Part One

You've only had your second cup in what is bound to be a constant stream of coffee; you would certainly need it. Meetings, practices, and endless streams of nonsense - such is the life of the assistant head coach of the Junior Speedsters hoofball team at Cloudsdale Flight Academy.

It just makes you regret ever accepting that coaching job in the first place...

You see, you've had this position for seven years, and while your co-workers were quite nice and easygoing, they really were incompetent, incapable of running a damn hoofball team. All that ever went on during practices was useless crap and not actual play, and that reflected on the field; they only won four games in the seven regular seasons you were there.

However, the team appreciated all the help you could give, whether it was handing out water and snacks to transporting sweaty jerseys to the cleaners, and that was all that mattered. And for that sort of dedication to the team as a whole, the players took a serious liking to you. You also became a very respected member of the community as well as at the Academy.

Most of the time, interaction was quite friendly, however, some mares on the team would even try to get in your pants (not that you minded). On occasion, you were invited to team parties, where you would get drunk and fool around (not that they minded).

That was the case...
until last year.

The head coach at the time announced that he would be taking a job coaching for a big-league team in the Midlands, leaving you with big shoes to fill.

On your first day as head coach, you were immediately met by two of the biggest power players on the team, Rainbow Dash, a sophomore, and Firefly, a senior. They told you that since their old coach was very absent-minded, they practically ran the whole team by themselves.

The rest of the team was made up of pegasi from all walks of life. Derpy Hooves, Surprise, and a few other familiar acquaintances were thrown into the mix as well.

With their help, you swiftly put your plan into action: frequent practice and conditioning, team building, strategy improvement, and, most importantly, less bullshit. The populace quickly began to take notice as soon as they began winning games, and soon, you and the team you led became a force to be reckoned with. Business sponsorships skyrocketed, pay raises rolled in, and life was good. For once in your life, you were taken seriously, not only as a central figure, but as a person (amongst ponies, that is).

The team did great during your first year; wins were clinched against teams from Las Pegasus, Ponyville, Manehattan, Appleoosa-Dodge Junction, Fillydelphia, Clydesdale, Vanhoover, Baltimare, Canterlot (to everypony's surprise), and the Crystal Empire.

With the first undefeated junior varsity hoofball record in school history, you were guaranteed a spot at the playoffs. The team as a whole transformed into a hoofball powerhouse overnight, garnering win after win. Rainbow Dash and Firefly were inseparable as leaders of a truly awesome team. And with you at the helm, the Junior Speedsters of Cloudsdale Flight Academy would be practically unstoppable.

You first defeated Manehattan's Junior Mane-iacs in the first round, knocking them down a peg, especially denting their coach's ego.

Two more hard-fought wins, against Clydesdale and Hoofington, brought the Speedsters to the semi-finals, with a victory against Canterlot Academy's Purple Dragons in the fourth quarter cementing Cloudsdale's date with destiny.

And now, you were really in for it. Wracking your brain over the piles of expense claims that you were made to fill out stacked on your desk, you briefly wondered if your sanity would be left intact afterwards - not to mention your brand-new headset, since you broke your last one in a fit of rage during last week's trouncing of the Dragons.

But no matter - you were almost ready to head to the train station. You marched out the door and locked it, then helped load everypony's luggage and the gear onto the carriage. Once it was loaded, the carriage would take off and escort you to the train station, where you would no doubt be swarmed by members of the community cheering you on.

"Is everypony and their luggage accounted for?" you asked.

"Yes siree, Bob," Rainbow Dash responded.

"Alright," Firefly checked off the rest of the things on her clipboard. "We're ready to go."

The team boarded the carriage, and you set off for the train station. You sat next to Rainbow Dash and Firefly, discussing hotel arrangements once you got there.

"I've arranged a block of rooms at a hotel near Canterlot Centre; all we have to do is cross the moat in order to get dinner, do whatever."

"Awesome," Firefly said. "Where is it exactly?"

"Right down the road from Canterlot Centre and the Grand Central Station. We can loop around town in five minutes and be at the stadium, ready to play."

"We're taking gear with us?"

"Yep, into the hotel rooms as soon as you're assigned them," you replied. "Once we get that taken care of, we'll go into town and eat dinner, preferably in the East Side or the suburbs. It's cheaper out there."

"And we've taken the liberty of asking each team member to bring their own money with them," Rainbow added, "and to spend it wisely."

