Hockey Night in Ponyville
The hockey game hadn’t quite started by the time Velvet and Sunnie sat down in the outdoor rink’s bleachers, right down by the boards. Velvet floated a big bag of popcorn between them, and as they watched the players warm up, they each took hooffuls from the bag to munch on. Despite the warm day, the air around the enchanted ice was cold, and Sunnie scooted a little closer to her marefriend in the hopes of stealing some of her warmth. Velvet rested her head on Sunnie’s shoulder and took a sip from her soda.
“Which one is Stick?” Velvet asked. Stick had invited them to come see one of his games, and despite the fact that neither Velvet nor Sunnie had particularly cared for sports, they’d decided to make a day of it. On the ice, a whistle shrieked, and the players lined up at the centre circle.
“There he is!” She said around a wad of popcorn, pointing to a pony lining up on the left, a wooden stick with red and black tape on the blade firmly clenched in his teeth. “Number 24, in the blue jersey!” The whistle shrieked again, and the referee, in a striped shirt, dropped the puck. The rink was filled with the scraping of skates and the distinct smack of the puck hitting a stick. They watched in silence for a few minutes as the players skated back and forth, batting the puck down the ice or at the net, until the other team, the Canterlot Crushers, scored. The nearly full bleachers came alive with cheers and boos.
“C’moooooon deeee-fense!” An orange stallion in a battered blue baseball cap behind the pair bellowed out, making them both jump. “Didn’t mean to startle you, sorry.” He smiled sheepishly. “Get too into the game sometimes.”
“It’s okay.” Sunnie smiled back. “It’s our first time to see a game, we’re just trying to drink it all in.”
“Oh? Somepony on the ice that you know, or were you just curious about the great game?” He leaned forwards a little.
“Stick invited us. He’s with the Ponyville Piledrivers.” Just then, the puck smacked the glass in front of them. Velvet jumped again, and her horn winked out for a moment, nearly sending their popcorn to the floor. The stallion hadn’t so much as blinked.
“Stick! A fine colt, and a great player too.” He said, eyes watching the puck as it skidded along the far boards. “He’s been our saving grace so far this year. Without him, we wouldn’t be where we are in the tourney! If we win today, and the Los Pegasus Punishers lose, we’re in the final for the first time since Ponyville was founded.” He grinned. “Stick does need to work on his passes though.”
“Mhm.” Sunnie nodded, and popped some more popcorn into her mouth. There was a clatter of sticks on the ice, and a whistle shrieked. One of Piledriver players, a number ‘6’, was led by a ref to a box across from the benches. The stallion, along with most of the other fans decked out in blue, booed loudly.
“He didn’t even touch him!” A mare shrieked. Sunnie raised an eyebrow.
“What happened?” The stallion sighed in disgust.
“Hooking. If that was a hook then I’m captain of the Royal Guard.” The whistle blew again, and four Piledrivers faced off against five Crushers. The puck slid into the corner, and after a minute, came sailing out across the blue line. “Yeah, that’s how we do it!” The stallion stomped his hooves on the bleachers. His joy was short lived, however, as the Crushers picked the puck up and scored just a few moments later with only a minute of the penalty left on the clock. Number 6 skated dejectedly from the box back to his bench. “Aaah, stupid penalties are going to kill us.” Sunnie watched as the coach, a big, burly older stallion with a severe goatee and a flamboyant tie, started yelling at 6.
“He’s really into the game, isn’t he?” The stallion chuckled.
“Yeah, he is. That’s Frosty Feathers, but everypony calls him Grapes. He’s a legend in the minors, even though he never made it to the AEHL.” He saw the confused look on Sunnie’s face, and pointed to a logo on his hat. “The All-Equestrian Hockey League. The big time.” He pointed over to a group of ponies in the center of the bleachers, all wearing sport jackets and holding binoculars. “Talent scouts have been watching every game so far, that’s why Grapes is cracking down hard.” The period ended with a loud buzzer, and the players skated off the ice, replaced with ponies pushing shovels and unicorns sprinkling water over the chewed-up surface. Velvet turned around, a hoof holding her wide sunhat in place against the slight spring breeze.
“Why do they call him Grapes?” She asked, using her magic to discreetly pluck a kernel out of her teeth.
