//------------------------------// // Chapter 8: Pressure Situation // Story: The Ponyville Sluggers // by Master_Twig //------------------------------// Moonshot stood on the mound of Royal Park and wiped her brow. Her only focus was on the pony in front of her. Breaking Blitz was the Royals best hitter and she knew it. He wasn't the tallest or biggest pony on the Royals, but he was built like a pure athlete. His coat was a brilliant blue and his mane a shimmering silver. His gold eyes were some of the sharpest in the league for reading balls and strikes. Moonshot was pretty sure he had the lowest strike-out total in the league. She did know for sure that he was leading the league in RBIs. Still, she knew she could put him down. After all, she had done so three times already in just this game. The rest of the game was out of her mind though. Only this moment mattered. The crowd, the Tornadoes, the Royals, in fact, everypony else in the park, had the rest of the game at the forefront of their thoughts. The Tornadoes box score was a row of zeroes with the exception of a solitary 1 in the 5th inning. Two hits and one error rounded out their stats. The Royal’s however, was a solid row of zeroes from start to finish. All Moonshot had to do was get out Breaking Blitz and the Royals would add one last zero to the scoreboard under the 9th inning. If not for a walk earlier this inning and an error in the 6th, Moonshot would be perfect. Of course, the runner on base meant that a home run would be a walk-off victory for the Royals, and the rest of the game would be meaningless. There was one out, two strikes and two balls. She had just tossed two straight fastballs, both of which Breaking Blitz fouled back. She gave Big Macintosh a nod and reared up for her pitch. It was a curving change-up, right in the strike zone. Breaking Blitz took a swing and with a pathetic little pop, the ball skidded quickly down the third base line. Maud charged the ball and with one swift motion, popped it up and bucked it to Caramel at second base. With a quick tag of the base he relayed the ball to Twilight at first. Twilight extended her glove and made the catch just as Breaking Blitz was crossing the plate. It was too close a play for anyone in the crowd to determine. All ears were on the first base umpire for the call. "You’re out!" He said while rearing up and pumped a hoof out. The Canterlot crowd let out a disappointed groan, but it was short lived as they all began to clap and cheer for Moonshot. She had just pitched the first no-hitter the league had seen all year, and any pony had to cheer for that. Moonshot couldn’t hear the crowd very well, as her teammates had piled onto her. She only got relief from the pony pile as Big Macintosh, Thunderlane and Applejack pushed the rest of the team aside and pulled Moonshot up and began to carry her towards the dugout. She let out a laugh and figured she might as well enjoy the ride. She took a glance over at the home-team dugout and saw a very angry Winning Streak chewing out her team. Moonshot laughed even harder, enjoying every bit of the moment. Her elation came to an abrupt end as she realized the true intent of her teammates. Her eyes went wide as she saw a terrible sight. "No! NononoNO!" It was too late. Rainbow Dash and Cloudchaser were hovering above her and the large tub of ice water was already being tipped over. It was over in an instant. Moonshot had held on tightly to Applejack, and ensured that she wasn’t going to suffer through this alone. Once the shock had worn off and she had shaken off as much water as she could, she stared up at Rainbow Dash. "I'm going to get you for that." Rainbow Dash stuck out her tongue. "When I get a walk-off RBI in the next game you can dump as much water on me as you want." Moonshot grinned. "Deal." Applejack's face was flat, and she brushed her mane from her face. "And next time I'm not going to hold any pony in place." The team headed off the field, leaving the game behind them. They had another game in two days, but for now, it was time to party. The Tornadoes had a lot to celebrate: the no-hitter was the biggest reason, but they had also just gotten their fifth win in the seven games since the mid-season break. They were 12 – 10 and with their second straight win against the Royals, were just two games down from first. The team stayed out quite a bit later than Moonshot had hoped. Once morning rolled around she checked out of the hotel with the team and headed to the train station, dragging her luggage behind her with a heavy yawn. “I hear ya.” said Applejack, giving a yawn of her own. “Why did we decide to stay out until five hours before our train departed?” said Moonshot with a groan. “Because you had to go and pitch a no hitter against our division rivals.” Applejack tossed her bags onto the luggage cart. Moonshot shook her head with a goofy grin. “Oh right. I nearly forgot. Still, it was a team effort. Everypony contributed. The best pitchers in the game can’t get a no-hitter without a strong team behind them.” “Ain't that the truth. We’ve been doing really well.” The two ponies stepped onto the train. “We have. I’m really proud of everypony. They’re really putting their all into it.” Moonshot settled in down on a seat. Applejack sat next to her. “Thanks. But we owe it all to you. Your coaching has really helped. Heck, thanks to you I’m a way better pitcher than I was a few months ago. Heck, you’ve even turned Twilight into a pretty good ballplayer.” “I heard that!” Twilight popped her head over the back of the seat behind them. Applejack’s snout scrunched up. “Sorry Twilight. I didn’t mean it like that.” Rainbow Dash’s head popped up right next to Twilight’s. “To be fair, you were pretty bad at the start of the season. And you really have gotten better. Applejack just meant to say that you’ve improved the most. Right Applejack?” “Right!” Moonshot smiled. “Twilight, you’ve been just as valuable as any pony else. Without your analysis I don’t think we would have won nearly as many games. On top of that, I do believe