It was a fine feeling Saturday. The kind of Saturday weekend that would make one feel eager to break out into a musical number.
Today was not the case however.
On this Saturday, in the humble city of Canterlot, a young spunky high school sports star named Rainbow Dash was feeling the edge in her body: the edge to get out and move her body in a sports-like environment. Being that she was the queen of all physical sports activities in her school, some days it was hard to pick and choose which sport she wanted to practice. Looking around, she noticed her favorite pair of cleats, right next to her only soccer ball, after kicking the first out of existence five weeks back.
Getting on her cleats, she took out her phone to check for any recent developments. So far, there has not been anything new from the gang, which was a shame, so she added one herself.
Today at 9:37 a.m.
Rainbow: Hey, guys! Happy Saturday. Gonna go practice soccer. Anyone wanna come?Read at 9:38 a.m.
Sunset: Zzz. Go back to sleep.Read at 9:40 a.m.
Twilight: Can’t, Rainbow. I’m in the middle of a brand new experiment! Spike, where’s my coffee?!Read at 9:42 a.m.
Applejack: Can’t come to the phone, sorry.Read at 9:45 a.m.
Fluttershy: Sorry, Rainbow. I’m looking after Rarity’s cat while she’s out of town and she’s currently got the zoomies.Read at 9:45 a.m.
Pinkie: Sorry, Rainbow! Can’t come! Needed at work! Okay, bye!
Well, that was a bummer. Rainbow felt disappointed that she would be the only one on the soccer field that morning, but she still felt the need to get up and punt the ball on the field.
Tying down her laces and holding the ball, she activated her geode which sent her rainbow blazing across town at the speed of light to where her destination was: the Canterlot High soccer field. It being a public school, normally would have the basic amounts of gear and land for those with the itch for playing sports. For Rainbow Dash, it felt like her home away from home.
“Aw, yeah,” she beamed. “Time to get my groove on.”
Once she stepped down onto the field however, she noticed that there were some people already there, and practicing no less. What was even worse, and completely baffling, was that Twilight Sparkle (not the Equestrian princess) was sitting on the sidelines in anticipation while watching what looked to be a dog guarding the goal, and a middle-aged man in a soccer uniform and brown cleats. What was even more worse was that the man on the field was Wallace: the crazy egghead inventor who had just moved in town, and Twilight would not shut up about that man all day at lunch.
“Wake up, Gromit! You’ll have to be on your toes this week, lad,” Wallace said, looking surprisingly springy for his age and build.
“Hey, Rainbow!” Twilight called.
Rainbow walked over to where Twilight was sitting on the bleachers, with a notebook and pencil in hand. “You said you were busy with an experiment today, Twilight,” she said. “What gives?”
“To be fair, I was busy, and that was helping Wallace move his invention down here,” Twilight replied.
“And I was helping Gromit with the helping,” Spike, Twilight’s talking because of magic dog, added, “and we did all of the work, by the way.”
“Say, Twilight? Who’s your friend?” Wallace asked.
“This is Rainbow Dash, Wallace,” Twilight answered. “Rainbow—”
“Yeah, yeah, I know who he is,” Rainbow interrupted, still feeling peeved. “What exactly are you doing here, Wally?”
“Gromit and I are simply practicing our football skills,” Wallace replied, still carrying that giant smile of his on his bald head. “I used to play football as a lad, you know.”
“No, really,” Rainbow rolled her eyes. She then whispered to Twilight. “What does he think he is? This is soccer. Not football.”
“He’s from Britain, and over there they call soccer football, which makes a lot more sense to me than soccer.”
“Come on then, Gromit,” Wallace said to his dog. “Let’s show her what we’re made of, eh?”
Gromit, standing on his back legs, tossed the ball to Wallace with his forelegs, now looking like hands.
“Wahey, ha haaa. Watch out for me nobbie styles, Gromit!”
Gromit seemed caught off guard, and accidentally blocked the ball with his defensive hands/feet.
“Tom Finney!”
This time he leapt up and snagged the ball from his right.
“It’s a rocket from Geoff Hurst.”
Gromit then dove to his left and caught it with one hand/foot right at the post. He then caught the next ball with a simple jump at the center portion of the goal.
“Shankley!”
Gromit leapt forward and knocked the ball from its momentum before hitting the ground.
“Pongo Waring!”
Gromit jumped up to knock the ball away with his head.
“Stanley Mathews!”
This time, Gromit simply idled by the post, catching the ball with one hand/foot while inspecting his nails on the other, before tossing the ball back to Wallace.
“By ‘eck,” he sighed, out of breath, catching the ball. “Well that’s you warmed. I think it’s time we moved up a division. You stay here while Twilight and I get it ready.”
“I’ll be right there, Wallace!” Twilight replied. “You’re going to love this, Rainbow!”