“After he didn’t make the AEHL, he complained constantly about how the minors were where ‘real hockey’ was played. Everyone started calling him Sour Grapes behind his back, then just Grapes.” He laughed. “He must have known about it, because he started eating grapes during games, or else it was just an amazing coincidence.” He nodded towards the bench, where Grapes was gesturing like crazy at a whiteboard behind the bench. “He’s one of the best coaches out there. Stick couldn’t be in better hooves.” The stallion glanced at the clock, which was ticking down from 15 minutes. “Say, want to take a stroll? My marefriend makes these amazing donuts.” Sunnie and Velvet were on their hooves in an instant, and the trio wandered away from the rink, towards a line of vendors set up on the grass, all selling merchandise or snacks. A few merchant ponies waved at the stallion.
“Hey Cherries, is that bet still on?” One yelled. The stallion laughed and nodded. A jersey caught Sunnie’s eye, a black, blue, and purple Piledriver’s away jersey, and she stopped to dig in Velvet’s saddlebag for her Bitbag.
“Do you have a large?” She asked the pegasus behind the counter, who rubbed the scruff on his chin, then dug through some boxes before pulling out what looked like a tarp.
“All I’ve got left is a double XL.” He said apologetically. Sunnie sighed, but laid her Bits on the counter. She slipped the jersey on, a little mortified that the jersey was loose everywhere except her middle. Velvet giggled behind her hoof, and promised that she’d make alterations when they got home. The stallion hadn’t noticed they’d stopped, but they quickly found him chatting with a chubby pink mare over the counter of her stall.
“Good business, hun?” She nodded, her puffy purple mane bouncing, before they noticed Sunnie and Velvet approach.
“Who’re your friends?” She asked.
“Sugar, this is… uhhh…” The stallion’s face fell.
“You forgot to ask their names, didn’t you?” Sugar batted at the brim of his hat. The mares all laughed, and Sunnie stretched a hoof out to Sugar.
“I’m Sunnie Bun, and this is Velvet Melody.” Sugar shook her hoof.
“I’m Sugar Belle, and the big lunk you’ve been talking to is Kace.” Kace tugged his ball cap down a little, a minor flush on his cheeks. “Please excuse his rudeness, he sometimes gets too into the games.”
“Kace? One of the salesponies back there called you Cherries.” Sunnie asked, and Kace smiled.
“That’s my nickname from when I was playing. My teammates said it was just the pits to have me on the team.” Sugar batted his hat again.
“Oh hush, you were fantastic! You still are, in fact.” Sugar beamed at Sunnie and Velvet. “Would you like some mini donuts? Made them fresh!”
“Yes, please!” Both mares practically shouted. Sugar busied herself behind the counter for a few moments, before returning with two paper bags bulging with mini donuts, which she gave a heavy dusting with cinnamon and sugar. Velvet peered up at the prices as she floated her Bitbag out, but Sugar waved her off.
“If anypony should pay, it should be Mr. Big Mouth himself.” She said teasingly. Kace made a big show of sighing, before opening a pouch on the bag Sunnie hadn’t noticed him wearing and laying a stack of Bits on the counter. Sugar kissed him quickly, just as the buzzer went off twice in rapid succession.
“Oop, 2 minute warning, we’d better get back to our seats. Care to join us in the third, hun?” Sugar nodded, then turned to help two fillies who had walked up to the stand. Sunnie, Velvet, and Kace made their way back to the bleachers, and Sunnie noticed that the goalies had switched ends, and the Piledriver’s netminder was clearing snow out of the crease nearest to them. Sunnie munched her donuts happily, especially since Velvet had polished off the popcorn while she and Kace were talking. Velvet swallowed her mouthful of donut, then turned to ask Kace another question, not noticing the spray of cinnamon and sugar on her muzzle.
“Why don’t the unicorns use their horns on their sticks? That'd be better than using their mouths, wouldn’t it?” Kace shook his head.
“Not quite. Hockey was originally an earth pony game. Any magical use, be it for swinging sticks or manipulating the puck or other players, is forbidden. In the AEHL, the puck is actually enchanted against magical manipulation. Here, though, it’s up to the refs to spot it and call the penalty.” He smirked. “It's an immediate game misconduct, and a five-minute major. I’ve only seen it get called once in a game, and it started a bench clearing brawl after the coach flung a garbage can at the ref.”
