Sunrise: Chapter 10

It’s finally gameday.

After a week full of the bullshit life can throw at you it’s finally time. My triumphant return to the football field is a mere hours away. With all the pomp and circumstance surrounding our match you’d think I’d be ecstatic. But as I lean against the shower wall, I can’t help but feel drained. Last night’s nightmare was a replay of when the Princess stripped me of my destiny.

That scene has been a recurring theme of my nighttime disturbances since before the demon’s influence began. For the past six weeks, I’ve been back in the throne room with tears in my eyes, pleading my case to the Alicorn that helped me become great. And every time she crushes my heart into pieces in response. And yet I’m supposed to believe she still cares about me. Since I’m never going back, I guess we’ll never find out.

I step out of the shower and finish my early morning freshening up, before sliding on my underwear and gathering my dirty linens. When I open the door to cross over to my room to get dressed, I’m met by the site of Twilight Sparkle, toiletries in her arms. Her bathroom supplies clang to the floor when she covers her eyes.

“Sunset, there are people here! Don’t you have any decency?!” She yells. By the Sun, there are nuns less prudish than Twilight.

“We have the same equipment Twilight, stop being such a child.” I chide. Examining her body, looks like we weren’t created equal. “But it looks like the portal was kinder to me in certain areas.”

I swear her cheeks turn a darker shade of purple. “Honestly, must you always be so rude to me?” She laments.

As much as I’d hate to admit, she has a point. Since she’s been here I have been picking on her. And to top it off, I accidentally pulled a knife on her last night. Part of me says I should care, but honestly I don’t. I enter my room and kick the door shut. From there I proceed to lay out my clothes for the trip to the stadium: a simple short-sleeved shirt and track pants. Then I sit on the bed and face the full length mirror in front of the bed and brush out my hair. As I do, a quiet tapping draws my attention to the bedroom door.

“umm...sunset? is it okay if I come in?” It’s Fluttershy. My body tingles all over when I hear my lover’s voice. How can this shy girl have me so tied up in knots already?

“Come on in, Flutters.” I say and put my brush down. She enters, still in her sleepwear, her clothes bag over her shoulder. When our eyes meet, I see the look that has me wrapped around her finger. The blush growing on her cheeks makes me chuckle. And, strangely enough, I feel myself blushing as well.

“g...good morning sunset.” She closes the door behind her and stands there, fidgeting. I smile, and beckon her closer with my finger. She walks over slowly and sits next to me on the foot of the bed.

“Good morning, my adorable Fluttershy” My swoon makes her blush. She’s so cute when she blushes. I scoot closer to her, and lay my head on her lap, letting out a gentle sigh.

“How did you sleep?” she asks, fingers tracing my cheek.

“I didn’t sleep well last night.” I gently stroke a palm along the outside of her thigh.

“oh it wasn’t because of me was it? i’m so sorry if it was. i try not to be a snorer but sometimes it just happens!” she blurts out. Her concern over me being offended by her snoring makes me giggle. In secret I really wish that was all it was.

“It wasn’t your snoring hun, in fact I didn’t notice any.” I say. She breathes a sigh of relief. “I just had a bad dream is all.”

I roll over to look up at her. Her eyes are full of concern as she strokes her delicate fingers through my hair.

“Was it because of...her?” She asks. For once, that’s not the case. Sadly, I would have rathered dealing with that creature.

“No, not this time.” I sigh. “I had another nightmare about the day I left Equestria.”

“It bothers you, doesn’t it?” Fluttershy asks.

“My mentor basically said I was unworthy of being her student after I tried to do one good thing for her.” I rub my cheek against Fluttershy’s hand and stare up into her aqua colored eyes. “So yes, it bothers me.”

Fluttershy tugs on my shoulder, forcing me to sit up against her. “well you know what I think would help?” I shake my head. “Today, take all of your negative feelings and use them to fuel your drive during today’s game.”

