> The Ponyville Sluggers
>  by Master_Twig
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1: Springtime Decisions
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“98… 99… 100!” The soccer ball bounced one last time off Rainbow Dash’s head before she bucked it hard behind her.  

Fluttershy ducked, making a little yelp as the ball flew just over her head.

“Whoops. Sorry Fluttershy. Just so totally stoked that spring is finally here.”

“Oh that’s alright.” Said Fluttershy with a smile. “But I know what you mean. I love the spring too.” She took in her surroundings for a second, feeling the sunshine on her face, smelling the aroma of the blooming flowers, and seeing her animal friends scampering about. Fluttershy knew that Rainbow Dash loved spring for different reasons, mostly because spring was when Rainbow Dash could start taking part in her favorite sports again. 

Twilight approached the pair of pegasi, the soccer ball hovering next to her, both it and her horn aglow.  “Missing something?”

Dash couldn’t help but grin. “Yeah. Thanks. By the way, awesome job running Winter Wrap-Up this year. Fastest ever by far!”

Twilight smiled. “I just made the plan. It was all you other ponies that made it happen.”

“Yes, but your planning made it all run so smoothly,” said Fluttershy,  “and being a princess, I think everyone in town really wanted to do their best for you.”

“I think everyone just wanted to get winter over with. Me being a princess had nothing to do with it. Anyway, what were you two up to? This soccer ball almost hit me right in the head.”

Rainbow scratched the back of her head, “My bad. I’m just excited for spring. Gotta get in top shape. Join a team. Be the best. You know. The usual.  Plus, being on a team will be good experience for the Wonderbolts.”

“I couldn’t agree more. So is it the soccer team then? I bet you’d do really well.” Said Twilight encouragingly. 

Fluttershy nodded. “Oh she would. I’ve seen her play before. She was the star player back in Cloudsdale.” 

Dash put her hoof up to her chin thoughtfully. “I would do well in soccer. But… there’s something about this spring. This year just feels different. I want to try something I haven’t tried before.”

“Like what?” asked Twilight. 

Dash shrugged. “Dunno. I’ll see what’s available.”

“Well, whatever you do, just have fun. Fluttershy and me will be sure to come cheer you on.” said Twilight encouragingly. 

“Darn right. I need a large cheering section if I want to do my best. I’m gonna go check out the town bulletin board. See if anypony has posted anything. Later!” she flew off into town, not even giving her friends a goodbye. 

Her mind was racing as she thought about what sport to try. Basketball could be fun, but it might be a bit late to join a league. She wasn’t really built for football, plus the season didn’t start for a while. Lacrosse was starting to be more popular. Maybe she’d try that. 

The spring air was great. The butterflies were fluttering around. Flowers were budding, getting ready to bloom. The smell of freshly cut grass was in the air nearby. Ponyville just smelled of spring and it was fantastic. As she flew past a grove of trees, a possibility she hadn’t thought of showed up in front of her.

Ponyville Park, the town ballpark was there in front of her. The stands were empty, but the park itself looked great. There was a brown earth pony stallion with a pale bluish mane in the outfield, pushing a rotary lawn mower, getting the grass in ballpark condition. He had clearly been at work for a while, as the outfield had perfect looking stripes across it. Dash had to admit, the park looked beautiful.  

She also noticed another pony in the infield, pushing a cart down the third baseline, putting down a nice solid white line behind it. This one was a mare. Her fur was a medium grey with a slight hint of blue to it. She had a long white mane with a few red stripes going down the length of it. She had it tied back behind her, sticking out from under a purple billed baseball cap. Dash couldn’t help but notice a picture of a baseball on her flanks.

Dash waited until the mare finished painting the line, then swooped down and landed next to her. “Nice park ya got here.”

The mare looked up at her with a bit of a smile. “Thanks. Rainbow Dash right?”

“Yeah. Heh… never gonna get used to ponies who I don’t know, that know who I am.”

“Well you and your friends are pretty famous around here. I’m Moonshot Striker. Manager of the Ponyville Tornadoes.” She offered her hoof to Dash.

Dash gave her hoof a quick shake. “Nice to meet ya. So, baseball huh?”

Moonshot cocked her head to the side a bit. “Yes baseball. It’s the greatest game there is.”

“Oh really? Sell me on it.”

“How can it not sell itself? It’s the perfect summer game. It takes athleticism, skill, strategy. It’s a thinking-ponies game, but you need to be in top form to succeed. Plus look around you. There’s nothing better than being in a ballpark.” Moonshot moved in closer to Dash with each word.  “The smell of the grass, the cheering of the crowd. The only time I ever really feel alive is when I’m here.” 

“Alright alright.” She looks around, taking in the atmosphere. “Seems fun. I’ll join.”

Moonshot gives her a wry look “You’ll join? What, you want to be on the Tornadoes?”

“Sure do. Where do I sign up?”

“It doesn’t work that way. Have you ever even played baseball before?”

“Sure I have!” Dash exclaimed with her head held high.  Her head then drops a bit “When I was a filly. But I totally know how and I’m the best athlete in town.”

Moonshot shook her head a bit with a bit of a smug grin. “Alright then Rainbow Dash. Let’s see you put your money where your mouth is. Grab a bat. We’ll see how good you are.”

“Bring it on!” Dash flew over to home plate and grabbed a bat from the back stop. 

Moonshot turned towards the stallion in the outfield. “Hey, Clipper. We need a catcher. Take a break.”

Clipper nodded enthusiastically. “Anything you want ma’am.” 

The three ponies lined up in their positions. Dash grabbed a batting glove and slid it over her hoof. She adjusted the quick-release straps and secured the bat in them. After she swung the bat around a couple times to get a feel for it, she stepped into the batter’s box. 

Moonshot stared down Rainbow Dash. Her gaze was intense and Dash couldn’t help but feel a little intimidated.  Moonshot picked up one of the balls of the pile she had formed. She then went into the standard pony pitch. She lobbed the ball up in the air, then quickly turned and bucked the ball.  

The ball flew at the plate so fast, by the time Rainbow Dash had begun her swing, the ball was already secured in Clippers glove. Dash had to regain her balance, and her composure, after the embarrassing first attempt. 

Moonshot gave a smirk.  “Little slow there.”

“I wasn’t ready! That was way too fast.”

Moonshot shook her head. “That was a simple fastball. If you can’t handle that…”

“I can handle it! Give me another one.”

Moonshot simply nodded. She grabbed another ball. Dash lined up again and Moonshot gave another pitch. This one was nearly identical to the first.  This time Dash swung earlier, but still missed. “That’s strike two.”  said Moonshot.

“I know I know. Still not out!” Dash repositioned herself. 

The third pitch made its way over the plate. Dash really focused this time and swung the bat. It made a loud crack as it contacted the ball. It was a fast grounder, making its way just past Moonshot and towards the gap between second and third. 

Dash beamed. “See, a great hit!”

Moonshot shook her head. “Right to the shortstop. You’d have been thrown out by 20 feet.”

“Oh come on. At least I made contact.”

“Hitting is about a lot more than just contact. Some of the best pitchers try to have the batter contact it to allow their fielders easy plays. Now line up again.”

They went through the motions once again. The pitch this time was much closer to Dash. She swung at it, missing due to it being so inside. Clipper caught it once again and tossed it back to Moonshot.

Dash stomped her hoof on the ground. “How was I supposed to hit that? It practically hit me!”

“You weren’t.” Moonshot shook her head. “That would have been a ball. But, you misread it and instead it was a strike.”

Dash was about to object, but she knew Moonshot was right. “Okay. Just keep them coming.”

They went through about a dozen more pitches.  Dash didn’t hit the ball too many more times, as Moonshot started pitching curveballs, change-ups, and more pitches that were balls at her. However, the last few pitches Dash was able to get a few good solid hits. 

Dash set the bat down. “Okay, I get your point. Hitting isn’t as easy as it looks. But come on, you were tossing some tough ones at me.”

“That was the point. Now, let’s switch. Toss one to me.”

“Me pitch? Alright. I can toss em with the best.” Dash jogged up to the pitcher’s mound.  Meanwhile, Moonshot put on her batting glove and got into a stance.

“Alright Dash. Right over the plate.” She thought to herself.  She went through the motions. This wasn’t too hard for her. She could launch a ball with the best of them.  The pitch went straight, heading right over the plate.  With a loud crack, Moonshot struck the ball with the bat. All Dash could do was watch helplessly as the ball sailed over her head, then over the outfield, and finally, over the center field fence.

“Homerun! Nice shot Miss Moonshot!” said Clipper as he clapped his hooves. 

Dash’s mouth hung wide open. “Wha… how?”

Moonshot smirked. “You left a fastball up. I could have hit that out of the park with my eyes closed.”

Rainbow Dash couldn’t do anything but sigh. “Okay. You’ve made your point. I guess that means I’m not on the team. I could tell from when you first started that you didn’t think much of me.”

Moonshot trotted up to Dash. “Hey now. I didn’t say that. I was just watching you carefully to size you up. I’d love to have you on the team.”

“What? Really? Why?”

Moonshot looked down at the ground and her ears drooped a bit. “Because. The team is in bad shape. There’s been so little interest that making a team has been difficult. We didn’t even play last season because of a lack of players. The Ponyville Tornadoes haven’t had the best track record. We haven’t had a winning season.”

“Haven’t had a winning season in how long?”

“Ever.”

“But… you’re so good. How can you not have won?”

“We’ve won games. Just never more than we’ve lost. Plus, one pony doesn’t make a team. We’re just a little townball team. The best pony players out there are going to be in the majors. What talent we have has gone to places like Manehattan and Baltimare to play.”

“So why do you stay then?”

“Ponyville is where I grew up. My grandfather built this park. It means something to me. I don’t want baseball in Ponyville to die. So I’m going to stay.” Moonshot looked out over the field. “This is my home.” She shook her head sadly. “But if we don’t get a team together this year, it could be the end of it. Though they haven’t given official word yet, I have a feeling we’re on probation.”

Dash put a hoof around Moonshot’s shoulders. “Well I’m not going to let that happen. We’re gonna get the best ponies in Ponyville, we’re gonna make a team, we’re gonna practice really hard, and we’re not just gonna play, but we’re gonna win the championship!”

“Well Dash, I certainly appreciate your enthusiasm.” Moonshot started to clean up the equipment. “Spring training starts in a week. The season starts in four weeks. I’ll be posting a flyer for tryouts tomorrow morning. Bring anyone you think would be an asset to the team.”

Rainbow Dash had to think for a second. “Yeah, I know a few ponies.  And you’re saying I have a whole month to get ready? I’ll be here every day practicing!”

“As will I. If you need to get access to the equipment, you can just find me or Clipper and we’ll get it out for you. Just make sure you put it all back when you’re done.”

“You got it! And uh… I may not be here every day, but I’m going to do my best.”

Moonshot looked pleased. “That’s all I ask. Thanks Rainbow Dash. It was certainly nice meeting you.”

“You too. See you later!” And with that, Dash lept up into the sky, zooming off towards town.

Moonshot gave a bit of a smile to Clipper then started cleaning up the equipment and getting back to her work on the field. Unlike earlier in the day, Moonshot was now working with a smile on her face. 


> Chapter 2: Building a Team
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was a lovely afternoon. Rarity had to be sure to thank the pegasi for doing such a good job on the weather today. Nice weather was always scheduled for the first few weeks after Winter Wrap-Up, but Rarity appreciated it none-the-less. She was sitting back at a little outdoor café watching as other ponies walked by. It was spring now, and she had to keep a keen eye out on what ponies were doing and wearing so she could get some inspiration.  Summer was going to be here soon and she needed to have some great ideas if she wanted to continue her climb to the top of the fashion world.

She was drawing out a sketch of a light summer dress, having been inspired by some gorgeous flowers she had seen Roseluck carting by. Rarity looked up for a second from her drawing and noticed two of her best friends walking by. 

It was hard to not notice them, as Pinkie was in the middle of telling Fluttershy all about her latest cupcake creation. “.. and it’s also got peanut butter on the INSIDE!” Pinkie looked hard to her left. “Hi Rarity!”

Rarity smiled and gave a little wave. “Hello Pinkie. Hello Fluttershy.”

The two trotted over to Rarity. Fluttershy couldn’t help but take a look at what she was doing. “Good morning. It looks like you’re out for inspiration today.”

Rarity nodded. “I am. Though I must admit, I have some ideas that are alright, but nothing amazing. I was thinking something floral…” she shook her head. “Well, no matter. I know I’ll think of something.”

“You always do!” said Pinkie enthusiastically. “I bet you have a pretty full summer planned.”

“Not as full as I hoped. I just need one good project to get me started. I just wonder if I’m going to find an opportunity here in Ponyville. I may need to take a trip to Canterlot or Manehattan again soon.”

“I think instead of going to the fashion capitals of Equestria, you should make Ponyville a fashion capital. Then the ideas come to you!” suggested Pinkie.

“That would be the dream wouldn’t it. With Carousel Boutique at the center of it all…” she trailed off looking up at the sky dreamily. Then, something caught her eye. “Is that Rainbow Dash?”

Fluttershy and Pinkie looked up and indeed it was Rainbow Dash. She seemed to be grabbing clouds and moving them around. Soon it became clear what her goal was. Words started to form from the clouds quickly, as Dash was flying about as fast as she could.

Pinkie read them aloud as they formed. “Join… the… Ponyville… Tornadoes. Tryouts… today!”

Rarity looked at the words feeling puzzled. “Ponyville Tornadoes? Is that a team or something?”

Pinkie nodded. “Yup yup! It’s the baseball team!”

Fluttershy’s eyes widened. “Oh! Baseball! So that’s the sport she chose to play.”

“What do you mean dear?” Rarity asked.

“Yesterday Rainbow Dash was talking about wanting to join a sports team, but wanting to try something new. I guess she chose to do baseball.”

Pinkie looked up at the sky. Then she appeared to have a stark realization. “Baseball… Gotta go!” As the words left her mouth, she was gone, a poof of Pinkie shaped dust left in her place. 

The two of them stared at the empty spot where their friend once stood for several seconds. Rarity broke the silence. “I wonder what that’s about. You think Pinkie wants to join the team?”

“Maybe. She could certainly run the bases fast.”

“If she doesn’t get distracted by the cotton candy and popcorn.” Said Rarity with a light chuckle. 

The two gave each other a look, then giggled aloud for a few seconds. 

A second later, Rainbow Dash landed right next to them. ”Fluttershy. Rarity. Did you see the message?”

Rarity shook her head. “Darling. Everypony in town can see the message.”

Dash looked up at her work. “Good! We need all the ponies we can get. You two wanna try out?”

Rarity let out a little laugh. “Me, play baseball? No no no. But I’ll be sure to come watch you play.”

“I’ll try out.” Said Fluttershy quietly.  Her two friends looked over at her with surprised looks on their faces. 

“You want to try?” asked Rainbow Dash hopefully.

Fluttershy nodded. “I’ve never been on a sports team before. I think I want to try. You said you needed ponies.”

“Uh yeah. We do. I guess it wouldn’t hurt to try out. You do know how to play right?” 

Fluttershy nodded. “I’ve watched the Tornadoes play before. I like baseball. It’s not so fast paced like other sports. I think I could do well in it.”

“Alright. See you there then. I gotta get over to Sweet Apple Acres next. With the Apples on the team we’ll be sure to win. See you later.” And with that Rainbow Dash left her friends behind to go talk to the best athlete in Ponyville, other than herself of course.

--------------------------------------------------

“Sorry Sugarcube, can’t do it.” Said Applejack with a grunt as she hoisted a barrel of fertilizer off of a cart.

“But Applejack, we need you!” said Dash with a slight hint of desperation. 

“Look, I’d love to play, but it’s a big commitment. I gotta tend after the farm. These apples aint gonna grow themselves.”

“Yes they will. That’s what trees do. They grow! On their own! Applebuck season isn’t until the fall anyway. You’ll have plenty of time.”

“Well, can I at least tell you I’ll think about it.”

“Fine. As long as you say yes after thinking about it. Besides, I thought you liked baseball.”

“I do. I played a lot growing up. I just don’t have time for it anymore. Running a farm is a full time job you know.”

“I’ll help! When not practicing for baseball I’ll help around the farm. You need rain water, consider it done.”

“Rainbow, I said I’ll think about it. Now unless you’re gonna help me spread this manure, I gotta get back to work.”

“Okay okay.” Dash looked around. She then saw another potential candidate pulling a large cart full of tools. She flew over to him. 

“Hey, Big Macintosh! You want to join the Ponyville Tornadoes baseball team?”

Big Mac looked at the Rainbow pony and though for a second. He then gave his reply with a grin. “Eeyup!”

Dash smiled from ear to ear. “Awesome! Can you make it over to Ponyville Park this afternoon?” 

He looked over the farm, trying to determine an answer. He finally looked down at Dash. “Eeyup.” 

“Great. See you there.”  Dash ran back over to Applejack. “See. Big Mac is going to do it. Why won’t you?”

Applejack was clearly getting annoyed. “Well now I definitely aint doin it. If Big Macintosh is playing I definitely won’t have time.”

Dash rolled her eyes. “Fine. I’ll stop bothering you. I was just really hoping to play with you on my team. It would be nice competing with you than against you for once. Whatever.” 

Before Applejack could even respond, Dash was up in the air and gone. Applejack couldn’t help but feel a little angry at Dash for trying to guilt her into it. She let out a heavy sigh and got back to work. There was a lot of things to do today, and playing baseball just wasn’t one of them.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Moonshot looked over the field. A rough count of the ponies there gave her about twenty, and that didn’t include Rainbow Dash. The league allowed a roster of twelve, so for once, she would have to be selective. She certainly hadn’t expected a turnout like this, but she was pretty happy. She made a note to think of a way to repay Dash for the skywriting somehow. 

She stood up on the pitcher’s mound and called out to the ponies in the park. “Alright. Everyone line up. Today is going to be a tough day. Both for you and for me. You’re going to have to play your best and prove that you have what it takes to make the team. I can only have twelve ponies on the team and I’m seeing a few more than that. We’re going to do a few drills here. You’ll rotate positions when I say. You’ll all end up doing each position for a while. You’ll end up hitting. You’ll end up pitching. If I tell you to go somewhere or do something, you’ll do it. Understood?”

She got unanimous positive responses from the crowd. 

“Good. Now, you, you and you,” She pointed at several ponies. “Grab bats. You all there, to the outfield. You five cover the bases and shortstop. I want you two to start pitching. Get to it!”

All the ponies hurried out to their positions, grabbing the equipment they needed. She watched as the ponies basically started playing a pick-up game. She watched carefully. She had a clipboard and started to make notes. She noticed that Rainbow Dash still hadn’t shown up. She wasn’t too concerned. If not for Dash, half these ponies probably wouldn’t be here. 

After a few minutes, she heard Dash’s voice behind her. Dash was talking to another pony. “You really want to join the team? REALLY?”

Moonshot looked back to see who she was talking to. She too was surprised at the pony there to join in on the tryouts.

“I’m just as capable as anypony. After you told me you were going to play baseball last night I decided to read some books on it. I think it sounds fun. I want to play.” Twilight had her head held high, a baseball cap perched atop it.

“Well… I suppose. I mean, you did show off some pretty sweet moves when you were beating up on Tirek. Just remember you can’t use your wings OR your magic.” said Dash, crossing her arms.

“I know. I told you, I know all the rules. I could even tell you all about the founders and the greats of the game. Did you know that a pony named Curveball Swinger once…”

“Don’t bother,” interrupted Dash. “Anyway, this is Moonshot Striker. She’s the one running all this.”

“Pleased to meet you princess.” Moonshot finally said after listening in. She gave a little bow. “It’s an honor to have you here.”

Twilight shook her head. “No need for the formality Moonshot. I’m hoping for the rest of the summer, you’ll be my boss. Rainbow told me all about you last night, so I’m happy to finally meet you.”

Moonshot smiled. “Well, I’m not going to give you any special treatment because you’re a princess. You’re going to have to earn a position on this team just like anypony else.”

“I wouldn’t want it any other way. Now, where do you want me coach?” Twilight looked over the field, watching the other ponies play.

“Grab a bat and take a few swings.” said Moonshot. “Also, the leader of a baseball team is called a manager, not a coach.”

“I knew that!” Twilight trotted over and put on a batting glove, then grabbed a bat and started swinging at the air to get loosened up.

Dash stood next to Moonshot. “So, you want me out there even though I’ve already made the team?”

“About that. You did too well advertising and we got more ponies than I was expected.” She looked over at Dash with a wry smile. “Looks like you’re going to have to earn your place.”

“No problem. I can outplay any pony on this field.”

“Maybe.” She looked down at her sheet. “Got some good talent out there actually. That big red pony over there, Big Macintosh. He can hit better than anyone out there. He’s blasted a few over the fence. They were easy pitches, but still.”