you have the fewest errors on the team.” “No, that would be Big Macintosh.” She smirked. “But I am second best.” Applejack let out another yawn. “So, what’s our next move?” “We play The Las Pegasus Spades next.” said Moonshot. “They’re in dead last, so hopefully we can beat them without too much hassle. We have eight games left. Obviously our ultimate goal is to get ahead of the Royals, but if we can win just half of our remaining games we’ll have a winning season.” Twilight looked up thoughtfully. “Well, we have one against Las Pegasus, two against Cloudsdale, one against Manehattan, one Dodge City, one Vanhoover, and of course two more against Canterlot.” Rainbow Dash groaned. “Well, we’re lucky they don’t let the Wonderbolts play on Cloudsdale’s team. Still, they’re going to be tough to beat. They’re dominating their division.” Moonshot rolled her eyes. “They are, but then again, Vanhoover and Las Pegasus are pushovers. We have four games against that division left. If we can win three of those, we’re good.” “Aint you the one that’s always saying to just focus on one game at a time.” asked Applejack with a smirk. “Hey, I’m just trying to be optimistic.” Moonshot put a hoof up. “You all said I need to be more positive.” “I like it. I’m as pumped as ever to get back on the field.” Rainbow Dash then yawned and stretched out. “But first, I’m gonna use this train ride to take a nap.” She flopped back down onto the seat and curled up. “That’s not a bad idea.” said Applejack. Moonshot curled up and yawned. “Agreed.” Twilight shook her head. “I’m going to get some reading in. You all enjoy your naps.” -------------------------------------- The next several weeks flew by for the Tornadoes. As expected, Las Pegasus and Vanhoover proved to be easy wins for the Tornadoes. They split the two games with Cloudsdale, winning on the road, but losing at home against the all pegasi team. The loss against Cloudsdale was only rubbed in worse by the following game where the Royals beat them 8 to 2. The Tornadoes headed to Dodge City one last time. They had been trying for three games to get their sixteenth win and secure a winning season. It took 15 innings and a pitching effort from Moonshot, Applejack and Lucky, but they finally came out victorious. Two days later, in the second to last game of the season, the Tornadoes went on the road to Manehattan, where the only positive was that Maud finally collected the last of the dirt samples she needed. Ponyville had a record of 16 and 13. They had just one more game to go. They were going to be playing at home, and their opponents would be the Royals. Fortunately for Ponyville, the Royals had seen a tough second half of the season. They were swept by Manehattan and lost one to Fillydelphia. With two games to go, all the Royals had to do was beat the Rangers to secure the division. Unfortunately for them, the Rangers played their best game of the year and pushed the Royals to a 17 and 12 record. Moonshot was on the field. The grass had been cut, the lines had been painted and Ponyville park was ready for what may be its last game of the season. Clipper walked up to her, wiping the sweat from his brow. “So, big game today.” “Really big. If we win we’re tied with the Royals for first, and we have the tie breaker. We could make the playoffs.” Clipper gave her a reassuring smile. “I know you can do it. You’ve all worked way too hard to come this far and not win.” “Thanks. But you know… even if we don’t win today, I’m happy. I’ve met some amazing ponies and made some real friends. I worked hard for them, and they worked hard for me. We won more games than we lost, which is more than we can say we’ve ever done.” Clipper smiled and gave a nod. “Anyway, I have everything done except final clean-up of the locker rooms. Park should be all ready to go.” “Good work. You can take off early once the locker rooms are clean.” Clipper nodded. “Thanks Moonshot. I’ll see you later for the game.” His head then jerked up a bit as he seemed to notice something behind Moonshot. She looked back to see two large white Pegasi flying towards her, wearing the standard Royal Guard uniforms. They landed in front of her and gave her a nod. “Miss Moonshot?” The look on her face conveyed her confusion about their visit. “Yes? Can I help you?” “We apologize for the sudden intrusion. But we have come with a request for tonight’s events.” Moonshot raised an eyebrow. “What kind of request?” “Princess Celestia will be attending the game. We have a small list of requests to accommodate her visit.” Moonshot’s jaw nearly hit the dirt. “The Princess? Here? Tonight!?” The guard gave her a reassuring smile. “She does not require much. If you don’t mind coming with us, we’d like to walk the park with you and let us know what we need of you.” “Um. Okay.” Moonshot looked around. She wasn’t sure how they were going to accommodate a royal visit, but she was going to have to, ready or not. She looked back at her Earth Pony assistant. “Clipper, you better come too. Looks like your early out isn’t going to happen today.” Clipper sighed. “Guess not.” The two of them followed the guards around the park. The next few hours were hectic as they made sure the park had everything it needed. Thankfully, the Apples and the Pies showed up early for practice, and with everypony’s help, they were able to get the park ready for Celestia’s visit with plenty of time to spare. Despite all of the hard work this afternoon, Clipper felt pretty good and he had a bounce to his step. He never thought he’d have a chance to meet the princess and he was eager to impress her with his work at the park. The whole place was pristine, of course except for the locker rooms, which he still hadn’t gotten around to cleaning. Clipper moved quickly towards the visitor’s locker room, as the Royals were due any minute. He ducked into the closet located next door and quickly started gathering the cleaning supplies. Just as he was about to head out, he heard voices approaching. Clipper recognized the voice of Winning Streak. Her tone was harsh. “We