At last, Sweetie Belle was free. She respected her older sister saying that two hours was a rather short time to model for a proper dress, but she was nevertheless glad to finally have time for her other plans. She swiftly trotted through Ponyville hoping she wasn't too late yet. If nothing went wrong, she could probably even still make it to the clubhouse before the rest arrived. Unfortunately, moments after that thought, the ground appeared to have gained an insatiable desire to meet her face.
"Ouch. What's this?" She was a big filly now, she didn't usually stumble over her own hooves. While picking herself up, she noticed the object that had made her fall still stuck to her hoof. It was a flyer promoting some sport she'd never heard about. Quickly reading over it, she decided it was definitely something for the others to see, packed it into her bags, and dashed off to make up for the lost time.
Sweetie arrived at the clubhouse just ten minutes after the agreed time. Equally as much passed before the other two Crusaders arrived almost simultaneously as always. It struck her as odd that she'd always be first there when she lived farthest from it. Especially Apple Bloom could be expected to arrive earlier as the clubhouse literally stood on her family's property, even with its size. She didn't mind, though. They were her best friends and, besides, there was always something to keep her busy, like enjoying the view across Ponyville through the empty windows, going through their trophies and reminiscing the adventures which brought them those items, or actually reading the flyer she brought.
"Hey there," Scootaloo announced herself and Apple Bloom as they came through the door. Apparently, they'd both hurried to make it to the treehouse in time as there was plenty of red in their faces. She could tell their meetings meant as much to them as they did to her. "What'cha got?"
"Found it on the way here." Sweetie Belle slid it over to the other side of the table. "Figured it might be worth a shot."
"Bendin' Ball... lookin' for interested ponies... amateur tournament soon," Apple Bloom read aloud. "Looks mighty interestin' by me."
"Teams of three, report to Coach Alexander at the Ponyville sports hall." Scootaloo looked up. "Wouldn't have expected you to come up with this, to be honest."
"Because I'm a unicorn and because of that I have to only do frilly stuff?" Sweetie countered with her voice carrying a drop of venom even she hadn't expected.
"Uh, no, because you're not all that sporty." After hearing what she herself had said, Scootaloo quickly added, "Not that I don't think you're up to the task, of course."
"Eyes on target, fillies," Apple Bloom interrupted before any more could be spoken. "Am Ah right that we're all for Sweetie's idea?" A brief uproar of noise which an adult would describe as deafening confirmed her. "Great. Then le's get to it!" Without another word, she took off out the door and towards Ponyville.
"Uh, you think she knows where the sports hall is?" Scootaloo asked, looking as perplexed as Sweetie felt.
"We'd better get after her if she doesn't." With that, they too ran off at the supersonic speed of a filly's energetic legs.
After only half an hour of walking, admitting to be lost, asking for directions, and another ten minutes of far more efficient walking, the three fillies arrived in front of an enormous building. It had to be the place, judging by it matching the description and the signs on its front advertising Bending Ball. "Alright, we're here," Scootaloo said, unexpected leadership brightening her voice. "We gonna do this, Crusaders?"
A resounding "Yeah" and a triple-sided high-hoof later, they went inside and into the main hall. There, colts and fillies of all colourings were already busily kicking softballs against the wall or each other. They were pleased to find some of their friends amongst the training, but even more so that their enemies were not. The sun's blessed warmth fell in through the wide windows, creating a comfortable, even casual atmosphere even despite the competitive nature of the sport for which everypony had came here.
"Hello dere. You here for training?" a stallion's voice said from behind them. Its owner, a tan stallion with white mane and tail and a football cutie mark, stood in the corner, leaning against the wall. His experience was apparent as even while his focus was clearly on the fillies before him, he always seemed to keep an eye on those already at work.
"Yeah. You're Coach Alexander, right? Make us professional Bending Ball players." A good second passed before Scootaloo apparently remembered her manners, "Please."
The slightest hint of a grin cracked his stoic face. "Can't do that. But I'll teach you what I can." He beckoned for them to follow and led them to the storage room.
"You ever seen Scootaloo like that?" Apple Bloom whispered on the way there.
"Can't say I have. She's really into it already," Sweetie Belle gave back before the coach gave each of them a fairly enveloping helmet.
"Fit nice and tight? The balls are soft and you just foals, but we play safe here." He turned around and headed back to the hall. "Any of you ever played dis?" None of them could honestly say yes, so they all gave the opposite answer. "Alright, it's easy. In real game, you three will be on one side of that line over there," he gestured a hoof at the blue line splitting the hall in half horizontally, "and another team on the other. With dose balls, try to push your opponents three lines back, or at least more away than they push you when the bell rings. If you can push all of them out, you win, else it's best of five for most zone gains. You can't walk back across a line dey pushed you over, and if you get all of them back, you get to move one zone forward. Got dat?"
"Sounds easy enough," Scootaloo replied.
"Da's what we want to hear. See," he mustered them one by one, "you got one of each race. Perfect."
"What if we didn't?" Sweetie Belle asked, slightly intimidated by his powerful voice. "Sounds like oddly strict teams."
"No problem either, lil' princess. Any teams allowed." He pointed forward to where there were teams in any combination tirelessly training. "But bit of magic or flying also allowed for one pony per team, so dat's good to have. Only do magic on your side though, don't try otherwise. You got team name for tournament yet?"
"Uh, guess we're still the Cutie Mark Crusaders," Apple Bloom replied. "But don't you wanna see us play first before enterin' us into the tournament?"
"Aah, nonsense." He silently lined them up a few meters in front of the wall and tossed each of them a ball from the crate near the wall. "Everypony can play Bending Ball. Maybe you fail tournament, maybe you don't. Who knows. Important ding is playing. Also, it's only in two weeks, enough time to train. Maybe you'll make it through tournament and win a day with Equestria's best fliers. Even if you will, first practice aiming. Most important thing in Bending Ball. Dat and not getting hit."
"Equestria's best fliers, huh?" Scootaloo murmured with a rare glint in her eye. Sweetie and Apple Bloom exchanged looks. One thing was clear, the next two weeks were going to be very, very tough.
