3: Team Breakfast

Sunrise: Chapter 3

Not even Sparklebitch could ruin this day.

That’s what I’m thinking as I scarf down a banana. After the big celebration of my return, everyone dove into the food like hungry wolves and scattered throughout the tables. I find myself sitting at a table with my new friends Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack.

Flutters sits at my right hand, quietly munching away at some strawberry crepes. The oddest part about her plate is the pattern she’s made with the food. She’s placed the crepes on a bed of egg whites, outlined with strawberry slices, and orange slice petals extending out from the center. It looks like a little flower, like the one she’s always pinning in her long pink hair.. She’s quite the skilled artist when it comes to food.

Next to her sits the team captain, Rainbow Dash, with a completely empty plate. Not because she didn’t eat anything, but because she cleaned off her plate in “ten seconds flat.”Miss Athlete had herself a nice plate of sausage and eggs, with a strawberry fruit smoothie on the side. She leans back in her chair, the front legs off the floor as she pushes back and forth gently against the table legs.

To her right we have…*sigh* Applejack. I swear she was literally raised in the barn on her family’s farm. Here she is, boots up on the table, smacking her gums on an apple without a care in the world. You would think this would unnerve Pinkie Pie, but she’s busy inhaling, and I mean that in every sense of the word, her third plate of syrup with a side of pancakes. Seriously, her plate has so much of the stuff on it that it’s spilling onto the beautiful purple tablecloth she chose for this occasion. I can’t help but wonder where all this food goes. She eats like a human vacuum cleaner. But would you believe she actually weighs less than me? It makes sense though, since she doesn’t sit still for more than five seconds.

I glance around the room at the rest of my teammates and can’t help but get nostalgic. When we first started playing, Pinkie Pie would organize these team breakfast parties almost on a whim. We never batted an eye when we showed up to practice to find a bunch of signs pointing to the gym for a breakfast get together. We’d eat, talk, and then work off all that weight with practice, or kicking some rival school’s butt in a game. These breakfast parties stopped after I tore Pinkie and her group of friends apart. Consequently, the team hasn’t had a winning season since.

I’m broken out of my trip down memory lane when I hear a chorus of awws from the table. I look to my right and see Fluttershy resting her head on my shoulder. I can’t help but smile at her. Flutters has been my confidant ever since this whole “Sunset Satan” thing went down. After “Sunset Satan” started appearing in my mind, I went to her on a whim, or maybe it was desperation. I don’t know, I poured out everything that was in my head to her.

I expected her to shun me, to call me crazy and stop talking to me. Maybe tell the entire school that I’d gone batty. That “crazy bitch” Sunset Shimmer has finally lost it. And who would blame her? I was awful to her. I ruined her silent auction, called her a good for nothing treehugger, and ripped her away from her best friends. But when I needed her, she was there. She listened to my every word, and helped me find ways to keep the voice at bay. Since then, we’ve been spending a lot more time together.

In the end, we’ve become a lot closer. I can’t help but smile at her little quirks. She’s a real sweetheart, kind, and a helluva listener; even though she’s afraid of her own shadow. And despite her almost crippling timidness, she can muster up the courage to put people in their place every now and then. As I put my arm around her shoulder and give her a gentle hug, and watch the smile slowly crease her lips, I can’t help but think that this might be going somewhere other than just friends.

“And when did this happen?” Rainbow Dash swoons.

“When did wha-“ I then remember Fluttershy on my arm. “I d-don’t know really. I’m not sure it’s even a thing.”

“Sugar, you’ve got Fluttershy wrapped in your arm like there’s no place she’d rather be and you’re tellin us it’s not a “thing”? Applejack takes a break from smacking her gums to actually speak.

“Well I don’t know! Just…look, six weeks ago I didn’t have friends other than Snips and Snails for God’s sake, now I have you girls. And now this, I’m just...we’ll see.” With my cheeks burning red I wrap an arm around Fluttershy’s shoulder.

