Moonshot looked out the train window, her eyes not focused on anything in particular. Rain was coming down hard, so it’s not like there was much to look at anyway. The scenery passing by was just a grey blur. The weather and Moonshot’s mood were a perfect match.
She was still a while out of Canterlot for her mid-season meeting with Swift Impact. The meeting would have a big impact on the future of the Tornadoes. She had good numbers to show him, but she still wasn’t sure if it was going to be enough.
Of course all of that seemed secondary to the matter of Clipper. She hadn’t seen him since before the game yesterday. Applejack and Rainbow Dash assured her that they would handle it, but she knew that things wouldn’t really be resolved until her and Clipper sorted it out one on one.
Twilight trotted up next to Moonshot. A couple drinks floated in front of her. Moonshot turned to her and took one of them.
“Thanks Twilight.” She turned back to the window.
“You’re welcome.” Twilight settled down onto the seat next to Moonshot. “So, you gonna be all gloomy the whole trip.”
“Maybe.”
“Hey, it’ll be alright. If anypony can whip Clipper into shape, it’s Applejack.”
Moonshot sighed and finally looked over at Twilight. “Things will be alright as far as the team goes. Applejack is far too loyal to just abandon me now, and she is far too stubborn to just let Clipper back down on a deal. I know this.” She shook her head and looked down. “I’m more afraid of losing Clipper. He really does mean a lot to me. I just can’t deal with a relationship right now.”
“So is that your only reason? If you were open to the idea of dating would you give Clipper a chance?”
Moonshot paused. She had thought about how she really felt about Clipper and she had to be honest about the unpleasant answer. “No. He’s a great guy, but I just don’t see him as someone I’d want to be with. I’m just not attracted to him. Is that wrong? I mean, I feel guilty that I can’t return his feelings.”
“You shouldn’t feel guilty. That’s not really something you can control.”
“I know. It’s just all so stupidly complicated.” She looked sadly out at the rain. “I just wish it didn’t bother me so much. You saw what it did to me on the mound. You knew from the very start something was wrong. I wish I had listened to you and admitted to myself I was in no shape to play. I lost us the game, and I really messed up my E.R.A.. So much for the pitching award.”
“It happens. We can put it behind is. The season isn’t over. I know four games is a lot to make up with just fifteen to go, but we’ll pull through.”
“We’ll need some luck. If the Royals go nine and six, we’ll need to go thirteen and two.”
“How about you look at it this way? We play the Royals four more times. We just need to beat them every one of those games, then if we win just one more game then they do against other teams, we win the division.”
“Hmm. Doesn’t seem so bad when you put it that way. Still, beating a team four times in a row isn’t exactly easy.”
Twilight gave Moonshot a smirk. “So we find a weakness. There has to be some part of their game-plan we can expose. If it’s there, I can find it!”
Moonshot finally smiled. “Well, if anypony can do it, it’s you Twilight.”
---------------------------------------------------------
“Figures it would rain when we’re trying to get Clipper to change his mind.” Applejack said while trotting slowly down the street. She was kept dry, as Spike was sitting on her back, holding an umbrella. It wasn’t a heavy rain, but enough to be unpleasant for anypony outside.
Rainbow Dash didn’t seem to mind, as she hovered just above the others. “Hey, you helped make the rain schedule. Don’t complain to me.”
Applejack turned her nose up. “I ain’t complainin about the rain. Just ain’t the best weather for lifting someponies spirits.”
“Relax,” said Spike “We’ll have him back on our side in no time. Then you can get back to focusing on winning.”
“I hope you’re right,” said Applejack. “Anyway, looks like we’re here.”
They walked up to Clipper’s house. It was a small, plain looking home. It was well maintained with a nice little garden out front. Rainbow Dash took the initiative and knocked three times on the door.
There wasn’t an immediate answer. Rainbow Dash furrowed her brow and was about to knock again, when the door opened up and Clipper poked his head out. His eyes went wide and his ears went back a bit. “Applejack? Rainbow Dash? And uh… the dragon?”
The dragon was not amused. “It’s Spike.”
“Wow. You look awful.” said Rainbow bluntly. It was true. His mane was messy and tangled, his fur unkempt and he had bags under his eyes as if he hadn’t slept.
