//------------------------------//
// Chapter 6: Week 2, Manehattan Equestrians at Tall Tale Dreamers 
// Story: Strong Talons 
// by Ambizar 
//------------------------------//

'Just ignore them,' I repeated to myself in my head. 'Just ignore them.'
Metal weights clanged against their iron holders and safety catches and made dull thuds as they were unceremoniously thrown on the tarmac floor, mixing with a cacophony of masculine grunts as stallions strained against the heavy plates and dumbbells. Though there was upbeat music from the radio playing through speakers overhead, it couldn't drown out the symphony of high testosterone around me.
I was in the Manehattan Dome's player gym, surrounded by my offensive teammates and legions of expensive-looking gym equipment. My weekday mornings always started with a tough workout and team meetings before we all took the field for practice. I did my absolute best to focus on pushing the metal handles away from my chest, struggling against the weighted pulleys that turned the otherwise simple task into strenuous exercise. Unfortunately, it's hard to focus on working out when three of my teammates are right next to me, staring at me like vultures.
I strained as I managed to almost push the legs up for the very last rep, but a tiny snicker from Snowfall made me lose concentration just long enough for my chest muscles to falter and send the weighted pieces clanging back to the rest position. I groaned and turned to my left.
"What!?" I asked him impatiently. He just kept glaring at me with the same wicked amusement. Him, Citrus Sprint, and Tremor Blitz had just been standing around me all morning, saying nothing but implying everything. It was normal for the quarterbucks, tight ends, and wide receivers to all work out together; Hoofrocket, Hightower, Midnight Eclipse, and Blitzing Wing were all near us in the gym, too. But unlike the three that had been pestering me all morning, they were actually working out like they were supposed to. The only ones that were missing were Marathon Iron and Rush Rider, our third tight end. Marathon Iron had an unbecoming habit of working out by himself in his personal gym rather than with his team, against our coach's preferences. Rush Rider, on the other hoof, was sick with the feather flu. We hoped he would be better in time for our game with Tall Tale.
My annoying friends wouldn't answer me, but I knew exactly what this was about; Giselle. The whole team had watched me mingle and dance with her at Claspwing's, and I had prepared myself for a day of relentless teasing. Somehow, though, this had ended up being much, much worse. I sat up on the machine, trying to stretch out the now-sore muscles in between my front legs.
I glared at Snowfall again. "Are you gonna use this thing or not? You're supposed to be too hungover to pester me today."
"Hmm," Tremor Blitz finally broke the agonizing silence. "Tell you what, Gaius, I'll take a few reps. When you finally tell us everything about that pretty griffon you spent last night with."
Despite my best efforts, I could feel my face getting heated. Even my pitch-black and bright orange facial feathers wouldn't be able to hide the blush that resulted. "What's it to you guys?"
Citrus Sprint finally spoke up as I hopped off of the lateral press and Tremor took my place. "I think Tremor's just jealous that somepony finally upstaged him the dance floor. That being said, I never knew you were such a ladykiller, rookie. First, all those mares follow you into Le Merveilleux, then a week later you're dancing with a griffon lady in a nightclub."
Snowfall started snickering again to my right. I tried to keep my voice cool and even as I responded. 
"There's nothing to tell. We met at the bar, we talked, we danced, we both went home. Separately." I fought the urge to faceclaw as I added the last word with a bit too much emphasis. Neither Snowfall, Sprint, or Tremor looked satisfied, the latter making a big show of just sitting on the machine and doing nothing, waiting for more details. But the voice that answered me didn't belong to any of them.
"Sorry, kid." Hoofrocket approached us with a towel draped over his shoulders, which at this point seemed to just be his natural look. He had been watching us all morning from a distance. Thankfully, he hadn't done anything to annoy me yet, but he hadn't intervened, either. Looks like he'd finally made up his mind as to which side he was on.
"You don't get off that easy. I have to say, you kinda hurt my feelings yesterday. You told me you were leaving, but instead you went to hang out with a pretty girl." Hoofrocket looked to the rest of the guys for what was sure to be their complete support. "Surely, the least you can do is provide us a few details."
I groaned. At this point I had the attention of everyone in the gym. I pointed an accusing talon at my quarterbuck. "Aren't you supposed to be on my side?"
"Oh, I am. You'll have to spill the beans to everypony eventually, Gaius. Might as well get it over with. Trust me, it'll make the locker room a lot easier to deal with today."
I relented with a defeated sigh. "Okay, okay, fine. Her name is Giselle."
Snowfall rubbed a temple, obviously still slightly suffering from his many pints last night. "Does every griffon's name start with a 'G'? He asked.
"Most of them, from what I know. Griffons are kind of-" I shook my head and groaned. "Not important. Anyways, she recognized me, I guess she thought I was cute, we talked. We danced. Uhhh... she's an aspiring actress living in Manehattan..." I started fishing for more details without revealing the information I truly dreaded them hearing. They still didn't look satisfied. As much as I didn't want to, I knew I'd have to give them something substantial so they'd let me off the hook. "She gave me an address so I could write her and then she left with her friends. That's it guys, honest. So for the love of Celestia, can you leave me alone? Please."
Some of them began looking at each other and nodding, and I had a sudden ray of hope. But one look at Hoofrocket's face quelled it. Darn quarterbucks, why were they so observant? I guess when your career depends on being able to scan an entire field of players perfectly in a few seconds, it takes a special breed of focus. I shot him a quick pleading look in complete desperation. To my amazement, his gaze softened, until he hit me with a look with that said 'fine, but I'm coming back for you later'. I'd take it. Unfortunately for me, he wasn't the only quarterbuck in the room. And while Tremor Blitz wasn't quite as perceptive as 'Rocket, he still had the ability to read me better than most ponies.