can’t lose this game. We WILL make the playoffs, and I don’t care what we have to do to get there.” The other pony was a stallion, but he wasn’t sure who. “But if we get caught then the whole season will be for nothing.” “We won’t get caught. I’ve been working on this spell for a long time. It can’t be detected. I’ve had several unicorns try and none of them could sense a thing. This thing is foolproof.” “It just seems so unnecessary. I’m already the best player on the team. I’ll just go out there and play my best. We don’t need a performance enhancing spell.” “That’s why you’re the best candidate. If you hit four home runs and make some amazing catches, nobody will suspect it’s anything other than a star player rising to the occasion.” Clipper nodded, figuring out that it was Breaking Blitz she was talking to. He moved closer to the edge of the door, listening in. Breaking Blitz sighed. “It just feels wrong. I want to win as much as you, and I think we can without your spell.” “Blitz, it’s not just about the team. Look, I know for a fact that some scouts from the major leagues are going to be at the game tonight. This could be your shot. I know you’re good enough to compete with the best, and an amazing game tonight could be what it takes to get you there. Come on. Just one game. I won’t make you do it in the playoffs. Promise.” Breaking Blitz was quiet for a few seconds. Finally he sighed. “Okay, do it.” The unmistakable sound of a spell being cast came from where they had been standing. It was done. Clipper couldn’t believe it. Had Winning Streak always been using performance enhancing spells on her players? It sounded like this was the first time she had used one on Breaking Blitz, but who knows how long she had been cheating. Either way, he had to tell somepony. He stepped back, bumping into his mop. It fell to the floor and the sound of wood hitting concrete resonated into the hallway. Before Clipper could react and pick it up, the doorway to the closet was filled with both of the ponies he had just been eavesdropping on. “He heard us.” Breaking Blitz stomped the ground, his voice raising. “Now what do we do? We’re screwed. He’s going to tell the officials.” “No he’s not.” Winning Streak glared at Clipper. “Grab him.” Clipper’s eyes went wide and a flash of panic hit him. He tried to dash around them, but they had the exit completely blocked. Clipper tried to break past them, but Breaking Blitz was a lot faster and stronger. With a quick tackle, Breaking Blitz had Clipper on the ground and pinned. Winning Streak quickly looked for anything she could use to keep Clipper quiet. A small bale of twine was sitting in the corner. With a smirk, she levitated it up and using some quick telekinesis, she had Clippers hooves tied tightly. She then hovered over a small rag and into his mouth, before securing that too. Once they were sure he couldn’t move, Breaking Blitz hopped off of Clipper. He turned to Winning Streak. “Um… what do we do? We can’t just leave him like this.” “We go out, we win the game, then, once the game is over and the spell has worn off, we let him go. If the spell is no longer in effect, not even a princess could detect it. He’ll accuse us of course, but then we can just fully cooperate with the investigation. We deny that we ever tied him up and submit you to testing. Since they won’t find anything, we can just direct the accusation back at him that he’s just lying for Moonshot because their team lost. A desperate act by a losing team. No evidence, no crime.” Breaking Blitz sighed. “I guess we’ve gone this far.” Winning Streak nodded. “Let’s go get suited up. We have a game to win.” She picked up Clippers keys and headed out of the room. Breaking Blitz followed her out. He turned and looked back at Clipper. “Sorry dude…” The door slammed behind him. Alone in the dark, Clipper heard the sound of the door locking. He struggled to get loose, but it was no use. For the time being, he wasn’t going anywhere. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Moonshot stepped up onto the pitcher mound. The rest of the team was heading out into position. The stands were full, the anthem had been sung, the teams announced; it was time to play ball. It was Applejack’s turn to pitch, but Moonshot made a gameday decision to start herself. Moonshot had studied the Royals a lot more, and she knew just how to shut them down. If she could pitch another no-hitter against them, all the better. The team was looking great, her spirits were high and overall she felt fantastic. She knew she had the ability, but more importantly, she believed in her team. They had gotten her this far and there was no doubt in her mind that they would not let her down now. She did a turn, looking over the field. Her players were in place and she gave each of them a nod. She then turned to the crowd. It was a full house. The stands were filled with the citizens of Ponyville, and most of them had on some sort of Ponyville Tornadoes apparel. Her gaze turned right behind home plate and she saw that Sharp Eyes was going to be the umpire. She looked up to just behind him and made eye contact with Princess Celestia. The princess gave her a smile and a very subtle nod. Moonshot smiled back before refocusing to Big Macintosh. The first batter stepped up to the plate. The batter was a quick moving earth pony and played center field for the Royals. She reminded Moonshot a lot of Rainbow Dash, her fur a similar shade of blue. Though her mane wasn’t nearly as colorful, being a simple golden blonde. She was pretty sure her name was Blue Streak. Moonshot’s first pitch was a strong fastball. A swing and a miss later, Moonshot had her first strike on the board. The second pitch was another fastball, going up high in the strike zone. Blue Streak swung and made contact with the ball. The ball soared almost straight up in the air, reaching a dizzying height. Blue Streak tossed her bat aside and started jogging towards first, her dismayed expression knowing the motion was futile. Big Macintosh positioned himself under the ball and easily made the catch. Moonshot gave Big Macintosh a nod and a smile as he tossed the ball back to her. She readied herself for the next batter, knowing that he too was a speedy outfielder. It took six pitches, but she got a strikeout, retiring him back to the dugout. The next batter was out in just four pitches, knocking a grounder right to Maud, who relayed it with plenty of time to Twilight. Starting a game with a 1-2-3 inning gave the crowd quite a bit to cheer about. Now Moonshot wanted to give them an even bigger reason to cheer by putting some runs on the board. