Rainbow Dash's Unstoppable Ego

by MagicS

A Mammoth of a Problem XXVIII

The time had come. The big day. Alykon and her team were having a real game of Trunkball against another team.

Rainbow Dash was confident about their chances. Not as much as she could’ve been, yes, but still confident that they could win. She would’ve liked to have practiced with and coached them more but other things had repeatedly come up. Right now she hoped that Alykon and her teammates had taken all her advice to heart and were ready to give this game their all. Larkon, Shibu, and even Samarkon were all here as well to watch her game, they sat with the families of Dathon, Orsal, and Makom while the other families were sitting on stands built on the other side of the court.

They didn’t get to play in the huge stadium Rainbow Dash got to watch the pro game in but they at least got a real outdoor court with a paved asphalt ground and stands for any fans to sit in this time. Compared to playing back in that park for practice this was a huge step up. The ball would actually bounce really well on a playing field like this, and they had a real ref and scorekeeper too.

Rainbow Dash wasn’t sure about the other team Alykon was facing though, they looked really calm and confident in themselves as well, and they were huddled together going over some last minute strategy while Alykon and the others kind of just stood around. Rainbow Dash had a good eye for winners and competitive creatures, and those opposing mammoths were on her radar.

“How do you think Alykon’s team will do?” Larkon asked her.

“I think they’ll do good,” Rainbow answered. And it was the truth, they had vastly improved under her, she just didn’t know if them being good would be enough for them to win. Rainbow looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. “You know, I don’t have kids or anything but I feel like as her father you should probably be a little more knowledgeable about your daughter’s team and Trunkball dreams, shouldn’t you?”

Samarkon snorted from next to them.

Larkon ignored his son but still grimaced and looked away from Rainbow Dash, instead watching his daughter. Shibu also glanced over at him. “I know… I’ve just had a lot on my table recently.”

Rainbow opened her mouth but then closed it, thinking better. He had a point, and her parents insane fawning for their daughter was hardly the norm either. She didn’t really know what it was like to raise kids and Larkon had a lot of stuff stressing him out in this city. She glanced up at him and patted his big side. “Hey, forget it. Nobody’s perfect.”

Shibu reached over and put her trunk around Larkon’s shoulders. “You’re here now and that’s what counts. Just watch your daughter play, she’s happy that you came to her game.”

“Hm,” Larkon grunted, settling into his seat.

“You all just cheer for Alykon and her team, I’ve coached them well, they’ll be scoring points left and right!” Rainbow grinned.

“Doubtful,” Samarkon muttered. “Why did I have to get dragged along to this too?”

“Because it’s part of your apology for what you did to Alykon,” Larkon said as he frowned down at his son. “Now just be quiet and watch your sister’s game.”

“Or cheer for her if you feel like it,” Rainbow grinned.

“Tch,” Samarkon clicked his tongue. “Don’t count on it.”

A whistle was blown from the ref holding onto the ball to signify that the game was about to start. Family members and other mammoths clapped and trumpeted to cheer for their kids and friends to begin playing. Rainbow Dash too cupped her hooves around her mouth and gave a loud “Wooh!” for Alykon and her team. The players themselves gathered at the middle of the court, Rainbow Dash noticing now that the enemy team didn’t have any substitutes either, was that just a thing for pro teams?

Either way the ref had them all shake trunks with each other before getting into position. Alykon and Makom on defense, Dathon and Orsal on offense. It really had ended up being the best format for their team, Rainbow Dash only hoped it was good enough to win a serious game. With any luck, Alykon and her team would break their losing streak today.

“Good luck,” she whispered to herself.

The ref stood in the center of the court, red ball held in his trunk. He looked to each team and asked if they were ready to begin. Upon getting a nod in the affirmative from both teams, the ball was lobbed into the air and he stepped back to let the game commence.

Dathon was the tallest mammoth on the court and Rainbow Dash’s efforts to improve his decisiveness had seemed to work out since he jumped without hesitation to make sure he was the first one to get his trunk on the ball. Instead of keeping it for himself he batted it right to Orsal and then pivoted around the opposing mammoth right in front of him while Orsal started dribbling the ball to the outside of the court. He made it through the halfway point on the enemy team’s side and one of the defenders rushed up to him. Orsal attempted to feint to the right while actually dribbling the ball to his left but the other mammoth was too good for such a simple maneuver, they saw right through it and when Orsal tried to pass by him he snatched the ball out of Orsal’s grip with his trunk.

With an easy throw he sent it to his teammates on offense and the momentum of the game shifted to favor their team. Now it was up to Alykon and Makom to do something similar and prevent any points from being scored against them.

Come on, you can easily recover, just don’t let them score any points against you on the first drive to keep your spirits up. Rainbow Dash thought as she intently watched the game.

Makom was the first to make it to the mammoth with the ball on account of being on the right side of the court. He was still slower than Alykon but not as slow as he had been. And at least for this game he was clearly giving his all. Rainbow Dash nodded as she watched him, happy with his improved performance. Hopefully it turned into results.