"Nope, sorry Gaius. You're still hiding something." He smiled cruelly. "I told you, I wanted to hear everything."
My body deflated. Even with Hoofrocket backing down, I had lost. I looked up at my teammates pathetically as I grinded my teeth in irritation. "You guys are actually the worst, you know that?"
Tremor shrugged. "Hate us all you want, but we're not going anywhere until you confess, and neither are you. Besides, it'll be a lot easier if we're spreading the details later so you don't have to get cornered by everypony on the team in the locker room."
As frustrated as I was, I had to admit that he had a point. There wasn't a point in trying to lie with two pro quarterbucks staring me in the face, so I just got it out as quickly as I could: "We're going on a date sometime next week."
The mood of the room completely changed. My teammates had immediately gone from interrogating me to whooping and congratulating me. As improbable as it seemed, I hated it even more.
Hightower surged forward to put me in a headlock and mercilessly ruffle my head feathers. "'Atta boy, Gaius! Way to go get 'em!"
"They grow up so fast," Tremor said nostalgically as he mockingly wiped a fake tear from his eye.
Snowfall trotted up to me with an annoyingly large smile as I pushed away from our bulky tight end. "Now was that so hard? Now tell me, where's your first date, Casanova?"
I tried my best to swallow my rapidly-rising irritation. "Don't know. We didn't decide. I have to write her first."
"Aw, don't worry Gaius." Tremor sat up proudly on the lateral press, which he still hadn't used at all. "As your resident love expert, I'll happily volunteer to help you write your first letter to your special somepony... or... ya know, somegriffon."
I glared daggers at him. "Absolutely not. And she's not my special somegriffon." I couldn't help but blush slightly as I continued. "At least, not yet."
This raised more lighthearted laughter from the team, deepening my embarrassment even further. Thankfully, Snowfall must have finally decided that I'd suffered enough, because he turned on Tremor Blitz.
"I'll admit you have a pretty marefriend, Tremor, but wouldn't 'Rocket and Hightower be the resident love experts here since they're actually... you know, married?" He pointed a hoof at the backup quarterbuck. "I'm afraid you don't earn that title until you've popped the question."
I turned to Tremor, happy to finally have somepony in the embarrassment spotlight other than me. His reaction, however, wasn't one I was expecting. His eyes darted away and the faintest hint of red crept up his face. He managed to recover fairly quick, but it was too late. And if I had noticed, it was a forgone conclusion that 'Rocket had, too.
"You're not!" Hoofrocket's tone was accusatory, but his face was full of excitement. The tension and excitement in the room grew and grew as more of my teammates realized what was happening. Citrus Sprint slammed his hooves against the lat press machine in a hurried attempt to get right in Tremor Blitz's face.
"Are you going to propose to Rose!?"
Everypony in the room turned on Tremor like hungry timberwolves. After a lot of excited chatter, he finally managed to shush everyone enough to get a few words out.
"I don't know! I've just been considering it!"
Hoofrocket raised an eyebrow. "Just considering? That's a bit disappointing."
There were rising levels of chatter from all of us until Tremor finally relented.
"Look, I've just been thinking. 'Berry and I are really happy right now. Things have been going real good. But... I guess I just don't know if she's all that serious about me. I mean, we've been together several months now, but I'm hardly the first pony she's dated. She is a model, after all."
"And you're just a pro athlete," I said dryly.
There were a few laughs at my comment, but Tremor's ears pinned back. "Yeah, but I'm just a backup, and that's all I'll be as long as 'Rocket's here."
"That has nothing to do with Blackberry Rose," Hoofrocket said sternly. "Do you love her, Tremor?"
The pony in question sat and wrung his hooves. "I mean..."
"It's a simple question. Yes or no?" 'Rocket's eyes narrowed.
Tremor sighed and looked away. "Yeah, I do. I really do."
Hoofrocket noticeably perked up. "Then that's all that matters. Now, I expect you to start working on one heck of a proposal. We've got to set a good example for Gaius, after all." He turned and gave me a wink. I begrudgingly felt all of the eyes in the room slowly turn back to me.
His face then suddenly got serious. "And in the mean time, I certainly shouldn't need to explain that Blackberry Rose doesn't need to hear anything about this conversation from anypony present, right?" My quarterbuck looked over each of us in turn. "Because if any of you sorry bucks spill the beans to our dear friend's soon-to-be fiancé, you'll have me to deal with. Am I clear?"
There were plenty of wide eyes nods at his comment. He gave a seasoned look of satisfaction. "Good. Now, in case you've all forgotten, the point of being in a gym is to work out, and I haven't seen much of that from some of you today." He gave a curt look to Snowfall and Tremor Blitz. "Be a shame if coach Playmaker found out some of us were messing around in his gym, wouldn't it?"
As everyone finally got back to business, I couldn't help but be impressed. Hoofrocket had effortlessly controlled the room; not from fear or blackmail, but from respect. Not even Bronze had garnered authority like that back in Vanhoover. I tried to imagine an entire locker room shutting up just from me raising a talon, but all that came to mind was everyone laughing at my efforts to be tough.
Snowfall broke through my fantasizing. "You know I expect a detailed report of that date next week, right?"
I turned back to him and leered. "Aren't you supposed to be working out?"
He laughed me off as he finally made his way over to a treadmill. I sighed as I made my way over to the free weights. I'd be lying if I said I didn't like my teammates, but they were a lot to handle sometimes.