Today’s game. I almost forgot about that! The Baltimare Blaze, our arch rivals are coming to town, and when we see them, they’re gonna have one pissed off Sunset Shimmer to deal with. With a grin I hop up from the bed and give Fluttershy a loving kiss.

“Thanks baby.” I coo. She just sits there blushing. As I get dressed, I can’t help but notice her eyeing me up and down. That ever present wanting gaze of hers has my body aching to be touched, but I have to repress those urges for now. We do have somewhere to be after all.

“You should go get dressed hun, we need to get ready to go.” I say. My words break her out her trance and she nods. As we dress we steal glances at each other’s bodies. Every now and then our eyes would meet, and we’d blow a kiss or one of us would reach other and pinch an exposed body part. My, if we didn’t have somewhere to be...

But as we play around, I can’t help but wonder if maybe I’m pushing this a little too far. So as we finished getting dressed, I inquire about her feelings.

“Fluttershy, are you sure you want to go this fast?” She stares at me, then begins to falter.

“i knew i was trying too much...i-i’m sorry sunset shimmer, i-i didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, honest. it’s just-” I cross the room and plant a huge smooch on her lips, making her knees weak.

“Fluttershy, I’m not mad, or uncomfortable.” I reassure her. “I just want to know if the speed of the relationship is worrying you. I mean we’ve only been actually dating two days.”

Fluttershy looks down, then gazes up at me. “If Applejack and Rarity can do what they have, w-what makes what we do any different? i mean...i’m just saying, especially since we’ve been hanging out before all this…”

I pull her into a deep, lingering kiss. Our tongues instantly meet and I moan hotly against her lips before parting with her.

“Thank you.” I pant. “I promise I will keep my word to you.”

Fluttershy pecks my lips before letting me go. “t-thank you, sunset.” she says. With us both dressed, I grab my gym bag and step out of my room, Flutters in tow. When we walk into the living room, I see the others are ready as well. Applejack and RD both have sweats on with tennis shoes. Pinkie Pie, Twilight, and Fluttershy are both wearing the blue sweater with the Canterlot C on their chest. Rarity throws on a light colored, wide brimmed straw hat with purple ribbon, a pair of designer shades that take up half of her face, and a long sundress and wedged sandals.

“Ooooo I’m so excited! I can’t wait for today’s game!” Pinkie Pie bounces high enough for her hair to graze my ceiling.

“Calm down, Pinkie Pie. You’re going to put a hole in Sunset’s roof if you bounce too high.” Rainbow Dash warns.

“Butyouknowhowilikepartiesandfootballgamesarejustlikepartiesexceptyou’rewatchingagamebutwhenyourteamdoeswellit’slikeanevenbiggerpartyandeveryone’syourfriendexceptthepeoplewholiketheotherteambutnoonecaresaboutthem!” Pinkie doesn’t so much as speak as regurgitates an entire sentence. We all stand there stunned.

Rainbow Dash shakes her head. “O...kay?”

Applejack just chuckles. “That girl’s more hyper than Rainbow after a fresh cup o’ cider.” She says.

“Hey!” Rainbow takes offense. Applejack just tips her hat.

“So how are we getting to the stadium, exactly? There’s seven of us, after all.” Rarity asks. She brings up a good point.

“Well, you, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack all have cars.” I say. “But we shouldn’t take all of them. The parking spots will go quickly.”

After a quick conversation, we come to an agreement on how to divvy up the cars. Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Twilight join Rarity in her white BMW M3. Fluttershy and I ride with Rainbow Dash in her sky blue Dodge Charger. With everyone situated, we gather our things and head for the condo building’s underground garage.

The engines roar to life and we’re on our way. As we leave the building, I can’t help but see the orange glow of the sun as it slowly rises over the city. It takes me back to when I was a unicorn living with the Princess. I’d wake up every morning and stare out the window in anticipation. My heart would fill with wonder as I watched the Princess of the Sun raised the glowing ball of light and warmth into the Equestrian skies. It used to fill me me pride. Now seeing the sunrise fills me with regret.