Clipper spoke, ignoring Rainbow’s comment. “What do you want?”
“We just want to talk.” said Applejack. “May we come in?”
Clipper looked at Applejack, who had a sincere look on her face, then over to Rainbow Dash who looked annoyed and almost angry look on hers. He hesitated. “Fine. But only for a little bit.”
“Thanks Clipper.” said Applejack as Clipper stepped back and opened the door for them. They stepped into his small living room. It was kept as neatly as the outside of the house. It was easily the cleanest bachelor pad that any of them had ever seen.
Clipper trotted over to his favorite chair and flopped down and let out a heavy sigh. “I know why you’re here.”
“Well we’re not gonna try to hide that. Nothing but the honest truth here. Promise. We want you to change your mind about quitting.” Applejack said, crossing a hoof over her chest.
“Of course you do.” He looked down at the floor. “It was stupid of me. I shouldn’t have done it. Now I’ve ruined my life.” He paused. “And Moonshot’s.”
“Wait, you know it was stupid, so why did you do it?” asked Rainbow Dash.
Clipper raised his voice a little, upset with Dash’s lack of tact. “I wasn’t thinking. I got it into my head that Moonshot was using me and I needed validation. When I didn’t get it, I overreacted. Now I’ve messed everything up.”
“Hey, it’s not too late. You can come back. The team needs you Clipper.” said Rainbow, patting him once on the back.
“How can I come back now? I saw what happened in the game. I’ve known Moonshot for a long time and I’ve never seen her pitch that badly. She was so mad at me she couldn’t focus.”
Applejack shook her head. “I think she was more sad than mad. I know you really care about her. If that’s true then you should want to make her happy. Quitting and cutting yourself off from her ain’t gonna make her happy. She cares about you.”
“I know she cares about me, but she’ll never care about me the way I care about her.” His voice started to give a subtle quiver. “Now that she knows that, I’m too embarrassed to see her. Every time I see her I’m just going to be reminded of how much of an idiot I am.” A single tear rolled down his cheek.
Rainbow rolled her eyes. “So that’s your reason? You’re just too embarrassed? Come on, get over it. Nopony is going to blame you. Besides, you made a promise to Applejack to tend the farm. You can’t go back on that.”
Clipper stayed silent for a moment. Dash’s words hurt, mostly because he knew they were true. He let out a defeated sigh. “I’ll keep working the farm. I owe that to you Applejack. I just don’t know if I can face Moonshot again.”
“Thanks Clipper,” said Applejack. “But we still need somepony to tend the field, and you’re the best at it. What’s it going to take?”
Clipper shook his head. “I don’t know.”
Spike stood up, finally breaking his silence. “I think I got this.” He turned to Applejack and Rainbow Dash. “Ladies, you mind leaving the room? Clipper and I need to have a little man to man talk.”
Both mares cocked their heads in confusion, then looked at each other and shrugged.
“Alright Spike. If you say so.” said Applejack as she headed into the kitchen with Dash.
Spike waited until they were out of the room before walking right up to Clipper. “Alright. So, from what I understand, you really care about Moonshot.”
“Yeah.”
“But, she doesn’t feel the same way about you.”
“No, she doesn’t.”
“Well Clipper, I think I can help you, because I’ve been in the same situation.”
Clipper raised his head a little, looking into Spike’s eyes. “You have?”
“Yep.” Spike nodded. “Let me tell you about Rarity. She’s the most beautiful, talented and generous pony I know. I would do anything for her. I had a huge crush on her. Still kinda do. She knows how I feel, and unfortunately, she doesn’t feel the same way about me.”
“So then you should know how I feel.”
“I do. It feels bad doesn’t it? I wanted to be with Rarity, and I went through a little episode where I was being really selfish. I nearly lost Rarity. Heck, nearly lost all of Ponyville, but that’s a whole other story. What matters is that I learned something important.”
Clipper was listening intently. “Yeah?”
“I learned that it’s better to have a little of something good, than to have nothing at all. I stopped being so selfish and focused on what Rarity wants. She wants to be friends. She wants to be there for me, and have me be there for her, just like any two friends would be. And you know what? It’s great. I may not have everything I want, but I’m happy because she’s happy.”