Makom was blocking the mammoth from the front, doing a good job of making sure they would have to pass it to one of the other mammoths on their team instead of proceeding themselves. The mammoth with the ball was dribbling in place, trying to fake Makom out as to which direction he was going, but Makom didn’t take the bait.

The other mammoth on offense ran back to get some room between him and Alykon and the one with the ball tossed it to him and then ran past Makom to get closer to the hoop. Even though he didn’t have the ball right now he was putting himself in good position to score. The mammoth with the ball now had to deal with Alykon’s aggressive moves to try and take it right out of his trunk as he dribbled it around the court. Alykon didn’t have the patience to sit back like Makom did, it was a strategy Rainbow Dash definitely approved of, and one that could work, she just needed to not lose sight of the rest of the court.

Unfortunately she clearly hadn’t gotten over all of her bad tendencies as she didn’t notice one of the enemy defenders coming up into the perfect position for the mammoth with the ball to pass to. The red ball went out of his trunk and back to the defender, and while Alykon was distracted by that, her previous opponent charged ahead of her. The defender then easily lobbed the ball over Alykon’s head and back to the other mammoth, who could now dribble practically clear to the goal.

Keep your eye on the ball but don’t lose track of the players and what they can do, Alykon. Rainbow Dash frowned.

The mammoth with the ball was blocked by Makom but he couldn’t defend against two opponents at once, when the other mammoth passed it to his teammate Makom tried to knock the ball out of the air with his trunk but he couldn’t reach it. The second enemy mammoth on offense easily received the ball and dribbled to the hoop, jumping up and dunking it in for two points.

Rainbow Dash could see Alykon and her team deflate a little bit as the other side of the court cheered for their team. But they couldn’t let something like that really get to them, they still had the whole game to play and if you get down like that right at the start you’re practically beating yourself. The question was if they could learn from the mistakes they had made and not make those same mistakes again. They needed to control the ball, control the pace of the game, and not let themselves be tricked by simple plays.

“Come on, Alykon! You can do it!” Rainbow Dash cheered for her while the ref gathered up the ball and they all got back into position.

“Doesn’t look like it,” Samarkon snarked.

When the ball was thrown up again it was the more athletic Orsal who got his trunk on it this time. He didn’t keep it or pass it to Dathon though, he threw it back to Makom and then he and Dathon ran down to the back half of the enemy team’s side. While the two opposing mammoths on offense rushed Makom to keep him from being able to throw to Dathon or Orsal, he actually threw it sideways to Alykon, who just as quickly got rid of it and tossed it to Dathon.

Dathon now had the ball and he dribbled straight towards one of the defenders, challenging him. The defender wasn’t taking account of Dathon’s height advantage though. Dathon bounced the ball hard on the asphalt, hard enough to bounce it over both their heads, and dashed past the defender. While the other mammoth looked at the ball and tried to grab it with his trunk, Dathon easily grabbed it first and dribbled further towards the basket.

He wasn’t sure if he would have the time to dunk it so he stopped and carefully shot the ball at the hoop.

It glided in easily and Alykon’s team scored their first point of the game.

Larkon, Shibu, Rainbow Dash, and the rest of their supporters all erupted in cheers. Considering the other families who had come to their previous games hadn’t seen their kids win a single one of them they were probably pretty excited to see any points scored. They were still behind but at least it was progress. As long as Alykon and the others kept their heads in the game, Rainbow Dash was sure they could win it.

She may have been hoping for too much though as once the ball was thrown back into play again the opposing team recovered it for the first time and ran it down to Alykon and Makom with ease. Alykon was a bit more reserved this time, making sure no one could pull a fast one on her, and she and Makom both stayed in a defensive position instead of rushing to meet the enemy offense.

That could backfire and allow for an easy thrown basket, but that was better than potentially giving up two with a dunk.

Rainbow Dash still frowned though as she watched Alykon and Makom. It was like they were overcompensating for their mistakes and going too far in the opposite direction. They could’ve used some aggression, playing like this it was more like they were waiting to slowly lose instead of actively trying to win or stop their opponents. Like this though they could see the entire court and every mammoth on the opposing team, no one could make any sneaky backwards passes and Alykon and Makom could choose to cover the other offense one on one.

The mammoth with the ball was dribbling slowly as he and his teammate fanned out to the sides of the court. Alykon and Makom spread out as well to match them with Alykon going to the one who had the ball.

Suddenly the one with the ball juked to the left, trying to move quickly before Alykon could react and run by her. However, he underestimated her own reaction speed and when he tried to get past her she stuck out her trunk and knocked the ball away from him. Now she had a clear shot to recover it and give it to either Dathon or Orsal. Being quick on her feet for a mammoth she easily bounded over to it and grabbed the ball with her trunk right before it went out of bounds. With just a glimpse she was able to see where Dathon and Orsal were and she threw the ball high in the air towards the two of them.