“Ooooooo! Sfunsfwet fwlikes fluttewrshy!” Pinkie shouts while chowing down on her fifth plate of pancakes. I blush and look away, when I notice someone missing.

“Hey, shouldn’t Rarity be here?”

Applejack rolls her eyes “Oh she couldn’t be bothered ta wake up early enough and help out. Somethin about her facial treatment and needin adequate sleep or something like that.”

Of course, the fashionista needs her damn beauty sleep.

“But she did say to give her best” Rainbow Dash says. Wow, I’m stunned. I didn’t expect Rarity to even care about me after the way I embarrassed her last year. Me and her were the best of friends...once. But as the case when two alpha bitches befriend each other, it usually ends in tears.

Before I can sulk too much about the past, Rainbow Dash stands from her seat, and picks up her smoothie glass and a fork. She taps the two together, bringing the entire room to attention.

“Alright girls, listen up!” She starts. “I know we’ve had a rough couple of years, but this year we’re going to get our title back! Our team was fractured and torn apart, but Sunset Shimmer has come back to the fold! The Wondercolts are whole again, and when we play at 100% like we did Freshman year, nobody can even lay a finger on us!”

The girls applaud and some shout words of encouragement as Rainbow continues her speech.

“In five days, we play the Baltimare High Blaze on our home turf, and we know how they embarrassed us last time!”

I remember that game. The worst defeat in Wondercolt history. And no, we’re not gonna talk about it. All I’m gonna say is that when your three best players get red carded, at the same damn time, it’s not gonna end well for you.

“But we’re not going to let that happen. We are going to defend our home turf, and show Baltimare, and the rest of the High School Premiere League, what the Wondercolts are all about!”

“YEEEEAH! GO WONDERCOLTS!!!!” The entire room explode with girls cheering and clapping, some standing on their feet. Rainbow Dash beams at them, as Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy two small cardboard boxes. They open them and walk around, passing out new practice and game uniforms to everyone.

The Practice Uniform is a basic blue jersey with Wondercolt football written on the front, and white shorts. The game uniform has a quartered pattern with alternating Blue and white squares. In the upper left corner and on both shoulders is the school logo. On the right hand corner, Wondercolt FC is inscribed in gold cursive lettering. On the back along the top is the player’s name with the number underneath. The shorts are blue with a white stripe running down the side, with the school logo over the right knee, and Wondercolt FC over the left.

As I look at the back of the jersey, I can’t help but smile that I have old number back. When I played chose the number two in representation of the world I came from, and the world I now live in. Now I guess it represents the duality in my head: My own thoughts, and that damn…thing I inherited. I run my fingers along the smooth material, and then I notice something. On the left side of my jersey, there’s a gold horse shoe turned into a “C” for Captain.

“Rainbow thought we’d give you yer old Captain’s ‘C’ back. You did glue this team together, after all.” I look up at Applejack as she speaks and give her a big hug.. The trust they have in me after such a short time is incredible. Yes, when I first started it was my mission to help Dash rally the troops. On the field we worked together to give direction to the squad, and steamrolled the competition. Pinning this “C” to my chest means that Rainbow has the faith that I can be that person again.

“I think it looks really nice, Sunset Shimmer.” Fluttershy beams. Her kinds words make me blush, and then I get an idea.With a smile I take my game day jersey and slide it over her shoulders.

“Well, I think it looks really nice on you.” We embrace to a chorus of “awwws” from our table, before Rainbow Dash speaks.

“Alright girls, we don’t have a lot of time before our first game, so let’s get to work. Go get changed, and get out on the field!”

Author's Note

Sorry for the delay! Part time job and school kinda took over there for awhile, but i have a bit more time to write now! I'm grateful for the mostly positive responses so far. don't forget to read and review! Also quick edit here, the name of the opposing team has been amended from the Griffons to the Blaze