<*****>-------<*****>


I tapped the tip of the quill repeatedly against my beak. Nothing. Nada. Absolutely no ideas. I was sitting on a barstool at my apartment's kitchen counter, deep in my third attempt of the day to write my letter to Giselle. It had gotten late, Mom and Dad were already asleep in the spare bedroom. I rubbed my tired eyes. I had practice again tomorrow, then the next day we were leaving on train for Tall Tale. Practice had been a bit rough with everyone pestering me about Claspwing's, but ever since I got home I'd been trying and failing to formulate the letter I'd promised to write.
"Stupid brain!" I gave myself a few knocks on the head. "Write something already! I need to have this letter ready to be sent tomorrow!"
I stared at the blank sheet of parchment in front of me for a few more minutes, but no words were formed. Finally, my head slumped down to the counter in defeat.
"What am I even supposed to write about?" I complained. "Thanks for giving me you address? Thanks for dancing with me? I like your flank?" My throat almost caught on the last sentence. Yeah, definitely wasn't going to write that. Maybe I needed Tremor Blitz's help with this stupid letter after all. At least Mom hadn't heard me-
"You like who's flank?" said a terrifyingly familiar voice behind me. I turned around to see my mother, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes and staring at me through the doorway of the guest room. I could hear Dad snoring softly through the open door.
"Uh, nothing!" I said as I swiveled around as innocently as I could. "Uh, so, what are you doing up this late?"
Mom narrowed her eyes. "Gaius, you've been acting strange ever since you got home today. You-" her brow furrowed as she noticed the quill I held in my talons. "Are you writing something?"
"Uh, yeah, I just uh..." My mind fished around for an acceptable lie. "Just trying to take some notes over some stuff that happened at practice today. Sorry if I woke you up."
Now, my mother may not have had the scary social awareness of a quarterbuck, but she absolutely knew when I tried to lie. Her eyes narrowed and she descended upon me.
"I don't think so, young man. Now tell me what you're really doing."
Great. First my teammates, now my mother. I sighed. "Okay, fine. So you know that I went to Claspwing's last night, right?"
"Yeah, you went to a restaurant with your hoofball friends, right?"
"Yes." I tried to hide the tinge of annoyance in my voice. "As I was saying, we all went to Claspwing's last night and I... met a girl."
Mom's eyes went wide. "Really? Who? What's she like? Is she-"
"I'm getting to that Mom." I sighed again and turned back to the blank paper. "She's a griffon named Giselle. We met at the bar and-"
"You were drinking?" She raised an eyebrow that matched her disapproving tone.
"No, no!" I waved my talons defensively. "I just... oh for crying out loud, let me finish, Mom! I was sitting at the bar, drinking something that was distinctly not alcoholic, she introduced herself to me, we talked for a while, she asked me to dance, and when we left she gave me her address so I could write her a letter. That's what I'm trying to do now."
Mom looked puzzled. I raised an eyebrow.
"She asked you to dance with her in a restaurant?" She asked.
"Well..." I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly. "It's also kind of a nightclub."
"Gaius! You didn't tell us you were going to a nightclub!" She glared at me. This was why living with your parents sucked.
"Mom, I'm a grown griffon." I said flatly. She huffed.
"That doesn't mean I need to approve."
"Look," I said in exasperation. "The point is, I really like this girl, I'm trying to write her a letter, and I have no idea what to say. Do you think you could... help me out?"
She tapped her hoof on the floor in irritation. Finally, she gave a soft smile and walked over to the cabinets to retrieve a glass. "Well, if you really like her, try to be casual. Don't be too assertive, but also try to give her a reason to write back. If she gave you her mailing address, she obviously thinks at least something of you." She winked as she turned on the kitchen faucet.
"Well," I started. "I kinda also asked her on a date, so... I figured I needed to write something about that, too."
There was a loud clank as mom dropped her glass in the sink. She turned on a dime and stamped her hoof.
"You have a date and you didn't tell me?" She demanded.
"This happened yesterday!" I growled as I pulled at my head feathers. "Look, Mom, are you gonna help me or not?"
She sighed in frustration. "Do you know where you want to take this mare for your date. Or... griffon?"
I shook my head. "I don't know many places in Manehattan, I haven't been here very long. We already met at Claspwing's and I think Le Merveilleux would be a bit too much for a first date. Not to mention I probably can't afford it." There was also the fact that the Periwinkle incident practically gave me PTSD, so that alone made me want to avoid the fancy Prench restaurant.
Mom gingerly picked up her glass out of the sink. "Well, there's a really pretty central park here in Manehattan. Maybe you could have a picnic or something?" She smiled. "I can't remember if I told you, but one of the most romantic dates your father ever took me on was a picnic back in Vanhoover."
I scratched my beak in contemplation. "That... might actually work. But..." I sighed. "I don't know if a griffon I met at a nightclub would have any interest in a picnic. Are you sure?"
Mom turned back towards me, glass in hoof. "You asked for my advice and I gave it to you. To be honest, I don't know many places in Manehattan, either. You've been here longer than me, honey."
"Alright, fine. Picnic it is." I picked the quill back up. "There's still this letter to write, though."
"Just be genuine, sweetie." Mom finished her water and put the glass back in the sink, gently this time. "And for the record, if you're going to be dating this girl. I want to meet her. And her parents."
"This isn't that serious, Mom," I hissed. "At least, not yet."
Mom trotted back to the guest bedroom. "Good night, Gaius. You need to go to sleep, son. You have practice tomorrow." 
She shut the door behind her. I grunted and rubbed my temples in irritation. While I dearly loved my parents, I was very much hoping they'd find a new home soon. This apartment was clearly not big enough for all of us. Periwinkle was supposed to be the worst part of living here, but she was in danger of being dethroned.
With one final sigh, I finally put quill to parchment and began to write.
Dear Giselle, ...