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen in the first inning. Rainbow Dash got onto base, and even made it all the way to third, but the Tornadoes were put down without scoring a run. Moonshot trotted out to the mound. She glanced over at the batter coming out of the dugout. It was Breaking Blitz, the standard pony to be in Winning Streak’s cleanup position. She knew he’d be tough, but she had put him down before and she knew she could do it again. She took the ball and gave Big Macintosh the signal she was ready. She sent a curveball, aiming to clip the right outside corner. CRACK. The ball flew over Moonshots head. She turned to see Rainbow Dash moving towards the center field wall. Dash got right up to the wall, but she too watched the ball sail well over her head. Moonshot couldn’t believe it. Breaking Blitz had never hit that pitch, and Moonshot delivered it perfectly. She had been practicing a lot to beat him, so she figured he must have been practicing just as hard. She sighed and called to be tossed a new ball. It was just one run and there was a lot of game left to go. Moonshot refocused and the rest of the inning went smoothly. The next two batters were taken down on groundouts. The next got a single, but Moonshot made his efforts meaningless as she struck out the final batter of the order. Thunderlane lead off the next inning, and much to the glee of his teammates and the crowd, he knocked a sharp double to left field. Candymane came up next and popped out to shallow right. Caramel came up next and grounded out to first. Twilight stepped up to the plate and was met with quite a bit of cheering from the crowd. She gave them a wave a smile before stepping up to the plate. It was a long at bat that took its toll on both the pitcher and Twilight. It took six pitches to fill the count, but it wasn’t done there. The pitcher kept throwing strikes, and Twilight kept swinging, but pitch after pitch was fouled back and out of play. Finally, on the 14th pitch, Twilight held back. The ball was low and outside and the umpire stood up and called the walk. Twilight smirked and trotted over to first base. Moonshot turned to Rainbow Dash. “Alright, get up there and get Thunderlane home.” Dash smirked at Moonshot, “I’ll get them BOTH home.” “Well if you must.” Moonshot gave Rainbow Dash a pat on the flank and sent her up to the batter’s box. Dash stepped up and secured her bat. She stared down the pitcher. It was the Royal’s ace pitcher, Lefty Shift, a tall and lanky unicorn stallion with light green coat and dark blue mane. The first pitch came in. It was a high fastball that just hit the strike box. Dash didn’t swing. She knew it wasn’t a ball, but it was a pitch she didn’t feel comfortable hitting. Sharp Eyes called the strike. The next pitch came in and was a low change-up. It missed the strike zone and the ball was called. Rainbow Dash smirked and looked over to Twilight. The two locked eyes and Twilight gave her a smirk and a nod. They had both recognized it. Twilight had studied Lefty Shift and he had a pattern of how he liked to pitch in these kind of situations. High fastball, low change-up, then an inside fastball. Rainbow Dash readied her bat, pushing it down to choke up on it. Lefty Switch bucked the pitch towards the plate. Sure enough, an inside fastball. Rainbow Dash took a swing and with a loud pop, sent the ball sailing over the third basemare’s head. It landed just fair before rolling to the left fence. Rainbow Dash took off, as did Thunderlane and Twilight. Thunderlane made it home with ease, but Twilight didn’t get quite the lead-off she had wanted. The left fielder bucked the ball back in quickly, holding Twilight to third base. Rainbow Dash had made it to second easily. She beamed to the crowd, soaking in the attention. Cloudchaser stepped up next. The first three pitches took the count to 2 – 1. On the fourth pitch, she made contact. The ball was a sharp line drive between third and second. It looked like it would be an easy single, but Breaking Blitz leapt at an incredible speed from his position at shortstop and stretched his arm out, catching the ball at the last instant. Rainbow Dash skidded to a halt, jaw dropped as she witnessed it. “What? How? That was incredible!” Breaking Blitz avoided looking at her and just started off towards his dugout, pushing past her. “Thanks.” The third inning began and ended quickly. Neither team put anything up. The fourth rolled around and once again Moonshot faced Breaking Blitz, and once again he rocked a solid hit. This one ended up being a triple. The following batter hit a sac fly to get him home and the Tornadoes fell behind once more. The Tornadoes failed to get a hit in the bottom of the fourth. The fifth and sixth innings flew by with strong outings by both pitchers. It was time for the seventh inning stretch and the Tornadoes were down by a run. Moonshot gathered the team in the dugout, standing up on the bench to look over them. “You’re all doing great out there on defense. You’re moving fast and we haven’t had an error. Keep it up. But we really need to start getting some hits.” “I’ve been on base every time I’ve been up.” Said Rainbow Dash defensively. “I know. You’re doing great today Rainbow Dash. But so is Breaking Blitz. We all have strengths, let’s play to them. Big Macintosh, you’re swinging too hard out there. Just focus on making contact. You’ll probably hit it out with a soft swing knowing your strength. Can you try to slow it