//------------------------------//
// Chapter IV – The First Hurdle 
// Story: On and off the Pitch 
// by Acologic 
//------------------------------//





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On and off the Pitch
by Acologic

4.

The First Hurdle

***


‘Keep it simple!’ Celestia called as Whirlwind attempted a tricky ball to the wing. It was picked off in the air by a tall midfielder – luckily, Whirlwind won it back. The Giants’ striker made to tackle. 

‘Pony on!’ cried Celestia, whose warning resulted in Whirlwind’s passing the ball just in time. 

‘You’ve got time,’ he said meekly to Bouncer. 

Bouncer passed to Celestia, who passed to Pot Luck, who passed back. Celestia saw Solar in the hole and played the ball in to him. 

‘Hold it up!’ she said.

Whirlwind ran forwards, Solar knocked it back and Whirlwind, with his first touch, played it through to Moonweight. 

‘Close him down!’ screeched one of the griffons. 

‘Shoot!’ shouted Celestia.

Moonweight rushed his effort, however, dragging his hoof across the ball, which rolled harmlessly out for a goal kick. 

‘Unlucky!’ said Celestia. ‘Well played, though, let’s keep this up, people!’

The Giants’ keeper booted it long. Sky Scraper beat his griffon in the air with ease, sending the ball back up the pitch. The team had gone quiet, unused to the norms of communication on a hoofball pitch. 

‘Shout for it, come on, now!’ Celestia encouraged. ‘Shout for it!’

‘Mine!’ called Flash, jumping. 

But he was pushed to the ground by the opposition’s full-back, who had climbed Flash to reach the ball. There was a short blast of the referee’s whistle.

‘Foul,’ he said. ‘Free kick.’ 

‘Stick with your pony!’ said the Giants’ captain, marking Celestia tightly.

‘Whip it!’ said Beamer, moving around inside the box. 

Whirlwind obliged. Solar tried to get his head to the ball, but the Griffonstone keeper caught it. 

‘Out!’ he screamed, throwing it far. ‘Out!’

‘Back now!’ said Celestia. ‘Back!’

Moonweight fouled the griffon in possession and was shown a yellow card. Protest came, but the referee was having none of it. 

‘Griffonstone free kick,’ he grunted. 

Their captain let fly, but it was an easy save for Luna. A minute later, Griffonstone regained possession and went for goal again – this time Celestia blocked the shot. 

‘Mark up!’ she yelled as Griffonstone readied the corner. ‘Watch the runners! Follow the runners!’

Too late. The striker who’d missed during the warm-up rose impressively and aimed a powerful header towards goal. It missed by inches. 

‘Who’s watching number nine?’ asked Luna helplessly. 

‘Wake up, people, this isn’t good enough!’ said Celestia. 

But she needn’t have worried. Her guards’ general discipline was beginning to show through, and their training had equipped them with the means to utilise it. Tightening up at the back, they found their rhythm and soon created chances. Solar nearly opened the scoring with a drive that cannoned off the crossbar, and Flash cut inside to test the keeper, who made a decent save. Whirlwind came close with another free kick, but at half-time the score remained nil-nil. 

‘Good show,’ said Celestia, panting, and she beckoned to Joachim, who was readying the water bottles. ‘All right, everypony, have a drink.’ 

They drank deeply. Joachim, who, on Celestia’s orders, had been observing the match being played on the opposite pitch, watched.

‘Nil-nil in the other match too,’ he reported with uncharacteristic enthusiasm. ‘What a game it’s been! The Vanhoover Vandals have this player unlike anypony I’ve ever seen –’

Celestia raised an eyebrow. ‘I thought you were gathering information on the Wondercolts, not ogling the other players.’ 

Joachim blushed. ‘I am, Your Highness, that is to say, I’m not ogling, but – well, she’s fantastic! You’d better watch out, you’ll be playing against her tomorrow.’ 

‘P for problems, Joachim,’ said Celestia dismissively. 

‘Huh?’ said Luna, who was listening. 

‘There’s no P in future – and therefore no problems about which we should worry.’

‘How’d you work that one out?’ asked Luna.

‘It’s a saying, Luna! Anyway, enough of this nonsense! Team talk, people!’

The team stood together in an awkward huddle. 

