Watching the stormball rise as the lower ref tossed it up at the center of the pitch, Rainbow Dash tipped it further up, then slapped it backwards over her head to Paper Moon. She advanced slowly as she watched behind her for how her center midfielder handled the approach of Buckham. He was in Paper Moon’s face almost immediately. Dash looked at the sidelines, where there was Ms. Hooves, possibly even more animated than Bicycle Kick in directing the team. Flitter looked at her while she motioned forward and to the other side of the. She relayed the signal to her twin, who complied slowly, watching how things unfolded in the pitch’s central circle. Buckham was on his fourth near-steal when Paper Moon veered to his right, but kicked it left. Cloudchaser burst forward into the gap between Soarin’ and Reinaldo, scooping up the ball. Dash rose up some in altitude as Reinaldo headed off Cloudchaser. As he closed in, she swung at the ball with her forehoof as if to pass to Dash, to which Reinaldo popped upward...but knocked it to her right. There she used her rear leg in a rugby-style punt while Reinaldo blocked where the ball wasn’t going, on its way to Rainbow Dash.
Faked out both of them to start the half? I suppose they are past their prime, but still...whoa.
McNimbus arrived a second too late to stop the pass, but not too late to prevent easy advancement. The two immediately got into a scrum over the ball. McNimbus grunted, but grinned, as he commented, “Say, you’re pretty good at this, Rainbow Dash!”
“Thanks, guy!” beamed Dash as she cut off his chance to steal the ball. “Goes without saying that I’m awesome! You are too!”
“Appreciate it! I wonder how much better we'd be if we were still young, but we were so arrogant back then,” said McNimbus thoughtfully, in spite of scrumming for the stormball. “The clash of egos would've broke us apart.”
Dash said, “I never understood how pro teams cooperate for that reason!”
“Small miracles,” said McNimbus. Dash slipped the ball to her right and moved forward while McNimbus winced. Rotating his left foreleg while bracing that shoulder with his right, he muttered, “Yeow, knew there were reasons I got out of the game....”
Dash moved forward, keeping herself out of Buckham’s reach. Entering the penalty box, the powder-blue mare noticed how Buckenbauer slid around in the air, enough that Dash found getting around him at normal speed was immensely more difficult than at a breakneck mad sprint. Rainbow flicked her eyes about. Lily had Rapidfire boxed out, but that wouldn’t last much longer. Thunderlane, though, was between Misty Fly and Cometeer for the moment. Rainbow sent the pass somewhat backwards and to her left. Thunderlane easily scooped it up, and turned to face Cometeer. Thunderlane struggled, unable to advance past or dupe the aging mare, until he started to move for the inside, then dipped low and to the outside.
Get it in there, Thunderlane!
Dash spread out her forelegs and backed into Buckenbauer, boxing him out of the play as Thunderlane turned toward the goal. He had so little separation from Cometeer that she kept reaching for the ball. Fleetfoot hovered ready. Thunderlane tried a fake swing at the ball with his forehooves and a kick with his rear hooves, to psych the goalie away from the short side, in vain. Fleetfoot stayed her course and caught the shot without difficulty.
Didn’t we go over this in film sessions, that the Commander is almost never suckered in by those tricks?
Thunderlane hurried out of there before Fleetfoot decided how to begin a counterattack. Rainbow Dash retreated as well, turning to look at who was where for choosing a position from which to interrupt the play. Fleetfoot hurried and gave the stormball a line drive kick over Dash’s head. Thunderlane turned toward McNimbus, who, again, was near the upper cloud layer as he took the ball. Rainbow hurriedly directed him back toward the wing, observing both Muffins and Bicycle Kick giving him the same command. Not noticing, Thunderlane tried to steal from McNimbus, and missed. With the momentary opening McNimbus sent the pass to Misty Fly. With the ball nearing the Cloudsdale bench, Misty Fly found Cloudchaser’s position had effectively foiled any real chance to advance or pass it forward. Cloudchaser closed, and the two tussled over the ball, very nearly knocking it out of bounds several times. The side ref floated near, transfixed on the scrum, whistle already in his mouth, just waiting. Dash took a position towards Cloudsdale’s goal, slightly lower. Around the stands the dark haze gripped tighter as crowd frustration grew at yet another of these scrums. Rainbow continued assessing the immediate situation, both on and off the pitch. The mist still had not left the stands, the sharply-defined dividing line still lay bisecting the pole fences between the pitch and the first row of seats.