“Huh… I never thought about it like that.”
“You care a lot about Moonshot right?”
Clipper nodded. “I do.”
“So do you really want to never see her again?”
Clipper paused. “No. Of course not.”
“Then get back to the park and be the best groundskeeper you can be.”
Clipper paused. “I’m still not sure...”
“Yeah, I didn’t expect you to just change your mind right away. Just think about what I said. And get some rest man, you look pretty rough.”
Clipper nodded. “I will. Thanks Spike.”
Spike shrugged. “No problem. We’re here for you if you need us. You and me may not actually play, but that doesn’t mean that we’re not part of the team. Teammates stick together and help each other out.”
Clipper thought about what Spike said for a few seconds. “I suppose we are. “ He sighed. “Well, thanks for coming over.”
“Anytime. If you ever wanna hang, let me know. I really need more guy friends.”
Clipper gave Spike another nod. “Right on. Anyway, I need to think this all over. Figure out what I’m going say to Moonshot when she gets back.”
Spike shrugged. “Eh. You have a couple days. They’re probably only just arriving at Royal Park right now.”
-----------------------------------------------------
Moonshot and Twilight stepped onto the main plaza outside of Royal Park. It was easily the most beautiful of the parks in the league. The design fit the overall feel of Canterlot, with many Ivory pillars and golden accents. It was the home of the Canterlot Royals, but located right next to the park was the office for the entire league.
The plaza was much more quiet than usual, with only a few ponies milling around. Moonshot turned to Twilight. “How much time we got?”
“Forty five minutes. We’re plenty early.”
“Good. We have time to grab lunch real quick.” Moonshot licked her lips. “I know a great place nearby.”
“As long as it’s quick. We don’t want to be late.”
A stallions voice came from behind them. “Twiley!”
Twilight turned, eyes wide as a smile crossed her face. “Shining Armor!” She ran over to him and the two gave each other a tight hug. She let go and cocked her head a bit. “What are you doing in Canterlot?” She also noticed he was wearing a baseball cap with a C.E. logo on it. “And why are you wearing a baseball hat?”
“Didn’t you hear? We’re building a ball park in the Crystal Empire and we’re going to join the league. I’m helping run the whole project.” He then noticed Twilight’s Ponyville hat. “Okay, so I know you’re on Ponyvilles team from your letter, but what are you doing here today?”
“Our manager has a meeting with the league officials. I’ve been helping her a lot with most of the record keeping and finances and all of that kind of stuff, so she asked me to come along.”
Shining Armor gave a broad smile. “That’s great Twilight! I can’t wait to have our team play against yours.”
Twilight frowned. “Shining Armor, if they add the Crystal Empire to the league, that means they’ll be dropping another team. It’s a long story, but the Tornadoes are on probation this year. If they add your team, they’re going to shut down ours.”
His head jerked back a bit. “What? They never mentioned that they’d be dropping another team.” He turned towards the office, narrowing his eyes a bit. “Especially not YOUR team.”
“Well it’s true.” She shook her head. “If the Tornadoes don’t have a good year, we’re done for.”
“Well not if I have anything to say about it. If the Crystal Empire is going to join the league, it’s going to be as an expansion team, not a replacement team.”
Moonshot stepped up to them. “I appreciate that. I would really rather we did it on our own, but if it comes to it, I’d be happy for any help. Still, don’t go making any demands because of your royal status. Twilight forbids it.”
Twilight nodded with a smile. “That I do. By the way, Shining Armor, this is Moonshot. Moonshot, Shining Armor.”
The two shook hooves. Moonshot gave him a wry grin. “I’m the manager and owner of the Tornadoes. You must be the Big Brother Best Friend Forever I’ve heard so much about.”
Shining Armor went a little red. “Yeah, that’s me. I’ve heard a lot about you too. Twilight spoke highly of you in her letters.”
Moonshot raised an eyebrow with a smirk. “Well, that’s good. Say, Twilight and I were going to quick grab lunch. Wanna join us?”
Shining Armor nodded enthusiastically. “Oh yes please. I’m not a fan of train food, so I’m starving.”