down?” “Eeyup.” Moonshot nodded. “Twilight. Keep trying to hit foul balls. You’re wearing down Lefty Switch. That’s good.” “Thanks, but how are you feeling?” asked Twilight. Moonshot rubbed her arm a bit. “I’m doing okay. I have at least one more inning in me. Lucky, Applejack, you two ready to step in if needed?” “Darn tootin.” said Applejack. “I’m itching to get in. I want to shut these guys down.” Lucky said while pumping his hoof into the other. “Alright. I’m going to pitch the 7th. Be ready at any time Lucky, I think you’re in next. I may use you as a setup in the 8th and depending on how you do I may have Applejack close it up. Sound good?” Lucky and Applejack both nodded. “Alright!” Moonshot pumped a hoof in the air. “Let’s get out there and win this game!” With a boost of vigor, the Tornadoes took to the field. Everypony got into position and the first batter came up. The Royals were back at the top of their batting order, so Blue Streak was up once more. Moonshot started her off with a curveball, causing Blue Streak to swing and miss. Moonshot then attempted to clip the bottom left corner with a fastball, but she missed and a ball was called. Her next two pitches were also off target, putting the count to 3-1. She took a deep breath and focused on the strike zone. She reared up and sent a fastball inside. The ball flew from the bat and sailed towards right field. Twilight leapt in the air, but it sailed just over her glove. Cloudchaser charged forward to make a play on the ball. It bounced right in front of her and she quickly scooped it up. The batter had already reached first, so she quickly sent it Caramel’s way at second, holding her to a single. Moonshot gave the ground a little stomp, shook her head and called for the next ball. The next batter stepped up, but her focus wasn’t on him. It was on the runner. She knew the Royals were likely to attempt a steal, and this pony was the one to best do it. As suspected, she was taking a huge lead-off from first, almost daring Moonshot to pick her off. Moonshot decided to take the dare and quickly bucked the ball to Twilight. Twilight made the catch and quickly swung her glove down to make the tag, but it was too late and the runner was safe back at first. Twilight sent the ball back to Moonshot, who then refocused back on home plate. She didn’t give the Royals much time to react, and got her pitch off right away. The pitch was right in the strike zone, but rather than make a swing, the batter gently put the bat out and held it in place. The ball made a dull little pop off the bat before rolling down the third base line. Maud charged the ball and quickly scooped it up. She had two options, but it looked like Blue Streak was nearly to second. She bucked it right over to Twilight who made the catch, sealing the out at first. A sacrifice bunt wasn’t the play Moonshot was hoping for, but it was better than a hit. As the third batter stepped up, Moonshot took a glance over at Breaking Blitz warming up in the Royals dugout. With a runner alone on second, a double-play wasn’t very likely. She was going to have to face him, and she didn’t want to have him coming up with runners in scoring position. If she could keep it to just one, all the better. A strike, a ball, and two foul balls made up her first four pitches. On pitch five the batter made contact once more. The ball sailed high to the right, staying fair. Cloudchaser went back towards the warning track. Moonshot bit her lip. She was too worried about Breaking Blitz knocking it out of the park, and now it seemed like the batter preceding him was going to do it instead. Cloudchaser stepped back, keeping a keen eye on the ball. She jumped up and extended her glove. With a soft pop of the ball hitting leather, the catch was made. Moonshot let out a sigh of relief. Cloudchaser didn’t waste any time holding onto the ball. She bucked it back to the infield as hard as she could. It was a futile effort though. With the ball all the way back at the warning track, Blue Streak had plenty of time to tag up on second and trot over to third. There were two outs, a runner on third, and Breaking Blitz stepped out of the dugout and into the batter’s box. Moonshot got the ball back and paused. She had to make a plan. He had hit everything she had thrown at him today. He was performing better than she had ever seen another pony perform. She was about to signal Big Macintosh her pitch intent when she heard her first basemare call for a timeout. Moonshot cocked her head and looked over at Twilight. Twilight trotted over to the mound and called Big Macintosh over. The three ponies met up and huddled together. “What’s up Twilight?” asked Moonshot. “You were about to throw a pitch.” Said Twilight sternly. “Yeah? That’s what pitchers do.” “Big Mac, you think she can toss him out right now?” asked Twilight with a tone that was almost condescending towards Moonshot. Big Macintosh thought for a second before shaking his head. “Nope.” “Me neither.” Twilight turned to Moonshot. Moonshot frowned and looked into Twilight’s eyes. She then realized what Twilight was going for. She let out a deep sigh. “You’re right. I should have thought of that as soon as he stepped up.” Twilight smiled. “So you know what to do?” Moonshot nodded. “I think I do. You on the same page Big Mac?” “Eeyup.” “Alright. Thanks Twilight. Let’s do this.” Moonshot stepped back up on to the mound. Once Twilight and Big Macintosh were back into position, she gave the signal. Big Macintosh stood off to the left of the base, holding his glove out to the side. Moonshot gave an easy buck towards the glove. Once the first ball was called, Moonshot took a glance towards the Royals dugout. Winning Streak was scowling. Breaking Blitz showed similar frustration. This put a smile on Moonshots face. With three more lazy, far-outside pitches, Breaking Blitz was awarded first base with a mostly harmless walk. The next batter came up, and in just two pitches, she got her to ground harmlessly towards second. Caramel scooped it up and tagged the base. Moonshot gave