This is definitely no accident. That haze has to be coming from something within the cloud. It’ll take too long to get the fans out of here before we can just clear the skies, which means the Elevens will have disposed of whatever thing they used to make this stuff. How long have they been planning this? I sure hope Princess Celestia is making headway, but I don’t get what Princess Cadance is doing.
The ball popped out and toward midfield, much to the delight of the fans. Reggie couldn’t have chosen a better place to wait, easily taking up the ball and sending it to Flitter. Most of the field had to shift as the play very quickly found its way from one sideline to the other. Spitfire, also having held her position, swooped toward Flitter as she took the stormball across the medial line. Her eyes caught a shadow nearing her own on the lower cloud layer, and passed the ball forward to Lily Blossom. Rapidfire quickly blocked her path, and the two struggled over the ball. A smattering of boos came through the annoyed crowd noise.
Somepony who helped build the stands must be an Eleven. But who, and how did they go unnoticed? Thinking about this kind of thing was a lot more fun when it was guessing how a Daring Do book would play out.
The ball dropped out of the struggle, bouncing off of Lily’s rear right leg on its way down. Dash groaned angrily; it was just too far. There was no way anypony could get there in time, except Spitfire, who grinned as the stormball dropped into the lower cloud layer. The crowd grumbled as the mist picked up and the ref blew his whistle, swinging a hoof downward. He then picked up the ball and flew along a line between there and the center of the Ponyville goal. While moving quickly, the official placed the ball close enough to dead center between the two points that nopony really had any room to complain, except those who protested that Ponyville dropped a stone in the first place or the circumstances as to how it happened at all. Players from both sides headed toward the goal that Blossomforth guarded, most of them at lower elevations. Dash stayed further up, but she noticed that all of Cloudsdale’s defenders were darn close to the medial line. Ponies in white or red jerseys flew every which way as Spitfire pointed around Ponyville’s end of the playing area. Buckham had stopped close to Twilight yet again, with some mutual pushing going on. Soarin’ slipped in front of the midfielders, to which Spitfire immediately sent the ball his direction. Dash zipped toward Soarin’ as the he wheeled back toward his part of the field, rising over the Ponyville midfielders. Thundercracker, however, stayed at his post, and was there to meet him, preventing any kind of inside move. Soarin’ tried, nearly got the ball stolen, but continued down the pitch, heading towards dribbling it out of bounds and inducing a goal kick. Thundercracker followed suit, still blocking any realistic shot on goal, moving inward, or centering.
Suddenly Soarin’ air braked. The fullback could not slow down enough. Dash shot forward, trying to get in there as Buckham pushed hard off of Twilight. Soarin’ centered the ball to Buckham. He had enough distance to swat the ball at the goal, only changing its trajectory slightly and toward the high, far corner. Blossomforth popped over to catch, but she, Twilight, and Dash all missed that Spitfire had been racing in the whole time, and hit the ball the other direction. The ever-lithe Blossomforth stretched enough to get a hoof on the ball, but it hit the post and bounced into the net. Some rage from the stands sounded at the same time as the scoring siren, the clock reading 59:01.
Spitfire and Buckham hugged, laughing some, as he said, “You couldn’t have timed that any better! That was blinding!”
“Which is why I insisted we practice that play!” cheered Spitfire.