I lay my head against the door frame and close my eyes. It’s only a brief rest, because soon we’re parked outside of Canterlot Stadium. We pull into the parking lot, and grab our gear. We all agree to meet at the cars after the game and split up to our respective areas.

As me, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash walk towards the tunnel to go to the locker rooms, we can’t help but notice all the TV trucks outside. It seems like every major sports and news outlet has shown up to see us play. Even the banners on the outside of the stadium have been changed to show off our team.

One of them stops me cold, for obvious reasons. It’s me, in the old Wonderbolt FC uniform. On the giant poster I’m running, head turned to the left. Aligned vertically in gold letters on the left side of the poster is my name. On the lower right corner is my personal emblem, and on the upper right is the team logo.

“When did THAT get made?” I ask, astonished.

Rainbow Dash puts her arm around my shoulder. “Well, when Fluttershy told me you were coming back we wanted to do something special to announce it. So we had the stadium make up one of the murals with you on it. Do you like it?!”

I don’t know what to say, so instead I show my gratitude by hugging Rainbow Dash tightly.

“I guess that a yes?” Rainbow says. I nod. With an extra pep in my step we head into the home locker room.

The locker rooms have large varnished wood stalls for lockers with nameplates attached to each one in alphabetical order. Our game day home jerseys are hung up for us with our names visible. In the middle are benches, aligned in a square. We get dressed and greet our teammates as they enter. After saying my hellos, I pull my socks over my shin guards, lace up my cleats, and head out onto the field, Rainbow Dash close behind.

From field level, the grandstands form a ring around the field, with awnings covering the left and right stands from end line to end line in shade. The space behind the north and south grandstands are uncovered, with large scoreboards. On the video screens next to the scoreboards was a message welcoming fans to the HSPL game between us and Baltimare. As we jog, our warm-up session is set to the cheesiest selection of Classic rock this world has to offer blaring through the speakers. Rainbow Dash enjoys it, but it’s just noise to me.

We jog around the southern end of the field, using the white lines painted as a guide. I can’t help but notice some of the Baltimare players are already out here stretching on the north side of the field. They wear purple jerseys with black sleeves, black shorts with purple trim, and pure black socks. Another group of them is working on passing drills from what I can tell. Not like it’ll help them much. One of the players spots me and Rainbow and whispers something to her teammates. We don’t pay them any mind, and just focus on our run.

After three laps, we help each other stretch out our limbs, and then work on some passing and agility drills as the girls filter out to the field. They break up into groups and work on passing and ball handling. Others help Derpy get accustomed to reading the ball by taking some shots at the goal. Looking at the girls, they look good. Everyone’s got a smile on their face and extra hitch in their step.

And then I hear the voice.

“Well isn’t this a sight.”

Rainbow and I whip around and see her. The green skin, the ocean blue hair in a long ponytail, those gold eyes and nonchalant expression. Fucking Whirlwind. She’s flanked by her two cohorts, Starshine and Angel Hair.

“What do you want, crybaby?!” I shout.

“Temper temper, we don’t want any red cards before the game starts, do we?” she taunts. Rainbow Dash growls and balls up her fists, but I put out my arm to block her from taking a step. “We’re just here to say hello and wish you luck.” Whirlwind says.

“Yeah, right!” Rainbow doesn’t buy it.

“What’s wrong Rainbow, still stinging from last year?” Angelhair crows.

“Try to make a game of it this time, we don’t want you demoted without a fight.” Starshine says and brushes her bangs out of her hair.

