded the puck in the net for a very quick goal.

”GOOOAAALLL! Scored by number 20, Rainbow Dash! Assisted by number 88, Applejack!”

Rainbow glided around the net, wildly celebrating as she was no longer under the annoying hold of the poison joke. The crowd sprung to life and cheered the latest goal as the Golden Leafs celebrated at center ice. A loud “GO LEAFS GO!” chant broke out again as the teams lined up for the faceoff. Rainbow won the puck and kicked it to Fluttershy. Fluttershy, able to see clearly, passed the puck to Rarity along the boards. Rarity skated down toward the net but was cut off by Daisy. Rarity spun back around and saw Twilight open at the blue line. Rarity slapped the puck to Twilight who waited for a play to develop. Applejack, who was covered behind the net by Caramela, quickly dashed to the faceoff circle. Twilight snapped a pass to Applejack. With a hard slap, Applejack fired on net. Apple Bloom reached her glove hoof up to catch it, but the force of the shot propelled her into the net. In pain, Apple Bloom dropped the puck inside the net for another Ponyville goal.

Louder cheers exploded from the stands as Ponyville fought back to a 4-3 deficit. Applejack greeted her teammates and exchanged helmet bumps as the goal horn overpowered the crowd. In the Fillydelphia net, Apple Bloom shook her glove off and was holding her hoof with tears welling up in her eyes. Applejack saw this and briskly skated over to her.

Apple Bloom looked up at Applejack and stopped her sniffling. “That didn’t hurt! That was…nothin’!”

Applejack smiled down at Apple Bloom and planted a kiss on her injured hoof. “It’ll feel better now.”

“Thanks, sis,” said Apple Bloom with a smile and her tears rolling away.

”GOOOAAAALLL!! Scored by number 88, Applejack! Assisted by number 42, Twilight Sparkle! And number 9, the beautiful and elegant Rarity!”

Applejack regrouped with her team and awaited the faceoff. Now a one goal game, the buzz returned to the atmosphere. The flurry of quick goals revived the crowd and now there were yelling and chanting. The puck dropped again and Fillydelphia finally pushed the puck into the Ponyville end. With the puck dumped into the corner, Twilight went after it and arrived before Rose. They fought along the boards until Twilight kicked it free along the boards toward Rarity. Rarity grabbed the puck and headed up the ice. Afraid of another Golden Leafs rush, Caramelo skated in toward Rarity. Leading with his knee, Caramelo landed a crushing hit. Rarity fell to the ice in a heap. Caramelo quickly skated off but was caught by the referee.

“Fillydelphia penalty, number 33, two minutes for roughing!”

The crowd cheered wildly as Caramelo sheepishly entered the penalty box. The fans sitting around the box taunted the Flyers right winger as the Golden Leafs began a very crucial power play. Rainbow won the puck to Twilight who passed to Fluttershy while the others got into position. Fluttershy passed to Rarity on the left wing who passed the Rainbow behind the net. Rainbow passed back to Rarity who swung it over to Twilight. Twilight wound up to shoot, but Rose dove to knock it away with her stick. Rose quickly got up and took the puck for a shorthanded breakaway. Pinkie skated up to cut down Rose’s angle. With Rose closing in and Pinkie drifting back, the crowd stood up to watch. Rose tried a deke but Pinkie stayed still. Running out of room, Rose fired a shot toward the top corner. Pinkie raised her blocker hoof and knocked the puck off to the corner. A loud cheer exploded after Pinkie’s save as Twilight retrieved the puck. Another “GO LEAFS GO!” chant echoed to the rafters as Twilight carried the puck down the center herself. Seeing the Flyers defense sagging back deep in their zone, Twilight stepped over the blue line and fired a shot with all her strength. Like a bullet, the puck zinged off the bottom edge of the crossbar and landed in behind Apple Bloom who turned around in disbelief.

”POWER PLAY GOOOOOAAAAALLLL!! Scored by number 42, Twilight Sparkle! Assisted by number 33, Pinkie Pie!

Twilight was bowled over by her friends in the corner as the arena hit a fever pitch. The Golden Leafs valiantly fought back to force a 4-4 tie. Caramelo slammed his stick on the ice upon leaving the box and broke it. The “GO LEAFS GO!” chant was louder than ever as both teams reset at center ice for the faceoff. Only one minute remained. Fillydelphia all wore a scowl and gnashed their teeth in determination to take the lead back. The puck dropped and Fillydelphia took control. Daisy dumped the puck into the corner and Rose chased after it with fury. Fluttershy drifted toward the puck but Rose thundered in to take it. Caramela circled along the left wing boards but was covered closely by Rarity. Thirty seconds left. Rose fought off Fluttershy and was met by Applejack. Applejack pried and poked at the puck but Rose was resilient. Finally, Rose passed the puck along the right wing boards to Lily who was at the blue line. Twenty seconds left. Following the play, Rainbow quickly changed her direction and went after Lily. Lily reared her head back for a big shot. Seeing this, Rainbow sprung forward with a dive. As Lily’s stick came down on the puck, Rainbow’s diving stick pushed the puck out of the way, bouncing it off the boards into the neutral zone in front of the Ponyville bench. Ten seconds left. Lily followed through with her shot but had no puck left to shoot. Rainbow jumped to her skates and bolted for the puck. With time running down, Rainbow picked up the puck and was off on a breakaway. The entire arena rose to their hooves and yelled wildly as Rainbow carried the puck over the Fillydelphia blue line with seven seconds left. Apple Bloom skated out a bit while Rainbow zoomed in.