The two flew back, with celebratory hoof pumping and good-natured laughter. Buckham seemed then as he had throughout his career: a stormballer who loved the game with all his heart, playing it with the joy of a colt, and wanting nothing more than to be on the pitch all the time. He motioned to the other Wonderbolts on the Cloudsdale team and a few others, who followed Spitfire over to where the Cloudsdale fans were seated. Spitfire snapped to and held a proper salute to the cheering section of the crowd as behind her, a line formed of Buckham, Rapidfire, Fleetfoot, Soarin’, Misty Fly, McNimbus, and Reinaldo, in that order. Soarin’ appeared to be giving orders, but could not be heard over the crowd. Hoisting non-existent rifles in near-unison, they pointed them away from everypony, pretended to fire three shots apiece, lowered their “guns,” then returned to parade rest. Spitfire’s saluting hoof dropped back down. As they returned to their positions around the field, Dash nudged Twilight and said, “The mist just got darker.”
“I saw that,” she answered. “I have theories, but can’t test them right now!”
Twilight pointed Dash back towards the center of the pitch. Cloudsdale’s team had taken to their places by now. She hurried along, noticing some growing anger among her teammates. Lily Blossom, though, looked more upset with herself than anything else, and on the edge of tears. The head referee motioned at Dash to give a ready before she could check on her right forward. Muffins, however, tried talking to Lily Blossom from the sidelines, to which she did little more than sad nodding without speaking.
With the ball inbound, Dash focused on the task at hoof. She took the ball herself, moving in slowly. Buckham advanced on her at just as leisurely a pace. They were still in the middle circle as they drew near to each other, and enough that he reached for the ball, but not so committed that she could easily get around him. The crowd grumbled as another struggle over the ball began. Buckham appeared to be enjoying himself a little too much for Rainbow’s tastes. She snidely asked, “Having fun over there?”
“Of course!” he beamed. “I’m on the pitch, in a game, and up by two goals; why wouldn’t I be having fun? It’s the best place to be in the world!”
He sure does talk a lot for being involved in a scrum. Show-off.
“Where you can take pop-shots at my friend, Twilight Sparkle?” accused Dash.
Buckham paused a moment, but recovered enough that Dash could not make a clean break, veering towards Cloudsdale’s bench. He answered cluelessly, “What are you on about?”
“Oh, I don’t know, maybe it’s the elbowing in the face, and your attempts to punch and kick her?” fired back Dash.
“Now just a minute!” protested Buckham. “The elbow was an accident, but never would I ever intentionally swing at royalty! I’m not stupid!”
Scoffing, Rainbow curtly said, “Bullshit! I watched you do it with my own two eyes! Don’t try to lie to me!”
“My Celestia, girl, I thought the Equestrian Enquirer came up with some bollocks about me, but you! You’re daft, saying such things! Never been slagged like this before!” Buckham said, his voice shocked and aghast, and his face scandalized.
I can multitask, too! I’ll show him he’s not the only one who can split his focus that well!
Dash paused in speaking a moment, spotting another opening that disappeared as soon as she made a move for it. The scrum continued sneaking towards the Cloudsdale sideline. Thunderlane adjusted his waiting position a bit higher as Dash angrily answered, “Whatever that’s supposed to mean! All I know from what I’ve seen, you should be arrested! You’re working for the Elevens, aren’t you!?”
Buckham nearly lost the scrum as he stared Dash, befuddled. He failed to shake the expression from his face as he said, “You’re absolutely barmy, you know that?”
Nearly frothing, Rainbow spat, “Stop lying to me, you son of a bitch!” with a hard shove to Buckham with both forehooves. Whistles blew all around her as the ball dropped to the lower cloud layer. The head ref flew up to beside Rainbow Dash, withdrawing a yellow card from his front pocket and holding it above his head. Cascades of boos were soon followed by a much darker haze in most of the stands.
Dash complained, “Oh, come on! I get yellow-carded, but he got nothing for elbowing the princess in the face!?”
The head ref turned to her, badgering, “One more word of it, and it’ll be red. Do I make myself clear?”
Defeated, she grumbled, “Yes sir.”