“Oh.” Velvet turned back around, watching as the players took to the ice. The ref’s whistle blasted before the puck was dropped again, and Ponyville’s centre won the faceoff and passed it back to the defence, who dumped it into Canterlot’s end. Immediately Stick went on the attack, swooping down the wing, poking the puck away from a Crusher before sending a pass in front of the net. There was a scramble, and the Canterlot goalie flopped onto the puck. The whistle shrieked, and Kace applauded as the refs pushed players apart. “Grapes has got them really fired up.” He grinned. “We’re not out of this yet!” The period continued, with a majority of the play down in the other end. The Piledrivers got chance after chance, the Canterlot goalie having to turn into a pretzel to stop each shot, and Kace was practically chewing on his hat every time the puck bounded into the neutral zone.
Finally, with five minutes to go in the period, they caught a break. A shot bounced off the end boards and right to Stick, and he buried it into the back of the net. Sunnie, who was really starting to get into the game, pumped a hoof and cheered with the rest of the fans as Stick and the other Piledrivers skated by the bench, getting congratulatory taps from everypony’s stick. The opposing coach looked like he’d swallowed a bee, and gave one of the bigger, burlier players a whack on the helmet. The announcer’s magically amplified voice boomed out from where he was sitting.
“Scoringggg for the Ponyville Piledriverrrrrs, number twenty-fourrrr, Canuck!” There were fresh cheers from the crowd as the whistle blew for the next faceoff.
“Canuck? Who’s Canuck?” She asked. Kace laughed.
“Canuck is Stick. He hates his name, so he stuck with his nickname.” He shook his head, eyes staying on the play. “Crazy colt. He said he signed his name as ‘Stick’ on his resume.”
“He said his name was Stick when I hired him! I set up an RRSP under that name for him!” Sunnie exclaimed, cold worry filling her chest. “Is, is that fraud? Am I going to have to go to jail?” Kace blinked, and his eyes widened.
“Paying… Are you..?” He clapped a hoof against his forehead, then took his hat off in a sweeping bow. “My apologies, I did not recognize, nor show the proper respect to you, my Milkshake Queen, nor to your Royal Consort.” He sat back down and plopped his hat back on his head, grinning at Sunnie and Velvet’s surprised expressions. “Stick said he was working at Bumble’s old place, and I just can’t put two and two together sometimes. Man, I miss having that old stallion on the ice, he was dynamite.”
“Bumble played hockey?” Velvet asked. “The stallion who had to quit beekeeping because he kept getting himself stung?”
“Yeah! He was a great defencepony, never afraid to block shots if he needed to. Good forechecker too.” Kace’s voice trailed off as the Crushers dumped the puck into the Piledriver’s zone, and one of their forwards scooped it up. He zipped up behind the net, only to get a muzzleful of number 6, who slammed him into the boards with a thundering crunch! “Good hit, Buzz! Good hit!” Kace roared, and Sunnie let out a cheer. The puck squirted free, and another of Ponyville’s players picked it up. She sent a too-hot pass ahead to the other winger, who stretched to try and get a touch on it and inadvertently sent it up over the glass. Sunnie smiled as she watched a young filly, dressed in goalie pads, catch it and squeal with glee. “Great, it’s going to come back to our end.” Kace sighed, then gave a sheepish smile. “What was I talking about again?”
“Bumble playing hockey.” Velvet said, her muzzle buried deep in her bag, but her eyes fixated on the ice. Sunnie was surprised to see she’d barely eaten half of her own donuts. The more she got into the game, the more her appetite evaporated.
“Right! He was pretty good on the blue line, knew when to shoot and when to just dump it back in. One of the fastest backwards skaters too, when he could stay on all hooves, that is.” Kace chuckled. “He even managed to stop the Great One, well, once at least.”
“The Great One?” Sunnie asked.
