Unexpected Changes

The rest of practice went by without a problem. Rather, there were problems, but almost none of them were with Lily. Fifteen angry parents stormed the field at one time or another, yelling at the coach for not letting their daughter be the goalie. He calmly explained to them every time that the team only needed two goalies at maximum; one normal and one backup, and that he'd picked the two that had done the best. And of course, Lily remembered which two, because they had been able to block her shots fairly often. If their regular goalie could block just over half of her shots, she was good. Their backup could manage about a third. The coach offered them another position on the field, and while most parents had stormed off, making a big deal about writing to the Equestria Youth Athletics Association, one in particular had agreed to the position change, and they had a new forward in reserve. That reserve forward was Snapdragon, because the other filly, one Cherry Pit, was slightly better.

If they'd managed to claim yet another forward, Snapdragon would have been moved. Something Lily hadn't told them, because she didn't know about it, was a team support crew. Glory had been moved there, as this crew was meant to make sure the team only needed to think about the game. The cheerleaders were there to keep the crowds cheering, there was a collection of vendors to keep the spectators supplied with food and drink, as well as merchandise, there were refreshers to make sure that any players returning to the bench were supplied with towels, drinks, and anything else, and if Snapdragon didn't need to be on the team as a reserve, she'd be the one in charge of uniforms and uniform maintenance. All of these positions had been handled by adults in the past, and were still being led by adults, but the kids were allowed to take part, now that they were older.

After just two and a half weeks of practice, it was time for the first game of the season. Rather, it was the fourth game, but the first one that Lily and her team would be involved in. Lily was in the guest locker room slipping into her jersey when she felt a hoof on her shoulder. She turned, and Daisy was standing there, as was Snapdragon. Glory was already outside.

"You don't have to go through with this," warned Daisy, quiet enough so that nopony would overhear. "Just tell the coach that you feel sick. Please, please don't go out there."

Lily shook her head and cinched her sash, tucking the tail away so as not to have it caught in anything. "I'm playing. At least for the first few games."

"Think of the baby!" urged Snapdragon quietly. "Even when it's this small, you could still damage it!"

"I've already taken that into account," answered Lily. "Don't worry about it."

"We're going to worry about it!" growled Snapdragon. "Lily, you're our friend. We care about you. We care about what matters to you! We care about the baby, too. I'm begging you to just drop out of the game. Be a member of the support crew, if you want us to win, but don't play."

"Sorry, girls. But I'm going out on that field."

As Lily walked toward the door, Daisy called out to her. "If that's the case, my stomach and Snapdragon's just took a bad turn."

"It did?" asked Snapdragon.

Daisy dug her elbow into Snapdragon's shoulder. "We had dinner together last night, and the food poisoning just caught up to us. There's no right forward, and no replacement. The game has to be forfeit."

Lily's hoof stopped at the handle and she turned around. "You wouldn't."

"I would," snorted Daisy. "I'm not letting you play this game. Bow out, and let Snapdragon and myself handle it, or you can keep fighting and ruin it for the whole team."

For a minute, all was still. Lily was glaring daggers at her friends. She knew they meant well, but there was no way Lily was going to let her child come to harm. She'd done her research, and the only way a blow could injure her child at this stage of development was if it was strong enough to knock the wind out of her. It would have to be hard enough from a distance that she couldn't see it coming, or with such force up close that she couldn't block it. The former suggested that she was an idiot, and the latter meant that the one who kicked her was so aggressively rough that she'd be expelled from the game. This wasn't a "both go for the ball at the same time and shin each other" kind of accidental injury. They would have to act with malice, aiming for a section of her body that should not ever be aimed for.

"I'll go talk to the coach," Lily sighed.

Daisy and Snapdragon followed along, making sure Lily kept her word. It wasn't that they didn't trust her, just that they knew she really, really wanted to play. If she said she was fine, they were going to be sick.

"There you are," smiled the coach as they approached. "Now, we all remember yesterday's strategy meeting? We know what we're supposed to watch for?"

The girls nodded.

"Good. Out onto the field, girls. Take your positions."

As the rest of the team ran out across the grass, Lily, Daisy and Snapdragon stayed behind. "Coach?" called Lily. "Something's wrong with my stomach."

He kneeled down and placed a hoof on her abdomen. "Do you feel sick?" he asked. "Do you need to sit out?"

As Lily nodded, Daisy stepped forward. "Don't worry, Coach. Snapdragon can sub in. She said she feels great, and so do I."

The coach nodded. "Well, that settles it. If Lily is too sick to play, then I guess we'll have to--"

There was a loud belch from Lily, and all of her perceived discomfort left in an instant.

"Nevermind, coach. I guess it was just a bad gas bubble. Since the whole team is feeling great, let's play some hoofball!"

As the coach clapped at Lily's recovery, glad to know she was feeling better, Daisy just stared. Lily had just cheated them. They couldn't pretend to be sick, now. She'd just said they felt great. If their condition dropped so suddenly, that would be suspicious. With a growl, she took to the field, and Snapdragon went to the bench. They couldn't even come up with a plan together. The only thing Daisy could do now was make sure that Lily was unharmed, and that meant playing harder than she ever had.