Twilight a smile and a nod, and Twilight returned the gesture. The top of the inning was over and it was time for the Tornadoes to bat. Moonshot never got to the dugout. She was up first, so she quickly traded her pitching equipment for her batting glove and bat with Fluttershy. Lefty Shift took the mound. He reared up and sent a pitch towards Moonshot. It sailed high and outside, and was called a ball. The second pitch was an inside fastball. Moonshot held off of this one too. She swore it was inside, but Sharp Eyes called it a strike. The third pitch was the one she was looking for. She gave a quick swing and made firm contact. The ball sailed right over Lefty Shift’s head, clearing right between the second basemare and shortstop. Moonshot galloped over to first, scoring an easy single. Moonshot took off her glove. Fluttershy reached out to take it from her, but Moonshot gave her head a shake. She stepped off the plate and motioned to her dugout. She trotted over to her team and gave them a smile. “Alright everyone. I’m out. Blossomforth, you’re pinch running.” Blossomforth’s face brightened up. “Really?” “Yep. You’re faster than me. We need to get a run on the board and you’re going to give us a better chance to do that than I will. Lucky, you’ll sub in next inning to pitch.” Blossomforth nodded. “You got it. Should I try to steal?” Moonshot shook her head. “Nope. Lead off, but be smart. Just get home safely.” “Can do!” Moonshot turned to Maud. “Alright Maud. You’re up. Get a good hit.” Maud stared blankly back. “I always try to get good hits.” Moonshot rolled her eyes with a smile. “Well, try harder this time. Give your sister something to cheer about.” “Okay.” Blossomforth jogged out to first base and Maud headed to the batter’s box. Maud secured her bat and stepped up. Pinkie’s voice boomed loudly from the speakers. “And up now is my sister Maud Pie! Everypony give her a cheer! Let’s go Maud! Let’s go Maud!” The crowd got into the cheer and joined in on the chant. Maud looked up at the announcers box and gave her sister a smile and a nod. She turned to face Lefty Shift, and he returned the gesture. The two locked eyes and both narrowed their brows. He reared up and sent a strong fastball her way. The crack echoed across the park. Everypony stood up to watch the balls flight. The air was filled with chants of “Go!”, “Get out of here!” and other various words of encouragement. The ball sailed to left field. The fielder went back, but he stopped well before reaching the warning track. The ball cleared the left fence by a huge distance. The Ponyville Tornadoes had taken a 3 – 2 lead. Maud took a casual trot around the bases. She seemed almost oblivious to the roaring cheers of the fans and her team. Blossomforth stood waiting at home plate to greet her teammate. “What a hit! High hoof Maud!” She held her hoof up. Maud touched home plate, then turned to head back to the dugout, leaving Blossomforth hanging with unbumped hooves and a pouting lip. She sat back on the bench next to Moonshot, then looked over. “Will that do?” Moonshot chortled. “Yeah. That’ll do. Nice work.” The rest of the inning was a bust. Candy Mane got on with a walk, but Caramel, Twilight and Rainbow Dash all failed to do anything more than ground out into easy plays. Moonshot turned to Lucky. “Alright. Get out there and give us a 1-2-3 inning.” “You got it Moonshot.” He gave her an enthusiastic nod and galloped out onto the field. The batter stepped up and secured his bat. It was Clubber Long, the biggest, toughest stallion on the Royals. He didn’t have the batting ability of many of his teammates, but he could pound one out of the park with ease if he managed to make contact. Lucky had pitched against him before. Finesse was the key here. He started off with a curveball, clipping the outside corner. Clubber swang hard, but missed by a mile. With a smirk, Lucky called for the ball back and readied his second pitch. He let loose a slow sinker. Once again Clubber gave a mighty swing, and once again he missed horribly as the ball dropped well below the strike zone upon its arrival. Lucky prepared himself for the third pitch. He focused and let a change-up fly. The ball cruised to the plate, slower than his last couple pitches. Lucky watched as Clubber once again gave a strong swing. Lucky never heard the sound of the bat contacting the ball. The world went black around him for what felt like a passing moment. He opened his eyes, his vision a blur, with only the faint images of other ponies standing over him. “Lucky! Say something! Are you alright?” He thought it was Moonshot talking. He groaned and barely managed to mumble out his words. “What happened?” “You were hit by a come-backer. Take it easy. You’ll be alright.” The world around him started to become more clear. The ponies surrounding him came into focus. His entire team was there, looks of concern on their faces. The whole park was silent. Fluttershy put a gentle hoof on his shoulder. “How do you feel?” “Like something hard hit me in the head.” Lucky groaned and rubbed the left side of his head, where he felt a rather large bump. Moonshot stepped up. “Just take it easy. We’re going to get you to the locker room and have a med-pony look you over. You think you can walk?” Lucky stretched his legs and stood up. “Yeah. Might need some help… the whole park is spinning.” “Don’t worry. Just hold on to me. I’ll get you taken care of.” said Fluttershy, helping him to get his balance. Lucky leaned on to her, happy for the help. “Thanks… sorry I didn’t pitch better.” Moonshot shook her head. “Hey, you did fine out there. Don’t worry. Applejack will close this out.” Lucky and Fluttershy began to walk off the field. The crowd began to cheer for him. He used a free hoof to give them a wave, which just increased the cheering. Nurse Redheart was waiting for the two of them at the locker room. The three stepped in and took Lucky to a cot in the back. A cool pack was applied to his head and he laid back. Nurse Redheart gave them directions for treating him. “So, do you have