Twilight grinned. “Well then let’s eat!”
--------------------------------------------
Moonshot stepped back out onto the plaza with Twilight. She let out a heavy sigh. “Ugh. Glad that’s over.”
Twilight was ever optimistic. “I thought it went pretty well. Swift Impact didn’t outright dismiss the idea of the league going to ten teams with two divisions. He actually seemed to be in favor of it.”
Moonshot shook her head. “I know. I just really hate those meetings. So many numbers and details. I’m really glad you were there to help.”
“Think nothing of it.” Twilight turned, heading out of the plaza. “So, shall we head to the palace and get settled for the evening?”
“Sure.” Moonshot gave her head a shake. “I still can’t believe we’re staying at the royal palace. I’m used to getting a cheap motel when I come for these kind of things.”
“Just think of it as being my guest. Besides I’m sure Celestia and Luna are looking forward to meeting you.”
Moonshot stopped walking and got a bit of a surprised look on her face. “Wait, you think Celestia would want to meet me?”
“Of course. We’ll be having dinner with them.”
“What? Why didn’t you tell me?”
Twilight smirked. “I wanted it to be a surprise. Come on. It’ll be fun.”
Moonshot rubbed her temple. “Ugh. Fine. Just no more surprises or drama today.”
“Moonshot!” called a familiar voice. Moonshot’s face went blank and she flopped down onto her haunches. It was Flint Bolt, who trotted up to the pair, a smile on his face. “I was hoping to run into you today. How did your meeting go?”
Moonshot looked up at him, forcing herself to smile. “It went fine. I assume you’re here for your meeting?”
He nodded. “Yep. But it doesn’t start for twenty minutes. So how you been?”
Twilight patted Moonshot on the back. “I’ll let you two catch up.” She winked and trotted away.
Moonshot closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “To be honest, it’s been a little hectic lately. I haven’t been playing my best and there’s been a bit of drama. Still… I have some great ponies on my team. How bout you? I heard that Long Strider got hurt.”
Flint frowned. “Yeah. He’s going to be out for the season. We’ve really been hurting without him. Ugh. We’re 6 and 9, and two of those wins are against you.”
“Yeah. Losing games because of injuries is the worst. I need you guys healthy. We need you to help us beat up on the Royals so we can catch up.”
“We’ll do our best.” He shrugged. “So how is the probation going?”
Moonshot shrugged. “If things keep going the way they’ve been… I think we’ll be okay. But we need the help of the other teams. There’s two options for next year. Keep the same divisions, but replace Ponyville with the Crystal Empire, or we add in the Crystal Empire as an expansion team and go to two five-team divisions. Though the league makes the decision, they’re going to be asking for input from all the teams. If the managers and owners of the teams are against expansion, we’re out.”
He put a hoof on her shoulder. “Well you have the full support of the Rangers.”
She smiled and looked up at him. “I know that. You’ve always supported me.”
The two looked at each other in silence for a seconds. Flint finally broke the silence. “Well, I should probably head inside soon here.”
“Yeah... Probably.”
“Say. You want to grab dinner later? Maybe meet up here around six?”
Moonshot paused. She sighed. “Flint… I can’t. It’s really not a good time. Plus, I kind of already have dinner plans with the princesses.”
Flints smile faded. “Oh. Some other time then?”
Moonshot nodded. “Some other time. I gotta run.”
“Alright. You take care of yourself.”
She leaned up and gave him a hug. “You too Flint. You too.” She released the hug and trotted off, heading off towards the palace.
------------------------------------------------------
Applejack narrowed her eyes at Rainbow Dash, staring her down intensely. Rainbow Dash stared back, mirroring her friend’s glare. Applejack turned away, then kicked her back hoof out hard towards the blue pegasus.
Rainbow Dash swung her hoof out.
CRACK
The bat hit the ball, sailing out towards left field. Rainbow Dash tossed the bat aside and sprinted towards first base. She watched the ball come down as she rounded first. She skidded to a halt and stomped the ground as she saw Thunderlane leap forward and make a diving catch.
“Darn it!” Her grumpy expression quickly turned to a smile. “Great catch Thunderlane!”