<*****>-------<*****>


"So you haven't gotten a response, yet? This griffon better not be playing hard to get." Snowfall clicked his tongue. "My little bro deserves better."
"Little what?" I said, annoyed. "I only sent the letter yesterday. She probably only got it this morning. And for the record, I'm only like, two years younger than you."
"Still counts as little." he grinned. "And that doesn't matter. She should've taken off the second she read it. If I don't find her at this station ready to fall at your hooves... or, talons, begging you to stay behind for her, this lady and I are gonna have words."
I rolled my eyes. "Whatever, man."
The morning sun shone down on an already busy Manehattan. We were just outside of Central Station, The large building that controlled most of the trains that came to and from the city. The building wasn't near as tall as most of other skyscrapers that dominated Manehattan's skyline, but it was almost ridiculous just how much ground it covered. Dozens of trains ran through the station every day, and one of them was getting ready to take our entire team to Tall Tale.
While the outside of the building had been impressive, the inside was a complete maze. The ground and walls were made of marble and stucco, respectively, with green rugs and carpeted stairs of the same colors leading to all different sorts of loading stations. My eyes widened in panic at the chaos and sheer number of ponies trying to get from point A to point B.
"Don't worry, rookie." Snowfall smiled. "I know where we're going."
I breathed a sigh of relief. In all honesty, I was glad to have him around. I seriously doubted I'd be able to navigate this place without him. We were both decked out in saddlebags with large overnight bags slung across our backs. I was simply dressed in a limited-edition Equestrians jacket that the team had given me. Snowfall was dressed more casually in a plain gray hoodie and a cap with some designer logo on it.
"Follow me." He unfurled his wings and took off, and I quickly followed suit. We flew to the giant second-floor marble balcony and down one of the carpeted halls. Once we were through, the crowd thinned significantly and we noticed a familiar group of individuals by one of the train docks.
"Hey there, griffon." High Impact smirked as Snowfall and I landed. I fought the urge to roll my eyes. "Hi, Impact."
The massive guard lumbered forward, and I expected a fresh round of meat-headed jokes at my expense per usual, but instead he just pulled off his overnight bag and hoofed it out to me. I sat and stared at it.
"What?" I asked. Impact's brow furrowed.
"You don't know?" He asked. He shot a questioning look at Snowfall. "Have you not been telling this kid anything?"
I expected Snowfall to be having a similar reaction to me, but he seemed perfectly at ease.
"Not necessarily my job," He answered casually before returning to me. "You see, Gaius, on road games, rookies are kinda expected to carry the veterans' stuff for them if they ask. It's like a show of respect. You know, paying your dues."
I stared at him, dumbfounded. "You're kidding."
"Nope." High Impact answered for him, and all but threw his massive bag at me. I caught it, even at the expense of almost getting knocked over. "Thanks, rookie, means a lot." He cackled.
I watched as he walked off to talk to some of the other offensive lineponies. I stared down at the massive bag that was just dumped on me. I began to wonder if High Impact and Snowfall were just messing with me, but out of the corner of my eye I saw Setmatch, our rookie backup safety drafted after me in the later rounds, carrying four overnight bags and suitcases of his own. He was small in stature, typical of a defensive back, and he looked like he could topple over from the weight at any minute.
Eventually, I just grumbled and slung the massive bag over my back with mine. "This sucks."
"Eh, maybe." Snowfall said. "But it's all part of the EHL rookie experience. Everypony here went through it, me included."
I stared grumpily at the floor. "I guess."
"Looks like somepony learned the rookie rule." Tremor Blitz said as he approached us from behind. I turned with my snarky retort at the ready, but was met with another overnight bag tossed at me. "Means a lot to me, Gaius."
"Oh, not you, too." I huffed and slung the bag on top of the others. I was running out of room on my back. "Why is this a thing?"
"Because you youngsters need to learn respect." Tremor smirked. "Keeps your heads from getting too big."
"I'd like to think I didn't have that problem to begin with." I retorted. If I didn't practically live in a gym, I'd probably really be struggling with the weight on my back. I really hoped nopony else had a bag to give me. At least Snowfall was still carrying his.
"We just about ready?" Hoofrocket approached next, and my heart sunk. Bag number four, coming up. He must've seen my face, because he gave an amused smile. "No need, Gaius. I'm a grown stallion that can carry my own stuff. Unless you just want to volunteer for me."
I gave him an appreciative look, but was fully unaware of the giant linepony that had apparently just materialized behind me.
"Oh he volunteers, right kid?" High Impact gave me a bump in the flank that seemed much rougher than necessary. "After all, you wouldn't wanna disrespect our quarterbuck, would you?"
I was mentally calculating my chances of slashing High Impact and getting away before he bestowed his brawny retaliation. But before I could even turn around, Hoofrocket handled it for me.
"I said I'm fine, Imp. If you're that concerned, maybe you could carry my bags." 'Rocket's tone was full of poorly-concealed challenge. High Impact snorted and turned away.
"Whatever, 'Rocket. Just tryin' to make sure you're not spoiling the rookie."
I breathed a sigh of relief and turned to my quarterbuck.
"Thanks, man. Really."
He waved a hoof in dismissal. "Don't mind High Impact. It may be hard to believe, but he's got a big heart under all that meat."
"Very hard to believe." I said sarcastically. We all looked back as we heard a telltale whistle that announced the arrival of our train.