“Heck yeah. I recruited him this morning. Big Mac is a good friend of mine. Though his sister is the one we really want. She won’t though…”

“That’s too bad. Still, good job getting him. A few of the pegasi I’ve seen out there seem to be doing pretty well too. There’s some speed. Especially um…” she checked her list for the names. “Thunderlane and Cloudchaser.”

“Yeah, I know them too. They both trained with me at the Wonderbolts Academy.”

Moonshot raised an eyebrow. “Do you know everypony out there?” 

“Not all of them. But most of them. Ponyville isn’t exactly a big city.”

“Right. You know that yellow one over there?”

“Um… that’s my best friend Fluttershy.”

“Oh…” Moonshot trailed off, as if she was holding something back.

“What?”

“She’s the worst one out there. Like, she has athletic ability, but she’s afraid of the ball. Watch.”

Dash watched as the pony at bat hit a ball to the outfield where Fluttershy was standing. Fluttershy put out her glove to try to make the catch, but as soon as the ball got near her, she pulled in the glove and stepped aside with a yelp. The ball landed harmlessly next to her. 

Dash put her hoof to her face. “I’m sorry. I thought maybe she would be alright.”

“Well, I’m going to go tell her it’s a no go.”

“You’re cutting her already?”

“Yes. I don’t have the time or patience to teach a pony to not be afraid of the ball. She’s going to slow down tryouts just having her on the field.”

Dash sighed. “You’re right. Just… please be nice to her.”

“I’ll try.”  Moonshot trotted out to the outfield and walked up to Fluttershy. “Hey. Fluttershy right?”

Fluttershy looked over at Moonshot nervously. “Um… yes. I just got a little nervous there. I’ll catch the next one.”

“I don’t think you will. I’m sorry Fluttershy, but it’s not going to work out. You’re out.”

“But… I’ll try really hard! I can do it. I promise!”

“If I had a year to work with you, I could maybe turn you into a respectable player.” Moonshot shakes her head looking at the ground, then looks up at Fluttershy in the eye.  “But for now, it’s not going to work out.”

Tears started forming in Fluttershy’s eyes. “I can’t even finish tryouts?”

“No.” said Moonshot sternly. 

Fluttershy dropped her glove on the field then ran off, leaving Moonshot alone in left field. She ran right past Rainbow Dash, who noticed the tears in her eyes. She looked back at Fluttershy, then at Moonshot, debating which to go talk to first. After a second she darted off after Fluttershy.

Moonshot let out a sigh, then looked out at the rest of the ponies, who were all looking at her. “Well? Don’t just stand there. Get back to it. You, Caramel, take left field.”

Practice continued on. Moonshot continued to watch carefully and kept taking careful notes. She noticed that Rainbow Dash still hadn’t returned. This irked her a little. She wasn’t that hard on Fluttershy. At least she didn’t think so.

After about an hour she stood up tall and called out. “Alright everypony. Take a break. Grab some water and hang around. I want to have a talk with each of you one on one, but while I’m not chatting, get to know your teammates.”  

Twilight walked up to Moonshot. “Can I be first?”

Moonshot cocked her head. “The Princess must be first huh?”

“No no no.” Twilight shook her head quickly. “I just wanted to talk to you about Fluttershy.”

Moonshot sighed. “Look, she was afraid of the ball. I can’t have someone like that on my team. I tried to let her down nicely.”

“I know. But Fluttershy is really sensitive. She takes things like this really hard.”

“I’m not putting her on the team.” Moonshot said sternly.

“I know. I’m not asking you to. But I think you should still apologize and maybe find some way to make her part of the organization.”

“I’m not going to apologize for what I said. I’ll talk to her and try to make her understand why I had to cut her.”

“And maybe let her help the team somehow?”

“Like how?”

“Well, you need an equipment manager?”

“Clipper takes care of that for me.”

“Well…” Then it hit her. She knew the perfect job. “I know! A personal trainer and therapist. Fluttershy would do a great job keeping the rest of the team healthy and in top shape.”

“Huh.” Moonshot put her hoof to her chin. “A townball team doesn’t usually have a pony like that. Can’t afford it.”

“She would do it for free. Guaranteed. You have my word that she would do a great job.”

“Fine. Go get her and I’ll talk to her. And get Rainbow Dash back here too. I want to see her out there with the rest of you.”

“Will do. Now, about me. How did I do?”

“You did alright. You definitely seem to have the strategy down. You’re playing smart.  Not the quickest or strongest out there, but you’re holding your own. I noticed you’re trying to swing too hard. You’re not going to hit home runs every time. Just concentrate on making good contact and getting the ball into the gaps or just over the baseponies heads.”

“You got it. Anything else?”

“No, that’s it for now.”

“Alright. Thanks Moonshot.”

“You’re welcome.”

Twilight trotted off, then headed out of the park to find Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. 

Moonshot took some time to talk with the other ponies. She let a few more go. She had it trimmed down to 15 ponies now.  She had just finished her conversation with the last pony when she heard a loud, high pitched yell from the entrance.

“Heeeeeey! Are we too late?” yelled a bright pink pony from the entrance.

Moonshot trotted over. “Pinkie Pie? You want to join?”

Pinkie shook her head. “Nope!” She stepped aside to reveal a grey pony with a lavender mane. “But my sister does!”

Moonshot looked her over. She seemed like she could be decent. “Alright. You can try out. What’s your name?”

“My name is Maud.” She said as dryly as ever. She looked down at the ground. “Your field has nice dirt.”

“Uh… thanks. Go ahead and grab a batting glove and a bat.” She looked over at the other prospects. “Lucky, I like the way you’re pitching. Can you buck some for her?”

Lucky nodded. “You got it.”

Maud went up to the plate, bat secured. Lucky got to the pitcher’s mound and picked up a ball. Once all the ponies were in place he reared up and gave the ball a mighty kick, sending it fast down the strike zone. Maud didn’t flinch at all, her leg swinging the bat as the ball crossed the plate. It was hit with a loud crack.  The rest of the ponies could only watch as the ball sailed over the right field fence. 

Lucky was a bit disappointed in himself, but still impressed. He looked over at Maud. “Nice hit. How did you do that?”

Maud just looked back at him blankly. “I swung the bat and hit the ball.”

Moonshot was impressed. “Lucky, toss her a few more.”

Lucky nodded and did just that. He focused, wanting to make himself look good and not let this new mare swing him off the team.  He sent out some great pitches, but Maud was solid. She was hitting everything he could throw at her. Only a couple of them were deep, but she was tough as nails. 

Pinkie was cheering her sister on hard. Thunderlane was standing next to her. “How did you get Maud to come here? Isn’t she supposed to be studying for her rocktorate?”

“It’s summer. She’s on break and is supposed to be doing independent study. But Maud has always loved baseball. She said she wanted to do a study on the rocks used in baseball field dirt in different regions. Being on a travelling team would be perfect.”

“Well, if she can hit like this, I’d say she’s on the team. I just hope I can make it on.” 

“Oh Thunderlane. Of course you’ll make the team. Say, you think they need an organist to play music for the crowd?”
Thunderlane looked around. “I don’t know if this park even has an organ Pinkie.”

“No organ!? Well I’ll just have to fix that!” and with that, Pinkie was off.  Thunderlane could only stare blankly. 

Practice continued on. Moonshot was looking over the players feeling more and more confident. Finally she saw Rainbow Dash and Twilight retake the field. She trotted over to them. “Welcome back. You two ready to play.”

Dash nodded. “Yeah. You gonna talk to Fluttershy?”

“Yes. I’ll talk to her.” Said with an annoyed tone.  “But first I need to make a team. You two are looking good, but I need to see more from you. No more going out to take care of things. No more standing around. Get out there and show me what you can do.” 
Rainbow Dash was just about to follow Moonshots instructions when she stopped at looked at the gate to the park “Huh. Who are they?”

Moonshots face took a serious look, and even looked a bit frightened. “The league officials.”

Moonshot composed herself then started to walk slowly towards them. There were three ponies, all of them unicorns. The stallion on the left was Sharp Eyes, the head of the umpires association. He was a tall, stern looking stallion, his fur a dark charcoal grey and his tightly cut mane a pale blonde. 

Next to him was a mare with pale green coat and a long white mane that had a long blue stripe down it. Moonshot knew her well. She was Winning Streak, the manager of the Canterlot Royals. Moonshot was curious about why she was here however, as Winning Streak wasn’t a league official. 

At the front of the group was Swift Impact. He was a tall and muscular stallion. His fur was a greyish blue and his mane a dark teal color. His mustache covered his mouth, often making his expression hard to read. Swift Impact had been a former player and manager, but now he was the head of the townball league. Everything relating to the ownership and management of the teams had to go through him. 

Moonshot approached them and nodded to Swift Impact. “Hello sir. Good to see you here. I assume you’re here for the team and park inspection?”

Swift Impact nodded. “That’s correct. We’ll be doing a more thorough inspection of the park than usual. We’ll also need to be going over numbers and projections of revenue.”

Going over the numbers and revenues wasn’t unusual, but something about his tone concerned Moonshot. “Is there a problem? The park is ready to go.”

Swift spoke clearly to Moonshot, enunciating his words. His tone was serious, but not harsh. “Due to your absence in the league last year, the Ponyville Tornadoes are on probation. You’ll be eligible this year, but your team’s future with our league is in question. The Crystal Empire has constructed a new ballpark and there has been noticeable interest in the team there. They don’t qualify this year, but they have applied to the league. If things in Ponyville continue like they have, they will be taking your place in your division.”

Moonshot felt a hard knot growing in her stomach. She knew this was coming, but the reality of it was still more painful than she was prepared for. “Okay. So what’s it going to take?”

“Yet to be determined. We need to get an idea of projected attendance and revenues. We also want to get a look at your prospects to see if they’ll even be a draw when playing at opposing team fields.” He took a look around.

“Well the last one won’t be an issue. I’ve got a lot of great talent here. One particular mare alone should draw in crowds all around Equestria.” She pointed to first base where Twilight was standing. 

Twilight gave a wave and a smile to the group. The three unicorns looked at her and their jaws dropped.

Winning Streak spoke first. “You got Princess Twilight to try out? That has to be against the rules. You can’t have an Alicorn on the team.”

Sharp Eyes stepped forward, smiling a bit. “There’s nothing in the rules about royalty playing in the league. She’ll have to follow the no magic and no flying rules just like everyone else. If you have a problem with it, I suggest you ask Princess Celestia or Princess Luna to join your team.”

Swift nodded. “That should certainly help. At least for a few games.” He looked around at the stands. “What is the current capacity of this park.”

“3,000.  3,400 with standing room.” Moonshot bit her lip, knowing those were the lowest in the league.

“The Crystal Empire park will seat 12,000.” Said Winning Streak with a smug tone in her voice. 

“We have plans for expanding seating. We… just don’t have the revenue to pay for it right now. That should change quickly. We have great projections.” Moonshot was trying to hide any desperation or uncertainty there may have been in her voice. 

“Sharp Eyes and I will be beginning our inspection now. Please have your numbers ready for us when we’re done.” Swift Impact headed to the stands, Sharp Eyes going to check out the field itself. 

Moonshot turned to look at Winning Streak. “So, why are you here?”

Winning Streak brushed her mane back with her hoof, smiling smugly. “Just checking out the competition. I was wondering if you’d even have a team. Must say, glad to see you managed to put something together. Beating up on you is a lot easier than having to play Manehattan or Baltimare more often.”

Moonshot narrowed her eyes. “We’re not going to be as easy to beat as you think. I’m seeing some great talent out there.”

“Doesn’t matter. Ponyville is just too small of a town. The Crystal Empire should make for far worthier opponents. Plus I’ve always wanted to visit there. I hear it’s beautiful. Who knows, maybe they’ll even let you join their team.” 

Moonshot had had enough. She didn’t want a fight, and certainly didn’t want to take any more verbal abuse. She walked quickly past Winning Streak and towards the park offices, fuming. 

Rainbow Dash had been nearby and overheard most of it. She snuck in right behind Moonshot as the door closed. Moonshot looked back at her, a very angry look on her face. As her and Dash made eye contact her gaze softened.

Dash looked back out the window at the field where Winning Streak was standing. “What was that all about?”
That’s Winning Streak. She’s the manager of the Canterlot Royals. Her and I have a bit of a history.”

“Not a very friendly history I imagine.”

Moonshot stomped on the ground. “She’s always been more successful than me. She always seemed to find her way onto the winning team. She comes out on top every time and she always has to rub it in my face. What’s worse is that I’m better than her. I was always the better player and I know I’m a better manager. She gets all the advantages over me, and then she acts like she’s better than me because she wins. Now she finds out I’m on probation and she just HAD to come to rub it in my face! There’s no other reason for her to be here!” Tears were forming around her eyes.

Rainbow Dash trotted slowly over, putting a reassuring hoof on her shoulder. “She sounds pretty awful. Don’t worry about it though. She’s going to eat her words when we’re the champions. We’ll be so great, we’ll sell out every game and every little filly in town is going to want a replica Moonshot jersey to wear.”

Moonshot was able to compose herself a bit. “Thanks Dash. I really hope you’re right. We’ve never sold out though. We’re always close on opening day, but after that it’s a sharp decline and we’re lucky to get even one hundred ponies in the stands.”

“Yeah, but you’re not advertising enough. I’m going to do more sky writing, and then I’ll get Pinkie on the job. With Pinkie advertising for you, everypony in town will know about the games.” said Dash reassuringly.
Moonshot sighed. “I hope you’re right. Even if we get better attendance, we need to at least get some wins. A team as bad as the Tornadoes have been isn’t what the league wants. If we don’t get a winning team together, they might shut us down regardless.”

“They wouldn’t dare shut down a team with a princess on the roster.” Rainbow Dash looked out at Twilight. “Would they? Maybe put her on the team just for the publicity”

“If a princess decreed that the team stay, they’d abide by it, but from what I’ve seen today, Twilight is the last kind of pony to use a position of power to get what she wants. Twilight just wouldn’t do that.”

“Yeah. You’re right. Though sometimes I wish she would. What’s wrong with a little special treatment from time to time?”
Moonshot started getting out the papers that Swift Impact had requested. “I don’t want special treatment either. I want to earn anything I achieve. I’d rather lose everything knowing I tried my best and gave it a fair effort, than to win by cheating or getting an unfair advantage.”

“I don’t know if I would rather lose everything… but I get what you’re saying.” She looked over Moonshots shoulder at the papers she had collected. “So, what are we going to do?”

“We’re going to present them what we have, we’re going to play our best, and we’re going to do everything we can to fill every seat. That’s all we can do. You really think you and Pinkie Pie can get people to come?”

Dash smirked. “Of course we can. Everypony in town is going to want to come if we do it right. We’ll need new uniforms and merchandise to sell. We’ll need help to design and produce them, but I think I know just the pony to ask.”

“Well, if we can’t win, nopony will care enough to spend their bits here.” 

Dash patted her on the shoulder again. “Then we just have to win, don’t we?”

Moonshot smiled. “I guess so.”

After gathering up all of the papers, the two of them headed outside. Swift Impact and Sharp Eyes continued their inspections. Winning Streak on the other hand was nowhere to be found. Moonshot just sat still, waiting for them to finish. Finally, Swift Impact walked over. 

His horn lit up and the papers floated in front of him. “Well, your park is in impeccable shape, as usual. That groundskeeper you hired is the best in the league I think. Looks like you even got some talent to come try out. Good work.”
Moonshot nodded. “Thank you sir.”

“I’m just concerned about attendance and sales.” He said as he started to read through the papers.
“We can make a profit. I have plans in place. There’s a lot to do, but I know I can do it. Several ponies have already volunteered to do positions that would normally be paid.”

He nods as he reads. “You are the only pony in the league who is the owner, general manager, and manager all in one. You’re lucky I let you play as well.”

“I know that. I appreciate it.” Moonshot’s eyes darted around nervously as he continued to read. 

Finally, he set the papers back down. “Well, I have to say, it doesn’t look good.”

“What will it take for this team to survive?” asked Moonshot nervously.

He looks around before looking back at Moonshot. “That depends. We’ll have another review at the half season break, then we’ll determine your future once the Equestria Series is over. I’m not going to give you any solid answers right now. I know that’s tough to hear, but I don’t make promises or claims on something I don’t have a definitive answer to.”

Moonshot swallowed hard. “I suppose that’s fair.”

Swift Impact smiled. “Hey, chin up. I like you Moonshot. You have a love of the game I haven’t ever seen in a pony. The Tornadoes are looking better than I expected. I want you to succeed, but my decision has to be based on the raw numbers. You understand?”

She smiled back at him. “I do. Thank you sir.”

“Alright. We have a train to Dodge Junction we need to catch. Come on Sharp Eyes. Let’s get moving.” And with that, the two unicorns headed out. 

Moonshot took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly. Twilight walked up to her.

The princess gave her a close look. “You alright Moonshot?”

Moonshot didn’t respond for a few second. Twilight stared at her and was about to ask again when Moonshot snapped out of it. “Oh. Yes. Fine. Just a little nerve-wracking when the ponies that can make or destroy your future are inspecting you and you barely have anything to show them.”

Twilight was clearly more optimistic than her. “Hey now, everything is going to work out. Promise.” 

“Well, I guess you’ll just have to prove that to me then. Get out there and give me a legitimate reason to put you on the team.”
Twilight nodded with a smile and got back to tryouts.

The rest of the day was long and hard. Baseballs were flying everywhere. Everypony seemed to be exhausted as the sun was setting beyond the horizon.  There was some talent on the field, but Moonshot could tell there was a lot of work to be done. Especially on pitching. Lucky had some promise as a pitcher, as did Blossomforth, but neither were ace material, and certainly not as good as Moonshot herself. She looked over her list of ponies. She had several names crossed off. Telling a pony they’re off the team is never easy, and she certainly wasn’t used to doing it. 

She stepped up on the mound. “Alright. First off, I want to thank you all for coming here today. It means a lot to me that you’re all here. I think we can put together a winning season. I’d like if all of you could be on the team, but we’re only allowed a roster of twelve. If you look around, there’s a bit more than that here. That means several of you aren’t making the team. I’m sorry, but that’s the way it is. I haven’t made up my mind on the roster yet.  Over the next couple days I’ll be contacting you. I may ask you to come over for some drills to help me firm my decision. Once my decision is made, it’s final. If you make the team, you’re going to work hard. You’re going to put a lot of time in. But…” for the first time in her speech she smiled. “you’re going to have a lot of fun. Now, go home, shower up. You’ll all hear from me soon.”

Moonshot stepped off the mound and headed over to the ballpark office. She closed the door behind her, ready for a long night of analysis. 

Twilight and Rainbow Dash walked out of the park together. Dash looked over at the office. “Yeesh. She was a lot nicer yesterday.”

“I think she’s under a lot of stress. She’s trying to put together a team and she doesn’t just want to win, she needs to. ”

Dash looked nervously at the park office. “No kidding. Those officials seemed pretty serious. We can’t let the team get shut down. Yeah, she was a bit mean to Fluttershy, but I like Moonshot. She has passion, and I admire that. I just hope we have what it takes to win.”

“I don’t think we do. The pitching needs a lot of work. I was analyzing the team. We don’t have anyone who can pitch well enough to shut down the opposing players. Maybe Moonshot can. But even then, you usually need a few good pitchers. I wonder if there’s anypony in town who can.” Twilight trailed off.

“Oh there is. Somepony who can buck a ball faster and more accurately than anypony in town. A pony that would be our ace for sure.”

“You mean…?”

“We’re gonna get Applejack on the team. And we’re not going to take no for an answer.”

> Chapter 3: The Ace of Apples
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was a sunny afternoon. The plants were sprouting, the flowers blossoming. Sweet Apple Acres looked beautiful. Twilight had just arrived and was on a mission to find her friend. It didn’t take long, as Applejack was just off the main path to the barn, pulling a cart full of hay. Twilight trotted right up to her. “Hey Applejack.”

Applejack turned and gave her friend a smile. “Afternoon Twilight.” She was about to turn back to the cart when she had to take a second look. “Are you wearing a Ponyville Tornadoes ballcap?”

“Yup! I made the team!” She fluttered up and did a little backflip, landing with a happy bounce.

“Well congratulations. I’ll make it to as many games as I can.”

“I’d really like it if you were at every game.”

“I’ll do my best.” Applejack pulled the cart up to the side of the barn, “Though I’m probably not going to come watch you on the road games.”

“I didn’t mean watching.”

Applejack stopped what she was doing and sighed. “Not this again. I’ve been getting it enough from Rainbow Dash.  You’ve already got Big Macintosh. Granny Smith isn’t able to do the hard work anymore and Applebloom just isn’t quite ready for it yet. If I’m not here, this farm is going to have a heap of trouble.”