“Wing Gretzky, one of the best to ever play the game.” Kace tilted his head towards Stick, who had hopped off the bench and was skating lazily into the faceoff circle. “Stick’s been modeling his play after him for years.” Kace fell silent again as the whistle blew on the ice, and the Ponyville centre won the faceoff. The puck dropped back to number 6, ‘Buzz’, who ringed it around the boards behind the net. Stick poked it past the Canterlot defencepony, but his pass across to the other winger charging up the centre got blocked by one of the Canterlot forwards backchecking. Kace, Sunnie, Velvet, and the rest of the Ponyville supporters let out cries of disapproval as the Ponyville winger got flattened by the other Canterlot defencepony without ever getting close to the puck. Whistles blasted as Buzz went barrelling up the ice, slamming the Canterlot player, and they both went down into a heap, skates flying off as the two unloaded punches on each other before the refs pulled the two apart.
“RIP HIM APART!” Velvet bellowed, surprising Sunnie, who’d never heard her use that tone of voice before. Velvet saw Sunnie’s expression and blushed slightly. “Uh, I mean, is hockey always this violent?” She asked bashfully around her last few mini donuts, and raised her eyebrows at Sunnie. “We should come more often!”
“Sometimes.” Kace replied, grimacing as the two players kept jawing at each other in the penalty box. “This game is going to get ugly now, and fast. Lots of bad blood between us and Canterlot. We can’t afford to get sloppy, not when the finals are in reach.” The last few minutes wound down without much drama, and by the time the buzzer sounded, Velvet had poached the last couple of mini donuts from Sunnie’s bag when she thought she wasn’t looking. The players once more skated back to their benches as the ice crew went to work smoothing out the chewed-up surface. A couple of minutes ticked by before Sugar Belle came walking up, having ditched her apron for a baseball cap perched precariously on her fluffy mane, the bill resting on her glowing horn. Behind her floated a tray with four lemonades, and two plates of lightly-fried carrot sticks.
“Thought you might be thirsty with all the yelling you’ve been doing.” Sugar said, floating one of the plates and a glass each over to Sunnie and Velvet before sitting down. “Fresh carrot sticks too!” Velvet studied the plate, before picking one up with her magic and taking a nibble. She yelped, fanning a hoof on her tongue, and gulped some lemonade. “Still a bit hot, sorry!” Sunnie chomped down on two at a time and chased them with a slug of lemonade. She smiled at Sugar.
“Thank you so much!” She said after swallowing. Sugar smiled back.
“You’re very welcome.” She took a stick of her own and crunched away happily, resting her head on Kace’s shoulder. “How’s the game going?”
“Better after the first period.” Kace replied, looking over at the Ponyville bench. “Grapes lit a fire under their flanks, we just need some more chances to go our way.” He stiffened, and Sunnie saw Grapes staring directly at Kace, then he motioned him over. “Oops, looks like he wants my input, I’ll be right back!” With a quick flap of his wings, Kace glided over the ice and landed on the bleachers behind the bench, leaning over the glass to join into the conversation. Velvet raised an eyebrow.
“Do coaches usually ask the opinion of fans?” Sugar giggled and shook her head.
“Not really, but Kace isn’t just a fan. He’s the co-owner along with Grapes. He also steps in to help coach, or even fill in on the ice if they’re a pony short.” She pushed a lock of hair out of her eyes. “Don’t believe him when he says he’s not that good. Last time he was out there, he almost got a Gordie Hoof hat trick!” Sugar noticed their questioning looks. “A goal, an assist, and a fight! Not as good as a real hat trick, but c’mon, still pretty good.” Velvet let out a giggle of her own.
“Cherries, Grapes, sounds like there’s a regular fruit salad over there.” All three were still snickering when Kace came back over, landing lightly next to Sugar Belle, a big grin on his face.
“Well, what did Grapes want?” Sugar asked, taking an innocent sip of Kace’s lemonade.
“He asked me to get my skates on and get out there!” Kace shook his head, still smiling. “Not only is that illegal, I’m not on the lineup, but I’d just throw off the rhythm they’re building out there. They’re hungry, they want this win, and they’re going to get it.” He pulled Sugar in close. “I’m just hoping we make it through without too many injuries.”