<*****>-------<*****>


Now, look, I appreciate Canterlot's Princesses as much as any Equestrian-raised griffon should, but Tall Tale took it to a whole different level when it came to the Princess of the Night. While the skyscrapers in the city weren't quite as grand or numerous as Manehattan's or perhaps even Vanhoover's, they made up for it by mostly being constructed of pure moonstone. This was also the case for Night Sister's Stadium, where we were set to play the Tall Tale Dreamers tomorrow.
The unique architecture ensured the city held all of its visitors in a dream-like trance as soon as they arrived, especially if they did so at night like us. The magical properties of the moonstone absorbed Celestia's sunlight during the day and glowed with a radiant beauty throughout the night, which I'm pretty sure would probably be poetic for somepony who cared more about Equestrian history than me. As we departed from the train station, which fittingly had a black stone statue of Princess Luna dominating its front courtyard, Snowfall whistled at the beautiful display put on by the city before us.
"I gotta admit, this place never fails to take my breath away." He surprised me by digging into his saddlebags with a wing and pulling out a disposable camera, which he quickly used to snap a picture of the softly glowing metropolis. It seemed as if every building in the city's center was reflecting light from the moon itself, even though it was truly leftover from the sun.
"Yeah," I said quickly. As much as I wanted to appreciate the view, I still had 3 bags strapped to me. And while the weight hadn't started bogging me down yet, it was taking a lot of effort to keep them from slipping off my back.
"You ever been here, rookie?" Blitzing Wing said as he casually strode past me.
"Of course I have." I said bluntly. "Vanhoover's just north of this place."
"So," Wing responded with a hint of excitement in his voice. "Does that you have some ideas of what to do for fun tonight? The night's still young."
To be honest, I wasn't necessarily in the mood for fun. Since we had to cover the entire distance of Equestria to get here from Manehattan, I'd been cooped up on the train with the rest of the team for almost a day and a half. And believe me, sleeping on a train isn't nearly as fun as it sounds, especially when High Impact is sawing logs in the bunk underneath yours. Now that I was once again saddled with his and Tremor's bags on top of my own, all I really wanted was to find our hotel and crash.
"Uh, not really. Usually the only time I came here was when my parents brought me for a hoofball game when the Hydras played here. Or when we played Tall Tale Academy." I shifted High Impact's bag as it tried to slip off my back. "I can't say I know this place too well, other than the stadium."
Tremor Blitz trotted past me, looking annoyingly unencumbered with just his saddlebags. "Well that's just fine, Gaius, because I know exactly where to go to have fun around here. They have this super cool nightclub called Moondancer's."
"Actually, I think I just wanna head to the hotel." We were walking the streets now, thankfully not drawing nearly as much attention as a large group of hoofball stars should out in the open. The streets were fairly busy, mostly full of modestly dressed unicorns. Unicorns were the most common kind of pony to find in Tall Tale, but unlike Canterlot, the citizens here weren't generally very stuck-up or haughty. They were mostly just characterized by their strange appreciation for the moon princess and their hoofball team.
Snowfall arched an eyebrow at me. "You sure, bud? It'd be kind of a shame to just sleep away a night like this one, especially after being stuck in that train for so long."
"I'm sure." I said flatly. If he had been carrying three bags and went roughly 36 hours without sleep, he may have understood my sentiments. Setmatch was too far behind us to see, but I imagined that he probably shared them, too.
Actually, there was one thing I wanted to do before I called it a night. According to the map I'd read on the train, Tall Tale's post office wasn't too far from our hotel, and I happened to be expecting a letter from somepony special. I'd mailed the letter I'd written to Giselle before we'd left Manehattan, and I'd informed the Manehattan Post Office that I'd be in Tall Tale today if any mail got fowarded. While it was unlikely that a letter could've gotten here already even if Giselle had responded and mailed it immediately, a foalish part of me couldn't help but hope for the improbable. Of course, I wasn't exactly going to announce that to the entire team. I'd managed to escape embarrassment from the whole Giselle situation on the trip thus far, and I'd have liked to keep it that way.
When we were finally almost all the way to our hotel, Hoofrocket finally appeared at the front of the pack. "So, Gaius," He asked. "You going with out with the guys tonight? 
"Probably not." I said. "I'm pretty beat. I wanna be rested up for the game tomorrow." There was certainly a lot of truth in what I'd just said, and Hoofrocket seemed to be convinced.