Buckham flew around in a circle at this exchange, shaking his head and a single dismissive gesture towards Dash. Sighing, she looked around. Bicycle Kick looked beside himself, red in the face, bellowing at a nearby ref, but inaudible above the angry fans. Behind him, in the first few rows of the stands, a number of foals sat wide-eyed and agape, their gaze spellbound upon the coach while nearby parents covered their little ones’ ears with sheepish faces. One mare rooted around her purse while her filly looked up at her with worried, drooped ears; finishing her search, the mother withdrew a bar of soap and stuffed it in the foal’s mouth. Muffins simply looked at Rainbow Dash, appalled and let down.
Slick, Dash. Get a hold of your temper!
She backed off as the head ref held his foreleg toward Ponyville’s end of the field, blowing his whistle. Soarin’ shot forward, breaking away from Cloudchaser upwardly. Buckham hammered the stormball in that direction before zipping forward himself. Reggie had moved toward Soarin’, nearly intercepting the pass, but ended up scrumming for the ball. Before the crowd could make their displeasure abundantly known, the violently yellow ball drifted out from between them with a wicked-fast clockwise spin on it. Buckham was closest, and used a series of light taps before dribbling in earnest, entering the penalty box. Twilight met him. He tried breaking to all sides, up and down, one after another, but could make no headway against the quick learner that ever has been Twilight Sparkle.
Not trying any funny business now, I see.
Buckham withdrew a length or two while Twilight gave him no quarter. He looked around, nearly losing the ball to her while his eyes were averted. Spitfire started in, then quickly backed off, creating enough separation that Buckham could pass with his rear legs. Ms. Cirrus closed on Spitfire, making better attempts to steal than she had all week. Spitfire used one overextension to move forward. Twilight cut her off, which left Buckham open in the middle. Spitfire made the obvious pass as Twilight adjusted, effectively blocking half of the net. Buckham spun at the ball, sending a spiraling shot on goal. Blossomforth watched, throwing herself toward the upper corner as the ball rotated in that direction, getting a hoof on it and bumping it just over the net.
The crowd cheered. Shaking his head, Buckham drifted over and shook the goalkeeper’s hoof. Spitfire ordered Soarin’ back toward the middle, to which he shrugged. Dash took a position just outside the penalty box, observing. Twilight looked down the pitch, scratching her chin, then her face perked up into the egghead’s all-but trademarked a-ha! smile.
Okay, Twi, I trust you, but what in the hoof are you planning?
Twilight’s horn began to glow, then her mane and tail began the floating, sparkling drifting behavior. Buckham regarded her suspiciously before turning his attention to the coming corner kick. Spitfire motioned some of hers around, wound up, and let the ball sail. Twilight disappeared in a magenta flash, rematerializing near the ball with a hard kick to it. The stormball flew unattended past the penalty box before another magenta flash with Twilight kicking it again. Then the flashes along the ball’s ever-changing path came in rapid succession, each fuchsia burst a vertex guiding the ball away from the Cloudsdale defenders before taking a firm drive on the goal, yet she managed to emerge from her teleportations behind the ball each time before laying into it again. During this, before the crowd noise grew, even Dash could understand Fleetfoot screeching, “This is exactly what I warned you about!!”
The shot came as Fleetfoot finished her scream. She was nowhere near the ball as it slammed into the back of the net, unable to predict Twilight’s final strike to the stormball. Hearing and seeing the kicks, the refs had no reason to negate the point nor call a penalty for illegal magic. The crowd had equal parts surprised laughter and cheering as the scoring siren sounded; the clock said 71:25.
Twilight’s mane and tail continued its floating as she hovered in the middle of Cloudsdale’s penalty box. Her demeanor and poise looked very much the regal part as she locked both eyes on the gray-jerseyed goalie in an imperious gaze. Fleetfoot blinked twice at her, then bowed deeply before the princess. Twilight gave her a courtly nod and a warm smile, then disappeared in another purple burst. She reappeared exactly at her starting position, still gripping the greater magic. Almost in unison, Ponyville’s team on the pitch knelt before their princess.