“I understand. I’m not here to pressure you. But… I am curious. Are you really as good as Rainbow Dash thinks you are?”

“Sugarcube, I haven’t played in years. Sure, I’ve swung the bat a few times and tossed a few balls around, but a real honest game… heck, I haven’t done that since I was a school filly.”

“Well, just humor me here. Can we take a few swings? I just want to see you in action.”

Applejack raised a suspicious eyebrow. “I know what you’re trying to do.”

“What am I trying to do?” said Twilight innocently.

“You’re trying to get me to play a little ball. Get into it, and change my mind.” She shook her head. “Not gonna happen.”

“Right. I’m not going to try to change your mind. I just want to see you pitch. Please.”

“You aren’t going to let this go, are you Twilight?”

“I’m prepared to have Pinkie ask you.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“I would.” Twilight grinned evilly. 

Applejack conceded, knowing her defeat. “Alright. But just for a little bit. “

“That’s the spirit!” Twilight headed back to the path where she had left her bag of equipment and picked it up. She headed back to the barn where Applejack was waiting. They positioned themselves using the side of the barn as a backstop. Twilight’s horn was aglow as a stack of balls floated over to Applejack and came to rest next to her. Twilight put on her batting glove and secured a bat to it.”

“Alright. You ready for this Twilight?”

Twilight gave the bat a little practice swing, loosening up. “I’m ready.”

Applejack lobbed a ball up, and gave it a firm buck, sending it towards Twilight’s strike zone. Twilight swung, easily hitting the ball. It sailed over Applejacks’ head, landing near an apple tree and rolling to a stop a good distance away.

“Nice hit Twilight. You got a piece of that one.”

Twilight frowned. “Yes. I did. Anypony could have hit that pitch. You’re not trying.”

Applejacks eyes shifted and her mouth scrunched up. “Sure I am. You’re a great hitter.”

“Give me your best pitch Applejack.”

“You really want me to try?” asked Applejack.

“That’s the whole point of this!”

“Alright. But you asked for it.” Applejack picked up another ball and took a deep breath. As long as she was going to humor Twilight, she might as well start trying. The ball was lobbed up, Applejack reared, and with a mighty buck, the ball was launched. 

Twilight barely had time to react and didn’t even manage a swing. The ball thudded against the barn loudly. Twilight stared at the ball on the ground, then up at Applejack, then back to the ball, then back to Applejack. A grin spread over her face. “That’s what I wanted to see! Do it again.”

“Alright. I’ll pitch as many as you want. Still not joining the team.”

Applejack continued to throw Twilight some pitches.  Her fastballs were much faster than anything Lucky or Blossomforth had sent her way. Applejack even threw some curveballs and change-ups. In spite of her determination to not enjoy this, she started to have fun.  

Twilight swung and missed hard on a fast slider. She hit the release on her glove and the bat fell to the ground with a clunk. “Okay Applejack. I think I’ve seen all I need to.” Twilight took off her batting glove. “Applejack, you’re a better pitcher than anyone on the team. With you pitching I think we could have a winning season.”

Applejack knew this was coming. She let out a heavy sigh. “Unless you can find a way for this farm to get taken care of, it’s not going to happen.” She looked down at a ball at her feet and rolled it back and forth a bit under her hoof. “I admit, playing would be a lot of fun.” She kicked the ball away. “But I just can’t.” she narrowed her eyes a bit and harshened her tone. “And you and Rainbow Dash guilting me into it is making me a mite cross. You’re pushing and pushing and I’ve given my answer. No is no.”

Twilight trotted over, picking up the ball with her magic, hovering it just between the two. “Just let me ask one more question. What would it take to get you to say yes?”

Applejack paused to think before finally speaking.“Well, you’d have to let me practice completely on my own schedule. Allow me the time I need to tend to the farm. You would then have to get somepony skilled to watch it when I can’t. Somepony who is just as good as me or Big Macintosh. That… and you and Rainbow would owe me. Once the season is over, you two would have to be my workers, and for one week, you’re going to do any job around the farm I ask of you.”

“That’s all?” Twilight said enthusiastically.

“What do you mean that’s all? That’s a lot.”

“Consider it done. Thanks Applejack!” Twilight quickly magicked the equipment back into her bag and hopped into the sky.

Applejack stared blankly as her friend left her, then yelled back “I didn’t agree to nothin!”

Twilight flew to a nearby hill. There, she landed next to Rainbow Dash and Moonshot Striker, each of which had a pair of binoculars.

Rainbow Dash grinned. “I TOLD you she could pitch.”

Moonshot nodded. “She’s good. She’s not going to be the best in the league, but she’d be the best on our team. I want her.”

Rainbow put a hoof to her chin. “But how are we going to get her to say yes? It looked like she didn’t agree.”

Twilight smiled proudly. “Oh I got her to agree. We just have to fulfill some terms.”

“What kind of terms?” Moonshot asked skeptically. 

“Well, first off, we’re going to have to let her practice and participate on her own schedule. Obviously she’ll have to come to the games, but practice is on her time. Don’t worry about that though. I’m an expert at making schedules. Also… Rainbow Dash, you and I are going to have to be laborers on the farm for a week during applebuck season.”

“Only a week? No problem. I’ve helped around the farm before. Besides, Granny Smith can’t help but feed anypony working the fields.” Dash licked her lips, thinking about the cider and pie that would surely be hers.

“Anything else?” asked Moonshot.

“Yes. We need to find someone to tend the fields on our road trips. We might have to hire out some skilled earth pony. Though it has to be someone Applejack will trust.”

“Leave that to me.” Said Moonshot. “We get Applejack, we have a chance. A slim chance, but that’s all we need. Once we know for sure I’ll post the final roster.”

“So what next?” asked Rainbow Dash. 

“I need to go talk to Fluttershy.” Said Moonshot apprehensively. 

Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened. “You still haven’t talked to her? It’s been two days!” 

“I didn’t have time yesterday. Relax, I’m taking care of it.” Moonshot started off, then stopped and paused before turned back. “Where does she live?” 

Twilight stepped up. “I’ll show you. Plus, I should probably be there. Follow me.”

Moonshot nodded. “Alright. See you later Rainbow Dash.”

“Later.” Dash flew off, leaving the two to walk the rest of the way. 

It didn’t take long for Twilight and Moonshot to reach Fluttershy’s.  As they approached they noticed that Fluttershy was out in her yard. There was a pair of birds standing next to her, looking up at her and listening carefully as Fluttershy was presenting them a nest.

“Now, you’ll need to keep the eggs warm at all times.” said Fluttershy. “If you don’t they may not hatch. It’s going to be a lot of work, but I’m sure you’ll make great parents.”

The birds chirped happily as Fluttershy picked up the nest and placed it up on a nearby tree, setting them up for their new home.  After setting it in place, she gave a little wave to Twilight and Moonshot to acknowledge their presence. Once she finished with her tutorial to the birds she flew down to the two ponies.

“Hello Twilight.” She greeted cheerfully. “And um… hello Moonshot.” said with her eyes to the ground and a hoof pulled back.

Moonshot tried to relax and leaned back, speaking softly. “Hello Fluttershy. I wanted to talk to you.”

“Oh… um… did I do something else wrong?” she asked nervously.

Moonshot shook her head with a smile. “No. Look, I want to thank you for coming to tryouts. I’m happy that there are ponies in this town other than me who like baseball.”

Fluttershy looked confused.   “You came over to thank me?” 

Moonshot put up a hoof. “No. I wanted to talk to you about being a part of the team.”

Fluttershy looked down at the ground. “But. I’m terrible. I’m afraid of the ball and can’t play at all. You said so yourself.”

Moonshot sighed. “Yes, I did. However, I didn’t know as much about you as I do now, and I’ve been talking to Twilight here and I think you might have a part to play. Not as a player, but you’d still have an important role to play.”

Fluttershy raised her head a little, looking hopeful. “What… kind of role?”

“I want you to be our team’s physical trainer. I want you to help keep the team in top shape. Help with their diets and exercise routines. Treat minor injuries and provide some physical therapy. Twilight says you have quite a bit of experience with that kind of thing.”

Fluttershy looked over at Twilight, as if trying to get some confirmation, saying nothing.

Twilight spoke up. “You’d do really well Fluttershy. I think the team would really benefit from having you around. I know Dash and I would really like having you with us.”

Fluttershy looked back down at the ground again. “I don’t know. I feel like you’re just doing this to be nice” She looked up at Moonshot accusingly. “Did Rainbow Dash say she wouldn’t play unless you apologized to me?” 

Moonshot stepped back defensively. “What? No. I’m trying to make the best team I can. I can’t do that with you on the field, but I can do that with you helping me support the team. I’m not going to apologize for cutting you. I had to cut over ten other ponies too, and I wasn’t any nicer to them. But according to Twilight, you’re the best fit for the team trainer and nutritionist. I’m taking her word for it…” she glanced back at Twilight. “Pretty sure if Celestia trusts her, I can too.”

Fluttershy dragged a hoof across the dirt slowly. “Well, I guess I just have to think about it.”

“That’s all I ask. Just stop by the park and we can get the details sorted out. I’m going to head there right now. You coming Twilight?”

Twilight shook her head. “No. I have a few other things to take care of. Should I stop by later?”

Moonshot nodded. “Please do. I’ll talk to you both later.” She trotted off, heading back towards the park.

Fluttershy looked over at Twilight. “Does she really want my help?”

“After I told her about you and what you were good at, she seemed genuinely interested. I don’t think Moonshot is the kind of pony to go against her feelings just to make another pony feel better. She wouldn’t ask you to help if she didn’t really think you were going to be a help.”

“You think so?”

“I do.” Twilight put a hoof over her friend’s shoulder. “So, what do you say?”

Fluttershy adjusted the hat, then smiled. “Okay! I’ll do it!”
---------------------------------------------

Applejack sat back on a stack of hay bales outside the barn and took a long drink of cider. It had been a long day, but she gotten done everything she had wanted to. The only thing on her mind now was the supposed deal she made to Twilight earlier in the day. 

It was true that the summer time was easier than spring and fall. All she really had to do was ensure that the trees stayed watered and pruned. The pegasi had her rain schedule and she had already taken care of the planting. Still, on all the road trips she just wouldn’t feel comfortable with Applebloom and Granny Smith doing all the work on their own. She also didn’t like the idea of hiring somepony. Money was already tight, and she wasn’t sure she could trust some stranger with the farm. 

On the other hand, she was upset at herself for letting Twilight get to her. Having the ball in hoof, bucking it at top speed towards a batter, and watching Twilight miss horribly gave her a sense of satisfaction she hadn’t felt in a while. Playing might be fun, especially with Rainbow Dash and Twilight on the team. If Big Macintosh hadn’t agreed it would have been an easy decision. 

“Hey Applejack!” said a voice from right behind her. She jumped, spilling half her cider. Her head darted back to see Rainbow Dash hovering right above her.

“Rainbow Dash!” She adjusted herself. “Ya’ll scared me half to death. What do you want?”

Dash landed next to her, sitting back. “You know why I’m here.”

Applejack paused, looked at the baseball cap on Rainbow Dash’s head before rolling her eyes. “Yeah, I s’pose I do. Y’all are persistent.”

“Only because we really want you. Come on, it won’t be the same without you.”

Applejack crossed her front legs. “I gave my conditions to Twilight. You can talk to her.”

Dash waved a dismissive hoof. “Yeah. She told me. And, Moonshot came up with a solution.”

“Moonshot?”

“She’s the manager… and the owner.  And I think she intends to play too. She’s like Miss Baseball around Ponyville” She bobbed her head to the left. “And she’s standing just around the side of the barn.”

Applejack looked at Rainbow Dash incredulously. “Well I guess I should introduce myself then.” She hopped down from the hay stack. “Y’all can come out.”

Moonshot stepped out from around the edge of the barn. She nodded and smiled at Applejack. “Hello Applejack. Nice to finally meet you.”

“Howdy.” Applejack tipped her hat.

“Twilight and Rainbow Dash tell me you’re a top pitcher. That you can buck a ball so fast it’ll break a bottle from 100 feet. That’s the kind of talent I need to give the Ponyville Tornadoes their first winning season.” She leaned in close to Applejack. “Will you give us a chance?”

Applejack turned her nose up. “I told Twilight my terms.”

Moonshot smiled. “And she told them to me. I don’t care when you practice as long as you do. I’ve placed your brother at catcher, so the two of you can practice together right here at your convenience. As for Twilight and Rainbow Dash, that’s between you and them.”

“Well that leaves just one term then. You know anypony who can look after a farm?” Applejack leaned in close.

“I do. There’s a pony I’ve known a long time and he is one of the most dependable and hardworking ponies I’ve ever met. He’s the pony responsible for keeping Ponyville Park as one of the prettiest spots in town.” Moonshot turned back towards the barn. “Clipper. Come on out.”

Clipper stepped out. He trotted over, smiling meekly. 

Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Anypony else hiding out behind the barn?”

“Eeyup.” Came a familiar voice from around the corner.

Applejack put a hoof up to her face. “Alright. Well, nice to meet you Mr. Clipper. But I’ll tell ya right up front. Just cuz you know how to work the land, doesn’t mean I want to have you take over responsibilities here at Sweet Apple Acres.”

Clipper looked at Applejack hopefully. “Let me show you what I can do. I’ll work really hard. If you show me what to do, I’ll get it done right. Promise.” 

Moonshot patted Clipper on the back. “He will. You said you wanted a pony to tend to the land while you’re away, well he’s your pony. And don’t you worry about money. With you on the team, I figure the extra ticket sales and merchandise sales should more than make up for what we’ll have to pay him. If not, I’ll pay him out of my own pocket.”

Dash raised an eyebrow. “If you own the team and the park wouldn’t proceeds from the ticket sales merchandise be out of your pocket anyway?”

Moonshot gave Dash an annoyed look. “Technically, yes.”

Dash pushed on. “So, then if there was no team last year how did you get by?”

“I almost didn’t.” Moonshot gritted her teeth and her brow furrowed a bit.

“What do you mean?” Dash couldn’t help but ask, all tact out the window. 

Moonshot stomped the ground and raised her voice. “Not now!” 

Dash stepped back, her ears drooped and her wings tucked in tight, finally realizing she crossed a line.   “Sorry…” she barely squeaked out.

Moonshot looked over at Applejack and a wave of embarrassment swept over her. 

Applejack’s eyes darted nervously between Dash and Clipper. Everypony suddenly felt very uncomfortable.   Applejack decided to break the silence. “Well uh… I’m really sorry to hear about your situation. Sounds like you uh… gave up a lot.”

Moonshot swallowed hard. “The team is all I have. I know for most ponies it’s just a game, but it’s everything to me. I would give up anything for this team.”

Applejack looked Moonshot right in the eyes. “I can see that. You have a passion and you work hard for it. If anypony is that dedicated to something they love and are willing to work as hard as they can for it…  I guess it sounds like somepony I’d like to play for.” She turned to Clipper. “Guess that means you’re my new farmhand. You ready learn how to grow the Apple Family way?”

Clipper nodded with a smile. “I won’t let you down ma’am!”

Moonshot composed herself, her eyes going wide. “Really? You’ll play?”

Applejack nodded. “I’ll play.” She looked around at the ponies around her, took off her cowboy hat, grabbed the cap off of Dash’s head and placed it on her own. “So, when do we start?”

> Chapter 4: Preseason Preparations
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sun was shining, the air was crisp, and the smell of the snacks Sugarcube Corner had donated for the team made Ponyville Park one of the best places to be in the town. It was only a week until opening day and the team was really starting to come together. 

“Alright, we’re going to choke up on the bat a bit. Swing it nice and smooth. Don’t try to kill it.” Moonshot adjusted the strap on Cloudchaser’s batting glove. “There.”  

She gave a look to the pitcher’s mound where Applejack was waiting. The two exchanged a nod, then Moonshot stepped back.  Applejack reared up and bucked a fastball towards the plate. Cloudchaser gave the bat a swing and made good contact with the ball. It sailed to the right, going just over Twilight’s reach at first base and landed in shallow right field.  Thunderlane charged the ball, scooped it up and bucked it to Candy Mane at second base, who quickly relayed it back to Applejack. 

“Alright! Great hit Cloudchaser!” said Twilight, clapping her hooves together.

Moonshot walked back up to home plate. “That’s good. Now, do it again.”

Cloudchaser’s smile turned into a determined look as she set up to swing again. 

Applejack pitched yet again, sending a curveball towards Cloudchaser. With another great swing, Cloudchaser made contact yet again. It was a line drive towards third. Maud dashed forward and leapt towards the path of the ball, spreading her hoof out as far as she could. It hit the glove squarely. She tucked her hooves in and rolled, before standing up straight and bucking the ball back to Applejack.

The rest of the team stood staring at her, jaws open.

The silence was broken by the sound of a short, upbeat tune from an organ blasting over the park, followed by Maud’s sister cheering loudly. “Yeah Maud! Woo Hoo! What a catch!”

Moonshot turned quickly, looking up at the back of the stands behind home plate where the sound had been coming from. “Pinkie Pie?” 

Twilight walked up to Moonshot? “I thought this park didn’t have an organ.”

Moonshot shook her head. “It doesn’t. Or at least, it didn’t.”

Pinkie spoke into the microphone again. “Hey everypony! How does the organ sound?” she followed up her question by playing a quick series of notes.

“It sounds great,” answered Moonshot, “but where in Equestria did you get an organ?”

“It’s pretty cool huh? I went to the Everfree forest and checked out the organ there…”

Twilight took flight, hovering up to the room where Pinkie was. “Pinkie. You took the organ from the castle?”

Pinkie shook her head. “Nope, I went to the castle and took some very detailed notes. I went back to town to try to make a new one just like it. Then I realized I didn’t know how to build an organ, so I went to the music store and got a new one. Vinyl Scratch helped me hook it up to the sound system, and here we are!”

“I suppose you’re going to play it during games as well?”

“Only if I can be the announcer and if Spike can be my assistant.” 

Twilight turned back to Moonshot and shrugged.

“I don’t see why not. You two were a good pair at the Running of the Leaves.” Moonshot hopped into the stands and trotted up to the press box where Pinkie was. 

Pinkie was waiting there with a smile. “You like it?”

Moonshot looked around, checking out the setup. “I do. But I have some questions for you.”

“Okay, shoot!”

“You’ve put in an organ, you’ve brought food for the team, and you’ve been going around town telling everypony to come see the game, and you haven’t asked for a thing in return. Why?”

“Is it making you and everyone else on the team happy?”

Moonshot nodded. “Well yes. You’re efforts have made us all very happy.”

“Then that’s all the reason I need silly.” Pinkie booped Moonshot on the nose with her hoof.

Moonshot rubbed her nose. “You don’t want anything in return?”

“Just smile more. You don’t smile enough.” 

Moonshot obliged. “You got it.” She walked over to the microphone and spoke into it. “Everypony, take a break. I’m going to be meeting with you each to talk about your assignments, so stick around.” She turned off the mic and looked over at Twilight who was still hovering nearby. “You first.”

Twilight landed and trotted into the room. “So what’s my assignment?”

“I’m thinking first base. You’ve got a good eye and can catch pretty well. I want you to focus on your hitting for the next week. You’re lagging behind the rest of the team.” 

Truth was, she was the worst player out there. She had good game knowledge, but she wasn’t great at throwing, didn’t have a lot of speed, and wasn’t much of a hitter. She wasn’t terrible, and could certainly hold her own. She managed to get on base enough due to having an excellent eye, but getting walked a lot isn’t exactly a great stat to have. She could catch the ball well and rarely made errors. First base was a safe location for her. Twilight was alright, but one of the ponies Moonshot had cut was probably better.

The real reason Twilight was on the team was because she was a princess, but Moonshot wasn’t going to let anypony else know that.  Twilight was going to bring in fans, and more importantly, money. It hurt Moonshot to make a move like this. She thought she would never compromise her integrity, especially when it came to baseball, but desperate times called for desperate measures. If Twilight being on the team could be the very thing that saves it, then it was worth doing. 

“I’ll do my best.” Said Twilight cheerfully.

“Great. Send Maud up next.”

Twilight gave a nod and headed down to the field.

Pinkie got right up next to Moonshot. “Ooh! You want to talk to Maud. She’s the best isn’t she?”

“She’s good, yes.” Moonshot looked over at Pinkie with an eyebrow raised. “Are you sure you two are sisters?”

“Are you kidding? Maud and I are practically twins!”

Moonshot just chuckled to herself while shaking her head.

Maud entered the room. “You wanted to talk to me?”

“Yes. Maud, you’re a great fielder and may be the best hitter on the team.” Moonshot waited for Maud to reply, but was met only with a blank stare. “Right. What I’m concerned about is your level of enthusiasm. You’re not showing any passion at all. Do you even care if we win or lose?”

