4: Scrimmage

Sunrise Chapter 4

After Rainbow Dash’s rallying cry, the real work begins. The team assembles on the half field circle, with me, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash standing on the center line, with the rest the team aligned on the semicircle in front of us. I guess now would be a good time to explain what our team is all about.

Our team usually lines up in a 3-5-2-1 Formation, which means we play with three forwards, four midfielders, two defenders, and a goalie to fill out our eleven person squad. The forwards are filled out by Rainbow Dash (#1) on the right, Lightning Dust (#53) on the left, and myself (the afore mentioned #2), in the center. Our game plan calls on us to counterattack on defensive stops to keep the opposing team off balance.

Midfielders form the core of our team. From left to, the twins Cloud Chaser (#28) and Flitter (#82), play the outside mid positions. . In the center we have, Applejack (#75, Center Right.) Spitfire (#6, Center), and Applebloom (#5, Center left). The midfielders play zone defense and pick the ball out of passing zones. They work in conjunction with the two defenders: Scootaloo ( left back, #19) and Sibsy, also known as Wildfire (Right back, #22). Working with the midfielders, our defensive scheme allows for two defenders to shadow one player at any time, keeping the opposing offense out of our box..

Our goalie (the one in our formation) has the simplest job of anyone on the field: keep the ball out of the net. That position is manned by, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, “Derpy”. (#10) As I look at her, sitting Indian style with the yellow Goalie jersey on, which she insists must be long sleeve for some reason, and white gloves, and her crossed eyes, you wouldn’t believe that she once went an entire season without allowing a goal past her. Seriously, her eyes give her some super human ability to see two directions at once. Also, no one knows her real name, so we just call her “Derpy” because of her eyes. It doesn’t bother her, she actually answers to it with glee.

Along with our eleven starters, we have five reserve players that we can trade in and out at anytime. We have our backup goalie, Carrot Top. Ironically she’s Derpy’s roommate and defacto sister, funny how that works. Our backup position players include Bon Bon, who somehow managed to corral her girlfriend, Lyra, into playing as well. There’s Colgate, the wanna be dentist who’s not a bad defender in her own right. And then there is…ahem…”The Great and Powerful Trixie”. She’s a so called jack of all soccer traits, however she’s a master of none. Traditionally she’s just been a spot filler, but she’s getting better…I think? She only trips two times per game instead of eight the last time I saw.

“Alright Girls, we don’t have a lot of time before school starts, so why don’t we have a good ol’ fashioned scrimmage!” Rainbow shouts. Sounds good to me, It’s been two years since I last played. It would be good to stretch my legs.

Rainbow divides us up into two teams of eight, and puts us on opposite sides of the field. Joining me on my side is Applejack, her sister Applebloom, Lightning Dust, Golden Harvest in the goal, Bon Bon, Colgate, and…dammit… “Great and Powerful” Trixie. On the other side we have Rainbow Dash, Wildfire, Scootaloo, the twins Cloud Kicker and Flitter, Derpy playing in goal, with Lyra, and Spitfire rounding out the team.

“So, how’s this gonna work Dash.” Lightning Dusts asks.

“Well, since we have twenty minutes at best before we have to change for class, first to three goals wins. I’ll even give Sunset’s team the ball first to make it fair.” If her smug tone was supposed to piss me off, it worked.

“Don’t think you’re giving me that ball out of charity, I’ll make you regret it.” I shout.

Rainbow just smirks and tosses me the ball. “Careful Sunset, I think those two years away are messing with your head, because there’s no way your team is gonna beat mine.”

Part of me wants to cross the field and stick my cleat right up her boastful ass. But I am a lady of my word, so I make her regret it. I pass the ball to Applejack, and she does the rest. She rares back with her foot and boots the ball high into the air. Everyone watches as it comes back to earth, bounces just inside the 18 yard box surrounding the goal, and over the outstretched hand of Derpy for the game’s first score.

“YEE-HAW!” Applejack shouts in glee and jumps for joy. “Where I come from, we call that One-Zip.”

Rainbow Dash stomps her feet on the ground as we assemble for the kick-off to restart the game. I take a deep breath and take a look at our situation. Looking at Dash’s team, she’s put all her speedsters forward to overwhelm our Defense, which she damn well might. Dash alone is one of the fastest players in the country, despite our stout defenders. Well, except for Trixie anyway. We’re not going to be able to handle these guys if they come at us full speed. If we’re going to do this we have to keep the pace slow.

As Dash kicks off to Sibsy, muscle memory takes over. I start back-pedaling, then slide towards the right. As I do that, Sibsy starts sprinting down the right wing. Applebloom moves to cut her off, so I step forward to block an attempted pass back to Rainbow Dash. A quick look around at our situation has Applejack defending Cloud Chaser, while Bon Bon’s on the other twin. Trixe and Colgate bracket off the twins to prevent them from getting a clear run on goal.