This kinda feels weird, kneeling to Twi like this, but that was so awesome!! Bet they won’t let the ball fly too far from anypony now!
Twilight snickered, saying, “Off your knees, my friends! You don’t need to bow to me, now or ever!”
They rose as one, rushing to hug Twilight as she let go of the high magic’s charge, looking like her normal self again. The cheers and praises of the brilliant goal sounded greatly. The biggest hug of the goal celebration, though, was just between Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle. Dash exclaimed, “That was AWESOME, Twi!! More than that! What word goes above ‘awesome,’ anyway?”
“In the truest sense of the word, nothing,” answered Twilight with a grin. “But for this, I could go with ‘magnificent,’ ‘stupendous,’ or ‘wondrous’.”
Moving apart, Dash scanned the Cloudsdale team. Their faces were floored, but they had gathered around Buckenbauer, who was speaking to them. They clapped their hooves in unison, and returned to their positions. As her eyes darted about, Dash’s face lit up with a gasp. She pointed toward the stands, and shouted to Twilight, “Princess Celestia and Princess Cadance cleared out one section! The dark mist there is gone!”
From the pitch, a crisply-defined region of the stands had no more dark mist in it. The edges were sharp, dividing the aisles up and down the rows of bleachers in half, just as firm a delineation along the fence between spectators and the field of play. Twilight answered, “Good! I noticed the mist strengthens when they’re mad! Winning this game might make them happy enough to break it altogether!”
I hope so, Twi...if you’re aware of what the Elevens are up to, you sure are taking it calmly.
Dash neared her position for resuming play.
That’s just the sickest thing in the world: enraging innocent ponies into doing your dirty work for you, just to keep your nefarious plans, as Derpy put it, hidden. Is anypony in the stands even aware of the mist?
The lower ref threw the ball up to Buckham, who quickly sent it back to Reinaldo and zipped forward, similar to the beginning of the game. Dash began closing in on him, but he passed it to Flurryfeather before she got there this time. Rainbow reversed her course, keeping Reinaldo as a non-viable passing option as Lily Blossom closed in on Flurryfeather. While a scrum began, it didn’t take long for Flurryfeather to give Lily the slip and move forward. Dash looked to her teammate, noticing her right forward’s mounting frustration and biting back tears. Lily gave chase, but could not keep up with her opponent. A pass went to Spitfire. She swerved and arced, keeping the ball from Flitter’s hooves while passing the bowed twin in very tight quarters. Reggie pressed to keep Buckham from getting too open, but in vain. The centering pass departed before Puffy could present herself as an obstacle to Spitfire.
What!? No, don’t!!
Dash’s eyes widened as she noticed Lily had broken formation, flying straight at Buckham. Twilight had him tied up, but he was gaining against her on the left. He almost had enough for a shot, but Lily was gritting her teeth, continuing her reckless course, approaching from the left and behind.
Dash shouted, “Lily, what’re you doing!?”
Buckham had the room, and wound up for the shot with his left rear hoof, in spite of Blossomforth’s position guarding the net, as Lily braced her forehooves over her face. Spitfire zipped in behind her, eyes like dinner plates and mouth open in horrified alarm.
Rainbow frantically screamed, “LILY, STOP!!”
Buckham swung his powerful leg to kick the ball, which had been knocked aside by Lily’s covered head. His hoof instead made its heavy impact on Lily Blossom’s right wing with a sickening crack. Both his forehooves went to his mouth and his eyelids tried to disappear completely as Lily shrieked in agony, losing all control of her right wing, and beginning to plummet. Worried oohs echoed around the stadium. Spitfire maintained her route and dove, catching the wounded mare on her back. The crowd applauded the rescue while Lily cried out in rattling, broken moans.
Blossomforth had both her forehooves behind the back of her head; tears glistened down the side of her face at the sight. Her posture was mirrored by a multitude both on and off the pitch. Buckham looked like he was about to cry, hooves still over his mouth, as he slowly retreated; Soarin’ and Reinaldo met him outside the penalty box, with McNimbus flying up from the middle circle. Dash overheard him speaking to the others, looking downward with one forehoof at his forehead, and his voice choked up and crushed with guilt, “I heard it break! Oh goodness, I broke her wing...!”