“Not really.”

Moonshot’s jaw hung open for a second. She had never heard a pony on a team say they didn’t care about winning. “Then why are you here?”

“I told you. I want to study the dirt of various ballparks.”

“You could do that without me. Why did you join the team?”

“I like baseball.”

“You like baseball, but you don’t care about winning.”

“That is right.”

“So if you’re not going to try to win, why should I keep you on the team?”

“I said I don’t care about winning. I didn’t say I was not going to try to win.”

“But if… then why…” Moonshot rubbed her head. “Ow.”

Pinkie stepped forward. “What my sister is trying to say is that she’s not in it for the glory of winning. She wants to make the team happy and support them, so she’s going to try her best.  To Maud it’s just about going out there and being the best Maud she can be.”

“Alright.” Moonshot sighed “Just try to show a bit more enthusiasm, alright?”

“I will try.” Said Maud. “Is that all?”

“That’s all. You two head out. Send Rainbow Dash in next please.”

“You got it!” said Pinkie as she bounced out the door with Maud walking close behind.

Moonshot rubbed her head again. She wasn’t sure what to think of the Pie sisters, but they were proving to be a valuable asset. 

Rainbow Dash jogged into the room. “Hey Moonshot. What’s up?”

“You’re in center field. Think you can handle it?”

“Heck yeah! Putting the speed where it’s needed. I assume you want me first in the line-up too?”

“We’ll see. The most important thing for a lead-off hitter is to get on base. You can hit pretty well, but you swing at everything. You almost never take walks in practice. Your job is not to get RBIs, it’s to get runs. You have one job when we’re on offense. Get on base. The others willl get you home.”

“Alright. I’ll work on it.”

“Twilight has a great eye. I want you two to work with Applejack and Big Macintosh over the next week and practice hitting.”

Rainbow Dash saluted. “Yes ma’am!”

“That’s all for you. Keep up the good work.”

Rainbow Dash smiled. “Thanks.”

Moonshot met with the rest of the team. She talked to the rest of the pegasi next. Blossomforth, Cloudchaser and Thunderlane were going to be in the outfield rotation with Rainbow Dash. One of them would be sitting out each game, but they’d all be valuable as pinch runners. Moonshot felt a bit of humored embarrassment that she pulled the cliché of having all of her outfielders as pegasi, but they were the fastest players on the team and it’s where they were needed. 

Big Macintosh was the catcher of course. He and Applejack seemed to know exactly what the other was thinking and they made a great team. Lucky was a decent pitcher as well, and he kept showing improvement. He’d never start unless there were other issues, but he would do great as their closer. 

Maud was going to play third, and first was the best fit for Twilight, so that left her Caramel and Candy Mane for second base and short-stop. They were both about equal, but Caramel had just a slightly better kick, so she decided to put him at short and Candy Mane at second. 

Her final interview of the day was going to be Applejack. The blonde pony walked into the room and looked around. “So we’re doing meetings in the announcers booth now?”

Moonshot chuckled. “No, it just kind of worked out that way today. So, how are things going?”

“I’m feeling great. It’s been a hoot and a holler I tell ya. I’m really glad I decided to join.” She took off her ball cap and put on her Stetson.  “So, how do you think we’re doing?”

“Against each other, pretty good. When we play the Dodge City Rangers next week we’ll see how good we really are. But… “ she grinned. “I think we’re the best team the Tornadoes have ever put together.” 

“You think so?”

“Well, certainly the best since I took over. Definitely the first team to have a princess on it. I just hope the Canterlot Royals don’t hear about it and try to recruit Celestia or Luna.”

Applejack chuckled. “Knowing Princess Celestia, she might just join if they asked her.” 

“So, how is Clipper doing?”

“Oh I’ve got him working hard. He’s learning quick. I don’t think he realized how tough Granny Smith was going to be on him. Poor boy didn’t know what he was in for. Though I think with Granny Smith keeping an eye on him I’ll feel confident that the farm is in good hands. Though I’ve been wondering. Where did you find him and why is he willing to do all of this for you?”

“Clipper and I grew up with each other. He lived right next door to me. He’s like a little brother to me.  A few years back we lost touch.  He ended up bouncing from job to job. I happened to run into him during one of his unemployment streaks. He was in need of some help. I had just taken over the ball park, so I asked him to come help take care of it. Turns out he’s really got a knack for lawn care. He just needed something to focus on.”

“Well he talks about you a lot.”

Moonshot raised an eyebrow. “Oh? What’s he saying?”

Applejack put up a hoof defensively. “Nothing bad! Don’t worry. Mostly he was thanking me for helping you out.”

“It really means a lot to me. You have a lot of talent. You said you played in school, why didn’t you keep playing?”

Applejack walked over to the window and looked over the field, her gaze softening. “I liked playing a lot, but I guess I just didn’t have the drive for it. The Apple farm was where I belonged. I played a few ball games here and there, but I didn’t have time for a league.”

“Well, thanks for making the time this year.”

“I’m looking forward to it. So, you got the positions figured out?” Applejack took a look at Moonshot’s clipboard.

“I think so. There’s just one decision for opening day that I haven’t made yet.” She pointed at the spot on the paper that was blank, right after the letter P. 

“Ah. Well, if ya don’t mind, I’d prefer you pitch the first game.”

Moonshot cocked her head to the side. “Why is that?”

Applejack smirked. “Cuz the second game we play is here and I want to pitch the home opener.”

Moonshot laughed. “Alright, deal. I figure I owe you one.”

“Thanks Moonshot.” She looked out over the field watching her teammates. A small white unicorn caught her eye. She watched as the filly ran right to Twilight with a bounce in her step. Applejack smiled broadly. “Hey, Sweetie Belle is here!”

Moonshot perked up. “That’s Rarity’s sister right?”

“Sure is. Let’s see what she wants.” Applejack and Moonshot left the announcer’s booth and trotted down to the field. 

Sweetie Belle ran right up to them, with Twilight close behind. “Applejack! Moonshot! Rarity told me to come get you. She says they’re ready and wants your approval right away!”

Moonshot grinned broadly. “Are they really?”

Sweetie nodded rapidly. “They are, and they’re perfect!”

Twilight turns and smiles at Moonshot. “We shouldn’t keep Rarity waiting.”

Moonshot nodded. “Agreed.” She then turns to the rest of the team. “Everyone, you can stay here as long as you like. Free practice for the rest of the day. Whoever leaves last better have this place cleaned up.”

The team gave their approval and went back to drills, none of them wanting to have Moonshot see them stop practicing. Twilight and Moonshot followed Sweetie Belle back to Carousel Boutique. The three headed inside. 

Rarity trotted up quickly to them. “Oh thank goodness you’re here. Thank you for getting them Sweetie Belle.”

“You’re welcome!” said Sweetie with a hop. 

Moonshot was more excited than she had been all day. They hadn’t gotten new uniforms in years. “Well, let’s see them.”

Rarity smiled at her. “Right this way Miss Moonshot.”

Rarity led them to the display mannequins. She pulled aside a curtain, revealing them. Each mannequin had a jersey, ball cap and custom batting glove on it. There were four of them, two sets of two. Two in one color scheme, two in another. The matching sets had minor differences.  The colors were the standard Ponyville Tornadoes colors of red and white. 

The first jerseys were white across the chest and collar, accented by black pinstripes down their length, with bright red sleeves. They were accompanied by white hats with red bills. One set had a jersey for an earth pony or unicorn, the other with some slight alterations to accommodate Pegasus wings. The ball caps had the Ponyville PV logo on the center, with one of them containing a hole above the bill to allow a unicorn’s horn to fit through.  The other two jerseys were similarly fitted, but were red on the chest with black sleeves and a few white stitches for contrast. The caps for these jerseys had the logo of a black twister on a red cap, with a black bill. 

Moonshot couldn’t help but grin. “Wow. They’re great.” She walked up to them and took a really close look, admiring the craftsmanship. “You really did a fantastic job Rarity. How did you get this done in just a week and a half?”

Rarity soaked in the compliment. “Oh thank you dear. I guess I was just motivated. I’ve never done sports apparel before, so it was a great and fun challenge. Just the kind I’ve been looking for. Just inspect the stitching. These will be durable, and comfortable. I have fitted uniforms for everyone on the team ready to go. The material is just lovely too. It will be soft, but most importantly it will breathe so that you’ll be comfortable even on those really hot days.”

Moonshot smiled broadly. “We’ll take them. You really did a great job.”

Twilight agreed. “No doubt you were the perfect pony for the job.”

“How soon can we have them?” asked Moonshot.

Rarity put a hoof on her chin. “I still need to make a few alterations to the pegasi uniforms. Probably by tomorrow afternoon. Will that be alright?”

“Oh that’s perfect. Much sooner than needed. So, how much do we owe you?”

Rarity looked at Moonshot with a raised eyebrow and her head cocked to the side a bit. “What do you mean dear? I’ve already received payment.”

“What? But I haven’t authorized any funds to…” things clicked and she looked over at Twilight, who was averting her gaze.

Twilight noticed Moonshot looking at her and looked back, acting surprised. “What?”

“Did you pay for this?” Moonshot asked.

“Um, maybe?” she gave a guilty grin. 

Moonshot was astonished. “Why? You didn’t have to. I never asked you to…”

Twilight smiled lightly. “Because we’re a team, and I need the money a lot less than the team does. Plus, Rarity gave us a great rate.”

Rarity stepped up. “Well, I got you that rate because I’m getting a good deal in our merchandise contract.”

Moonshot looked over at Rarity. “Merchandise contract?”

Rarity nodded and her horn lit up as a stack of papers floated in front of her. “I have a contact in Manehattan who is going to mass produce these for selling to your fans. They’ll have a fee per item, then there’s my designers fee on top of that. The rest of the profits will be yours. We’ll keep it simple. There will be t-shirts at a lower cost, basic replica jerseys, and lastly the genuine replicas. Three price points for everyone to afford. Then we’ll sell batting gloves, ball caps, and all sorts of little accessories with the team logo on them. Most of those I’ve based off of old merchandise that you sold before. Based on the market value, you’ll be able to sell them up with a 200% mark-up on average. With a margin like that you can have special sales. Like, say 30% off with a ticket to a game.”

Moonshot looked at the papers and at Rarity with an astonished look on her face. “Wow. You… have this all taken care of. I hadn’t even thought about how to get all this going yet. You’re quite the businessmare Rarity.” 

Rarity was flattered. “Oh you just have to know the right ponies. Read it over, and if it’s to your satisfaction, sign it and we can get the order placed.  We won’t have a lot to sell opening day, but a couple weeks into the season we should have more than enough. Plus we can always take orders, especially on the authentic jerseys. For an extra fee I can put any number and name on a jersey. We’ll of course also have a line of jerseys with the player’s names on them. We’ll have everyone available, but I’ve ordered extras of you two, Applejack and Rainbow Dash.”

Twilight cocked her head to the side. “Why the four of us?”

Rarity shook her head. “Oh come now Twilight. Anypony could predict you four will be the most popular. If anypony else rises as a star we can put more into production. Turnaround time is only about a week.”

Moonshot was still astonished as she read over the contract. “This is unbelievable. I just hope we have the demand for it. This is almost what the big leagues do. What if nopony buys?”

Rarity sighed. “Well, that is the risk. But it’s one we must take.”

Moonshot nodded. “And I’ll take it.” She grabbed a pen in her mouth and signed on the bottom. 

Twilight smiled. “So, we have a team, we have uniforms, we have merchandise. Pinkie and Rainbow Dash have the advertising pretty well handled. I think all the details are taken care of. I’ll have to check my list of course. But what else is left?”

Moonshot gave Twilight a smirk. “What’s left is to play ball.”

> Chapter 5: The Season Begins
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Ponyville Tornadoes stepped off the train. It was a beautiful morning and the air of Dodge Junction was dry, but pleasantly cool. It was the morning of opening day, with just six hours until the first pitch. The whole team was buzzing with excitement. 

Rainbow Dash was flying just over her friends. “I can’t believe it’s finally our first game.  Why do we have to be on the road though? We should start the season at home.”

Thunderlane shrugged. “Half the teams have to play their first game on the road.”

Twilight shook her head with a smile. “Look at it this way.  Rarity’s contact has time to get more merchandise to the park to sell. We’ll have a bigger and better opening day this way.”

“I don’t care where we’re playing, I’m just happy that we’re finally here. The offseason is finally over.” Moonshot had a bounce to her step and a smile on her face. “You can look around town for a while, but you need to be at the field in an hour for lunch. Fluttershy is making it special for us, so don’t eat anything else. I don’t want any of you all groggy on me from overeating.”

“I think I’m gonna go say hello to Cherry Jubilee real quick.” Announced Applejack.

“I’ll come too. How about you Rainbow Dash?” said Twilight.

“Might as well. Though it won’t be a great visit if we can’t eat any cherries.” Said Dash dryly.

Moonshot shook her head. “You can eat all the cherries you want after the game. I need you moving fast. We’ll see you at the field. I do need two of you to stay behind to help Fluttershy with the equipment.”

Caramel and Thunderlane volunteered and stuck behind to wait for the train attendants to unload the gear. The rest of the team headed off into town. 

Moonshot headed directly to the Dodge Junction field. She liked Dodge Junction. It was a small town, much like Ponyville, but what Moonshot liked was that baseball seemed to be the only sport that really caught on here. The Dodge Junction Rangers were the only sports team in town with any following, so their games were always packed. If not Ponyville, Moonshot was glad this town was the first stop on the Tornadoes tour. She knew the competition would be tough, especially now that they were taking players from Appleloosa. 

As she approached the park she noticed a teammate of her’s was right behind her. She looked back and smiled at her. “Hey Maud. Ready to play?”

Maud was as dry as ever. “I want to look at the dirt on the field. See what kind of rocks they’re using.”

Moonshot rolled her eyes. “Knock yourself out.”

“Why would I do that? A head injury would affect my play.”

“I was… nevermind. Have fun looking at the dirt. I need to go check us in.”

Moonshot headed into the field office. She met with the league official, signed some paperwork and submitted the team line-up and batting order. Once all the boring work was done she walked out of the field office and onto the field. She looked around and took a deep breath, taking in the atmosphere.

“Well, well, well.  Moonshot Striker.” A stallion’s voice came from behind her.

Moonshot quickly turned around. “Flint Bolt!” She ran over and gave the stallion a tight hug. 

Flint returned it just as tightly, then loosened and took a step back, smiling. “Great to see you here again. Made me really happy to hear that Ponyville was going to play this year.”

Moonshot smiled broadly at the stallion. Flint Bolt was a tall stallion. His fur was a deep teal color accented by a blackened steel colored mane. The image of a lightning bolt shattering a boulder adorned his flank. Moonshots smile turned into a cocky smirk. “You won’t be so happy after we’re done beating you senseless on the field.”

Flint Bolt raised an eyebrow. “Oh, is that a fact?”

“Best team Ponyville has ever put together.” Moonshot beamed at him.

Flint raised a hoof and waved it dismissively. “Well I got some great ponies from Apple Loosa to join this year. I’m afraid Dodge Junction also has the best team we’ve ever put together.”

“So we can both beat up on the Royals then?”

Flint chuckled. “If only to see the look on Winning Streak’s face when they take last place in the division.”

“That is definitely the dream.” Her eyes softened. “It really is great to see you again.”

“You too. Just don’t go soft on me. I want to see you and your team in top form. You know, so I can feel proud about beating you.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t dream of going easy on you. I’m more motivated than ever to win this year.”

Flint’s eyes shifted to the side. “Yeah. I heard about that. I’m going to do my best to convince Swift Impact to keep you around.”

“You don’t need to do that. I’m confident we’ll do well enough on our own.”

“You really think your team is that good?”

Moonshot nodded. “I got some really great ponies. Like that one right there.” She pointed to Maud, who was on the warning track, scooping dirt into a mason jar. “Plus I got myself an ace pitcher and the fastest center fielder you’ve ever seen.”

“And what about you? Haven’t gotten rusty on me have you?

Moonshot put her hoof on his chest. “You’ll just have to see on the field. I’m the starting pitcher today.”

“I don’t know how you manage to own and coach the team and still end up playing on it.”

“Simple,” said Moonshot with a wink. “Passion.”

Flint chuckled and waved a hoof. “Of course. Well, I better get to the locker room. Gotta let the team know you’re not going to be a bunch of pushovers.” He turned and headed to the Ranger’s locker room. 

Moonshot watched him leave, a smile on her face. She let out a sigh and turned to head to her own locker room. Just as she turned, she was face to face with Cloudchaser. 

Moonshot jumped back. “Gah. Don’t do that.”

Cloudchaser smirked at Moonshot. “So, who was that?”

“The manager of the Rangers.” She put up a hoof defensively. “Just having a friendly pre-game chat.” 

Cloudchaser leaned in, her grin only growing. “A very friendly chat it seems.”

“Hey now. Flint and I are old friends. Nothing more.” She pushes Cloudchaser back gently. “So don’t get any ideas.”

“Well that’s good.” Cloudchaser said with a hint of tease in her voice. “Wouldn’t want you getting all mushy on us.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Moonshot trotted past Cloudchaser quickly, trying to hide the redness in her cheeks.

--------------------------

The energy level in the locker room was high. Lunch was eaten, batting practice was over, and every pony on the team was in uniform. The first pitch was only fifteen minutes away. 

Nopony in the room was more excited than Moonshot. She hopped up onto a table and cleared her throat. “Alright everypony! We’ve practiced for a month for this and it’s finally here! It’s going to be tough out there. The Rangers aren’t going to go easy on us, so let’s not go easy on them. I want you all to do your best and get us a win. But most importantly, have fun out there. Now, are you all ready?”

The rest of the team stomped their hooves and let out a loud, enthusiastic “Yeah!”

“Alright. Let’s get out there and stomp those Rangers! Go Tornadoes!”

Moonshot led the way, charging out of the locker room and onto the field. The Tornadoes were met with mild applause. The team lined up down the third base line as the announcer read off the lineup. Most of the ponies in the crowd were simply chatting amongst themselves, with only a few claps here and there.

Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but notice and turned to Moonshot. “They’re not really too excited to see us, are they?”

Moonshot chuckled. “Get used to it. To all of them we’re the bad guys. Just be happy they’re not booing us. Wait til we play at home.”

Rainbow Dash smirked, “Then I guess I’ll just have to give them such a show that they can’t help but cheer for us.”

“That’s the spirit. You’re the first pony to bat today. How bout you lead off the season with a hit?”

“Just watch me.” 

The announcer reached the end of the line-up. “And batting 9th, playing first base, Princess Twilight Sparkle!”

This announcement got the fans attention, causing no shortage of cheering. Twilight blushed and gave a meek wave to the crowd. 

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Figures.”

They stood and watched as the Rangers took the field. As they did, the crowd erupted in cheers and stomps, causing the whole park to shake. As the announcer read off the Rangers line-up, each pony on the team got a loud cheer.  Once the ceremony was over, Moonshot and Flint Bolt met in the in-field and shook each other’s hooves.

“You guys got a nice welcome from your fans there. Too bad they’re going to be all disappointed when you lose.” Said Moonshot with a wink.

“Just try to not hit my batters with a wild pitch, alright?”

Moonshot chuckled. “Alright. Let’s do this.”

Flint nodded. “Let’s have a good game. “

The two ponies trotted back to their dugouts. The Rangers grabbed their gloves and ran out onto the field. Rainbow Dash hopped out of the dugout and towards the batter’s box. She gave her bat a few practice swings as the pitcher tossed a few warm-up pitches to the catcher. 

Rainbow Dash stepped into the batter’s box and stared at the pitcher, a slender, yellow furred stallion with a dark red mane. The two made eye contact. Both narrowed their eyes, trying to intimidate the other. 

The park went quiet. The pitcher reared up. With a mighty buck, the first pitch was a fastball, right over the plate. Rainbow Dash swung, but it was a miss. 

“Strike one!” called out the umpire.

Rainbow grunted and reset herself, ready for the next pitch.

The pitcher sent out the pitch. Rainbow nearly swung, but she held back as it was sailing a bit high. The ball hit the catcher’s mitt. 

“Ball!” came the umpire’s announcement.

“Good eye Dash!” called out Moonshot from the dugout.

The next pitch came quickly. This one was on target and Dash gave a mighty swing. The bat made firm contact with the ball. It flew up into the air, heading sharply to the right. The ball was caught, but by a fan in the stands, a foul ball.

“Come on Rainbow, you can do this.” She muttered to herself as they tossed a new ball to the pitcher.

The pitcher stared Rainbow down intensely. He reared up and gave the ball a buck, this pitch was a change-up, coming in slower. Rainbow adjusted and gave the bat a swing. The bat hit the ball firmly. The pitcher watched as the ball sailed right over his head and right between the second basemare and shortstop, landing in shallow center field. 