"Me, too." He said to my surprise. He looked down at me. "What? In case you haven't noticed, I'm a bit older than most of the guys here. I can't exactly be up all hours of the night and be ready to go the next day anymore."
That made sense. I kept quiet as we finally arrived at the grand swiveling doors of the Luster Hotel. It reminded me a lot of the lobby of my apartment building in Manehattan, just with a lot more moonstone. It had a similar front desk, a balcony ringing the lobby, and floors of alternating marble and moonstone tiles, which humorously almost gave the impression of dance floor with the bright glow. Thankfully, however, nopony behind the front desk was Periwinkle.
I expected a mess at the front desk trying to get everypony situated to their rooms, just like when we travelled back in academy, but all Hoofrocket and Coach Playmaker had to do was nod to the ponies on duty, and they immediately began setting out room keys on the desk.
"All right, little ponies!" Coach Playmaker barked. "We've already discussed who's getting what rooms. If you don't remember, that's your problem! Come grab your keys and get set up. I don't care how late you're out tonight, I'm not your fillysitter, but if anypony's not at Night Sister's Stadium by noon tomorrow, I'll have their flank! Dismissed."
Everyone immediately descended upon the front desk to grab their respective room keys. Luckily, I remembered which one I was supposed to be in; I was rooming with Snowfall. As I tried to move forward, I accidentally bumped into somepony on my left. I turned to see the slate gray coat of Marathon Iron, looking every bit as tired as I felt. He eyed me in irritation momentarily, but then looked at the surplus of bags I was carrying and put on a smug look of satisfaction. He turned back around towards the counter.
I could've sworn steam was coming out my ears. I managed to swallow my anger and waited until I could finally grab my keys and head for the elevator. M.I. hadn't really talked to me at all after the opening game. It almost felt like he was intentionally avoiding me, not that I minded too much. I didn't exactly have much to say to the guy. After dropping off Tremor Blitz's and High Impact's bags, I dragged myself to my room and flopped on my bed.
"Oh, thank Celestia," I moaned into the pillow, thankful to no longer be the offense's personal pack mule. Snowfall snickered from somewhere in the room.
"You're that tuckered out just from a train ride? I don't know if you're gonna make it in the league, kid." I heard a thud as he unceremoniously threw his overnight bad in the room's tiny closet. I huffed and looked up.
"Easy for you to say, you didn't sleep right on top of Impact. He snores like a freight train."
"Fair point," he said evenly. "Even so, I worry about you, kid." He walked up to the room's wall mirror and checked his crystal-blue mane. "You sure you're not coming out tonight?"
"No offense, Snow, but at this point I think I'd rather die than leave this room."
He shrugged. "Suit yourself." After he walked out of the room, I laid back in the bed, doing my best not to fall asleep. After about an hour had passed, and I was sure everypony that was leaving had left, I got up and stretched my stiff joints.
"Ugh, finally," I muttered as I grabbed my saddlebags and pulled out my map of Tall Tale. I smiled. I'd remembered correctly, the post office was only a couple of blocks away.
I shrugged on my saddlebags and trotted hastily out of the room, but stopped when I opened the door saw my quarterbuck leaning against the wall on the opposite side of the hallway.
"Uh, who-wha-HUH?" I stammered. I forced myself to calm down, it wasn't like I was committing a crime or anything.
"So, not going out tonight, huh?" Hoofrocket asked with a wicked smile.
I coughed. "Uh, well, I just uhhh... hungry! I was hungry!" I tried to keep my smile from looking forced, and I'm pretty sure I failed. "Yeah, there's a, uh, restaurant I wanted to go to..."
"Really? Which one?" Hoofrocket's amusement hadn't subsided. I scrambled for an answer. 
"Uh... I kinda forgot the name?" I tried.
He finally sighed and dropped the act. "You're going to the post office, aren't you?"
My jaw dropped and my beak hung open. "How did you know?"
He chuckled. "Trade secret."
I arched an eyebrow "Are you stalking me or something?"
"No." He said with enough emphasis that I had to believe him. "I'm just good at putting two and two together. I knew you've written your griffon girl recently, and you seem the type that's a bit too impatient to wait for letters."
I groaned. "You should really be a detective."
He laughed and brushed his shoulder. "Maybe, but being a quarterbuck is cooler in my opinion."
I sighed and laughed with him. "Definitely cooler."
He winked at me and began walking back to the room he'd be sharing with Tremor Blitz. "Get outta here, Gaius. You're secret's safe with me."
"Thanks," I said. And I meant it. 'Rocket could definitely be a tease when he wanted, but overall, he was a pretty cool guy. I tried not to straight-up sprint my way out the hotel as I made my way to the post office.