Rainbow went over to the Ponyville sidelines where Spitfire delivered Lily Blossom to the awaiting medics. Lily’s excruciating whimpers echoed clearly as crowd noise had fallen to near-zero. Dash patted Spitfire on the shoulder while she shook hooves with Bicycle Kick. A pair of aged pegasi, a deep blue mare and a bay stallion, flew out from the stands, both of them in tears. As Spitfire respected their space and left, Rainbow, sounding sad, shocked, and confused, asked, “Why, Lily? Why would you do that?”
Through the fragmented tears, Lily garbled, “I can’t...keep up...with them.” Medics were splinting her wing as the two out of the stands neared. She said through the moans, “I’m holding...us back. You need...Muffins...out there.”
Dash’s face and shoulders dropped. “Lily....”
Wincing, she struggled, “I also...saw the mist...in the stands. I saw when...it grew...and shrank...and what...it did to...everypony. I know it...can’t be good.” Lily turned her head toward Ms. Hooves. “Make them smile. It stops the mist. Go get ‘em...Derpy....”
Tears welled up in Muffins’s eyes. She whimpered, “Oh, Lily....”
Lily Blossom yelped as the medics lifted the stretcher, beginning a new round of tears. As they put her in the sky ambulance, the crowd applauded the fallen athlete. The older mare from the crowd stayed by Lily’s side, fiercely crying and sputtering, “Sweetie, be strong, sweetie....”
As medics closed the doors with the older pair in the vehicle, the stallion’s gentle but worried voice said, “It’s okay, baby filly. Daddy’s here. Daddy’s here....”
Sniffles echoed around the team. Dash glanced over to see Bicycle Kick wipe a tear away. He then put a hoof on Ms. Hooves’s shoulder as he began, “It’s time.”
Muffins turned to look at him, her face full of guilt as the sky ambulance left with flashing lights. He emphasized, “Lily just sacrificed her own body to give you this chance. Don’t let it be in vain.”
Forcing back tears, she firmly answered, “Yes sir!”
Bicycle Kick huddled up his team. He said, “We’re switching it up, to a 3-2-3-2. Stormkicker, resume left wingback! Paper Moon, take right wingback! Thunderlane, you’re now center midfield! Dash, Center Striker!”
He paused a moment, turning both his eyes to Muffins before resuming, “Your time has come. You are Forward Striker. Be what you were born to be.”
“Yes sir!” Muffins fired back. The glint in her eye returned. She turned to the rest of the team, yelling, “Come on! Let’s win this! For Lily!”
“For Lily!” the rest answered. The crowd’s cheering resumed as they retook the field.
The head ref blew his whistle, holding a forelimb over his head. Buckham had an indirect kick from the edge of the penalty box. He directed his team around, then lofted the ball. Soarin’ moved in, and stopped as the whistles blew. Referees on both sides held up their flags, then pointed at Soarin’, as he realized he went past Twilight before the ball did. Busted offsides, he retreated out, though Dash and Muffins were watching Buckham closely. Black mist oozed out of his eyes again, but his face looked as though he were in pain. He clutched his belly wincing, and his voice wearily said to himself, “...keep fighting it...you must keep fighting it....”
Spitfire stopped with a pointed accusatory tone, “Keep fighting what?”
Buckham shook his head. The black mist had dissipated, and he looked and sounded more normal, saying, “It’s nothing. I’ll talk to you later about it.”
Spitfire watched him suspiciously as she took her place, awaiting the free kick. Muffins nudged Dash. Firmly she said, “That wasn’t ‘nothing.’ Something’s wrong. That looks like the same stuff drifting around the stands.”
“I know. I would love to tell you what’s going on, but I can’t. Not like I even know all the details…,” griped Dash.
Both Ponyville Strikers turned to their goalie, watching her place the ball and hover back a few lengths to take the free kick.