any asprin? It’ll help control the pain and the swelling.” asked the nurse. “I believe we have some in the supply closet. I’ll go get it.” Fluttershy said, trotting out of the room to grab the medicine. She reached the door and gave it a tug. It was locked. “That’s odd. Clipper doesn’t usually lock it.” She said to herself. She sat and thought. Her eyes and ears perked up as she remembered that Moonshot kept a ring of keys in the dugout. She quickly headed back to the dugout and ducked in. She looked out at the game quickly and saw Applejack had closed out the eighth inning and the Tornadoes were batting. She watched as Big Macintosh connected with a fastball and scored a single. “Woo hoo!” she let out quietly after grabbing the key ring and trotting back to the closet. ---------------------------------- Clipper was trying to scoot closer to the door. He had heard someone pull on it. Despite his attempted cries for help, it seemed they didn’t hear him. He was going stir crazy. He figured the game was getting close to being over and he had no idea how much time he had before the spell wore off. He was determined to get out, but nothing he tried had worked. His ears perked up as he heard the door jingle once more. He let out a muffled cry once more, but whoever was on the other side didn’t seem to hear. The sound of the keys falling and hitting the floor jarred his ears. He let out a frustrated groan. The sound of this pony sorting through, trying to find the right key only grew his frustration further. The pony on the other side of the door seemed to be taking their sweet time. The eventual sound of the right key sliding in and unlocking the door was music to his ears. The light flooded in to the room and Clipper winced from its brightness. Fluttershy let out a yelp and jumped back at seeing Clipper on the ground. She quickly regained her composure and ran over to him. “Oh my goodness. Clipper! What are you doing in here all tied up?” Clipper just stared back at her with an expression that just read “Really?!” “Oh… right.” She jumped over to him and began to remove his bindings. She started with the mouth gag, then moved to his leg bindings. The knots were tight and proving to be quite difficult. Fluttershy pulled and pulled, but she couldn’t get them undone. Clipper rolled his eyes. “Grab something sharp. I think there’s some cutters on the shelf.” Fluttershy nodded and grabbed the clippers. With the help of the new tool she was quickly able to remove Clipper from his bindings. She stepped back once they were all off. “Are you alright?” He stood up and shook himself off, loving the new freedom of movement. “Yeah. I’m fine. A little stiff, but I’ll be alright.” “What happened?” “I caught Winning Streak casting a performance enhancing spell on Breaking Blitz. So… they tied me up and locked me up.” Fluttershy stepped back, eyes wide. “Oh my goodness how horrible. Are you sure you’re alright? Clipper nodded. “I’m alright. Really. Right now I just want to expose the cheating.” “You’re sure they were cheating?” “They were. I need to get to the field and stop them. Come on.” He pushed past her and started for the field. Fluttershy almost started to follow, but she stopped and turned to the supply shelf and grabbed the medicine kit instead. Clipper moved with great haste towards the field. He reached the home dugout and ran inside. He saw Moonshot looking out at the field and ran right up to her. “Moonshot!” She turned and looked at him, her eyes wide. “Clipper?” “I have something I need to tell you!” She looked back towards the field. “It can wait. Applejack is just one out from winning this game. But… Breaking Blitz is up and they have a runner on base. She’s got two strikes on him. We have this!” Clipper let out a small gasp. “We have to stop it.” She looked back at him and furrowed her brow. “What?” He moved to step out of the dugout. Moonshot bit his tail and stopped him in his tracks. “Clipper! What is going on?” Clipper turned back and gave her a pleading look. “I don’t have time to explain. We just have to stop the game.” Clipper turned back towards the field. He saw Breaking Blitz preparing for his next swing. Breaking Blitz looked over and locked eyes with Clipper. Clipper gave him a nasty glare. Breaking Blitz went wide-eyed. He gulped heavily before looking over to Applejack. He then looked back to Clipper and let out a sigh. He gave Clipper a subtle nod before pulling his bat back into the swinging position. Clipper paused. He took a step back and remained quiet, his glare never softening. Applejack reared up and sent a fastball over the plate. Breaking Blitz swung early. Far too early. The ball landed firmly into Big Macintosh’s mitt. Sharp Eyes reared up and called the out with gusto. The entire place erupted into cheers. The Tornadoes ran towards the pitcher’s mound and jumped onto Applejack. The mound was soon covered in a pile of celebrating ponies. Clipper sat back. His glare and turned into a contented smile. Many things could have been on his mind; whether it was being tied up, needing to expose the cheating, or even the roar of the crowd and the meaning of this victory. But what mattered at that moment was seeing Moonshot celebrating with her team. He had never seen her happier in his life. His moment was broken as he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned his head and was face to face with Breaking Blitz. Clipper’s glare returned almost immediately. “You.” Breaking Blitz put up a hoof. “Hey. I’m sorry man. I don’t know what came over me. I shouldn’t have cheated and I definitely shouldn’t have locked you up. Let me make it up to you.” “You can start by turning yourself in.” “Hey, I threw the game. I easily could have hit that pitch out of the park. I struck out on purpose. You saw that.” “Oh well I guess that just makes up for you locking me up in a closet for three hours.” Said Clipper sarcastically. Breaking Blitz sighed. “It doesn’t. That wasn’t cool man. I’m sorry.” Clipper’s brow furrowed and he stepped in closer. “You can show that you’re sorry by