These girls don’t know what’s coming . “You really think it’ll be that easy? We’re not just gonna show up, we’re gonna beat you down today.” I get right up in Whirlwind’s face. Really I have to look down to get into her face, but the effect is still the same. Angel Hair and Starshine step up to try and block me, but Rainbow comes to my aid. The other teammates join in, gathering just outside the south goal’s eighteen yard box. We stare each other down, some players shouting. Before a punch can be thrown, the referees step in to back us away. The warmup session is brought to an end and the teams head to the locker rooms.

“I can’t stand that damn Whirlwind.” Rainbow shouts. “

“We know Rainbow, we know.” Flitter says, trying to calm Rainbow down.

“We’ll show em this time Dash, don’t you worry.” Lightning Dust says proudly.

“Those damn cheaters’ won’t know what hit em!” Applejack shouts. The other girls cheer and applaud as we change into our gametime gear.

“Damn right we’re going to get em!” Applejack shouts. “We’re going to beat them senseless this time!”

We’re fired up alright. But staying focused is my concern. Being hot headed is what got us in trouble last time. I stand up and clear my throat, grabbing the team’s attention.

“Girls if we let them get in our heads, then we’ve already lost. We all know how they screwed us over last year, but instead of talking about how we’re going to beat them, let’s keep our heads on and show them just how badly they screwed up last year.” Everyone faces me as I continue.

“The entire country’s going to be watching this game, we can’t run out there and play like a bunch of rowdy children who’ve never seen a field before. We are WonderColt FC,the pride of Canterlot High! We are champions! We don’t let a bunch of crybabies in purple intimidate us!” I pump my fist in the air and shout “ BECAUSE WE ARE WONDERCOLTS!!”

“YEAH! GO WONDERCOLTS!!” The girls shout in joy and high five each other. By the time the knock comes to the door for us to assemble, the girls are all in their home uniforms, and lined up in order of position. To my surprise I’m put at the head of the line as we walk out and keep to the left side of the walkway. On our right side, the girls of Baltimare line up next to us. There are no handshakes shared. No one wishes anyone luck, or even cracks a smile.

This game is not about having fun, or showing sportsmanship, this game is about beating down the opponent until there’s nothing left of them. This tension gives me a tingling feeling. I had forgotten this feeling. This competitive juice is a better high than lighting up or knocking back some drinks. The rush of adrenaline makes me feel lighter than air. And as the PA announcer calls out, I can’t help but have one thought...

“Ladies and gentleman, get on your feet and welcome the Baltimare Prep Blaze, and your Canterlot High Wondercolts!

...We’re going to kick their ass.

When we walk out of the tunnel, the crowd roars to life in a chorus of cheers. The grandstands are a sea of blue and white, with a small portion of purple behind the northern goal post. I can’t help but pump my fist into the air as I lead the team out on the field, earning a roar of approval from the crowd. We’re lead by the referees to mid field, and line up along the mid field line, with the officials in between both teams. After a quick pause for the anthem, our team jogs down to the eighteen yard box of the southern goal, in front of our cheering section and huddle up.

“Alright girls, let’s show this team what we’re made of!” Rainbow Dash shouts. “Hands in!”

We put our hands in the middle, and Rainbow leads us in our pre game chant.

“Our field, our game, our rules! We are Canterlot!!!” We start bouncing up and up and down as Rainbow gets us riled up.

“Wondercolts go!!” We shout.

“We are Canterlot!!!” She repeats.

“WONDERCOLTS GO!!!” We scream and throw our hands in the air. Our cheering section goes wild as we salute them. Then our subs run off to our bench on the right side, while our starters take their positions on the field. The captains meet for the coin toss, and by luck, the Wondercolts get the ball first.

So here I am, standing in the middle of the field with my foot on the ball. The crowd is going crazy, some of them are even chanting my name as the cameras zero in on me. Most players would be shaking in their boots at this moment. Instead, it just makes me even more excited.