"So we're not begging for pocket change. Perfect."

Once they arrived at the train station, a commendable throng of fans and supporters were already congregated there, holding signs and cheering on the team in an epic community send-off. You simply didn’t see a spectacle like this every day.

You disembarked the carriage and made your way to the station’s entrance. Teammates were already shaking hooves and doling out greetings as the doors were opened for you.

After making sure that everybody had their tickets on them, everypony presented them to the ticket attendant to have them stamped. You boarded the train, again sitting by Rainbow Dash and Firefly. Right across the aisle sat Derpy and Surprise, who were chatting away.

The conductor took a few minutes to give his obligatory health and safety lecture, and then had the crew readied.

You spent the better part of the rail journey raiding the refreshment table in the dining car and discussing the Junior Speedsters’ past exploits and conquests.

Five hours had passed, and you were already pulling into Canterlot Grand Central Station. It was a spectacular work of art inside the place, with marble statues and other pricey features, indicating that every bit that was spent was put to good use.

The three-block walk to their hotel wasn’t as much of a pain for you as it was a pain for your team, who had to carry both their gear and their luggage with them. You sort of felt for them, having carried dirty jerseys to the cleaners and transporting broken equipment, often being asked to foot the bill. Not this year, you thought, smiling to yourself.

Now, if I can make my old bosses pay back the money from all those broken headsets and visits to the doctor, that would also be great, he added.

They arrived at the hotel, which was almost as beautiful as the train station, with an atrium at the top letting in natural sunlight and several running water features.

They set their things down in the lobby and chatted while you and the assistant that you hired (the father of one of the varsity players) sorted out the room situation. Once the hotel clerk handed you the keys, you had Rainbow Dash pass them out. There would be four to a room; each team member received a key that they would be responsible for. The room arrangements were, unfortunately, sex-segregated at the insistence of your other half out of concern for their safety. Since there were only three other males on the junior varsity team, you would have to room with them as well as your assistant.

Now that rooms were taken care of, there was the matter of getting to them. You took the liberty of requesting rooms on the top floor because the rooms were said to be more spacious than the standard rooms in the rest of the hotel, allowing for all the players' gear and their luggage to be stored with little difficulty.

You took four players at a time up in the elevators, gear and all, and escorted them to their rooms, leaving your assistant to supervise the rest. Disembarking the elevator on the twenty-fifth floor and slipping into one of the hallways which ringed the atrium on every level, you quickly located room 2510 and asked a teammate to unlock the door and opened it.

Each room was laid out roughly the same: deep red wallpaper offset with a white trim, a comfortable couch with a pull-out mattress, television, minibar, kitchenette, and enough storage space for everypony. A fully-stocked bathroom was also tucked to the side. In the bedroom, it was the same appearance as in the front room. Two queen-size beds stood side-by-side, separated by the nightstand. Another television was situated nearby, accompanied by ample closet and drawer space.

