A Dazzling New Life: High School

It had been a couple of weeks since the Dazzlings and Dawnshine had gone down to the beach and helped reunite a missing boy and his parents. During that time Canterlot's girl's soccer team had been working rigorously to be at their best for when playoffs arrived. Coach Rainbow had pushed the girls to be in her exact words "Twenty percent cooler and better than they were yesterday!"

Unfortunately for Dawnshine, her foot injury would keep her sidelined for another two weeks. The previous few weeks she had been given time off to hopefully heal in time so that she would be ready for the playoffs but sadly it wasn't fully healed.

The excitement in the air was electric as the Dazzlings and their soccer team gathered on the field, faces bright with determination. It was the start of the playoffs, and they were ready to give it everything they had, pushing harder than ever to surpass their performance from freshman year. Rainbow Dash, paced the sidelines with her usual confident grin, clapping her hands to rally the team. The girls who were doing some last-minute practice heard Rainbow's claps and went over to her.

“Alright, ladies, this is our moment!” Rainbow Dash called out, her voice steady and filled with energy. “Let’s show them what we’re made of! Play as a team, back each other up, give it one hundred percent, and be twenty percent cooler than the other team!”

Dawnshine, still nursing her injury from the beach rescue, sat on the sidelines with her foot wrapped, her spirit as strong as ever. “You’ve got this, girls!” she cheered, her voice echoing across the field. “I’ll be right here, cheering you on every step of the way!”

Adagio, Aria, and Sonata shared a determined nod before taking their positions on the field. This was it, the moment they had been waiting for ever since they lost that playoff game in freshman year. They had wanted another chance and now was finally that chance. Adagio and Aria walked into the middle of the field while Sonata stood in front of the goalie doing a few jumps in place. The girls watched and waited for the game to begin.

The game was on their home turf so the Canterlot crowd was cheering loudly for their team. Just then, the whistle blew, and the game was underway. Their opponents were tough, but the Dazzlings were tougher. Adagio took the lead, darting past defenders with impressive agility, while Aria blocked opponents from getting near Adagio or any other teammate who had the ball.

Sonata, with her usual energy, blocked every shot the opposite team tried firing toward the goal. Thanks to Gabby and Athena, they were creating openings and setting up opportunities for her teammates. The team worked seamlessly, their years of friendship and practice shining in every pass and every sprint.

“Come on, Sonata! You’ve got this!” Dawnshine shouted, her cheers carrying over the noise of the crowd.

Their opponents had been able to take a free kick after Phoebe had accidentally caused a foul trying to get the ball back. And now, it was up to Sonata to block the kick so the team didn't get a point. As a girl from the opposing team kicked the ball, Sonata tracked it in the air and caught it firmly. The crowd cheered thankful that their team hadn't let up a point.

The score was 1-0 with Canterlot in the lead early thanks to a goal from a Frizzle and Aria combination. There were still a few more minutes until halftime and the girls were looking to keep the lead up until then to keep the momentum on their side.

"Keep it up, girls! We've got this! Don't let them score and keep up on the offense! We can win this thing!" The girls nodded at Adagio's encouraging words as they got ready for what the team had in store for them.

As the game heated up, the Dazzlings’ teamwork became the highlight of the field. They passed with precision, defended with strength, and communicated flawlessly. Adagio scored the second goal, slipping past the goalkeeper with a swift kick. Aria followed up in the second half, taking a shot from outside the penalty box that soared straight into the net.

Rainbow Dash pumped her fist in the air. “That’s how we do it! Keep it up!” The score was now 3-0 and everything was going right for team Canterlot. There were only a few more minutes until the game was over and all seemed over for the other team.

The final moments of the game were intense, with their opponents rallying hard to even the score. With time against them, they would need to score, and fast if they wanted a chance at a comeback. However, the Dazzlings were relentless, playing with a tenacity that left the other team scrambling. Adagio made the last, crucial assist, passing the ball to Athena who landed the winning goal just as the final whistle blew. With a final score of 4-0, Canterlot had won and would be advancing to the next round of the playoffs! Something that hadn't been done in years!

The crowd erupted in cheers, and the Dazzlings huddled together in celebration, their smiles wide and filled with pride. Rainbow Dash ran over, giving each of them a high-five and a hearty pat on the back.

“You girls were unstoppable!” she exclaimed. “That’s exactly what I wanted to see!”

The girls shook hands with the other team giving them words of advice and encouragement for the future. As they walked off the field, Dawnshine hobbled over to hug each of them, her eyes bright with pride. “You all did amazing! I knew you’d win it!”

Sonata took a sip of her water and smiled. "And think what our team will be like once you come back from your injury? We'll really be unstoppable once we have you back!"

Aria nodded her head in agreement with Sonata's statement. "I told you we would do this for you! And we'll keep winning too until you're back in shape to play. It wouldn't be fair if we all got to play in the playoffs and you couldn't."

Adagio wiped her forehead with a towel to get rid of the sweat dripping onto her face. "If we keep winning you should be ready for the finals. I admit even though back then you were a ball hog, you were still a really good soccer player. You helped bring a lot to the offense, and now that you're a teammate I'm sure that offense will be even better once you're back and ready for action."

Dawnshine let out a small laugh. "Again, I'm really sorry about all of that. If it wasn't for me we would have won that match back in freshman year."

Seeing that Dawnshine looked down, Sonata wanted to make her feel better. "That was our first playoff game, we didn't have the playoff experience like the other team did. We were nervous and made mistakes. Back then when you said it was my fault we lost the game you weren't wrong. I didn't play all that great. Every single ball went past me. If I was able to block even one of them, we would've had a better chance at winning that game."

Aria rolled her eyes. "All right, that's enough of that. No more pity parties, that's all in the past now. Let's celebrate this victory and think about what is going on currently. The past is the past, there's nothing we can do to fix it. But what we can do is use the past to not make the same mistakes twice now in the present."

Sonata and Dawnshine nodded their heads as Adagio gasped. "Mom!" The girls turned their heads to see Sunset and Tom walking over to them. Adagio ran over and hugged Sunset. Aria and Sonata smiled as they too followed in Adagio's footsteps and hugged their parents.

"You guys were amazing out there!" Sunset said. "Aria you look even faster than you did a few weeks ago." Aria played with her hair as she shyly looked away so no one would notice the blush on her face. "Adagio your leadership has only gotten better throughout the years." Adagio smiled and nodded her head. "And Sonata, your blocking was just magnificent!" Sonata smiled as she rubbed the back of her head.

"What do you say we all go to the Sugarcube Corner and get some dinner?" Tom asked before looking over at Dawnshine who was looking to the side feeling like the third wheel. "Would you like to join us, Dawnshine? The more the merrier."

Dawnshine looked up at Tom and then at the Dazzlings who nodded and smiled at her. "If it isn't too much trouble then I'd love to join you guys to dinner!"

Adagio then looked down at her clothes. "Before we go to dinner, I think we should get changed back into our regular clothes and out of our jerseys, right girls?"

Aria and Sonata looked down and realized they were still wearing their jerseys. "Give us a minute!" Sonata said as she rushed over to the locker room with Aria and Adagio not far behind her. Sunset, Tom, and Dawnshine watched as the girls raced to the locker room.

With one game down and the team riding high on their victory, the Dazzlings were more motivated than ever, ready to take on the next round of the playoffs with everything they had. They knew this season was their chance to show everyone just how far they’d come—and they weren’t about to let anything stand in their way. They were determined to continue winning and eventually, win the championship and bring home the trophy back to Canterlot.