With a gentle kick, the game is on. Rainbow Dash gets the ball and immediately passes to Applejack. The forwards move up as she trots up slowly towards the northern goal. CloudChaser and Flitter drop back to help the defense, while Spitfire and Applebloom move up with us, going ahead to work to get open. Baltimare’s defenders mark us man to man, with Whirlwind picking up Rainbow Dash, Starshine, playing midfield keeps her eyes solely on me, while Angelhair takes up position on Baltimare’s defensive line.

Applejack passes to her left, catching Spitfire on the run, and we’re off to the races. She jukes a defender to get to the outside, then passes the ball up to Rainbow Dash. Rainbow manages to break away from Whirlwind, and run down to the field, drawing the defense to her side. With two defenders closing in, she fakes a move forward and passes the ball with her back heel to Spitfire. Spitfire pauses, surveying the defense, and relays the ball to Applebloom. I move towards the box, grinning at Angelhair. The lanky defender tries to move towards me, but I fake left, then sprint to the right just in time to catch the ball with my chest. I bring it down to my feet and turn towards the goal. Two defenders try to close into me but I scoop the ball up with my foot, leaping over their feet as they try to tackle it away. With open space, I tap the ball with my right foot then fire with my left.

Time stands still as I watch the ball fly through the air. The Baltimare goalie sets her feet and leaps, arms outstretched. But the ball curves away from her fingers and into the net. A loud roar fills the air and I take off towards the right sideline. My hands outstretched, I scream for joy and leap in the air with my right fist above my head .

“Awesome!” Rainbow Dash yells and jumps on me as I land. Her weight on my back makes us tumble to the ground. But I’m up quickly, and trotting down the field. The girls shower me with high fives and well wishes. As we line up for the kick off, the PA Announcer makes the feat official.

“Wondercolt FC goal scored in the first minute by number 2, SUUUUUNSET SHIMMER!!!!! Assisted by number 5, Applebloom!” The crowd is going nuts and for good reason, but there’s no time to dwell on that now. Baltimare kicks off almost as soon as we’re set up, and Whirlwind sprints up field. Baltimare runs two forwards and six midfielders to try and overload our defense. They try to push the middle, but our defense stays firm. I get help from Applejack to defend Whirlwind, and she tries to pass it back, but Rainbow Dash steals the ball in open space and we’re running up field. again.

The Baltimare defense pushes Rainbow Dash to the outside line, trapping her in the corner. She tries to lob the ball high, but it gets knocked down and out of bounds. Baltimare gets the ball back, and they start playing conservatively. This is their signature style. Keep the ball for as long as possible to eat up clock, then when the defense gets lax, move in for the kill.

Trying to keep our team from getting over eager was a challenge first time, but so far we’re holding firm. We manage to poke the ball free several times and drive the ball down field. We get a few scoring chances on net, but two of them are blocked, On our third attempt, Cloudkicker actually gets the ball in a good scoring position, but Starshine makes an aggressive tackle that sends the ball bouncing out of bounds. “Hey!” I scream.

“What’s wrong, Sunset, did she upset you?!” Angel Hair mocks. This bitch would have had her hair ripped out if not for Applejack standing right there.

“If you’re gonna play this dirty, why don’t I just knock your teeth out right now and get it over with!” My eyes are full of rage as she laughs.

“Careful Sunset, don’t get ejected.” Whirlwind adds. This time Applejack gets into it.

“Listen you lily-livered scum sucking…” Applejack starts.

“Leave it alone, sis!” Applebloom screams. “Don’t let em get in yer head!”

She’s right. If we let them play with our heads, we’re screwed. Unfortunately, they found their way in. And with our team more focused on fighting than playing, our alignment finally breaks in the 23rd minute.

After the goalie boots the ball, Starshine manages to best Applejack when they jump for it, and take the ball upfield. When she gets three quarters of the way to our box, Spitfire goes for a sliding tackle, and misses. With no one in front, our middle is left shorthanded, and they pounce. Angel Hair passes to their left wing, who takes a shot from just outside the box. Derpy blocks it, but the ball comes in too quickly for her to hold onto. She falls backward and the ball deflects to the left, landing on Whirlwind’s foot. She takes a shot that careens off Scootaloo’s thigh. She hits the turf from the shot, then quickly jumps up to try and kick the ball out of bounds, but Angel Hair gets it first. She zips a shot from the top of the box that rockets through the upper right hand corner.