The buzzer sounded twice in succession, and soon the ice crew made way for the players. Stick skated back to the Ponyville goalie, now on the far side of the rink again, and gave her a tap on the pads before getting back into position. The ref looked left, looked right, let out a blast on his whistle, then dropped the puck. Sunnie could feel the tension in the air as the clock ticked down, the play on the ice even, neither team getting a chance to get stuck in on the other end. The hits kept coming, hard and fast, and more profanity was getting shouted after every lost puck or missed pass. Sunnie’s mouth started feeling dry no matter how much lemonade she drank, and from the way Velvet was sucking her’s down, she felt the same way. Half the period disappeared before Ponyville finally got a great chance. A Canterlot shot was blocked, and the puck bounced perfectly to the Ponyville winger, who charged up the ice, Stick on the far side, with a lone Canterlot defender to oppose them.
“Two on one!” Kace shouted. The Canterlot defender skated backwards, then dove, stretching to block the shot. The winger saucered it across to Stick, who hammered a one-timer into the net, the puck just kissing the near post as it bulged the netting. The Ponyville supporters roared with approval as Stick was congratulated by his teammates, their goalie dancing in the net with glee. The Canterlot defender smashed his stick against the ice, clearly furious at himself. “What’d I say? All we need is a couple good bounces!” Kace said, his hooves thundering against the bleachers. His elation faded as, on the next play, Ponyville accidentally iced the puck, and his face fell even further when he saw who Canterlot was putting out on the ice. “Oh no. This isn’t good, they sent their goon squad out there.” The five Canterlot players looked big and mean as they skated into position for the face-off, all of them missing at least one tooth. Sunnie gulped as she realized that only Buzz for Ponyville was close to any of the Canterlot player’s size.
“Why didn’t they do a line change?” Velvet asked, her nerves reflected clearly in her face and voice. Kace shook his head.
“The team who iced the puck can’t make a change.” He grimaced as the puck dropped. “This is going to get really ugly.” The play stayed in the Ponyville end briefly before Stick got the puck and managed to break out. He dumped the puck in at the blue line, and turned to make a change when the big, burly defender who flattened the Ponyville winger earlier nailed him into the boards with a hit so hard the glass shattered in a shower of pebbles. Stick was dumped awkwardly onto the floor on the opposite side of the glass, directly in front of Sunnie and Velvet, who both let out shrieks of alarm. Immediately, the Ponyville players swarmed the Canterlot player who laid the hit, tearing off their skates and whaling away with their hooves. The Canterlot players joined the pile, and as the refs tried to break the scrum up, the Ponyville goalie ripped her mask off and dumped one of her pads to the ice, her long, dark green mane spilling out like snakes around her neck.
“MOTHERBUCKER, YOU’RE MINE!” She screamed, skating full tilt at the other goalie, and they fell to the ice, flailing awkwardly away. Sunnie was rooted to the spot with anger and fear, her fear melting away as Stick stirred, sitting up with a woozy expression, his helmet askew and a small cut on his cheek trickling blood.
“Oh, hi Ms. Bun! Ms. Melody!” He said, sounding a little disconnected from reality. His smile was now missing a couple teeth. “You made it!”
“Sweet Celestia, Stick! Are you okay?” Velvet asked anxiously. Stick nodded, then adjusted his helmet. He then noticed Kace and Sugar Belle behind them, and waved.
“Yeah, I’m alright. I think.” Stick seemed about to say something else when Buzz banged against the boards, a ref struggling to keep him restrained.
“Stick! Quit flirtin’ with pretty mares and get your flank back on the ice!”
“I’m not flirting, Buzz!” Stick yelped before he hopped back over onto the ice. “She’s my boss!”
By the time the chaos was sorted out on the ice and the rink crew swept up the broken glass and replaced the busted pane, ten players were crammed into the two penalty boxes, four Ponyville and six Canterlot. Grapes had raved at the refs until the Canterlot player who hit Stick got ejected. The Canterlot goalie got ejected too, for punching a ref and trying to get back at the Ponyville goalie, who’d knocked him down then sat on him to a roar of approval from the crowd. Kace simmered with rage, the bill of his hat between his teeth, Sugar resting a hoof on his shoulder, her own expression stormy. Velvet practically shook next to Sunnie, who’d never felt quite this angry before. Stick was getting his cut attended to by one of the nurses on hand. Grapes gave him a pat on the back and leaned down to talk to him for a couple minutes, before nodding and sending him back onto the ice. When play resumed, it felt muted on the ice. In the stands, Ponyville and Canterlot supporters stared daggers at each other, though Kace calmed down enough to put his hat back on. Neither team had any good chances going into the final two minutes, until Canterlot nearly got a two-on-one. In their desperation, one of the Ponyville players hooked a Canterlot forward, while the other got their stick tangled in the other forward’s skates. Kace’s hat was back behind his teeth, in fear this time.