Rainbow released the bat and charged towards first base.  The centerfielder charged the ball and quickly bucked it back to the infield, but far too late. Rainbow Dash jogged across first base with plenty of time to spare. 

She looked back at her dugout to see the rest of her team cheering loudly. Rainbow beamed and waved to her team. Fluttershy trotted over and traded Dash’s batting helmet for a ball cap. They gave each other a quick hoof bump before Fluttershy trotted back to the dugout. 

Rainbow Dash watched as Thunderlane secured his bat and stepped up to the plate. She glanced to her right, looking right at second base. She turned her gaze to the pitcher. She started to inch off of second base, getting a nice lead off. 

The pitcher reared up, readying his pitch. As soon as the ball was lobbed for the pitch, Dash took off for second base.  The ball was bucked hard, but far outside. The catcher was ready and as soon as it hit his glove, it was out and bucked .  The second basemare dashed forward, snagging the ball and swiping downwards in the same motion. 

Rainbow Dash didn’t have a chance. As quickly as she had gotten a moment of glory, it was gone. The out call by the umpire stung in her ears as she shamefully stood up and began her walk back to the dugout. 

Moonshot didn’t have to say anything to Dash, her expression staring daggers at her. With her head hung low and her tail between her legs, Dash sat back down on the dugout bench.

The rest of the inning was over fast. Three pitches later, Thunderlane struck out. Maud was up next and made contact, but the ball was easily caught in the outfield on the fly. 

Moonshot turned to the team. “That’s alright. We’re not going to score every inning. Let’s just get out there and keep it even. “

The Tornadoes took to the field. Moonshot stood on the mound and picked up the ball. She did a few practice bucks to Big Mac while the batter warmed up. She looked out over the crowd. A feeling of euphoria swept over her. She was finally back on the field. The smell of the grass, the cheering of the crowd, and the feeling of the ball on her hoof melted all of her worries away. The probation, the revenue; none of that mattered anymore. The game was on and it was time to pitch.

The first batter gave her a little trouble. She started out with a strike, but then lost focus and threw a few balls. She recovered with a strike, but the strike-out wouldn’t come on the next few pitches as the batter kept fouling them back. Finally, on the 9th pitch, the batter got a small piece of the ball. It rolled towards third base. Maud dashed forward, scooping it up tossing it to Twilight, easily getting the force-out. 

Moonshot recovered nicely as the next batter swung on the first pitch, sending the ball sky-high. Big Macintosh pulled off his catcher’s mask and positioned himself under it. He made the catch with no trouble.

The third batter was a large stallion. Moonshot recognized him from a few years back. Lots of power, but she knew how to deal with him. Moonshot alternated curveballs and sliders. He swung three times and made no contact. A smirk crossed her face as the umpire called the third strike. 

Moonshot jogged off the mound and over to Fluttershy who traded her catching glove for a batting glove. Moonshot was set to lead off the inning and she was itching for a hit.  

Once the Rangers were all in place, she stood in the batter’s box and readied herself. She let the first ball sail past her. The umpire called a strike, and Moonshot knew he was right, but it wasn’t the pitch she wanted. The second pitch also flew past her, nearly hitting her as it was way inside.  She stepped back and adjusted her grip, then stepped forward and prepared herself. The pitcher reared up and sent a fastball down the center. Moonshot gave a swing and with a pop, the ball flew off towards the outfield. 

Moonshot ran as fast as she could towards first. She kept an eye on the ball and watched it hit the gap. The centerfielder had to chase it down as it cruised towards the wall. Moonshot rounded first and kept her sprint going. 

The ball was bucked back to the infield, but it was too late. Moonshot ran into second base standing. She pumped a hoof in the air as her team cheered for her. Fluttershy quickly flew out to exchange Moonshot’s equipment as Big Macintosh readied himself to hit. 

“Alright. Get me home Big Mac!” shouted Moonshot from second. 

“Eeyup.” Said Big Mac with a nod as he pulled his bat back.

The first couple pitches were tough ones and Big Macintosh quickly found himself down 0 – 2 in the count. The third however was right in his zone and he slammed the ball hard. It was a line-drive shot just over first base. The ball landed just fair. Moonshot took off. The right fielder got to the ball quickly and bucked it back towards first. Moonshot rounded third, determined to score.  The relay was on and the ball sailed towards home. Moonshot leapt forward, going into a slide. The catcher grabbed the ball and swung his mitt down towards Moonshot.  A cloud of dust poofed up and the park went quiet. The umpire stepped up and swung his front legs outward. “SAFE!”

The crowd let out a disappointed groan, but the Tornadoes dugout burst out into cheering. Moonshot trotted into the dugout, high-hoofing each teammate as she walked past them. The scorekeeper pegasi took a “1” tile and placed it onto the Tornadoes score. Ponyville had its first lead of the season. 

Caramel stepped up to bat next. On a 3-2 pitch, he made soft contact. It was a weak grounder to the shortstop. The shortstop quickly tagged second then bucked it to first and the double-play was complete.  This seemed to get the crowd back into the game.  It picked up the pitcher’s spirit as well, as when Cloudchaser came up, she was put down on a four pitch strike-out. 

The bottom of the inning went as well for the Tornadoes as the first. The Tornadoes felt like they were off the field as quickly as they got onto it. 

Candy Mane was up first. She took a few pitches, but then finally made contact. It was a grounder to third. With a quick relay, she was out. 

Twilight put on her batting glove and swallowed hard. She stepped up to the plate nervously, not even noticing the legions of ponies cheering for her. 

Three pitches are all it took. Strike one. Strike two. Strike three. Twilight walked shamefully back to the plate. 

Rainbow Dash gave her a little nod. “Don’t worry about it. You’ll get a hit next time.”

Twilight forced a smile. “Thanks Rainbow. Guess it’s up to you now.”

“Right on. Gotta make up for my mistake in the first.”

Rainbow Dash stepped up and readied her bat. The first pitch was in the dirt.  The second was wide. Rainbow kept her cool and let both pitches sail by for balls. The third pitch was a low curveball.  Dash swung and missed. The fourth pitch was in the dirt again.  

Rainbow Dash was itching to get another hit, not really wanting to take a walk. She was about to focus on making contact, but Moonshots words from training stuck with her. It was her job to get on base, not to be a hero. 

The next pitch sailed in. It was a curveball, coming in slow. She held off, and the ball missed the strike zone. Close, but definitely a ball. Rainbow smirked as it was time to take her base.  She started to unstrap the glove when the umpire called out. “Strike.”

Rainbow couldn’t believe it. The pitch was easily a ball. “What? How can you call that a strike? That was way out of the zone!”

The umpire stared at Rainbow Dash, keeping calm and saying nothing.

Dash stomped her foot. “Take the call back and give me the walk! That was a terrible call!”

Moonshot was on her feet, calling out to Dash to get her to stop, but it was too late.  The umpire turned and with a strong motion, swung his hoof out and to the right. “You’re outta here!”

Rainbows jaw dropped. “You can’t call me out! That would still only be strike two!”

The umpire furrowed his brow. “No, you’re out of the game. Get to the locker room and don’t come out for the rest of the game. You’re done.”

Rainbow Dash’s eyes were wide and her wings flared out. “You… you can’t do that!”

Moonshot grabbed Dash’s tail in her mouth and yanked her back. She put herself between Dash and the umpire and put a hoof in Dash’s mouth. “Yes he can. Now get the hay out of here before you make it worse!”

Dash pulled away from Moonshot, looking her straight in the eye. If looks could kill, Dash would be on her way to the morgue instead of the locker room. She inched back, then turned and ran back to the locker room, leaving the game behind her. 

She stepped into the room, looking around and feeling very alone suddenly. “It was a ball… how can he call it like that? It’s not my fault he can’t get a call right. All I did was defend the truth!” She slammed a hoof onto a table, causing a plate of cheese and crackers to fly onto the floor.

The next couple hours were agonizing for Dash. She couldn’t make out what the announcer was saying, but she could hear cheering every now and then. The hardest part wasn’t being kept from the results of the game, it was knowing that she was going to have a talk with Moonshot, and it wasn’t going to be pleasant. 

Just to keep herself from going crazy, Dash decided to pass the time cleaning up the locker room and packing up some equipment. It helped a little, but not much. Just as she was finished setting out the post-game snacks that Fluttershy had prepared, she heard an enormous roar from the crowd. Something good had happened for the Rangers, and it seemed big because the cheering didn’t subside. They kept on cheering for several minutes. “Oh boy… that can’t be good.” She muttered to herself.

A couple minutes later the door to the locker room opened and the Tornadoes filed in. The complete lack of smiles told Rainbow all she needed to know. “What… happened?”

Applejack tossed off her ball cap and replaced it with her Stetson. “They got a walk off hit. We had em going in to the ninth, and they beat us.”

Lucky had his head down and his ears drooped. “It was my fault. I couldn’t close them out. Moonshot should have stayed in.”

Moonshot patted him on the back. “I was too worn out to keep pitching. You did better than I would have. It happens.”

Twilight sighed. “Well, it was just one game. 29 more to go right?”

Moonshot nodded. “Right. You all did great out there today. We’re not going to win all the time. Try not to let this one get you down. Our next game is at home and we’ll be in front of all of your friends and families. Grab some food, get showered up and take it easy. The train leaves at 5 am tomorrow, so don’t be out too late.”

Rainbow Dash cringed as Moonshot trotted right past her. She loosened up as Moonshot didn’t even acknowledge her. Dash kept quiet and stayed out of Moonshot’s way as the team cleaned up.  Dash thought just for a second that maybe she was off the hook as she started to walk out of the locker room. 

Moonshot’s voice hit Rainbow Dash like a rock. “We need to talk. To the dugout. Now.”

Rainbow gulped. “Yes Ma’am.”

The two of them stepped into the dugout. Dash sat back, waiting for Moonshot to start.

Moonshot took off her cap and turned to the Pegasus. “Want to tell me what you were thinking out there?”

“I was doing what I thought was best. The first inning I thought I had the speed to steal. It looked so open.”

“You have a lot to learn about when you’re open to steal or not. You could be a great base-stealer, but we’ll work on that. Now, you know that’s not why we’re out here.”

“That pitch was a ball! It was way outside.”

Moonshot raised her voice. “You think I give a flying feather if it was a ball or a strike? You do NOT argue with the umpire!”

Dash pointed towards the plate. “But he was wrong! I should have walked!”

Moonshot took a deep breath with her eyes closed to calm herself. “That doesn’t matter. Arguing with an umpire over balls or strikes will get you thrown out of a game, and it will never get you what you want. If I see you argue with an umpire again you’ll be out longer than just one game. Do I make myself clear?”

Rainbow Dash stared blankly, then hung her head. “Yes Ma’am.”

“Do you know how we lost tonight?”

“I didn’t hear exactly how…”

“It was a long fly ball to center field. Blossomforth chased it down and made a diving attempt to catch the ball, but she fell short and the baserunner made it home from first base.” Moonshot put her hoof on Dash’s chest.  “You would have made that catch.”

“I… I’m sorry Moonshot.”

Moonshot took her hoof off of Dash. “I know you are. You’re a good ball player, but you need to use your head. From now on, you will not steal unless I give you the signal and you will not argue a call. Got it?”

Dash gave a solemn nod. “Got it.”

Moonshot looked out at the empty park. “I really wanted to get a win today.  But honestly I’m more worried about our next game. The home opener is the most important game of the year. If we put on a good show, the ponies will be back. I really need to fill up those stands.”

“We will. Promise.”

Moonshot let out a long sigh. “When we were trying to recruit Applejack, you kept asking about last season. You want to know what’s really been going on?” Moonshot turned back and looked Rainbow Dash in the eyes.

“You don’t have to…”

“It’s okay. You should know. There wasn’t a team last year, so there wasn’t any revenue. I rented out the park a few times, but it wasn’t enough. I had very little income, and what I did have I paid to Clipper just to keep the place maintained. It got so bad I had to sell my house.  I live at the park now in a tiny room in the back of the offices. If the league drops us I won’t be able to keep the park. I will have literally nothing left.”

“Moonshot.” Dash put her hoof gently on Moonshot’s shoulder. “That’s not true. You have us. You’ve been a great manager, but you’ve also been a good friend, and friends help each other out. As long as you’ve got us, you don’t have nothing. Whatever happens, we’re here for you.”

Moonshot wiped a tear from her eye. “Thank you Rainbow Dash. I don’t know how I got so lucky to find you and your friends. You’ve all gone above and beyond what I could ever ask of anypony. I thought if I worked really hard I could save the team.” She lets out a nervous chuckle. “But I guess it’s the team that’s going to save me.”

“Hey now. Don’t get all mushy on me. We have 29 games to focus on winning. Can’t win if we’re getting all soft.”

Moonshot shook her head with a smile. “Right.” She turned back towards the door to the locker room. “Next game is in two days. Let’s make Ponyville proud.”

> Chapter 6: A Royal Pain
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Applejack wiped the sweat from her brow. She looked to Big Macintosh, nodding that she was ready. A tall, muscular stallion stepped up to the plate, readying his bat. She swallowed hard, trying to push aside the pressure of the situation. It was the home opener, and she had pitched the entire game. It didn’t help that pretty much everypony in town was watching her. 

Pinkie's voice blaring over the speakers reminding her of the details didn’t help much.

“This could be it! Top of the ninth inning with just one out left to go! The Tornadoes are up by just ONE run, but the Baltimare Giants have runners on second and third.  Three balls and two strikes. This could be it! Can Applejack do it?”

Applejack focused and muttered quietly to herself. “Yes I can.” She reared up and let the ball fly, bucking it as hard as she could. 

The crowd was silenced by a thunderous crack. Applejack visibly winced and could only watch as the ball flew over center field. Every eye in the park was fixed on the ball. 

Nopony was more focused on the ball than Rainbow Dash. She moved slowly backwards onto the warning track, making quick note of the location of the wall behind her. The ball got ever closer. She couldn’t use her wings, but it was going to clear the fence. She had to jump. Dash bent her legs then leapt as high as she could into the air. She extended out her hoof, stretching her foreleg to the limit.

Dash bounced off the wall and fell to the ground. She rolled and stood up, shaking off the impact. When she came to her senses, she proudly raised her glove, showing off the ball to the park.

A roar of cheers erupted across the stadium, drowning out even Pinkie's amplified voice. The Tornadoes all ran to the center of the infield, cheering and hugging. Applejack was tackled by Rainbow Dash, who finally being allowed to use her wings, had blasted towards her at full speed.

The two laughed as they rolled along the ground in a tight hug.

“You did it Applejack!” said Dash ecstatically. 

“No. You did it! What a catch!” 

Twilight flopped onto them, joining in the hug. “We all did it!”

Moonshot stood over them. “Heck of a game. I’m so proud of all of you.”

The Tornadoes continued to celebrate with each other as they headed into the locker room. Pinkie watched them happily then leaned into the microphone. “What a game! Thanks for coming down to Ponyville Park everypony! There’s still plenty of snacks for sale, so grab a treat on your way out! And don’t forget to stop at the gift shop!  Show your support for the team and buy some authentic Ponyville Tornadoes merchandise, like a team jersey or Ponyville Slugger bat! Stick around because the team will be coming out for a meet and greet!”

Spike leaned in and turned off the microphone. “Think you’re pushing the sales a bit hard there Pinkie?”

“Nah. These ponies love a good pitch. That’s why they’re at a baseball game!”

Spike groaned and banged his head on the counter. He finally sat up and looked out at the field. “Well, I think that went pretty well. The place was packed, it was a close game, and we won! Now it’s time to party!”

“Woo hoo! Party time!” Pinkie put a hoof up to her chin thoughtfully. “I wonder if I can get Applejack’s autograph on a baseball. She was so awesome out there!”

“Pinkie, Applejack is one of your best friends. Why do you want her autograph?”

Pinkie rubbed Spike’s head. “Duh. So I can display it on the mantle.”

Spike rolled his eyes. “Right. I’m out of here.”

The two of them headed down to the plaza. Several hundred ponies were hanging around, and quite a long line had formed at the merchandise booth. 

The locker room door flew open and Rainbow Dash was the first one out. She jumped right into the crowd, ready to soak in the attention. The festivities continued on for at least an hour, with each member of the team signing at least a few autographs and posing for several pictures.

Moonshot was beside herself. She hadn’t seen so much support for the Tornadoes before. Everypony was smiling and laughing. Pinkie saw to it that the after-game meet and greet turned into the best party Moonshot could ever remember attending. If she hadn’t been so full of hope for the future, she wouldn’t have wanted the night to end. 

------------------------------------------------------

Three weeks later, there was only one game left before the mid-season break. Moonshot sat in the Ponyville Park office, going over the team numbers. 

She let out a heavy sigh. The team had a 7 – 7 record, with six of their seven wins coming at home. They were up against the Royals today. The Royals had a 10 – 4 record and were currently winning in the division. If the Tornadoes could win today they would only be 2 games down. Lose and they faced a much larger hill to climb if they wanted to make the playoffs. 

A knock came at the door. Moonshot looked up at it. “Come in.”

The door opened and Rainbow Dash walked in. “Hey Moonshot.”

“Hey Dash. What are you doing here so early?”

“Honestly? I had nothing better to do. Aaand, after our loss last night I figured you probably could use some company.”

“Ugh. We blew a five run lead. Worst loss of the season.”

“Worse than when we got shut out six to nothing against Fillydelphia?”

“No. At least we got some runs on the board last night.” Moonshot sighed. “We really need to beat the Royals today.

Rainbow Dash put her hooves together firmly. “We beat them last time. You remember the look on Winning Streak’s face when Big Macintosh hit that grand slam?”

“Oh yes I do. That was sweet.” Moonshot said with a chuckle. 

“We’re getting better too. Heck, Twilight has even started hitting pretty well.”

Moonshot looked down at her papers. “Yes, but her average is only up to .205.”

“But she walks a lot. What’s her on base percentage?”

“Still only a .312. You on the other hand have an OBP of .450. Plus, Twilight has only one RBI.”

“So what? Are you going to bench her and put Lucky on first?”

“Oh definitely not. The only pony who’s been slipping lately is Cloudchaser. I’m starting Blossomforth in right field tonight.”

“Whatever. Just pitch it so I have a few easy fly ball catches.”

“I prefer grounders and strike-outs. You know that. Anyway, did you see Clipper on your way in?”

“Yeah. Him and Applejack are on the field getting it ready for tonight.”

Moonshot trotted over to the window and looked out. The two of them were in the outfield. Clipper had the push mower out, but him and Applejack were standing and talking. About what, Moonshot couldn’t tell.

Applejack patted Clipper on the back. “You just need to go for it. You don’t know till you try.”

Clipper lowered his head. “I just don’t think she likes me that way. She deserves better than me.”

Applejack got right up to Clipper’s face. “Don’t you dare say that again Sugarcube. Moonshot would be lucky to have you. You just gotta let her know how you feel.”

“You really think she’ll say yes?” Clipper said while raising his head.

“Well, I can’t promise, but heck, at least you’ll know. Heck, I’ll even put in a good word for ya. After all, you have been doing a fantastic job on the farm.”

“Thanks Applejack. You’re a good friend.”

She put a leg around him. “You too. I’m really glad you offered to help. I wasn’t sure at first if joining the team was the right thing to do, but I’m really glad I did. It’s all thanks to you.”

“Excuse me.” A mare’s voice came from behind them. They both turned to see Winning Streak standing right behind them. “I need to get into the visitor’s locker room and it’s locked. You have the key right?”

Clipper nodded, pulling himself away from Applejack. “Yes Ma’am. I’ll let you in.”

Clipper trotted past Winning Streak, heading towards the visitor’s locker room. Winning Streak and Applejack locked eyes. Both narrowed their eyes at each other. The last time the two teams met, Applejack pitched a solid game, only giving up three hits and shutting them out. This was enough for Winning Streak to not like Applejack. Applejack on the other hand had heard enough from Moonshot to not trust Winning Streak. 

Winning Streak broke the stare with a smirk and a light chuckle, before turning and following Clipper.   

Applejack raised a curious eyebrow as she watched the two of them walk away. She sighed and grabbed the mower, aiming to finish trimming the outfield.

Winning Streak trotted up right next to Clipper. “I must say, this park always looks fantastic. How do you do it?”

Clipper looked over at her apprehensively. “Thank you. I work really hard at it.”

“We could really use a pony like you up in Canterlot. I have three ponies that do the work you seem to do by yourself.”

Clipper turned his nose up. “Not interested. I want to stay here.”

Winning Streak leaned in with a smile. “Because of Moonshot right?”

Clipper narrowed his eyes at her. “Not that it’s your business, but yes.”

“Hey, I’ll admit. Moonshot and I don’t get along, but you’re different. I like you.”

“That’s nice. Feeling’s not mutual.”