The crowd wilts, and so do some of the spirits of the team. As Baltimare celebrates, Rainbow Dash rallies the troops. We get them back together, and allow no further lapses as the first half comes to an end.

We trot off the field to the locker room and grab a drink and get off our feet. After one half the score was tied at one, but you wouldn’t know it seeing the looks on my teammates faces.

“What is everyone’s head down for? It’s only 1-1.” I walk over to the table decked out with cups of gatorade and take a sip.

“You gotta understand sugar, letting up that goal killed a lot of spirits.” Applejack tried to reason with me.

“Fuck that, last year it was 4-0 around this time against this team, and being tied’s gonna sap everyone’s fire?” Stepping up on one of the empty benches, I stomp my cleat against the wood to grab their attention.

“Get your heads up! There’s nothing to mope about. So what we surrendered a goal? You think they hung their hats after we scored?!”

Some of the girls nod, others murmur or don’t even pay attention.

“HEY!” I shout. That gets their attention. “I didn’t come back to this team to let Baltimare hit me in the mouth! You want to avenge last year’s debacle? Then pull your shorts up and come out next half with gusto like we know we have!”

My speech gets some scattered acknowledgement, but most of the team’s spirits are still in the dumps. Dejected, I hop off the bench and sit down.

“I don’t think yelling at them’s gonna get their hopes up.” Dash pats me on the back. I shoot her a dirty look.

“Then you inspire them, ‘oh glorious leader’” Finishing my drink, I roll my eyes at her. She gets angry.

“What’s your problem? Bringing you back was supposed to help you, not make you worse!” She shouts.

“I AM better!” We’re at stand off, nose to nose. Some of the girls come over to break us up but Applejack blocks them.

“Being on that field again has been the greatest moment of my life! This thrill I have is better than anything I’ve ever experienced!” Turning away from Dash, I face my teammates. “We have a stadium full of cheering fans rooting for us to come back out strong in the second half. Are you gonna let them down?!” Their eyes dart from person to person.

“I said ARE YOU GONNA LET THEM DOWN?!” My yell sends shockwaves through the room. They all shake their head “no”.

“The last six weeks I’ve been through hell. I’ve been affected by things I can’t even begin to to explain, not to mention you all watched me get possessed. I’ve been kicked around, put down, and spat on. And guess what? I survived!”

My rallying speech starts to have an affect. The light in their eyes come back. The responses become more vocal in support.

“If I can survive that, and stand in front of you today. Then what hope does Baltimare have?!”

Applebloom hops up on one of the benches and proudly yells. “She’s right ya’ll! If Sunset can come through all that, then this team is nuthin’ compared to what we got!”

“She’s right!” Rainbow Dash joins me on the bench next to me. “We are the Canterlot Wondercolts! We’ll go to hell and back for our school, and each other! NOW LET”S GO SHOW THEM WHAT WE DON’T GIVE UP!”

Lacing fingers with Dash, I raise our hands in the hair as I announce proudly, “We are Canterlot!”

“WONDERCOLTS GO!” They shout. The girls are chomping at the bit to get ready to play. Most importantly, the smiles seen at the beginning of the game are back on their faces. When we’re called back to the field for the second half, there are no more moping faces or hung heads. We switch sides, with Baltimare heading towards the North goal this time leaving us to take the southern goal. Baltimare kicks off to start the half.

As they bring the ball up field, I can’t help but notice their demeanor. The hometown crowd’s thunderous chants has our opposition rattled. They’re a bundle of nerves as they advance. There nerves leave their passing sloppy, and after only a few minutes, an errant pass goes out of bounds.