You did the same with the next eight rooms down the line, with room 2519 being the man-cave. Just goes to show that males truly are a minority here, you thought, exasperatedly. You then decided to crash on the couch in your room and rest your aching head for a while.

~~~

You felt well-rested and ready to go as you and the team prepared to head to the stadium for the junior varsity championship game. Under Rainbow Dash and Firefly's leadership, you got all your gear loaded onto a hired carriage to meet you at the stadium when you got there.

After you made it to the visitors' changing rooms, everypony got their gear and headed in to change into their jerseys. Meanwhile, after you promised your assistant that you wouldn't break your new headset, you became reacquainted with the ground, having just rode here on Derpy's back.

Once they were suited up and in the proper mindset, you delivered a rousing speech in the alleyway:

"I shouldn't have to remind you of all the hard work and dedication that you put forward in order to get here this evening... but I'll do it again.

"We rose from being a losing team to a winning team, a team that knows how to achieve their goals. We have literally transformed this team into a powerhouse. When we work, we work. We laid out a plan at the beginning of the season and we stuck to it, and that's why you're here. We stuck with that plan, and your accomplishments throughout the season and post-season have built up to this final game, our chance for the ultimate victory!"

Cheers resound.

"We are the best damn hoofball team in this country, and this is our last chance to prove it! Together, we have a strategy that will carry us through all four quarters of this game; I can take that championship trophy and slam it on the head principal's desk and say, 'I told you so.'

"At first, he didn't believe in me - he didn't believe that we, as a team, would ever get this far. Well, guess what? We believed in this team, we believed in ourselves, we worked together! We are about to prove everypony wrong! We are about to prove Equestria wrong, and that is why I am so proud!"

Tears sprung from your eyes and streaked down your face as emotion overcame you.

"Now go out there and play hoofball like champions; play like you've never played before!"

The entire team ran towards the edge of the stands, ready to charge onto the field. Rainbow Dash patted you on the back and accompanied you to your place on the sideline.

"It's okay, coach, it's okay."

Firefly trotted alongside and clutched you in her hooves, calming you down.

"Don't worry about a thing, we'll take care of everything for ya."

"Thanks," you said, wiping your face dry. "I'm not usually this emotional."

"Mares and gentlecolts, if I may direct your attention to the scoreboard side of the field... the two teams vying for this year's Equestrian Junior Varsity Hoofball Championship Title are prepared to take the field.

"Tonight's first team has frequently appeared in post-season play, their most recent performance being cut short by the Las Pegasus Junior Blazes in the final. But they have rebounded from that disappointing loss and have trained their hardest, netting big wins where it counted the most. Even though they grow up in the rough and tough gem mining region, this team have never given up - now give it up for the Big Creek Junior Eagles!"

As Big Creek did their little show of cockiness upon entering the stadium, you didn't seem the slightest bit impressed; you flashed them a two-fingered salute for their troubles.

"And now, for tonight's second team. The Junior Speedsters of Cloudsdale Flight Academy have risen from the ashes of mediocrity to their first post-season appearance in over three decades. Their new head coach may be partly responsible - with the backing of his senior quarterback, Firefly, and sophomore wide receiver Rainbow Dash, a new strategy was introduced. That strategy has led to crucial wins and their first playoff breakthrough, unheard of in the Academy until this year. Yes, it's clear that together, this team will go far - please welcome the Cloudsdale Flight Academy Junior Speedsters!"

You cheered like a maniac as your amazing team sped onto the field. And in that moment, you felt a wave of exuberance wash over you. You couldn't be any prouder of your team - or your 'boss mares', for that matter.

You huddled them up and discussed the opening.

"First off... either Brolly Brella or Dash will receive the opening kick, since Big Creek won the coin toss. Whichever one gets the ball will then run straight through the center on the return," Firefly issued the order. "Big Creek use an odd offense, so it'll confuse them."

Break!

Both teams assumed the starting positions on the field for the start of the game. Big Creek kicked the ball to the left side, towards Brella. He caught it and ran in through the offense for a 24-yard punt return.

You turned on your new headset to strategize with Firefly on the field.

"Alrighty, let's start off with the FB/HB Cross-shot, see if we can throw them off some."

"Got it."

In the FB-HB Cross-shot, Surprise would get the snap, run left, and toss it to Argie, who would be on the right side, ideally past the defense.

Here's the snap. Surprise shimmies off to the left and rises a bit. Argie slithers past the Big Creek defensive line, backed by Brella. Surprise sees the two, passes the ball...

And Argie completes the pass! He hands it to Brella, who takes it all the way into the endzone for a touchdown. 6-0 Cloudsdale before the extra point.

"Lovely work. I told you that would throw them off. That was perfect!"

"Seems all that practice paid off," Firefly responded through her earpiece.

By the end of the first quarter, the score was 14-7, with Cloudsdale in the lead and you, the coach, over the moon.

At three minutes to in the second quarter and with halftime approaching fast, Rainbow Dash suggested a powerful play.