Winning Streak put up a hoof defensively. “Hey. I’m not as bad as Moonshot says I am. I work hard and I care about my team and everypony that helps us out. And seeing a situation like your’s just concerns me.”

Clipper stopped and turned to her. “What situation?”

“When a pony is clearly taking advantage of another. ”

“I am not being taken advantage of.”

Winning Streak shook her head. “You may think you’re not, but I’ve seen it before. You have feelings for Moonshot. But honey, she doesn’t feel that way about you. She’s into the manager of the Rangers, Flint Bolt. I’ve seen it. She’s just stringing you along, letting you do all the hard work for her, letting you think that you actually matter to her. She’s using you. And if I overheard correctly, she even has you doing double work at the apple farm? That’s just not right.”

Clipper stared at her, not sure how to respond. Wordlessly, he turned and trotted faster to the locker room. He unlocked it and opened the door forcefully. “Here. It’s unlocked.” 

Winning Streak walked past him casually. “Thank you dear. Don’t forget what I said.” 

“I won’t.” Clipper said dryly as he closed the door firmly behind her. 

-----------------------------------------------------

Rarity trotted up to the merchandise stand, a small cart full of goods behind her. “Good afternoon Moonshot.”

Moonshot turned. “Hi Rarity. More merchandise?”

“Finished them up last night. Where do you want them?”

“Right next to the box full of your last delivery.”

Rarity looked at the box full of jerseys. “Oh dear. I take it those haven’t been selling that well?”

“They’ve been selling okay. Better than any past seasons, but still well behind what we predicted. I may have to cancel a few orders.”

“You think the price is too high?”     

“Maybe. We’re doing a buy one, get one half-off deal tonight.”

Rarity looked over the booth. “Which jerseys are selling the best?”

“The un-named ones are doing the best. But Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Twilight’s jerseys are doing the best of the named ones.”

“Not yours?”

Moonshot shrugged. “A few, but Applejack usually pitches at home. The local ponies haven’t really seen me play that much. Though I’ll be starting tonight.”

“We could have Pinkie make sure to praise you a little extra.” Said Rarity with a wink.

“No, I’d rather do that on my own. Besides, I care more about winning than being a star,” Moonshot said while opening a box of baseballs to put on the display.

“The two go hand in hand when it comes to sports, does it not?” Rarity began to help put out the merchandise with Moonshot.

“Pretty much. So, you and the rest of the Pony Tones ready to perform the anthem tonight?”

“Oh yes.  I’m rather looking forward to it.”

Moonshot smiled. “Glad to hear it. It was awfully nice of you to offer to perform.”

“It was Big Macintosh’s idea.”

Moonshot put the last of the boxes into place. “Not surprising. Well, thanks for your help. I guess I’ll see you later.”

“Do have a good afternoon.”

Moonshot turned to head off back towards her office. “Thanks, you too.”  She reached the office and opened up the door and trotted over to her desk. It was study time. She had Twilight take notes on the Royals players the last time they played and if she could find any weakness, she was going to exploit it. 

Moonshot was deep into the creation of her game-plan. She was so focused she didn’t even hear the door open. 

“Um. Moonshot.” Clipper’s voice came from in front of her. 

She looked up, then smiled. “Hey Clipper. Done preparing the park already?”

“Yeah. It’s all done. Applejack helped so it went fast.”

“Great work. You can have the rest of the day off. Relax a little. You’ve earned it.”

Clipper gulped hard. “Thanks. But uh, there’s something else I wanted to talk to you about.”

Moonshot cocked her head to the side a bit. “Really? Alright, what’s up?”

“Well, we’ve worked together for a few years now, and we’ve been through a lot. I guess I just want to know…” he took a deep breath. “What exactly do I mean to you?”

Moonshot hesitated for a second, not sure what he meant. “Um. Well, you mean a lot to me. You’ve been here for me when I’ve needed you. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“And is that all? Did you ever think it could be something more?”

Moonshot quickly pieced together what he was asking. She had her suspicions for a while, but had pushed them aside. She never really saw Clipper as anything more than a friend. “Are you really asking me this right now? Right before a game?”

Clipper looked her straight in the eye. “Please Moonshot. I need to know.”

“Clipper. I’m sorry. You are really important to me, just not in that way.”

Clipper stepped towards her. “Why not? After all I’ve done for you, you don’t feel anything for me?”

Moonshot shook her head. “I have a lot to deal with right now. I don’t have time for romance.”

“Not what I heard! I know about you and Flint Bolt.”

Moonshot’s eyes went wide. “What? Who told you that? Was it Cloudchaser?”

“It doesn’t matter who told me. Is it true?”

“No! I told you, I’m not interested in dating anyone right now. Flint and I are just friends.”

“I don’t believe you. You always knew I liked you, but you’ve just led me on and used me.” Tears were forming in his eyes.

“How can you say that? I have never used anypony. I brought you in. I gave you a good job and I paid you out of my own pocket. I sold my house so that I could keep paying you what you were worth.” Her voice got louder. “How dare you say that I used you.”

Clipper’s head lowered and his ears drooped. “I…” he looked up at her. “I don’t think I can work here anymore. I don’t think I could take it.” He turned and opened the door, leaving in haste and slamming the door behind him. 

“Clipper…” She stepped out from behind her desk and tried to follow him, but by the time she got the door open again, he was gone. 

--------------------------------------------

Moonshot stood on the mound. It was time to start the game. The last few hours were a blur. She didn’t tell anypony what happened with Clipper, but her teammates could tell something was up. The pre-game festivities had gone well. The attendance was pretty good, the merchandise sale seemed to be driving some business, and the Pony Tones did a great job getting the crowd into it.  Now it was time for Moonshot to pitch a solid game.

The first batter stepped up to the plate. Moonshot gave Big Macintosh a nod and sent out her first pitch.  It was a ball, wide and low. Moonshot tossed out the second pitch. This one hitting the dirt just before the plate. Moonshot took a deep breath. She took the ball and sent her third pitch. 

The ball sailed right over Moonshot’s head, landing just beyond second base and rolling into center field. Rainbow Dash got the ball back in quickly, but it was too late and the Royals had a lead-off single. 

“Just a single. You can do this Moonshot.” She muttered to herself. 

The second batter stepped up. She let out her first pitch. The batter swung and missed. The crowd gave a cheer, happy to finally see a strike. The second pitch was inside and called a ball. Pitch three was high, just on the corner. The batter started a swing, but pulled it back just in time to get himself a ball. The next two pitches made contact, but flew harmlessly into foul territory. Moonshot missed again, filling up the count. 

Moonshot focused hard. She reared up and sent down a fastball. The ball hit Big Macintosh’s glove with a thud. 

The batter tossed his bat aside and started trotting towards first as the walk was called. 

Moonshot sighed and repositioned herself for the next batter, the Royal’s best hitter, a stallion with mushroom grey fur and a golden mane. She had to get him out, but she wasn’t going to give him anything he could hit out of the park.

Moonshot got the ball in hoof. She stared down the batter and inhaled deeply. She sent out her pitch. 

He tried to pull back, but her fastball came in too quickly and hit him right in the shoulder. He winced back in pain, but remained standing and tossed his bat aside. The umpire pointed to first and directed him to take his base. 

Twilight called to the umpire for a time-out. She jogged quickly over to Moonshot.   “Hey, are you alright?”

Moonshot didn’t even look at Twilight. “I’m okay. Just having a rough start. I got this.”

“Really? Because you seem distracted.”

“I’m fine. I can get out of this.” She finally looked over at Twilight. “Trust me. I’m okay.”

Twilight cocked her head to the side, not believing her, but deciding to trust her. “Okay. Get em out. You can do it.”

“Thanks.”

Twilight headed back to first.  Moonshot got the ball back and the game resumed. She was determined to strike this next batter out.

It only took three pitches. Not for a strike-out, but for the batter to give the ball a firm wallop. The ball sailed to the outfield, landing in the grass between Blossomforth and Rainbow Dash. Dash scooped up the ball and sent it sailing back towards the infield. 

All of the batters had taken off immediately. The front two runners scored easily. The third baserunner rounded third and was going for home. Caramel caught Dash’s toss and relayed it quickly to Big Macintosh. Big Mach caught the ball and swiped down just in time.

The tag was made and the runner was called out. Still, it was too little too late. The batter had reached second and two runs had scored. 

Moonshot gritted her teeth. The frustration inside her was only building. She called for the ball, just wanting to get the inning over. 

For a second she thought she had regained her composure. The first two pitches were both strikes. The third pitch however was way out and low. It skidded off the dirt and out of Big Mac’s reach. It flew back to the backstop. The baserunner jogged easily over to third. 

Moonshot reset and tossed out the fourth pitch. The batter made firm contact and the ball flew up towards right field. It was high and had no chance of going out. Blossomforth positioned herself under it and easily made the catch. As soon as she caught it she launched it back towards home plate. 

It was too late. The runner had held back on third and had plenty of time to get home. The sac fly was complete and the Tornadoes were down three to nothing. 

Moonshot looked over at Twilight, who returned a concerned gaze. Moonshot shook her head, then turned back to face the next batter.  Twilight just sighed. 

The next batter gave Moonshot some relief. On the first pitch, the ball rolled right towards first base. Twilight dashed forward, scooped it up, and easily tagged out the runner.  The top of the inning was over and the Tornadoes were finally up to bat. 

Moonshot sat down on the bench, staring out at the field at nothing in particular. 

Twilight sat next to her. “What’s going on Moonshot? I’ve never seen you pitch so sloppy.”

“Me neither. It was just one rough inning. I’ll get into my groove.”

Twilight smiled at her. “I’m sure you will. It’s only three runs. We’ll win this one.”

The two sat back as the Royals pitcher had the opposite inning that Moonshot had. Throwing only 10 pitches, he had a 1-2-3 inning and the Tornadoes were back on the field. Moonshot groaned and got up, grabbing her glove and heading out to the mound.

Moonshot readied herself. The Royals were at three runs and she intended to keep it that way. 

The first batter came up and on the second pitch, shattered Moonshot’s hopes of a scoreless inning. The ball cleared the right field fence by at least 40 feet. 

The rest of the inning was a struggle. After giving up a walk and three hits for two more runs, Moonshot finally got the third out, but only thanks to a great diving catch by Maud. 

The Tornadoes got a run back in the bottom of the inning.  Pinkie did her best to boost the spirits of the crowd, but even her enthusiasm couldn't stop the yawns and disappointed muttering from the fans. 

The third, fourth and fifth innings were a blur. By the time the top of the fifth inning was over the Tornadoes found themselves down 11 to 2. She closed out the top of the fifth on another fly ball out that had nearly left the park. Moonshot walked back into the dugout and bucked a beverage table in frustration, sending several cups of water splashing onto Fluttershy.  Moonshot sat down on the end of the bench, fuming.

Rainbow Dash stormed up to her. “Hey! What is wrong with you?”

Moonshot turned to Rainbow Dash, staring daggers at her. “Nothing! I’m fine.”

Twilight trotted up right next to Dash. “No you’re not. You are not the Moonshot we know.”

Moonshot looked between the two of them, trying to stay in control. She looked them deeply in the eyes. “I… I mean. I’m…” She couldn’t hold it in anymore and collapsed onto Rainbow Dash, bursting into tears. 

Twilight patted her gently on the back. “Hey. It’s alright. It’s just a game.”

Moonshot composed herself just enough to talk. “No. It’s not that. Clipper quit. He’s gone.”

Those on the team that overheard were stunned. Applejack ran up quickly. “What did you just say?”

Moonshot let go of Rainbow Dash. “Clipper. He said he can’t work for us anymore.” 

Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyebrows. “What? Why the hay not?”

Moonshot wiped her eyes. “Because… I can’t say right now. But… I can’t do this right now. I’m sorry, I never should have started the game. Applejack, can you play?”

Applejack shook her head. “I’m still a bit sore from the last game. I could if I really needed to.”

“Fine. Put Lucky in next inning. I’m done. Twilight, you manage the rest of the game. I can’t focus on this right now.”

Twilight nodded. “We’ll do our best.”

“Thanks.” Moonshot stood up and started towards the locker room. “I’m sorry everyone.”

The team let her leave in silence. They turned their attention back to the game. Once the bottom of the inning was over, Lucky took the mound, and to the surprise of the team, pitched four really solid innings. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough and Tornadoes couldn’t put up the offense needed. 

As the final out was recorded, Pinkie announced to a mostly empty ballpark that the Tornadoes had lost 12 to 6. 

Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Twilight were the first ones into the locker room. They looked around, but Moonshot had left. They quickly changed out of their uniforms then headed out to find their manager.

They headed right to the park office. They headed in and towards the back room. The door was closed, but they could see light coming from underneath it. The three nodded to each other. Applejack walked up to the door and gave it a light knock. “Moonshot?”

There was no response.

Applejack knocked a bit harder.  “You in there? Come on, we need to talk.”

They heard the door unlock and the door opened a crack. Moonshot was there, the fur around her eyes wet from tears. “Fine.” She stepped out into the main office and closed the door behind her.

“Are you alright?” asked Twilight.

“Not really. I don’t know what I’m going to do. We don’t have a groundskeeper, and with him gone there’s nobody to tend the farm, so we lose Applejack too.”

Applejack shook her head. “That’s not gonna happen. I’m a part of this team, Clipper or no Clipper. Besides, he made a deal with me and I ain’t about to let him back out on it.”

Rainbow Dash nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah. We’re a team. We’ll stick together no matter what.”

“She’s right, we’re here for you til the end.” Said Twilight.

Moonshot sniffed and wiped her eye. “Thanks. You’re all such great friends. Still… “

“Yeah. Why did Clipper leave?” asked Rainbow Dash bluntly. 

Moonshot sighed heavily. “He came up to me all of a sudden and asked me out. I think I knew he liked me for a while, but he just up and came out with it. I… rejected him. I just don’t feel that way about him. But then he accused me of leading him on and said I was using him.”

Applejack’s eyes shifted. “Um… I may be a bit at fault here. He told me how he felt… and uh. I told him to ask you out.”

Moonshot stared at Applejack. “You did?” 

“I didn’t think he would do it so soon! I especially didn’t think he’d ask right before a game!” She put up a hoof defensively. “And I definitely didn’t imply that you owed him anything.”

“Did you mention Flint Bolt?”

Applejack looked puzzled. “Flint Bolt? The Rangers manager? No. Why bring him up?”

Moonshot sighed. “I told Clipper I wasn’t interested in a relationship right now. Which is true.  He said that somepony told him I was involved with Flint Bolt.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Who would tell him that?”

“I think it was Cloudchaser. She saw me and him hugging and I think she assumed there was something more going on.”

“Is there?” Asked Rainbow Dash.

“No!” said Moonshot defensively. 

Applejack put a hoof up to her chin thoughtfully. “I’m not sure it was Cloudchaser.”

Moonshot turned to her. “Who then?”

“I think it was Winning Streak. She overheard me saying that I couldn’t be on the team if not for him. Then she headed off with Clipper to have him let her into their locker room, but I know she started talking to him. I didn’t think much of it, but I wonder if she put those ideas in his head.”

Moonshot stared at Applejack, her mouth open. “You’re kidding me.”

Applejack shrugged. “It’s what I saw. Can’t say for sure she said anything to him.”

Moonshot gritted her teeth. “I wouldn’t put it past her.”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Typical. Knew I didn’t like her. Anyway, it’s the mid-season break. We don’t have a game for a whole week. That’s plenty of time to get this all fixed.”

Twilight nodded with a smile. “She’s right. We’ll figure this out. For now, just try to relax a little. We’ll find Clipper. I think we can convince him to come back.”

Moonshot forced a smile. “Thank you girls. For everything.”

“That’s what friends are for.” Said Twilight.

“And you’re the best friends I could have asked for.” Said Moonshot, scooping the three into a hug.  

> Chapter 7: Midseason Woes
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Moonshot looked out the train window, her eyes not focused on anything in particular. Rain was coming down hard, so it’s not like there was much to look at anyway. The scenery passing by was just a grey blur. The weather and Moonshot’s mood were a perfect match.  

She was still a while out of Canterlot for her mid-season meeting with Swift Impact. The meeting would have a big impact on the future of the Tornadoes. She had good numbers to show him, but she still wasn’t sure if it was going to be enough. 

Of course all of that seemed secondary to the matter of Clipper. She hadn’t seen him since before the game yesterday. Applejack and Rainbow Dash assured her that they would handle it, but she knew that things wouldn’t really be resolved until her and Clipper sorted it out one on one. 

Twilight trotted up next to Moonshot. A couple drinks floated in front of her. Moonshot turned to her and took one of them. 

“Thanks Twilight.” She turned back to the window.

“You’re welcome.” Twilight settled down onto the seat next to Moonshot. “So, you gonna be all gloomy the whole trip.”

“Maybe.”

“Hey, it’ll be alright. If anypony can whip Clipper into shape, it’s Applejack.”

Moonshot sighed and finally looked over at Twilight. “Things will be alright as far as the team goes. Applejack is far too loyal to just abandon me now, and she is far too stubborn to just let Clipper back down on a deal. I know this.” She shook her head and looked down. “I’m more afraid of losing Clipper. He really does mean a lot to me. I just can’t deal with a relationship right now.”

“So is that your only reason? If you were open to the idea of dating would you give Clipper a chance?”

Moonshot paused. She had thought about how she really felt about Clipper and she had to be honest about the unpleasant answer. “No. He’s a great guy, but I just don’t see him as someone I’d want to be with. I’m just not attracted to him. Is that wrong? I mean, I feel guilty that I can’t return his feelings.”

“You shouldn’t feel guilty. That’s not really something you can control.”

“I know. It’s just all so stupidly complicated.” She looked sadly out at the rain.  “I just wish it didn’t bother me so much. You saw what it did to me on the mound. You knew from the very start something was wrong. I wish I had listened to you and admitted to myself I was in no shape to play. I lost us the game, and I really messed up my E.R.A.. So much for the pitching award.”

“It happens. We can put it behind is. The season isn’t over. I know four games is a lot to make up with just fifteen to go, but we’ll pull through.”

“We’ll need some luck. If the Royals go nine and six, we’ll need to go thirteen and two.”

“How about you look at it this way? We play the Royals four more times. We just need to beat them every one of those games, then if we win just one more game then they do against other teams, we win the division.”

“Hmm. Doesn’t seem so bad when you put it that way. Still, beating a team four times in a row isn’t exactly easy.”

Twilight gave Moonshot a smirk. “So we find a weakness. There has to be some part of their game-plan we can expose. If it’s there, I can find it!”

Moonshot finally smiled. “Well, if anypony can do it, it’s you Twilight.”

---------------------------------------------------------

“Figures it would rain when we’re trying to get Clipper to change his mind.” Applejack said while trotting slowly down the street. She was kept dry, as Spike was sitting on her back, holding an umbrella. It wasn’t a heavy rain, but enough to be unpleasant for anypony outside.

Rainbow Dash didn’t seem to mind, as she hovered just above the others. “Hey, you helped make the rain schedule. Don’t complain to me.”

Applejack turned her nose up. “I ain’t complainin about the rain. Just ain’t the best weather for lifting someponies spirits.”

“Relax,” said Spike “We’ll have him back on our side in no time. Then you can get back to focusing on winning.”

“I hope you’re right,” said Applejack. “Anyway, looks like we’re here.”

They walked up to Clipper’s house. It was a small, plain looking home. It was well maintained with a nice little garden out front. Rainbow Dash took the initiative and knocked three times on the door.

There wasn’t an immediate answer. Rainbow Dash furrowed her brow and was about to knock again, when the door opened up and Clipper poked his head out.  His eyes went wide and his ears went back a bit. “Applejack? Rainbow Dash? And uh… the dragon?”

The dragon was not amused. “It’s Spike.” 

“Wow. You look awful.” said Rainbow bluntly.  It was true. His mane was messy and tangled, his fur unkempt and he had bags under his eyes as if he hadn’t slept. 

Clipper spoke, ignoring Rainbow’s comment. “What do you want?”

“We just want to talk.” said Applejack. “May we come in?”

Clipper looked at Applejack, who had a sincere look on her face, then over to Rainbow Dash who looked annoyed and almost angry look on hers. He hesitated. “Fine. But only for a little bit.”

“Thanks Clipper.” said Applejack as Clipper stepped back and opened the door for them.  They stepped into his small living room. It was kept as neatly as the outside of the house. It was easily the cleanest bachelor pad that any of them had ever seen. 

Clipper trotted over to his favorite chair and flopped down and let out a heavy sigh. “I know why you’re here.”

“Well we’re not gonna try to hide that. Nothing but the honest truth here. Promise. We want you to change your mind about quitting.” Applejack said, crossing a hoof over her chest.

“Of course you do.” He looked down at the floor. “It was stupid of me. I shouldn’t have done it. Now I’ve ruined my life.” He paused. “And Moonshot’s.”