“I’ll be sure to let you know when I do,” Rainbow deadpanned, watching her friend bound after the old egghead.
Getting up, she noticed how smug Gromit was looking, and feeling the need to flex, she dropped onto the field getting his attention. She then placed her ball right at dead center on the field, before placing her foot on the ball.
“So, you think you’re so great at soccer, eh? Well, you’re looking at the queen around here. Nobody’s yet to beat me in a fair match, so you better bring on the big guns, ‘cause this comin’ in hot!”
She backed up to the other end, then rushed forward at full speed before seizing the momentum into her kick, sending the ball directly above Gromit’s head.
He leapt up to grab it, spinning himself in midair in the process, before landing firmly on both back legs, tossing the ball up and back onto his hand/foot while shaking his head back to a completely floored Rainbow Dash.
“Wha…bu…you…and…just…and I…and you…and…HOW?!!!”
She then angrily stomped right up to the small mutt, before grabbing him by the collar and lifting his muzzle to her eye level.
“HOW could you have CAUGHT THAT?!! THAT’S MY SIGNATURE MOVE, AND NO ONE’S BEATEN IT EVER FIRST TRY!!! IT TOOK ME YEARS TO PERFECT IT, AND YOU JUST BLOCKED IT LIKE THAT!!!”
Unbeknownst to her, but knownst to Gromit, a low rumble of an engine could be heard from the middle of the field. Gromit immediately scrambled free from Rainbow’s grip and out of the way, only for Rainbow to turn around, scream, and leap to the ground covering her head like a tornado drill while soccer balls were launched at the goal and flown around like marbles.
She looked to see Wallace sitting on a chair built into a machine, and holding a pair of binoculars and a book, that launched soccer balls from a bowl at the top that led into a small slide where it curved into a sudden drop only for it to be launched from a spinning circle of boots.
“Hee heeee, smashing! How do you like my Preston North End Soccamatic, Rainbow? I can see you’re enjoying it.”
“This was your project, Twilight?! A mechanized cheating device for soccer?!” Rainbow screeched.
“It gave me a brain break from studying, and it was fun to build!” Twilight countered.
“Works a treat, doesn’t it, lass?” Wallace grinned with pride. “Guaranteed all the goals, none of the fuss.” Looking up from his reading, he then noticed that the boots were now kicking the air. “Oh heck I’m out of balls. No need to worry, there’s plenty where they came from.” He then pulled a lever that caused a set of five tubes to rise up from the rear of the machine, and then each tube dropped about two balls into the bowl.
Meanwhile, Gromit approached a defensive Rainbow Dash with a set of garments, indicating for her to wear them. It was a green sweater, a pair of red rubber gloves, and an aviator’s helmet.
“What are those for?” she asked with a huff. He indicated again, this time looking grumpy. “You expect me to wear those on a soccer field, against that?! I need a stronger helmet than whatever that’s supposed to be…”
Gromit rolled his eyes in annoyance, before forcing the sweater over her struggling torso.
“Hey! What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” She popped her head out only for the helmet to be stuffed on and tightly strapped. “Ow! What gives?!” She felt her arms grabbed and each rubber glove tightly strapped on under the sleeves.
Wallace then took notice. “Get ready, Grom…ooh!”
“Woah, Rainbow! What are you wearing?” Twilight asked from the bleachers and her notebook.
“Ask the dog! He’s the one who stuffed this on me!” Rainbow shouted. She then noticed Gromit reach behind to grab a string. “Now what’re you—WAAAGH!!!”
Gromit ran away just in time for the sweater to bulge out and rise like an inflatable, completely enveloping Rainbow’s entire body and sending her exposed head to crash into the overhead pole of the pole.
“Ouch!” she yelped, before noticing that her rubber hands also bulged out.
She felt completely ridiculous. Although, seeing Wallace and Twilight’s baffled and starstruck faces made it more worthwhile.
“That’s so cool, Rainbow!” Twilight shrieked. “The perfect guarding device against the perfect soccer-playing device! EEEEEH!!!”
“Just so you know, this was all on the dog,” Rainbow deadpanned.
“I gotta show the others!”
“No, Twilight don’t—”
“And sent!”
Rainbow groaned with embarrassment.
“Ah, now that’s just not cricket, Gromit,” Wallace complained. He then took out a racket and tennis ball. “Anyone for tennis, perchance?”
“Sure thing, Wallace,” Rainbow sighed, “just after Gromit gets out of this thing. Gromit? Hey, where’d you go?”
Gromit had disappeared off the field only to reappear lounging in a chair nearby off the field and reading through the latest headline.
Wallace meanwhile sent the tennis ball flying right into the inflated balloon that was once her chest. “Fifteen, luv!”
Rainbow Dash groaned.