"I see that they've beefed up their defense a bit; I think we should try the ol' One-Two."

"I like the way you think," you replied. "That'll piss 'em off some."

The ol' One-Two uses roughly the same technique as the Cross-shot, the only difference being that both wide recievers are involved.

Firefly snaps it to Surprise once again. The defense seemed to steamroll over the Speedsters; but the Speedsters had strategy on their side. Surprise first passed to Dash, who flew twenty yards before passing across the field to Brella and back to Dash again, who carried the touchdown. This fast-paced play had the effect of disorienting their pursuers; in the confusion, a few of them even tripped over themselves.

By the interval, the score was 21-7, Cloudsdale. During the players' meeting, you beamed words of praise for your team.

"I like the way tonight is going... you're practically in control of the field," you began. "We're busting through Big Creek's defense. But here's what I'm afraid is going to happen: they might catch wind of what we're doing and prepare accordingly. We're going to have to change strategies at some point in order to prevent a disaster from happening."

"And we're probably gonna be on defense for the second half anyway. So why don't we dig through the playbook and plan ahead?" Firefly asked.

"Absolutely."

Rainbow Dash nudged your side. "Can we do the One-Two again?"

"If we're still on offense, then maybe," you hinted. "I don't want to risk getting smashed by Big Creek, since their defense is like a stone wall."

Once the second half commenced, Cloudsdale was put on defense; you and Firefly quickly came up with a plan.

“We’re doing the Stone Wall defense,” you said through your headset.

“Gotcha.” The team assumed their positions for the play.

Big Creek, after snapping, sneaked past you on the left side and banged it home, resulting in a touchdown.

“That didn’t exactly work,” Rainbow Dash remarked, speaking through her piece.

Their attempt at the extra point failed, leaving you feeling somewhat vindicated.

“Alright,” you said, “they’re piling on their defensive line. Let’s try Slip Through The Crack, that always works when we’re facing a heavy defense.”

“I’ll have Surprise on it,” Dash said.

There was two minutes left in the third quarter. At this point, Big Creek was closing the gap [21-13] and the challenge was on.

Firefly snapped to Surprise once again, who smashed directly through the opposition’s defensive line, knocking out five of the Eagles, including two linebackers. Their coach claimed foul play, but the referees declared otherwise, and no penalty was incurred.

Right after that, a Big Creek receiver pushed Derpy Hooves almost out of the sky during a run for the endzone. As she was reorienting herself, the receiver was, thankfully, sacked for dirty play.

“Okay… if they want to play like that, we’ll be aggressive,” you told Rainbow Dash after you explained Derpy’s situation.

“Don’t worry, we’ll get aggressive!”

With the score at 21-19 and Cloudsdale ahead by just two points, it became very tense, and it showed on the field, with small scuffles even breaking out during play. It was clear that, for Cloudsdale, an injury to one is an injury to all.

After a few minutes, Derpy was okay after all and was allowed back on the field.

In the fourth quarter, Big Creek played a rough game. With five minutes to go and Cloudsdale on defense at their 10-yard line, the opposition plowed into the Speedsters, breaking wings and limbs in the process. Most of your defensive line was rendered incapacitated. Big Creek was swiftly disciplined, being stiffed with a 15-yard penalty.

On the next play, the two teams were neck-and-neck; their fullback slithered around the right side, shoving Brella to the dirt before she was sacked at the 3-yard line.

The referees saw dirty play and gave Big Creek another 15-yard penalty. It continued like this for the last few minutes of regulation play.

But Cloudsdale pulled through at the very last second - and here’s how they did it.

Firefly snaps to Surprise as normal. But just as Big Creek was about to sack her, she passed the ball to Argie, who, like a greased pig, slipped from the opposition’s grasp. He ran for two seconds before passing it off to Derpy, who in turn threw it to Rainbow Dash on the other end of the field, resulting in the game-winning touchdown!

The score was 27-19 at the final whistle, and the crowd was ecstatic. You had just cemented a place in the history books; you had just turned lemons into lemonade. You threw your headset to the ground and ran to your team, victorious in their struggle.

Tears burst forth from your eyes as you became the center of a deep, bonding embrace from the very ponies you coached and befriended during your time here. Rainbow Dash and Firefly held you tight to them.

"We have done it! We've won the championship title, for the first time in 30 years!"

You held up the massive trophy that you and the team worked very hard for to earn. A few members of the team even had it mind to kick the celebrating up a notch, pouring a bucket of water on your head. Everypony broke out into a fit of laughter. You were just thankful your new headset wasn't soaked as well.

"I'm very proud of you all," you remarked on the way back to the changing rooms. "We've stuck together and worked as a team, and this is the result. Thank you for a wonderful season!"

Rainbow Dash and Firefly then reared up and kissed you on the cheeks, making you blush and tear up.

"Thank you," you said.

"You're welcome," Firefly replied, before giving you an affectionate nuzzle. Dash followed suit, snuggling her head into your chest.

At this point, you climbed into the carriage to prepare for the ride back to the hotel; you've had a very eventful day.

Author's Note

My (belated) Christmas/Hearth's Warming gift, if you will.

I will be writing the conclusion in due time; I will also be updating Ryder's story as well as finishing Over a Rainbow if real-life obligations permit.

Enjoy!