“Yee haw!” Applejack did a little elated hop. “Make a catch like that in a game and we’ll be on top for sure!”
Rainbow Dash let out a sigh. “I always seem to pop up your fastball to left. I thought I had a hit that time.”
“That’s because you’re putting the bat strap too low on the bat. Try choking up on it.” Moonshot’s voice came from behind her.
Dash spun around, not expecting to hear her manager. “Moonshot! You’re back!”
Moonshot smiled. “That I am. I must say, I didn’t expect to see the team here practicing.”
Applejack trotted up. “We need to play a lot better the second half of the season if we want to catch up.”
Rainbow Dash turned to Applejack with a grin. “It was Applejack’s idea. Didn’t take much to get everypony to agree.”
“That’s great.” Moonshot said while taking a look around. “Because I’m going to run you all ragged these next few days.”
“I take it the meeting went well?” asked Applejack.
Moonshot sighed. “About as well as I could expect. As long as the rest of the season isn’t a complete disaster, I think we’ll be alright. But I really need you to get all the ponies you know to come to more games. Let’s sell this place out.”
“You got it!” Rainbow Dash said while pumping a hoof in the air.
“We’ve convinced Swift Impact that expanding to ten teams would be better than dropping us, but we need the support of the rest of the league. A rep from the Crystal Empire was there to talk about the expansion. Turns out that rep was Twilight’s brother. On top of that, after the meetings Twilight took me to the palace and we had dinner with Celestia and Luna.”
“That’s cool.” said Rainbow Dash casually.
“It was more than cool. I never thought I’d be a dinner guest to royalty.”
Applejack shrugged. “We’ve met the princesses enough times that I guess it just doesn’t impress us that much. ‘Specially since one of them is a close friend. Where is she anyway?”
“She went into the office. She’s getting the records of the games together so we can figure out a strategy for the rest of the year.”
“Well alright.” Applejack took off her baseball hat, replacing it with the Stetson. “Guess we ought to call it a day then. Sounds like we have a heck of a day of practice ahead of us tomorrow.”
“You know it.” Moonshot dragged a hoof across the grass. “And thanks for getting the field trimmed. It looks great.”
“Wasn’t us.” Applejack said with a smile. “He was here right at dawn mowing. Business as usual.”
Moonshots eyes widened and started to gloss over. “Really?”
“Yeah. He got the whole place ready to go before we got here to practice.” said Rainbow Dash. “I think he’s cleaning the visiting locker room right now.”
“I better go talk to him.” She turned to head to the locker room before stopped and looking back. “Thank you. Really… thank you so much.”
“Thank Spike.” said Applejack, “Me and Rainbow tried, but he’s the one who did it.”
“I guess I’ll just have to get him a nice basket of gems then.” With a nod and a smile, Moonshot jogged over to find Clipper.
Clipper was sweeping the last of the dirt and fur into the dustpan. Thanks to a good afternoon’s work, the visitor’s locker room was pristine and now perfectly ready for the next game.
Clipper enjoyed the work. He always had. Something about taking a mess and turning into something organized and clean gave him a great feeling of satisfaction.
The door to the locker room opened up. He turned over to the sound to see who it was.
“Clipper? You in here?” Moonshot asked.
“Moonshot?” He stepped forward.
The two ponies locked eyes. They stared at each other. Neither moved or said a word. To each of them it felt like ages. They both knew this conversation would happen, and they both had thought a lot about what they were going to say. Both had played it out in their heads hundreds of times. Now that the moment was there, neither knew how to get it started. To each of them it felt like ages.
Moonshot finally broke the silence. “So… um… the field looks great.”
“Oh yeah… thanks.” He scratched the back of his head with his hoof. “Got started early this morning.”
“…”
“…”
Moonshot cocked her head to the side. “So… we’re good?”
Clipper nodded. “Yeah. We’re good”
Moonshot gave a very slight nod, then smiled.
Clipper returned her gaze. The two sat in silence for a moment before Clipper turned back to his broom. “Well, I better get back to it. I have to have this park ready for the game.”
“Thanks Clipper. I better go too. This team needs to get whipped into shape, and we have a lot of games to win.”