<*****>-------<*****>


*Crunch!*
My body went flying as I got sandwiched in between two cornerbucks, both of which were bigger than me. I hit the turf hard, the hoofball still somehow firmly in my talons. I had the first down, but at what cost to me? As the referee blew their whistle to signify that I was down and the play was over, I saw Snowfall jog over to where I was laying sprawled on the ground.
"Yoo ah ight Guy us?" He and his blurry twin brother asked through the buzzing in my ears. Since when was there were two of him? I felt him grab my talon and pull me up.
"Hoo wha?" The noise of the crowd beat on my ears, matching the pounding in my head. "Snowfall? Who's your friend?"
Him and his twin's brows furrowed and they gave me a couple hard clops on the helmet. "Snap out of it, buddy, we need you! The clock's ticking!"
I shook the cobwebs out of my head and looked back at my fellow receiver. His out-of-focus double had thankfully disappeared, and I suddenly remembered where I was.
Night Sister's Stadium was the smallest in the EHL, seating less than 40,000 ponies at maximum capacity. It made sense; after all, Tall Tale was one of the smallest cities in Equestria to have a professional hoofball team. Even so, their fans were rabid for them, and the thousands of ponies crammed into the stands were cheering their hearts out for the Dreamers' defense.
The stadium itself was impressive in its own ways, despite being comparatively small. Unlike the Manehattan Dome, which was perfectly circular and featured a dome-like ceiling, hence the name, Night Sister's Stadium had no roof to speak of and was more oblong in shape. And, of course, it was mostly made of Tall Tale's signature moonstone, and boldly glowed in the early evening. 
We were nearing the end of the first half. We were ahead of the dreamers 14-10, and we were hoping to secure one more field goal for three more points before both teams headed into the locker rooms for half time. Both teams on the field had won their week one games; Tall Tale's defense wasn't quite as resilient as Fillydelphia's overall, but they were nowhere near pushovers. Likewise, their offense, lead by an earth pony quarterbuck named Dandelion, had been giving our defense some problems. Even more so than Fillydelphia's offense had. The team was counting on us to get a few more precious points to act as a safety blanket heading into the second half.
We finally got back into the huddle, where Hoofrocket was looking at me with concern. "You okay, Gaius?"
I nodded. "I'm good, just got my bell rang a bit is all." A seriously hard clop to my helmet from my left threatened to give me the exact concussion I had just narrowly avoided.
"Not bad, rookie," High Impact smiled next to me, looking like a mountain in hoofball pads. "You're tougher than I thought. Not many griffons I know could take a hit like that."
"Focus, guys." Hoofrocket commanded. "Clock's ticking. We have one more chance to get in field goal range, then it's up to Red Bartlett. Gaius, M.I., Snowfall, I need all of you to be ready. Ball's coming to whoever's open."
We all nodded. 
I lined up against one of the cornerbucks that had just compacted me, and I guessed from the smile behind his facemask that he'd love to do it again. Metalmane hiked the ball into 'Rocket's hooves, and I took off. I managed to outmaneuver my cornerbuck at the line of scrimmage, but the ball wasn't coming my way. Marathon Iron was a bit further down the field, and he'd gotten open, too. He caught the perfect pass effortlessly and managed to get a few more precious yards before he was tackled. The last seconds of the half were ticking down, and we had to get the kicking unit on the field if we were gonna get any more points before halftime.
I bolted off the field with most of the receiving unit as our kicker, Red Bartlett, and Tremor Blitz took the field. Not only was Tremor our backup quarterbuck, but when Red Bartlett attempted a field goal, he had the ball hiked to him and held it so Bartlett could kick. It was a selfless role without much recognition, but it was important.
The field goal unit got set just in time, and I watched as Bartlett's hoof slammed against the hoofball resting right underneath Tremor's hoof while the enemy defense tried their hardest to break through the extended offensive line and block the kick. It sailed almost forty yards straight through the uprights. The stadium erupted groans and boos as the scoreboard changed to 10-17, away. We were a full touchdown ahead. A loud buzzer sounded to announce the half was over.
Boos were mostly replaced with cheers as both teams retreated off the field to their respective locker room as halftime began. It was definitely a good feeling to go into the locker room with a full touchdown lead, but it would be our responsibility to keep that lead when the game continued. As I made my way down the sideline, Receiving Coach Long Haul came up to me wearing a slightly concerned expression.
"You alright, Gaius? Heck of a hit."
"I'm good coach." I said. He nodded, and went back to the complicated playsheets in his hooves.
As I made it to the end of the sideline, to my sheer surprise, Marathon Iron walked up next to me, looking as critical as ever.
"Don't get hit like that," he said matter-of-factly. I blinked.
"What?"
"You're smaller than most of the ponies out there. Don't take hits like that. Slide before contact if you have to."
I narrowed my eyes. "I'll keep that in mind."
He stared at me a while longer, then moved on ahead. I grumbled under my breath. As much as I hated to admit it, he was probably right. Too many hits like that could mean bad news for my body. Injuries were all too real when it came to hoofball.
Tremor took his place beside me before I'd managed to reach the locker room. He ruffled my head feathers in that annoying way he did. "Nice receiving out there, featherbrain."
I stared at him in shock and gave him a challenging smirk. "And what gives you the idea that you're allowed to call me that?"
"Uh..." He shrugged. "I've heard Snowy do it before?"
I did my best to look genuinely offended. "At least Snowfall's a pegasus. I don't see any wings on you. Care to explain yourself?"
His eyes went wide and he fumbled for an answer. Despite my best efforts, my laughing fit eventually broke free right as we reached the away team locker room. He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.
"Okay, so maybe that wasn't... okay."
"Probably not," I said, wiping away a tear. "But whatever."
I was able to have at least some satisfaction in the fact that I'd at least partially paid him back for making me carry his bag. Unfortunately, getting revenge on High Impact would probably prove to be a bit more challenging. The light chatter spreading around the locker room ground to a halt as Coach Playmaker walked into the room, looking ready to deliver one heck of a halftime speech.
"Alright, boys! There's blood in the water out there, and we're gonna take advantage! This is our game to win!"