And then, Trixie does what she does best, and falls flat on her face. That gives Cloud Chaser a hole to sprint into and receive a pass from sibsy. Colgate moves over to compensate, but not before Cloud Chaser gets off a shot that ricocheted off the top post.

“Clear, Clear!” I shout, and turn to go back up field, but Scootaloo pushes forward as Trixie shanks her attempt to kick the ball back into the middle. The purple haired striker takes full advantage and scores.

“Woohoo!!!!!” Scootaloo shouts and starts doing her famous chicken dance before giving her teammates a high five. I shake my head, looking right at Trixie as she’s dusting herself off. Applejack throws her hat to the ground and let’s the poor girl hear about it.

“Landsakes girl, you got two left feet er something?! You kick like a limp mule!”

“Trixie is sorry!” She says.

“Dammit Trixie, get your head out of your ass or I swear I’m gonn-“ Crap, there’s that familiar burning sensation in my chest.. “J…just pay more attention okay? There gonna be all over us.” I tell her before trotting back to kick off.

“I don’t want to win this game that easily!” Rainbow shouts.

I swear, that girl is making it almost impossible for me to keep control. I take a deep breath and place the ball on the ground.

“Let’s make them pay, Shimmer..” Lightning Dust says. I nod and kick the ball off. “Just don’t run off too far ahead.” I instruct her and head left. Lightning draws Dash’s attention on the right side. She stops and passes the ball back to me. I collect the pass and start dribbling up the field. The closest defender is Sibsy and she’s five yards off me. She makes no move to pressure me, instead deciding to play the pass as Apple bloom and Applejack head to the wings. Scootaloo starts to move towards me, but Spitfire shouts at her to fall back. Before scoots can get back i blow right past her, with Apple Bloom and Applejack fill the spots in the wings.

Countering us, Rainbow Dash and Spitfire plays loose on Lightning Dust, trying to keep her from getting inside the box. She plays to her left hand side, trying to push her into the wing side Applejack is inhabiting On the right, Applebloom is being watched closely by Cloudchaser, with Flitter playing over the top to negate any passing opportunity.

That’s when I see a flash of purple in my peripheral vision, then my feet get tangled up. An involuntary yell leaves my throat as i roll on the ground, ending up face down on the grass. I quickly return to my feet and stare down the little runt before setting off again. Bon Bon has the ball now With Spitfire covering. Lightning Dust calls out for the ball, and Bon Bon tries to cross it, but Spitfire steals, and we’re on the chase again.

Me and Bon Bon hit the afterburners to try and stay ahead of her, but Sibsy’s way too fast. Bon Bon drops off, leaving me alone with Trixie and Colgate to try and contain her. Making matters worse is Rainbow Dash running down the right wing unopposed.

I give up pursuing Sibsy and try to cut off Rainbow Dash. But she jukes me to the inside, leaving me several steps behind. But i get a break as Sibsy has to stop and tries a lob pass. The ball being high makes Dash stop, and gives me a decent shot at defending it. We jump, and the ball bounces off my forehead towards Trixie, who sends the ball up field.

I give her thumbs up for the great play, and she smiles in response. Back on the offensive now, we catch Dashie’s team out of position. Applebloom immediately relays the ball to Lightning with a bullet pass, which she knocks down with her chest. She turns and fires a shot , which Derpy knocks down with ease to the left side. Scootaloo collects the rebound and starts to move forward, but Lightning has already closed the distance and won the ball back with a clean tackle. Now in the offensive zone, I cut towards the right side, then start running forward, parallel with the right goal post. Lightning flicks the ball to me, and I knock it down with a knee. Putting the ball on my right foot, I guide it over to my left side and take a wicked shot from just outside the eighteen. I manage to curve it inside the cross bar, skimming Derpy’s outstretch hand for our second goal.

“Yes Yes Yes!” I raise my right hand in a fist to the air as I turn to face the girls joining the play then throw a punch in celebration. I hold the follow through pose as I’m swarmed by teammates.

“WAAAAAY TO GOOOOO, SUNSET!” I hear Pinkie Pie’s distinctive yell as we trot back up the field to reset, followed by a faint “woohoo!” From Fluttershy. I chuckle and wave at her. She blushes in response and I can’t help but smile as I take position on the semi circle waiting for the kickoff. Looking around at the girls, it’s clear this “scrimmage” is ratcheting up from past scrimmages. Everyone’s huffing and puffing. Some of the less physically fit girls have their hands on the top of their head and breathing deeply to get more oxygen in their bodies. Others are jumping around to stay loose, a look of determination on their faces and they size up one another.

As for me, a bit of huffing and puffing, but none worse for wear despite my two year absence. I stretch my arms and shake out my legs to keep the blood flowing as Dashie kicks off to Spitfire starting the next possession. Lightning marks Dash as normal, while I drop back to keep an eye on Sibsy and CloudChaser. AppleJack lines up on the right flank, while Applebloom guards the left, leaving our defenders to secure the middle. CloudChaser dribbles the ball quickly up the field from my right, then darts across the left heading for the corner. I bite and run over to cut her off, and she changes direction again, moving the ball forward through the hole I left open. Bon Bon and Colgate collapse on her though, stopping her forward progress.