Orsal jumped up to catch it and dribbled the ball past his defender who wasn’t able to react in time, Orsal was in the zone and he was intently focused on getting to the hoop and being able to dunk in that ball so his team could take the lead. The other defender left Dathon behind to try and cut Orsal off but he was just barely not quick enough and Orsal jumped up to slam the red ball through the hoop. Dathon and Orsal clapped their trunks together while the crowd on Rainbow’s side cheered again. They probably weren’t used to actually being ahead.

But now here they were, the score three to two along with a big boost of confidence. Rainbow hoped it could last.

Perhaps being put behind lit a fire underneath the trunks of the opposing team though. Rainbow Dash could tell just looking down at them that they had a more serious look about them now. They weren’t going to let themselves get “embarrassed” by losing to Alykon’s team. That was their desire at least. Alykon, Dathon, Makom, and Orsal were going to do everything they could to make sure they won this game.

From there on out the game solidified into a back and forth affair as each team kept up an aggressive play-style and refused to give an inch or a lead greater than one or two points.

Rainbow Dash cheered on when she needed to, although she especially wished she could be down at the side of the court and giving them advice too. She could tell how tired the kids were getting after a near hour of constant activity—a sign that they needed more exercise despite what she was already putting them through at practice. And they were starting to become looser in their play. The other team was holding on a little better and still clearly had more of a real game plan and strategy. Right now Alykon’s team still looked like four individuals on the same court instead of a true team, despite their improvements.

Rainbow Dash watched as another throw scored a point for the enemy team, giving them another lead of two points again with less than a minute in the game to go.

“Come on you guys, you can do it,” Rainbow said as she watched the ref carrying the ball back to the middle. Larkon and Shibu were just as much on the edges of their seats.

Unfortunately the other team had a winning strategy they were about to unveil: stall.

On the jump ball, their offense got control of the ball and instead of rushing forward to try and score more points and open up the possibility of losing possession they just passed it back to their defense and all four of them began to juggle it around while Dathon and Orsal tried to retrieve it. It was a winning strategy, a lame one, but smart. Rainbow Dash frowned, unless someone got overconfident or her team got lucky they were just going to run out the clock by passing it back and forth to each other.

Dathon did make a desperate play, something that brought a smile to Rainbow Dash’s face, and attempted to jump in-between the two mammoths on defense and flail his trunk about to try and knock the ball out of the air. But even that didn’t matter and the defensive strategy of the other team won out.

A whistle was blown and the game ended. Alykon’s team losing by a mere two points.

The fans and families on the other side of the court cheered while Rainbow Dash and some of the others over here offered up modest clapping for a job well done. Alykon’s team had probably still performed better than anyone was expecting. Rainbow was proud of them, they had improved and given their all and they never gave up, she needed to reassure them that they had the skill to win. They just had to give it some more work.

“Told you so,” Samarkon sneered as he looked down at the court.

Rainbow Dash bopped him between the eyes with his own trunk. “Be nicer to your sister.”

“Ow!”

“We should go down and congratulate them for a well played game,” Larkon said.

“Alykon may not want to hear it,” Shibu said with a knowing frown.

“Yeah, she’ll probably be a little upset right now,” Rainbow said. “She’s put a lot of effort into this and to get so close to a win but still lose in the end… yeah she’s not gonna be having fun. It was close though, but she definitely wanted to break that losing streak today.”

The other parents went down to their children to pick them up and try and salvage their moods after the game, it was kind of sad having to watch the celebrating on the other side though.

Alykon, Dathon, Makom, and Orsal were dejectedly talking to each other about how the game had gone while they waited for their families. Rainbow Dash wasn’t sure how soon they wanted to practice again but next time she’d go over everything with them too.

“Alykon!” Larkon said as they got to the court, he went right up to her and hugged her.

Surprisingly she hugged him back. “Hi dad, thanks for coming to watch.”

Rainbow Dash buzzed up right above them and smiled down at Alykon. “Good effort out there, I know you’ll win next time.”

“Maybe...” Alykon said.

“Oh hush,” Shibu said and patted her daughter on the back. “We all believe in you and your teammates.”

“Yep!” Rainbow nodded. “And I’ll help you however much you need me to.”

“Thanks, you’ve already helped us so much,” Alykon blushed.

“And I’ll keep helping you. Cause that’s what friends are for,” Rainbow winked at her.

Larkon chuckled. “I have to thank you for that too.”

“What say we go home now and I’ll get the best dinner ever started?” Shibu said.

Alykon smiled. “That sounds great, mom. Just let me say goodbye to my teammates.”

Rainbow Dash watched as Alykon told the others she’d be leaving, and Rainbow waved to them as well. It was good Alykon still had plenty of confidence and positivity to her, that would help in their coming games. Soon enough the young mammoth was done and as more and more families left the court and stands they filed out as well. Back to Larkon’s house and a surely great meal to celebrate the well fought game.

Comments

[THERDSTORYWHISPERER]

Great chapter!

[superfun]

Really glad that there weren't three chapters in a row of Dash getting dragged into things she doesn't want to do.

[MagicS]

10575495
Fair sentiment.