turning yourself in.” Breaking Blitz stepped back. “I can’t. It would destroy my career. Seriously. Anything else.” Clipper rolled his eyes. “This is pointless.” He pushed past Breaking Blitz and trotted over towards Sharp Eyes, who was recording the final score into the books. He stood over him and cleared his throat. Sharp Eyes turned and looked at Clipper. “Can I help you? Clipper right?” Clipper nodded. “I have something to tell you sir. The Royals were cheating in the game. Their manager cast a performance enhancing spell onto Breaking Blitz.” Sharp Eyes paused, then closed the record book. “That’s a rather steep accusation. Do you have any proof?” “I witnessed it. They locked me in a closet to keep me quiet. I was just let out by our team trainer.” Sharp Eyes rubbed a hoof on his chin. “A closet? Very well. We will perform a test on him.” “How dare you accuse us of cheating?” Winning Streak had stormed up to the two of them. “You already won. What’s the point of even making the accusation?” Breaking Blitz was standing behind her, but he remained quiet. Sharp Eyes turned to her. “Breaking Blitz did play quiet well tonight. I believe a simple test is at least warranted. The league rules state that random tests during the game are allowed.” Winning Streak rolled her eyes. “Fine. Test him. You won’t find anything.” “We’ll see.” Sharp Eye’s horn lit up. The light of his magic surrounded Breaking Blitz. A second later it faded. He shook his head. “I sense no traces of a spell on him.” Winning Streak gave a smug smirk at Clipper. “Told you.” Clipper stomped the ground. “It’s there. I heard them talking about it being a spell not normally detectable.” Winning Streak moved right up into Clippers face. “There’s no spell. Go back to your dugout and celebrate. You’ve done enough damage.” Clipper turned to the infield, ignoring her. “Moonshot! Twilight! We need your help!” The two ponies he called out looked over at the group, then at each other. They each shrugged and trotted over. “What’s going on?” asked Moonshot. Winning Streak frowned at her. “Your janitor is trying to accuse us of cheating. Sharp Eyes already did the test. We’re innocent. Call him off.” Moonshot looked at Clipper and raised an eyebrow. “That’s what you were warning me about?” Clipper nodded. “Yes. I saw it. She said it’s a new kind of spell that can’t be detected. But I bet Twilight could.” “Well I could try.” said Twilight. “And why? So you could lie? I bet you would love to see me fail.” said Winning Streak. “You’re on the team. Why should we trust you?” Sharp Eyes nodded. “I’m afraid you being on the Tornadoes would make it hard to take as evidence. I’d only have your word.” Twilight’s eyes widened and she was taken aback. “I would never lie about something like this!” Moonshot put a hoof on her shoulder. “Then we won’t have you do it. We have a special guest who would probably be willing to help if we just asked.” Twilight looked her in the eyes and gave her a nod and a smile. “What are you talking about?” Winning Streak’s face went flat. “You don’t mean?” Twilight stepped up to the stands and called out to her mentor. “Princess Celestia. Could you please come help us out here?” Celestia finished taking a drink from her oversized novelty cup and set it down. “Of course Twilight. What is it you need?” “We need you to try to detect a spell on a pony.” Twilight motioned back to the group. “Supposedly only a powerful unicorn can do it, aaaaand, they don’t trust me because I’m on the team.” “What kind of spell?” “A performance enhancing spell. Clipper seems to think that the Royals were cheating.” Celestia’s expression turned solemn. “I see.” She stood up and began to walk towards the field. “And what would you have me do if I detect anything?” Twilight shrugged. “I guess that’s up to the league. We just want you to be a neutral party.” Celestia nodded and walked up to the group. “How can I help you my little ponies?” Sharp Eyes gave her a little bow then stood up straight. “Princess, could you please do a detect magic spell on Breaking Blitz here? We need to determine if a performance enhancing spell was used.” Breaking Blitz stepped up. He knew the gig was up. “That won’t be necessary.” He let out a heavy sigh and turned to Winning Streak. “She cast it on me.” He turned back to Sharp Eyes and Celestia. “The accusation is true. We… cheated.” Winning Streak glared at her player. She wanted to scream at him. Her fur stood on end and she dragged her hoof harshly across the dirt. She said nothing. She knew she was caught. She looked at the other ponies. Twilight was simply shaking her head. Clipper sat back, still glaring at her. Sharp Eyes was deep in thought, processing the information. None of those bothered her. It was the look of smug satisfaction on Moonshot’s face that nearly broke Winning Streak. “Thank you for confessing Breaking Blitz.” Sharp Eyes said. “We of course will be doing a full investigation on this.” Breaking Blitz nodded. “I’ll cooperate.” He turned back to speak to Winning Streak, but she was gone. He just caught a glimpse of her running to the locker rooms. “She probably won’t…” Sharp Eyes nodded. “We’ll have the officials look over all the evidence. You will face punishment, but how severe will have to be determined.” “I understand.” Blitz said with a soft nod. Clipper stepped up to him. “You did the right thing. I’ll let the whole closet thing slide. Maybe.” Blitz nodded. “I better get back to the locker room and tell the team what’s going on. You guys played a great game. Congratulations. Hope you win it all.” Moonshot nodded. “Thanks Blitz.” Twilight smiled. “Well, I guess it’s time for us to head to our locker room and begin the party.” “Will you need my assistance any further, or may I join the party?” asked Celestia. “Celestia, you’re always welcome at any of our parties.” said Moonshot. Celestia smiled. “Then I hope there will be many more.” “Let’s just not party too hard.” Moonshot said with a smirk. “We may have won the division, but now it’s time for the playoffs. The real test starts now.”