<*****>-------<*****>


They probably heard the groan I let out when I finally made it back to my apartment in New Horseleans. I threw my bags on the living room floor and collapsed on the couch. The last few days had been... a lot.
We'd won the game against Tall Tale by two full touchdowns after pulling away in the second half, making us effectively 2-0 on the season. It was a bit too early for that kind of talk, but talk show analysts were already starting to list the Equestrians as favorites to make the Equestria Bowl, along with the Canterlot Royals, as always, and, amazingly, the Griffonstone Talons. They'd polished off the Baltimare Manticores the same night we defeated Tall Tale in a game the radio hosts were describing as anything but close. Deep down, I felt bad for Cobalt Steel. That had to be a blow to the confidence. Equestria had never seen a Griffonstone hoofball team that was actually good, much less dominant. Much to everypony's surprise, they were the talk of the hoofball world right now.
Despite the great win for my team, I was exhausted in ways that far surpassed being physically tired. The train rides had taken a lot out of me and all I wanted was to sleep before practice resumed again tomorrow. Compound that with having to deal with Periwinkle at the reception desk again on the way inside and still not having a letter from Giselle in my apartment's mail slot, and I was feeling quite the confusing mix of highs and lows.
"Hi, honey!" Mom said as she walked out of the guest bedroom. I turned my head to look at her with one eye.
"Hey," I said as energetically as I could. Dad was quick to follow her into the living room, and he looked way too excited for me to deal with right now.
"Hey, son! Heard the news on the radio! Way to take it to our old neighbors down south!" He trotted over to me, obviously expecting me to return his energy, but gave a confused look when I just stared at him tiredly. "You alright, Gaius?"
"I'm just really tired." I said as I slowly got up. All I wanted was a shower and several hours of solid sleep that wasn't occurring on a train with a pro hoofball team full of monstrous bucks ready to prank the first poor soul to lose consciousness. 
"Well, alright." He said as he made his way back to the room. "Oh, and you got some mail while you were gone."
"WHAT?" I exclaimed, my exhaustion temporarily forgotten. My gaze was ripped to a small stack of letters laying on the kitchen counter. "You guys got my mail?"
"Well, we figured it was the least we could do." Mom said as she laid against the other couch with a real estate magazine. "Don't worry, I didn't read any of them." The suggestive tone in her voice practically confirmed what I had been hoping for; Giselle had written back.
Her letter was sitting on top of two other ones. I carefully took it and made sure it hadn't been tampered with. Mom hadn't been lying, she hadn't opened it. Or at least, if she had, she'd hidden her tracks well enough that I couldn't tell. I cautiously sliced the top of the envelope open with my talon and took out the paper folded inside.

Gaius,
I'm glad to hear from you. What took you so long? (just kidding, I know it's only been a couple of days)
I must say, I rather do like the idea of a date in the park. Friday afternoon works perfect for me. I assume you'll be the one bringing the picnic basket? ;)
I've been listening to the radio quite a bit lately, and not just the music stations. They really seem to like talking about you. In fact, they do it almost as much as Gwendolyn and Gemma have since we danced at Claspwing's. It seems you're getting even more popular than I thought. How lucky that I get you to myself for an entire evening.
Although I'm writing before your game tonight, I'll go ahead and prematurely congratulate you on your win against Tall Tale. I'll be listening to it in a restaurant tonight over the radio. I know you'll show those ponies a thing or two out there ^^.
I look forward to seeing you Friday. Have fun at practice this week.
-Giselle

I felt some color creeping up onto my face. I quickly put the letter away before Mom could see me, but her face was still buried in her magazine. I collected the rest of the mail and retreated to my bedroom. "Night, guys!"
"Good night, Gaius!" She called.
"Have a good night, son!" I heard Dad yell from the guest room.
As soon as I closed the door, I pulled the letter back out and read it again.

How lucky that I get you to myself for an entire evening.

In that moment, all of the chaos of my demanding new life, nosy new friends, and the bombshell from my biological parents that I'd pushed far to the back of my mind were quelled, at least for a moment. The Equestrians were 2-0, I felt like I was at the top of my game, and I was going on date with the prettiest griffon in Equestria. I strolled into the master bath to take a well-deserved shower, an earnest smile on my face.
I had to admit, despite some annoyances, my life kind of rocked at the moment.