“Have you seen anything like this before?!” Rainbow’s shout is barely audible over the crowd. I just shrug my shoulders and shake my head no. I can’t explain what’s going on either. For whatever reason the crowd is in overdrive. There’s no time to dwell on it though, as Lightning Dust throws the ball back in.

Cloud Chaser can’t handle the high throw, and the ball gets picked up by one of the Baltimare forwards. But Wildfire makes a sliding tackle, making the opposing player tumble.

“Hey!!!” Whirlwind screams. I just wag my finger at her as we’re back on the offensive. After a quick pass up field, Lightning Dust gets the ball and sprints down to the right corner. From there we set up our offense. She isolates the defense, then passes to Applejack. She takes two steps forward and whips a laser into the box. The Baltimare defenders duck down to avoid the laser shot. Even the goalie gets out of the way as it hits the back of the net.

“YEEEEEE-HAW!” The cowgirl tosses her hat in the air, then catches it and bows to our adoring fans. The Baltimare team wants a taunting call but we just laugh it off.

After the next kick, Baltimare is completely off their game. Their passing is sloppy, and their ball handling is erratic. We steal the ball at every opportunity to keep the pressure on them. But after a few missed opportunities, it looks like Baltimare is getting their swagger back. Well, with twenty minutes left in the game, and the score still relatively close, the crowd’s getting antsy. That’s when I get an idea. “Rainbow, drop back!” I should. she looks at me confused.

“What?! We got em on the ropes!” She reasons. I shake my head.

“Trust me!” I start backpedaling to play loose on Whirlwind. Rainbow relents and drops back with us. The nervous tension in the building grows as it seems as if we’re gonna turtle up in our own end for the rest of the game. We let them drive in, make a few passes. And then Angel Hair gets the ball, right in the middle of Spitfire, Sibsy, and Scootaloo.

Just what I was looking for. Rainbow Dash sees it too. “Scoots, now!”

Angel Hair gets caught off by Rainbow’s call, and before you know it the ball gets poked free. With us playing loose, Baltimare pushed forward, bringing eight players in the box and, more importantly, leaving only two players on defense. Now with the ball back in our possession, we can exploit that weakness.

Scootaloo flicks the ball over to Flitter. The midfielder runs up the field with it and punts the ball upfield for me to collect onside with the defense. When I push the ball forward, their defenders try to keep up. They're no match for our speed though, and it’s four on none in the box.

Time to get a little fancy. It starts with a heel flick over my left shoulder to Applejack. There’s a buzzing in the crowd when AJ receives my pass and lobs it towards the right corner. The buzzing turns into 'oh's' when Lightning Dust gets under it and heads the ball across. And when Rainbow Dash finishes it with an impressive bicycle kick, the crowd goes ballistic.

“That. Was. AWESOME!!!” Rainbow screams. The four of us meets at the top of the box in a group hug. The student section has gone absolutely nuts. Everyone’s jumping around and hugging like we just won the championship. The Baltimare players on the other hand, are dejected.

After our stunning display, the game is effectively in hand. Baltimare can mount no further offense, and we run the clock down. When the final whistle blows at 90 minutes, the dam breaks. The entire team runs on the field and the celebratory dog pile is on. I don’t remember how it happened, but I ended up on the bottom of this victory party.

Thankfully we all untangle ourselves and jog down to our student section. I can’t help but realize that they’re chanting “Sunset!” The rallying cry of my name gets louder as I get closer. When I hear it, I can’t help it when a tear of joy roll down my cheek.

This has been the greatest ninety minutes of my life.

Author's Note

And with that, my loyal readers, we come to the end of the regular updates to the story for a little bit. Not because I"m out of content (I have up to chapter 16 already drafted out), but because of the Author and Editor's school schedules. We will be busy working on our studies, which leaves less time for editing. But I promise, once we come back, I'll have something extra special for you :D