“Wait, you know it was stupid, so why did you do it?” asked Rainbow Dash.  

Clipper raised his voice a little, upset with Dash’s lack of tact. “I wasn’t thinking. I got it into my head that Moonshot was using me and I needed validation. When I didn’t get it, I overreacted. Now I’ve messed everything up.”

“Hey, it’s not too late. You can come back. The team needs you Clipper.” said Rainbow, patting him once on the back. 

“How can I come back now? I saw what happened in the game.  I’ve known Moonshot for a long time and I’ve never seen her pitch that badly. She was so mad at me she couldn’t focus.”

Applejack shook her head. “I think she was more sad than mad. I know you really care about her. If that’s true then you should want to make her happy. Quitting and cutting yourself off from her ain’t gonna make her happy. She cares about you.”

“I know she cares about me, but she’ll never care about me the way I care about her.” His voice started to give a subtle quiver. “Now that she knows that, I’m too embarrassed to see her. Every time I see her I’m just going to be reminded of how much of an idiot I am.” A single tear rolled down his cheek.

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “So that’s your reason? You’re just too embarrassed? Come on, get over it. Nopony is going to blame you. Besides, you made a promise to Applejack to tend the farm. You can’t go back on that.”

Clipper stayed silent for a moment. Dash’s words hurt, mostly because he knew they were true. He let out a defeated sigh. “I’ll keep working the farm. I owe that to you Applejack. I just don’t know if I can face Moonshot again.”

“Thanks Clipper,” said Applejack. “But we still need somepony to tend the field, and you’re the best at it. What’s it going to take?”

Clipper shook his head. “I don’t know.”

Spike stood up, finally breaking his silence. “I think I got this.” He turned to Applejack and Rainbow Dash. “Ladies, you mind leaving the room? Clipper and I need to have a little man to man talk.”

Both mares cocked their heads in confusion, then looked at each other and shrugged.

“Alright Spike. If you say so.” said Applejack as she headed into the kitchen with Dash.

Spike waited until they were out of the room before walking right up to Clipper. “Alright. So, from what I understand, you really care about Moonshot.”

“Yeah.”

“But, she doesn’t feel the same way about you.”

“No, she doesn’t.”

“Well Clipper, I think I can help you, because I’ve been in the same situation.”

Clipper raised his head a little, looking into Spike’s eyes. “You have?”

“Yep.” Spike nodded.  “Let me tell you about Rarity. She’s the most beautiful, talented and generous pony I know. I would do anything for her. I had a huge crush on her. Still kinda do. She knows how I feel, and unfortunately, she doesn’t feel the same way about me.”

“So then you should know how I feel.”

“I do. It feels bad doesn’t it? I wanted to be with Rarity, and I went through a little episode where I was being really selfish.  I nearly lost Rarity. Heck, nearly lost all of Ponyville, but that’s a whole other story. What matters is that I learned something important.”

Clipper was listening intently. “Yeah?”

“I learned that it’s better to have a little of something good, than to have nothing at all. I stopped being so selfish and focused on what Rarity wants. She wants to be friends. She wants to be there for me, and have me be there for her, just like any two friends would be. And you know what? It’s great. I may not have everything I want, but I’m happy because she’s happy.”

“Huh… I never thought about it like that.”

“You care a lot about Moonshot right?”

Clipper nodded. “I do.”

“So do you really want to never see her again?”

Clipper paused. “No. Of course not.”

“Then get back to the park and be the best groundskeeper you can be.”

Clipper paused. “I’m still not sure...”

“Yeah, I didn’t expect you to just change your mind right away.  Just think about what I said. And get some rest man, you look pretty rough.”

Clipper nodded. “I will. Thanks Spike.”

Spike shrugged. “No problem. We’re here for you if you need us. You and me may not actually play, but that doesn’t mean that we’re not part of the team. Teammates stick together and help each other out.”

Clipper thought about what Spike said for a few seconds. “I suppose we are. “ He sighed. “Well, thanks for coming over.”

“Anytime. If you ever wanna hang, let me know. I really need more guy friends.”

Clipper gave Spike another nod. “Right on. Anyway, I need to think this all over. Figure out what I’m going say to Moonshot when she gets back.”

Spike shrugged. “Eh. You have a couple days. They’re probably only just arriving at Royal Park right now.”

-----------------------------------------------------

Moonshot and Twilight stepped onto the main plaza outside of Royal Park. It was easily the most beautiful of the parks in the league. The design fit the overall feel of Canterlot, with many Ivory pillars and golden accents. It was the home of the Canterlot Royals, but located right next to the park was the office for the entire league. 

The plaza was much more quiet than usual, with only a few ponies milling around. Moonshot turned to Twilight. “How much time we got?”

“Forty five minutes. We’re plenty early.”

“Good. We have time to grab lunch real quick.” Moonshot licked her lips. “I know a great place nearby.”

“As long as it’s quick. We don’t want to be late.” 

A stallions voice came from behind them. “Twiley!”

Twilight turned, eyes wide as a smile crossed her face. “Shining Armor!” She ran over to him and the two gave each other a tight hug. She let go and cocked her head a bit. “What are you doing in Canterlot?” She also noticed he was wearing a baseball cap with a C.E. logo on it. “And why are you wearing a baseball hat?”

“Didn’t you hear? We’re building a ball park in the Crystal Empire and we’re going to join the league. I’m helping run the whole project.” He then noticed Twilight’s Ponyville hat. “Okay, so I know you’re on Ponyvilles team from your letter, but what are you doing here today?”

“Our manager has a meeting with the league officials.  I’ve been helping her a lot with most of the record keeping and finances and all of that kind of stuff, so she asked me to come along.”

Shining Armor gave a broad smile. “That’s great Twilight! I can’t wait to have our team play against yours.”

Twilight frowned. “Shining Armor, if they add the Crystal Empire to the league, that means they’ll be dropping another team. It’s a long story, but the Tornadoes are on probation this year. If they add your team, they’re going to shut down ours.”

His head jerked back a bit. “What? They never mentioned that they’d be dropping another team.” He turned towards the office, narrowing his eyes a bit. “Especially not YOUR team.” 

“Well it’s true.” She shook her head. “If the Tornadoes don’t have a good year, we’re done for.”

“Well not if I have anything to say about it. If the Crystal Empire is going to join the league, it’s going to be as an expansion team, not a replacement team.”

Moonshot stepped up to them. “I appreciate that. I would really rather we did it on our own, but if it comes to it, I’d be happy for any help. Still, don’t go making any demands because of your royal status. Twilight forbids it.”

Twilight nodded with a smile. “That I do. By the way, Shining Armor, this is Moonshot. Moonshot, Shining Armor.”

The two shook hooves. Moonshot gave him a wry grin. “I’m the manager and owner of the Tornadoes. You must be the Big Brother Best Friend Forever I’ve heard so much about.”

Shining Armor went a little red. “Yeah, that’s me. I’ve heard a lot about you too. Twilight spoke highly of you in her letters.”

Moonshot raised an eyebrow with a smirk. “Well, that’s good. Say, Twilight and I were going to quick grab lunch. Wanna join us?”

Shining Armor nodded enthusiastically. “Oh yes please. I’m not a fan of train food, so I’m starving.”

Twilight grinned. “Well then let’s eat!”

--------------------------------------------

Moonshot stepped back out onto the plaza with Twilight. She let out a heavy sigh. “Ugh. Glad that’s over.”

Twilight was ever optimistic. “I thought it went pretty well. Swift Impact didn’t outright dismiss the idea of the league going to ten teams with two divisions. He actually seemed to be in favor of it.”

Moonshot shook her head. “I know. I just really hate those meetings. So many numbers and details. I’m really glad you were there to help.”

“Think nothing of it.” Twilight turned, heading out of the plaza.  “So, shall we head to the palace and get settled for the evening?”

“Sure.” Moonshot gave her head a shake. “I still can’t believe we’re staying at the royal palace. I’m used to getting a cheap motel when I come for these kind of things.”

“Just think of it as being my guest. Besides I’m sure Celestia and Luna are looking forward to meeting you.”

Moonshot stopped walking and got a bit of a surprised look on her face. “Wait, you think Celestia would want to meet me?”

“Of course. We’ll be having dinner with them.”

“What? Why didn’t you tell me?”

Twilight smirked. “I wanted it to be a surprise. Come on. It’ll be fun.”

Moonshot rubbed her temple. “Ugh. Fine. Just no more surprises or drama today.”

“Moonshot!” called a familiar voice. Moonshot’s face went blank and she flopped down onto her haunches. It was Flint Bolt, who trotted up to the pair, a smile on his face. “I was hoping to run into you today. How did your meeting go?”

Moonshot looked up at him, forcing herself to smile. “It went fine. I assume you’re here for your meeting?”

He nodded. “Yep. But it doesn’t start for twenty minutes. So how you been?”

Twilight patted Moonshot on the back. “I’ll let you two catch up.” She winked and trotted away.

Moonshot closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “To be honest, it’s been a little hectic lately. I haven’t been playing my best and there’s been a bit of drama. Still… I have some great ponies on my team. How bout you? I heard that Long Strider got hurt.”

Flint frowned. “Yeah. He’s going to be out for the season. We’ve really been hurting without him. Ugh. We’re 6 and 9, and two of those wins are against you.”

“Yeah. Losing games because of injuries is the worst.  I need you guys healthy. We need you to help us beat up on the Royals so we can catch up.”

“We’ll do our best.” He shrugged. “So how is the probation going?”

Moonshot shrugged. “If things keep going the way they’ve been… I think we’ll be okay. But we need the help of the other teams. There’s two options for next year. Keep the same divisions, but replace Ponyville with the Crystal Empire, or we add in the Crystal Empire as an expansion team and go to two five-team divisions. Though the league makes the decision, they’re going to be asking for input from all the teams. If the managers and owners of the teams are against expansion, we’re out.”

He put a hoof on her shoulder. “Well you have the full support of the Rangers.” 

She smiled and looked up at him. “I know that. You’ve always supported me.”

The two looked at each other in silence for a seconds. Flint finally broke the silence. “Well, I should probably head inside soon here.”

“Yeah... Probably.”

“Say. You want to grab dinner later? Maybe meet up here around six?”

Moonshot paused. She sighed. “Flint… I can’t. It’s really not a good time. Plus, I kind of already have dinner plans with the princesses.”

Flints smile faded. “Oh. Some other time then?”

Moonshot nodded. “Some other time. I gotta run.”

“Alright. You take care of yourself.”

She leaned up and gave him a hug. “You too Flint. You too.”  She released the hug and trotted off, heading off towards the palace. 

------------------------------------------------------

Applejack narrowed her eyes at Rainbow Dash, staring her down intensely. Rainbow Dash stared back, mirroring her friend’s glare. Applejack turned away, then kicked her back hoof out hard towards the blue pegasus. 

Rainbow Dash swung her hoof out. 

CRACK

The bat hit the ball, sailing out towards left field. Rainbow Dash tossed the bat aside and sprinted towards first base. She watched the ball come down as she rounded first.  She skidded to a halt and stomped the ground as she saw Thunderlane leap forward and make a diving catch. 

“Darn it!” Her grumpy expression quickly turned to a smile. “Great catch Thunderlane!”

“Yee haw!” Applejack did a little elated hop. “Make a catch like that in a game and we’ll be on top for sure!” 

Rainbow Dash let out a sigh. “I always seem to pop up your fastball to left. I thought I had a hit that time.”

“That’s because you’re putting the bat strap too low on the bat. Try choking up on it.” Moonshot’s voice came from behind her.

Dash spun around, not expecting to hear her manager. “Moonshot! You’re back!”

Moonshot smiled. “That I am. I must say, I didn’t expect to see the team here practicing.”

Applejack trotted up. “We need to play a lot better the second half of the season if we want to catch up.”

Rainbow Dash turned to Applejack with a grin. “It was Applejack’s idea. Didn’t take much to get everypony to agree.”

“That’s great.” Moonshot said while taking a look around. “Because I’m going to run you all ragged these next few days.”

“I take it the meeting went well?” asked Applejack. 

Moonshot sighed. “About as well as I could expect. As long as the rest of the season isn’t a complete disaster, I think we’ll be alright. But I really need you to get all the ponies you know to come to more games. Let’s sell this place out.”

“You got it!” Rainbow Dash said while pumping a hoof in the air. 

“We’ve convinced Swift Impact that expanding to ten teams would be better than dropping us, but we need the support of the rest of the league. A rep from the Crystal Empire was there to talk about the expansion. Turns out that rep was Twilight’s brother. On top of that, after the meetings Twilight took me to the palace and we had dinner with Celestia and Luna.”

“That’s cool.” said Rainbow Dash casually.

“It was more than cool. I never thought I’d be a dinner guest to royalty.”

Applejack shrugged. “We’ve met the princesses enough times that I guess it just doesn’t impress us that much. ‘Specially since one of them is a close friend. Where is she anyway?”

“She went into the office. She’s getting the records of the games together so we can figure out a strategy for the rest of the year.”

“Well alright.” Applejack took off her baseball hat, replacing it with the Stetson. “Guess we ought to call it a day then. Sounds like we have a heck of a day of practice ahead of us tomorrow.”

“You know it.” Moonshot dragged a hoof across the grass. “And thanks for getting the field trimmed. It looks great.”

“Wasn’t us.” Applejack said with a smile. “He was here right at dawn mowing. Business as usual.”

Moonshots eyes widened and started to gloss over. “Really?”

“Yeah. He got the whole place ready to go before we got here to practice.” said Rainbow Dash. “I think he’s cleaning the visiting locker room right now.”

“I better go talk to him.” She turned to head to the locker room before stopped and looking back. “Thank you. Really… thank you so much.”

“Thank Spike.” said Applejack, “Me and Rainbow tried, but he’s the one who did it.”

“I guess I’ll just have to get him a nice basket of gems then.” With a nod and a smile, Moonshot jogged over to find Clipper. 

Clipper was sweeping the last of the dirt and fur into the dustpan. Thanks to a good afternoon’s work, the visitor’s locker room was pristine and now perfectly ready for the next game.

Clipper enjoyed the work. He always had. Something about taking a mess and turning into something organized and clean gave him a great feeling of satisfaction. 

The door to the locker room opened up. He turned over to the sound to see who it was.

“Clipper? You in here?” Moonshot asked.

“Moonshot?” He stepped forward.

The two ponies locked eyes. They stared at each other. Neither moved or said a word. To each of them it felt like ages. They both knew this conversation would happen, and they both had thought a lot about what they were going to say. Both had played it out in their heads hundreds of times. Now that the moment was there, neither knew how to get it started. To each of them it felt like ages.

Moonshot finally broke the silence. “So… um… the field looks great.”

“Oh yeah… thanks.” He scratched the back of his head with his hoof.  “Got started early this morning.”

“…”

“…”

Moonshot cocked her head to the side. “So… we’re good?”

Clipper nodded. “Yeah. We’re good”

Moonshot gave a very slight nod, then smiled. 

Clipper returned her gaze. The two sat in silence for a moment before Clipper turned back to his broom. “Well, I better get back to it. I have to have this park ready for the game.”

“Thanks Clipper. I better go too. This team needs to get whipped into shape, and we have a lot of games to win.”

> Chapter 8: Pressure Situation
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.”

> Chapter 9: Summer Wrap-Up
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The air was crisp and cool and a stiff breeze swirled through the park. Moonshot stood at the exit of the visitor’s dugout at Bell Park, the home of the Fillydelphia Fillies. She looked out at the sold out crowd, taking in the atmosphere.  

She wanted to savor the moment, as this may be the last game of the season for the Tornadoes. It was game three of the best of three series. Five days ago they had been in this very park and were shut out in an embarrassing loss.  Luckily, Applejack stepped up at home in game two and the Tornadoes were able to squeeze out an extra-innings win. Now, it was the rubber match to decide which team would move on to play the Cloudsdale Spartans for the championship. 

The pre-game festivities were over and the Fillies took to the field. She saw their star pitcher Cliff Leaper take the mound. He had been awarded the regular season pitching award, having the best performance in both ERA and WHIP. Twilight had studied him extensively, but even she couldn’t find a pattern in his pitching. He was unpredictable, and more importantly he was accurate. He was a Pegasus with a fire red mane, which contrasted his nearly white fur. His dark grey eyes were piercing and intimidating, which was probably part of why he had so much success. 

Moonshot knew she was going to have to match his performance on the mound tonight if the Tornadoes were going to win. 

Rainbow Dash stepped up next to her. “Well, this is it. Go big or go home huh?”

Moonshot gave her a nod. “You got it. Let’s win this one.”

“Right on. Time to rock!” Dash charged out to the plate. 

Dash readied herself, Cliff Leaper wound up. 

One pitch was all it took.  Rainbow Dash made sloppy contact and the ball popped up to shallow right. The first base stallion drifted easily over and made the catch. Rainbow Dash slammed the bat into the dirt in frustration before detaching it and trotting back to the dugout. 

Thunderlane was up next. He took a few more pitches, but struck out on a 2-2 pitch. 

Moonshot had put herself up third tonight. She stepped out onto the batter’s box and readied her bat. Cliff stared her down before letting his pitch fly. Moonshot swung and made light contact. The ball popped up backwards and hit the backstop. The second pitch was a curveball. It looked like it was going to clip the strike zone and Moonshot began to swing, but she pulled back at the last second as the ball sailed just outside. 

The third pitch came in, an inside fastball, but still in the strike zone.  Moonshot made a smooth swing and made good solid contact. The ball popped off her bat and made a nice arc over the third basemare’s head, landing gently in shallow left field. Moonshot took off towards first and trotted onto it with plenty of time to spare. 

She felt good. He wasn’t going to no-hit the Tornadoes today. Now she just had to rely on Big Macintosh to bring her home.

Big Macintosh stepped up and secured his bat. Three pitches and three missed swings later, the strikeout was complete and Moonshot was stranded at first. 

Moonshot trotted right over to the mound. Fluttershy came out and they exchanged equipment. Soon the Tornadoes were all in position and Moonshot was ready to pitch. 

She stepped off the mound several minutes later with a bounce to her step. She had retired the first three batters with ease. She hadn’t been sure before the game how she was going to do tonight, but now that she had faced her first three opponents she knew she was in the zone.

The game continued on and the Tornadoes and Fillies were having a good old fashioned pitcher’s duel.  Each team had a hit and a walk here or there, but no runs were scored. The crowd seemed to be showing disinterest, but Moonshot couldn’t have been more pumped up. Every time that Cliff Leaper shut her team down, it only drove her focus further to shut them down in return. 

Finally, the 8th inning rolled around. Thunderlane lead off the inning, but he was put down just as he had been three times already. Moonshot had been watching Cliff Leaper closely the entire time. Twilight, standing right next to her, was doing the same. 

Twilight turned to her. “Notice how his fastballs are dropping a bit more than they were at the start of the game? He also missed on those curveballs. I think he’s getting tired.”

“I think so too.” She sighed. “Unfortunately, so am I. Still, I think I can get a good hit off of him.”

“Well don’t push yourself too hard. We need you fresh for when we take on the Spartans next week.”

Moonshot smiled. “Of course!” She grabbed her bat and walked over to the box. She chocked up on her bat and put it into the ready position. Her eyes focused on the Pegasus on the mound.

Cliff Leaper started out with a curveball, but as he had been doing in the last couple innings, it missed outside for a ball. The second pitch came in just at the bottom of the strike zone. Moonshot took a swing and clipped the top of the ball causing it to bounce down and foul. 

Cliff focused on Moonshot. He took a deep breath and focused hard on his pitch.  He reared up and let it fly. 

The pop echoed through the park. The ball sailed to the right, just over the first basemares head. It landed just on the foul line, staying in bounds.  The ball rolled to the corner with the right fielder trailing behind it.  He scooped it up and bucked it has hard as he could to second base.

Moonshot rounded first, sprinting as hard as she could. She glanced to the right and saw the ball incoming.  She pushed herself hard and leapt into a slide. 

Her front hooves hit the plate, and only a split second later she felt the tag from the basemare. She looked up at the umpire, hoping he would confirm what she already knew.

“Safe!”

Moonshot smirked and stood up.  Her smirk quickly faded as she put weight onto her left front hoof and a twitch of pain shot through it. She took a deep breath, still winded, then turned to the umpire. “Time out. Making a substitution.”

The umpire nodded and called the time out. Moonshot trotted gingerly towards her dugout. “Blossomforth. Take the base. Big Macintosh, get her home.”

The two ponies nodded and took to the field. Moonshot stepped into the dugout and walked up to Fluttershy. “And Fluttershy… can you please get me some ice for my hoof?”

“Oh my? Are you okay?”

“Fine. Just a little strain. But I’m not going to be playing any more baseball today.” She turned to her fellow pitcher. “Applejack, it’s up to you to win this game.”