‘We’re playing very well,’ began Celestia, ‘but we aren’t scoring. Not to worry, though, I have a plan. 

‘Those pesky griffons are going to try to hit us hard come the restart. That doesn’t scare me – they haven’t enough fuel left in the tank. Now, I don’t want to see anypony doing any more than they have to. Keep possession. Make them chase. They’ll tire quickly and that’s when we’ll strike! Flash?’

‘Your Highness?’

‘I like what you’re doing. Cut inside, then pass or shoot. They aren’t quick down the right, and we must take advantage of that. Cash, you need to start cutting the ball back.’ 

Cash nodded. 

‘If you don’t shoot,’ Celestia told the team, ‘you don’t score. I want to see a tad more courage in the final third, then, if you please! Thank you! Now get out there and finish the job!’ 

The second half started as Celestia had predicted – with the griffons playing hardball. Mere seconds after the whistle, the Giants’ captain brought Whirlwind down viciously. 

‘Canterlot free kick!’ snarled the referee, brandishing his yellow card. The captain spat. 

‘Have a crack!’ called Luna from her goal.

‘Five in the wall!’ said the Griffonstone keeper. 

Whirlwind waited for the referee’s cue, then curled his shot over the wall. It soared past the claws of the goalie and hit the net. 

‘Yes!’

‘Come on!’ Celestia punched the air, jubilant. 

The team surrounded Whirlwind, bumping hooves with him and clapping him on the back. Celestia embraced him, her stomach dancing, but let go very quickly and, embarrassed, shared a grin with Luna, who had come off her line to celebrate. 

Ten minutes later, they scored again: Celestia grunted as the Giants’ captain barged her. 

‘Wha—? HOW DARE YOU!’ she shrieked. ‘ASSAULTING ROYALTY! I COULD HAVE YOU FLOGGED!’

Cash took the commotion as an opportunity to square the ball to an unmarked Moonweight, whose effort rippled the inside netting. 

‘Ha ha!’ crowed Celestia as Moonweight celebrated and the griffons argued angrily between themselves. ‘That’ll teach you, ha ha!’

It seemed as though the Canterlot Elite could do no wrong, whereas the griffons’ play became wilder and wilder. 

‘Foul!’ shouted the team in unison as one of the Giants crunched into the now-feebly-stirring Flash Sentry. Celestia grimaced.

‘Joachim!’ she called. ‘Bring a stretcher!’ 

‘Do we even have a stretcher?’ muttered Beamer.

But Flash, to her relief, was even tougher than she thought, and shaking himself lucid, he played on. In fact, it was thanks to Flash that they scored their final goal, he beating two defenders before preparing to cross.

‘I’m open!’ screamed Celestia, surging forwards, curving her run to beat the offside trap just as they had done in training. The griffons were too slow to react in time. Flash pinged it towards her head. She met it in the air but connected badly, the ball glancing off her horn. It was this error, however, that wrong-footed the goalkeeper, and the ball bounced over the goal line. She raised a hoof in celebration, laughing, while the griffons tried to shift the blame.  

‘Come on!’ she shouted, punching the sky as the team converged on her, congratulating her with far more enthusiasm than they had their peers. ‘Come on!’ 

The Giants had nothing left to give. The match ended three-nil. 

‘Spectacular!’ said Celestia, hugging whoever was nearest (one of the griffons, looking murderous). ‘Terrific! Tremendous!’ 

‘Nice goal, Sister,’ said Luna, grinning. Celestia laughed in both delight and relief.

‘Victory, Luna, victory! Drink it in!’

‘Two-one to the Wondercolts,’ Joachim announced as he handed out the water bottles. ‘What a match!’ 

On the pitch next to theirs, players were bumping hooves and mumbling, ‘Well played.’ Celestia watched as a mare wearing Vandals tangerine detached herself from the rest of her team and trotted over to where the Wondercolts’ manager was stood. Even from this distance, Celestia noticed Rainbow Dash stiffen. 

‘Your Highness, that’s her,’ whispered Joachim excitedly. ‘The player I told you about!’

‘Rainbow,’ said the mare, nodding.

‘Lightning,’ responded Rainbow, nodding back. Celestia shrugged and turned away. 

‘We shall deal with her later. Tonight, we celebrate!’ 

And she led the team back to the changing rooms, chanting once again.