With her stooped stopped I turn around to block any attempt to pass back to scootaloo, Her only other forward option, her sister Flitter, has been picked up by Colgate on the left flank, with Applebloom helping to lock her down. She spots Dash coming back to her after breaking away from lightning dust, but Bon Bon pokes the ball away with her foot and boots it forward to me. I quick pass to Lightning, but she can’t get to it, and the ball sails past her onto Spitfire’s foot. She rares back and fires off her right foot back down field, towards Rainbow Dash. And with all the jostling around, Rainbow’s in great position to break away.

I can’t let that happen. I rush over to her, one eye on Rainbow, the other on the ball. As it glides in I leap and head it straight up. Maybe heading it was a bad idea, definitely feel like my bell got rung, but I shake the cobwebs quickly. The ball’s gone straight up, and Dash settles it down on her left foot and takes off. I chase after on full adrenaline, pacing her step for step. I jump ahead and try to cut her off, but she breaks for the left sideline. I back pedal and keep her to my outside to prevent her from driving in. Rainbow doesn’t see me as a threat though, and comes right at me.

She tries to shake me with a bit of fancy foot work, but I stay right with her. She tries to spin to right, flicking the ball a short ways in front of her. I try to get to it but I can’t, and we reset again. She drops back and sizes me up. She moves left, towards the goal and I follow. But she does something unexpected. She steps over the ball with her right foot, then pushes the ball back outside with her left heel. The move is simple, yet effective, and she gets a little bit of space from me, but I make up the difference quickly.

I don’t remember ever being able to keep up with Dash before, and I don’t know how I am now, but I refuse to let this egomaniac beat me. My legs are sore, my breathings ragged, . sweat’s running down my forehead, and I love every minute of it. Competition is a high that drugs or sex can never duplicate in my opinion. And in this moment, where it’s just me against Dash, where keeping her out of the goal is my only mission, I feel truly alive. I poke the ball free and collect, and take off up the field, heading for the right sideline, but Dash catches me off guard and slide tackles me. I keep my footing this time and chase back after her. She throws her right arm out to keep me at bay, I try to push into her as we get close to the box. I try to harass her, to slow her down before she gets into the box, but to no avail. So I try to stael one from her book in an act of desperation. I Slide down and hook my foot to try and knock the ball away, but she scoops it on her toes and jumps over my out stretched foot.

I can only watch as she lands on her left foot, lines up a shot with her right, and rips one right past Golden to tie it up. As Rainbow celebrates, I lie on my back, watching the sky as I breathe raggedly. The Adrenaline is all gone, and my body is definitely feeling the burn. I lay there for awhile, my arms out to my sides, my right knee up with my left leg down straight as I try to catch my breath. Over my ragged breaths, I swear I hear voices.

“That was awesome!”

“Man, I didn’t think Sunset could actually play”

“I’ve never seen anyone play that hard against Rainbow Dash!”

“Baltimare won’t know what hit em!”

Those voices aren’t from the team or the two person audience we had at the start. We have an audience. I roll my head to the left and see that no less than half the school, including Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna, has suddenly appeared to watch us scrimmage Judging by the cheers and applause, we put on a great show.

“That…was…AWESOME!” I jump as Rainbow suddenly appears over me, holding the ball in her right arm. She smiles from ear to ear and reaches out her left hand. I take it with my right, and she pulls me back to my feet.

“I haven….I haven’t….woooo.” I chuckle and start the sentence again. “I haven’t played that hard in awhile.”

Dash pats me on my back “I haven’t seen us play that hard in awhile, we’re gonna knock em dead Saturday.” She says

“Speaking of we.” I say and stretch my back “Where was the rest of our team?

Rainbow points towards the midfield line. I turn my head, and see the other thirteen Lady Wondercolts standing along the line, applauding us. I can’t fight the grin forming on my lips. I grab Rainbow’s hand and raise both in the air, bringing the assembled crowd to their feet in applause.

“Where did this audience come from?” Rainbow asks.

“How should I know? Just enjoy this moment.”

Author's Note

I LIIIIIIIIIVE! And I come bearing gifts on this break of thanksgiving. Thank you for the positive feed back, I honestly did not think this story would be received so well at the beginning. Also, some trivia for some of the team member's jersey numbers.

Rainbow Dash (#1- Number one athlete in Canterlot High.)
Sunset Shimmer (#2- Two places to call home.)
Spitfire (#6 - Spitfire Mk-Vi, one of the more successful variants of fighter plane of the same name from World War II.)
Lightning Dust (#54- 54,000 degrees Fahrenheit is the average temperature of a lightning bolt.)-
Apple Jack (#75- there are 75 basic variants of the apple species. )
Cloud Chaser and Flitter ( #'s 82 and 28- 82,000ft is the upper limit cruising altitude for domestic flights, and 28 is its inverse)
Applebloom (#5- the five petals on an apple-blossom)