“I’ll do my best.” Applejack said with a nod.

“Well if you can do that, then we’re sure to win.”

Applejack turned to the field. “Well, let’s see if my big brother can get a run on the board first.”

Moonshot nodded and turned to watch.

Pitch one was outside for a ball. Pitch two went way low. The ball skipped past the catcher and to the backstop.  

Blossomforth jumped into action and sprinted towards third.  The catcher had no time to recover and Blossomforth trotted easily onto third. 

Cliff Leaper stomped the ground in frustration, calling for the ball back. Once in position, he sent a fastball to Big Macintosh.  The ball sailed into the air, high and far toward right field.  The fielder moved back, getting underneath it.  The ball was caught just short of the warning track.

Blossomforth had been watching carefully, staying on third base. The instant the fielder caught the ball she took off towards home. The relay was on, but it the ball was simply too far out. Blossomforth cleared the base and the Tornadoes took the lead.

“Yes! That’s what we want to see!” shouted Moonshot from the dugout. 

“Hee haw! That’s my bro!” Applejack said, rearing up.

“Guess the pressure’s on you now eh Applejack?” said Rainbow Dash, nudging and elbow into her friend.

Applejack nudged her back. “No problem! But first I wanna see Maud go out there and get us an insurance run.”

Cliff Leaper called for the ball back and Maud stepped up to the plate. Unfortunately, she was not able to give Applejack what she wanted. Cliff Leaper got her to swing at a low curveball and she grounded out to second. The half inning was over and it was time for Applejack to take the mound. 

Moonshot sat back and watched the rest of her team take the field. The season was entirely in their hands now. She knew they would win. They had to win. 

Applejack stepped up and faced the first batter. It seemed Applejack wasn’t quite warmed up. The pitch count went up to 3-2, and on the sixth pitch, the ball missed outside and the batter took first.

The second batter was Cliff Leaper himself. He was a great pitcher, but his hitting skills were noticeably sub-par.  Applejack wanted a grounder, and on the third pitch, she got just that.  The ball rolled sharply towards Maud at third. She scooped it up and tossed it over to Caramel at second. He quickly tagged the base for the first out and bucked it over to Twilight, beating out Cliff Leaper by several strides. The double play was complete and the bases were empty once more. 

“Nice work Applejack!” shouted Moonshot from the dugout. 

Applejack gave her a little tip of the hat and turned to face the third pitcher. She got her out four pitches later on a weak pop-up to shortstop.  

Applejack trotted back to the dugout. Moonshot gave her a firm pat on her back as she stepped in. “Great inning. Got one more in you?”

Applejack gave her a little shove back. “Heck, I got a lot more than that. But one more should do just fine I should think.”

The two stood at the dugout rail and watched the top of the ninth together. Cliff Leaper came out to pitch once more.  Moonshot was hoping he was out of steam, but unfortunately he seemed to have gotten a second wind.  The Tornadoes were shut down in quick succession. 

Moonshot sighed. “Alright. No margin for error now. Shut em down Applejack.”

“Heh. No pressure right?”

Moonshot shook her head with a smile. “None at all. I’d give you some advice, but you know what to do. Get out there and do what you do best.” 

“Buckin apples is what I do best.”

“Second best then! Get out there and get us to the championships!”

Applejack chuckled and trotted out to the mound. She dusted off her hooves and readied her first pitch.  She managed to get a pop-up on the second pitch and Twilight moved over and made the catch.  

“One down…” Applejack muttered to herself.

The second batter stepped up. She got the count to 3-2 after several foul ball pitches.  Applejack reared up and sent out a curveball.  The batter swung, going high as it dipped just out of reach.  The batter slammed his bat down in frustration and moved back to the dugout.

“That’s two.” she said under her breath. 

The third batter came up. He was a tall, muscular Pegasus.  Applejack had faced him just two days prior. He had given her quite a bit of trouble in that game. Twilight had given her a tip to try to keep the pitches outside, as he was a much more solid hitter when the pitches were inside. 

Applejack sent the first pitch his way. A high fastball. Unfortunately it was too high and a ball was called.  Applejack tried to get the ball outside once more, but this time it was way outside and the count was quickly 2 – 0.  

Applejack shook off her jitters and called for the ball back. “Alright Applejack, no more balls. Get this one in the zone.”  

She reared up and sent the ball towards the plate. The ball hit the strike zone.  The bat hit the ball.  It sailed right over Applejacks head. Caramel made a leap to try to stop it, but it zipped right past him.  Raibow Dash charged forward and made the cut-off, but it was too late. The batter was on first.

“Well that’s just dandy.” said Applejack with a huff. She called for the ball, watching the batter come up. The batter stepped up to the plate, readying his bat. He was a large grey, beast of a stallion, easily as big as Big Macintosh. 

Applejack wiped the sweat from her brow. She looked to her brother, nodding that she was ready. The batter stepped up to the plate, readying his bat.  She swallowed hard, trying to push aside the pressure of the situation. 

The announcer’s voice boomed over the field.  “This could be it! Bottom of the ninth inning and one out left to go! Unrelenting Force is up to bat and there’s a runner on first. A home run takes the Fillies to the championships! Can he do it!?”

Applejack focused and muttered quietly to herself. “No he can’t.” She reared up and let the ball fly, bucking it as hard as she could. It flew towards the plate at incredible speed. The batter took a mighty swing. 

Applejack cringed as the sound of the bat making solid contact rang in her ears. The ball sailed high over her head. She turned and watched it fly towards center field. The whole place went quiet as the ball soared.  

Rainbow Dash moved back, watching the ball carefully. She backed up onto the warning track, making quick note of the location of the wall behind her. The ball got ever closer. She couldn’t use her wings, but it was going to clear the fence. She had to jump. Dash bent her legs then leapt as high as she could into the air. She extended out her hoof, reaching as high as she could. 

The ball hit the tip of Rainbow Dash’s glove. She crashed into the wall with great force and bounced off before rolling into the ground. She stood up and checked her glove, but found nothing. She looked around her to see if she had dropped it. 

It was nowhere to be seen. Rainbow’s heart sank as she realized it had cleared the fence. The game was over. The Tornadoes had lost.

She began the slow walk back to the dugout. She watched as Unrelenting Force rounded third and greeted the mob of his team at home plate.  The cheers of the crowd stung in her ears. 

Applejack was feeling the same sinking feeling. She stepped into the dugout, walking right past Moonshot. “I’m sorry…”

Moonshot didn’t say anything. She just stared silently and solemnly at the field. One by one, the Tornadoes moved off of the field and through the back door of the dugout, into the visitor’s locker room. 

She stood there quietly, watching the Fillies celebrating their win. Finally, she turned and left the field for the final time of the season. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“A little to the left… No, that’s too much.  There! Perfect!.” Moonshot gave a quick hoof salute to Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow Dash flew back a little bit to check her work. The banner reading “Central Division Champions” was hung nicely over the main entrance to Ponyville Park. “Lookin good!”  

Applejack gave an approving nod. “Definitely needed a banner up there. Just too bad it doesn’t say league champions.” She turns to Moonshot. “Sorry, I blew the game.”

Rainbow Dash landed next to her. “No, I’m sorry. I could have made that catch and I didn’t. It was my fault.”

Moonshot rolled her eyes. “Oh will you two stop it? All you’re at fault for is helping the Tornadoes have the best season they have ever had. I don’t want to forgive you, I want to thank you.”

“You’re really not mad?” asked Applejack.

Moonshot shook her head. “Well, anyone who plays in any league is disappointed to take anything but first place. So yeah… disappointed, but definitely not mad.  I have to put it in perspective. If you told me in Spring we’d win the division I’d have been ecstatic.”

“Heck yeah. And next year we’ll do even better.” said Rainbow Dash while pumping a hoof into the air.

Moonshot smiled at the Pegasus. “You’re going to be back next year?”

“Well, probably. If I’m in the Wonderbolts by then I may not have time.”

Moonshot turned to Applejack. “What about you?”

Applejack shrugged. “Maybe. Not going to make a promise now.”

Moonshot gave a sad smile. “Well, the team wouldn’t be the same without you two. Still, I don’t think we’ll have trouble arranging a team next year. Attendance and merchandise sales were through the roof by the end of the season. The vote isn’t final, but I think it’s safe to say we’re off probation.”

“When will you know for sure?” asked Rainbow Dash. 

“Two days. Back to Canterlot for the post season meeting. Twilight and I will be heading out tomorrow.”

“So what are you going to do after that?” asked Applejack.

“Well, Clipper and I will get the park closed up for the season. After that I think I may go camping near Vanhoover. It gets really beautiful there this time of year. Either of you interested in coming?”

“Sorry hon. That’s right in the middle of Applebuck season. Rainbow Dash and I are going to be really busy around the farm.”

Rainbow Dash’s eyes went wide. “Are you still going to hold me to that?”

Applejack furrowed her brow. “Of course. You thought I was going to forget about our little agreement?”

Rainbow Dash flopped back onto her haunches and crossed her front hooves. “I was kind of hoping you would.”

Moonshot chuckled. “Guess that means Twilight is out too.”

Rainbow’s eyes darted to the left quick. She then turned her head something having caught her attention. “Hey, you know those two?”

Applejack and Moonshot looked over. There were two ponies walking up, dressed in sport coats, but also wearing baseball caps with a green sock logo. One was a dark grey unicorn stallion with a purple mane, the other a magenta earth pony mare with blonde hair. 

Moonshot cocked her head. “No. I don’t.”

The two approached the group. The mare stepped forward, looking at Moonshot. “Miss Moonshot Striker?”

Moonshot nodded. “Yes. What can I do for you?”

The mare smiled. “I’m Amaryllis Gem, the GM of the Fillydelphia Green Sox. This is our manager Nightshade. It’s nice to meet you.”

Moonshots heart skipped a beat. She did her best to stay calm. “You too. So uh… what brings a big league General Manager here?”

Amaryllis smiled. “You do. We’ve been watching you all season. Well, truth be told, we’ve been watching you for a long time.”

“Um. Thanks. I hope you like what you’ve seen?” Moonshot grinned. 

Nightshade nodded. “We do. Both of us were at your games in Fillydelphia, plus our scouts have attended several games of yours through the season.”

Amaryllis gave Moonshot a smile. “And we’ve been impressed. We’d like to extend you an invitation to join our team for spring training. Do well enough there and we believe that there could be a place for you on our team. 

Applejack and Rainbow Dash’s eyes went wide and they gave massive smiles.  Moonshot did her best to stay calm, though her heart was racing at a million beats per second. “That’s quite a gracious invitation. Thank you.”

Nightshade’s horn lit up and a letter was pulled from his pocket. He floated it over to Moonshot. “The details are in the letter. They may change, as spring is a ways off, but we’ll let you know if they do.”

“This is a big opportunity for you Moonshot.” said Amaryllis. “You could be playing with the big ponies. Plus the salary and benefits are quite impressive.”

Moonshot nodded even faster than before. “I know what being a Green Sock would mean. This is what I’ve always wanted. I’ll be there.”

“Excellent. Feel free to contact us any time.” Amaryllis offered her hoof to shake. “We’ll see you in the spring.”

Moonshot returned the shake. “Yes we will. Feel free to stick around if you want.

Amaryllis shook her head. “Thank you for the offer, but we have to get to Cloudsdale. You’re not the only pony that’s drawn our attention you know.”

“Of course not. Have a good trip.” Moonshot gave them another smile as they turned to head out.

Amaryllis and Nightshade walked away, leaving Moonshot with Applejack and Rainbow Dash. She turned around to look at them. The two grinned wide, then tackled her in a big hug.

“You did it!” shouted Applejack. 

Rainbow Dash beamed at her. “You’re gonna be a pro! That is SO AWESOME!” 

Moonshot laughed. “I haven’t made the team yet. I just got an invitation to practice with them. I mean, yeah, just get invited to practice is huge. Guess I’m going to have to spend the entire off season practicing.” 

Applejack hopped off of Moonshot. “Couldn’t be happier for you. But… you know I just thought of something.”

Moonshot stood up and brushed herself off. “Yeah? What’s that?”

Applejack’s smile faded. “If you join the Green Sox then what’s going to happen to the Tornadoes?”

Moonshot froze. “I… hadn’t thought of that.” 

Applejack looked her in the eyes. “You’re the owner, manager, and star player. Who’s going to run the team if you’re not around?” 

“I… don’t know. I suppose I’ll maintain ownership, but I’ll have to hire a manager. There’s got to be somepony out there who could assemble and manage a team for me. Huh… three of us may not play next year. Maud is definitely out. That’s all of our star players. If the others decide to stick around we’ll be decent, but certainly not as good.”

“Woah there. Don’t tell me you’re thinking of not going to the Sox.” said Rainbow Dash, almost threateningly. 

“No no. I’m definitely going. Just you know… another complication in my life.” Moonshot sighed. 

Rainbow Dash put a hoof over Moonshot’s shoulder. “Hey. Just take life as it comes to you. We’ve got your back.”

Moonshot leaned into her with a smile. “I know you do.”

-----------------------

Moonshot yawned and gave her neck a stretch as she walked across the plaza in front of Royal Field. “Ugh. I don’t know why Swift Impact decided to have the meeting so early.”

Twilight, looking bright as the morning sun shook her head with a smile. “Didn’t sleep well?”

“I slept great. Right until you woke me up.”

“Only because you told me to.”

“I know, I know.” Moonshot stretched. “Let’s get this over with.”

The two of them headed inside and up to the conference room of the league office. As soon as they stepped inside, Twilight’s face lit up and she quickly galloped over to give her brother a hug. 

“Twilight! I was hoping you’d be here. How was your trip?” said Shining Armor, returning the hug.

She released her grip on him. “It was great. Especially since Moonshot was in a much better mood than the last time we came here for a meeting.”

Shining Armor turned to Moonshot, who had just gotten up to the two of them. “Hello Moonshot. Great to see you again. Congratulations on winning your division.”

Moonshot smiled at him. “Thanks. Couldn’t have done it without my top first basemare.”

“You couldn’t have done it without any of us. We all did it together.” said Twilight proudly. 

Shining Armor sat down. “Well, I just hope my team plays just as well. I’m excited for next summer.”

Twilight sat next to him. “So what will your role be?”

He shrugged. “I won’t be the manager or a player. I’ll kind of be the owner. I’m going to help make the team and work on all the logistics. But I won’t be an owner like the others are. I won’t make any money doing it. All profits will go back to the community, mostly to fund a youth baseball program.”

“Sounds like a lot of work. You sure Cadance won’t mind?” asked Twilight.

Shining Armor chuckled. “It was her idea. Heck, after the Equestria games, this will be a breeze.”

They sat back and one by one, representatives from the other teams came into the room. They all arrived in pairs, a manager and an owner.  All but one.  The Royals Owner, Spring Prize, came in by himself. 

Once everyone was seated, Swift Impact stood up and gave everypony a nod.  “Good to see you all here. I know you all hate meetings as much as I do, so we’ll try to keep this brief.  Let’s start by giving a hoof to the Fillydelphia Fillies for winning the championship this year.”

He, and the rest of the ponies in the room gave a short round of applause to the Fillies representatives. Once it died down he made a motion towards Shining Armor.

“Shining Armor of the Crystal Empire is here. I am happy to make the official announcement that the Crystal Empire will be joining the league next year. You all gave your votes and it has been decided to expand our league to ten teams. We will merge the current divisions into two halves, east and west. You’ll get a packet explaining the details. Welcome to the league Shining Armor.”

There was a short round of clapping. Shining Armor gave a wave to them. “Thanks. We’re really excited and we’ve already got some great ponies ready to play. I look forward to beating you all next year.”

After a few short laughs, Swift Impact turned his sheets to move to the next page. “As you all know, there was a cheating scandal near the end of the season involving the Royals. Obviously, this is a very serious charge and it will not be tolerated.”

Spring Prize stood. “It brings a great mark of shame to our team. Our investigation has found that she had been working on a performance enhancing spell, but only perfected it near the end of the season.  As far as we can tell, she only used it on Breaking Blitz.  No other member of the team has indicated any knowledge of what she was doing. Winning Streak has been fired and is banned from all future involvement with the league. As for Breaking Blitz, he did confess and without his cooperation we would have had no evidence at all.”

Swift Impact nodded. “Indeed. Due to the level of cooperation from him, and from you, the Royals as an organization will see no sanctions.  Breaking Blitz on the other hand will receive a six game suspension at the start of next season.  We will also be studying this new spell in an effort to learn how to detect it. Princess Twilight Sparkle has volunteered to help with this.” He turned to face her. “Thank you Twilight.”

She smiled. “Happy to help!” 

Swift Impact turned his page once more. It was time to go over the financials. The meeting continued, and after about an hour, they finally wrapped things up. 

“Lunch time!” said Shining Armor enthusiastically. 

“Little early for lunch don’t you think?” said Twilight, rolling her eyes.

“I didn’t get a good breakfast. Moonshot, you’re hungry right?”

Moonshot shook her head. “Not really. I figured we could spend some time taking in the sights of Canterlot before lunch. We should take our time and enjoy the day. Train doesn’t leave until four.”

“Excuse me.” came a voice from behind them. It was Flint Bolt. “Sorry to barge in, but I was wondering if you guys wouldn’t mind if I tagged along. The boss has another meeting to attend to and I’m kind of stuck on my own until my train departs.”

Moonshot grinned. “Oh. Poor Flint. Sure, I think we can let you hang around.”

Twilight nodded enthusiastically. “Absolutely. I was going to suggest we head to the West Garden. The Summer sculpture garden is still up and I think it would be a great place to spend the rest of the morning. Plus, there’s plenty of restaurants nearby.”

Flint smiled. “That sounds great. Thanks.”

“Well let’s waste no time then.” said Moonshot, turning to the door. 

The four of them headed out to the plaza. The West Garden wasn’t far and soon they found themselves at the front gate. Moonshot and Flint were a bit ahead of Twilight and Shining Armor. Twilight was watching the two of them carefully. She noticed they were walking just a little bit closer than two casual acquaintances would.

“Hold up.” Twilight said while making a dead stop.

The others also stopped and looked at her with puzzled looks on their faces.

“She looked over to Shining Armor.” I can’t believe I forgot. Celestia wanted to meet with me and Shining Armor after the meeting. We’re not late, but we better go right now so we’re not.”

Shining Armor cocked his head to the side. “We do? She didn’t tell me anyth…ow!” He was interrupted by a sharp elbow to his chest from his little sister. 

She narrowed her eyebrows at him, then made a quick notion back towards Moonshot and Flint Bolt with her eyes and a subtle nod of the head. “You know. To talk about that gathering with Cadance and Luna?”

“Oh right.” His eyes shifted. “Yeah, we better get going.”

Moonshot took a little step towards them. “Wait, you two are just leaving?”

“Yep! I’ll see you later this afternoon. You two have fun! Bye now!” Twilight grabbed her brother and darted off quickly, leaving Moonshot and Flint Bolt alone.

Flint turned to Moonshot. “That was odd.”

“Yes. It was.” She turned to him and gave him a smile. “But I see no need to change the plans. Come on, let’s go look at some sculptures.”

-------------------------------------------------

Moonshot nestled herself into the seat on the train. She looked out the window at the beauty of Canterlot and let out a happy sigh. 

Twilight sat down next to her. “So, how did it go?”

Moonshot turned and shook her head. “You devious little filly. You never had a meeting with Celestia, did you?”

Twilight grinned. “Of course not. Now answer my question.”

Moonshot’s face lit up. “It went well. Like… really well. We toured the garden, had lunch, and then just kept walking and talking. We both nearly lost track of time and missed our trains. So we made some more plans. Next week him and I are going to go camping in Vanhoover. After that… well who knows?”

Twilight leaned in, grinning from ear to ear. “Sounds like someone has a special somepony.”

Moonshot pushed her back gently. “Slow down. It’s not like that… yet. And don’t you go around telling anypony that it is. Especially Clipper.” 

“I won’t.  I’m just so happy for you. Everything has finally started going your way.”

“It really has. And you know, I think I owe it all to Rainbow Dash. If she hadn’t stopped by the park that day, none of this would have happened.”

Twilight gave her a gentle smile. “It’s funny how things work out, isn’t it?”

“It wasn’t just Rainbow Dash. If not for you, and Applejack. Heck, even Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy and Spike. They all helped. And none of you had to. You all put in so much work for me…” She wiped a tear from her eye, despite her smile. 

“Because we’re friends. That’s what friends do.”

“I guess I had forgotten that. I got so swept up in just trying to win and be the best I could be, I never went anywhere. Then you all show up and suddenly we have our best season ever. Not just in games won, but in attendance and revenue. And I’ve never been happier. It’s… almost magical.”

Twilight sat back with a little chuckle. “Of course it is Moonshot. Friendship is magic.”