“Not good. Not good. Not good.” He murmured. “A two-pony advantage going into overtime…” He glanced at the clock. “Forty seconds to go. We can kill this, we can kill this.” Sunnie had her doubts as the ref blew the whistle, with only Stick and two defenceponies standing between Canterlot and the fiery Ponyville goalie. Canterlot won the face-off, the defenceponies passing it back and forth, waiting for a chance to shoot. Stick skated between them, alternating standing between a shot and a pass. The five other players jostled in front of the net, the Ponyville goalie shouting loudly as she smacked the Canterlot forwards with her pads to try and clear her line of sight. Finally, one of the defenders saw a chance, and let loose with a hard shot. It caromed wide, knuckling along the boards. Stick zoomed back and picked up the puck, three Canterlot players standing between him and the goal. Kace leapt to his hooves. “Ten seconds!” He said. Sunnie stood too, eyes wide as Stick stickhoofed around the first Canterlot player, passing the blue line. He deftly sent the puck between the legs of the second, his head down as he reclaimed the puck off the boards, not seeing the last Canterlot player angling towards him with a full head of steam.
“Look out!” Sunnie shrieked. Stick looked up, saw the goon coming towards him like a freight train, and did the only thing he could.
He jumped.
The rink fell silent as Stick sailed through the air, over the goon, his wings tucked tight at his sides. His skate sliced a small chunk of mane off of the goon as he flew by. He landed on the other side of the defencepony, who stared open-mouth as he skated out of control into his bench and toppled over the low boards. Silent, save for the Ponyville goalie who was slamming her pad into the post, screaming “Go Nuckie! Go go go!” Stick charged up the left wing, flank nearly brushing the boards, before cutting in at the hash, and letting loose a shot that cracked like lightning. The puck sailed high and true, the goalie’s glove just barely brushing it before it buried itself in the netting, the red goal light coming on just before the timer clicked down to ‘0.0’.
If the outdoor rink had a roof, it would have blown off. The stands erupted into cheers, and hats rained down on the ice as Stick was swarmed by his teammates, who leaped from the benches to bury him in hugs. Velvet ripped her hat off her head and sent it swirling onto the ice, laughing maniacally as it landed on one of the dejected Canterlot players.
“We made the finals! We made the finals!” Kace cheered wildly, dancing in place before turning and dipping Sugar Belle, barely able to kiss her for the grin on his face. Sunnie and Velvet hugged each other tight, and on the ice, the Ponyville goalie wrapped her forelegs around Stick and laid a smooch on his lips. Stick’s face went about as red as the stripes in his mane. Sunnie and Velvet looked into each other’s eyes, both feeling giddy and woozy, as the players filed back to the benches as the ‘Three Stars of the Game’ were announced. The Canterlot player that scored their two goals was the third star. The Ponyville goalie, Timberlea, as Sunnie came to know, was the second star, and she skated around the centre circle, pumping the crowd up. Stick, to the surprise of nopony, was the first star, blushing furiously as somepony plopped Velvet’s sunhat on his head as he skated around the rink.
“He looks better than me in it!” Velvet laughed. While the dejected Canterlot fans started for the train station, the much larger group Ponyville supporters hustled out of the rink towards the local pub, where the true celebration would begin. Kace and Sugar stayed in their seats though, a wide grin on both their faces, as they watched Stick and Timberlea help finish off picking up the last of the hats as the rest of the players cleared the ice, kicking off their skates and heading over to the pub, still in full gear.
“Hey Cherries, you comin’?” Buzz yelled out as he hung his helmet on a stanchion near the bench.
“Not just yet!” Kace looked at Stick and Timberlea skate around the rink, then turned to Sunnie and Velvet. “You know, they won’t take the rink down until tomorrow.” The wide grin that split his face grew only wider. “Have you two ever ice skated before?”