For the next three possessions each, neither team scored. Now that all six of them were brimming with confidence in themselves, their defenses had stepped up significantly. There were a few close calls, but no official scores. There was a small lingering feeling in the crowd that the little dragon officiating the game may have had something to do with that, due to a few questionable calls that may have prevented scores.
It was getting late now. The sky had turned a bright orange, and the bright flashing lights of the thousands of ponies with cameras in the crowd gave them the illusion that they were sparkling.
It was currently Team Applejack's ball. They were a little less than halfway to scoring, but it was their fourth try, and they weren't sure they could survive another defensive stand. Though Team Rainbow Dash seemed just as tired and worn out as they did, they didn't want to risk letting them have the ball again.
Applejack was running out of options, though. She had only been able to complete shot gains on the past few drives, and her team didn't have quite the same skill at trick plays as Team Rainbow Dash. Nothing was working for them.
Out of some sense of desperation she couldn't explain, she started scanning the crowd surrounding them, as if she would find the answer among them. As luck would have it, standing right at the front of the crowd on the side she was closest to was Zecora. The wise zebra mage was always a safe bet for some good advice. Though Applejack would never have pegged her as much of a Hoofball fan, she still felt she could offer some level of help.
Their eyes met, and they wordlessly seemed to understand each other. The crowd had quieted down enough for a moment and Applejack was close enough to hear what just what the zebra had to say: "The field before you remains ever long. Your greatest option..." she lifted her forehooves to her mouth and shouted at the top of her lungs, "DROP THE BOMB!"
Applejack blinked and took that in for a moment. "Welp, I was hopin' for somethin' a bit more creative... but what the hay? It's better 'n what we've been doin'." Her teammates nodded in agreement and stepped up to the line.
Team Rainbow Dash had clearly heard what their rivals were planning, and Dash thought of a way to properly combat it. "Here's what we'll do, guys," she explained to her team. "This time all three of us should just gang up on them in the end zone; make it three on two. That'll definitely put the odds in our favor. And if Applejack tries to run for it, we should be able to stop her before she gets here."
"Sounds pretty sweet, Dashie!" Pinkie Pie sounded off.
"And if we stop them here we get great field position," Twilight added. "Let's get this done, girls, while my sanity is still mildly intact!"
The defense stepped up to the line, and both teams stared intently at each other. The crowd was cheering wildly all around them, and thousands of flash-bulbs were going off. But the six Bearers of the Elements of Harmony had channeled all of that out completely. All that mattered was what was happening right then and there on that rugged battleground of a field. Time seemed to stand still as they glared deeply into each others eyes. They could practically make out the individual flecks of dirt and grime on each other's faces, as well as the tiny beads of sweat that trickled down off their cheeks and noses.
From high above the field, the news anchor was leaning so far out of his balloon that he could easily fall if he wasn't careful. His once well-styled mane was now unkempt and wild, and he had practically ruined his suit with how much he was sweating. "Fillies and gentlecolts, this could very well be the single most heated, intense and hard-fought game of Hoofball Equestria has seen in years. These six mares have spent the past couple hours playing as if the very fate of the world is hanging in the balance. And considering just who they are... that may very well be the case."
From even higher above, Gilda the griffin was watching with a nasty smirk on her face. "So how'r ya gonna screw this one up, Dash?" She muttered bitterly.
All over Equestria, hundreds of thousands of ponies and various other creatures were listening intently for the outcome of the next play on their radios.
In Canterlot, the more elite citizens of the pony capital had pretty much forgotten about their fancy dinner parties in favor of listening in on whatever had become of that Rarity girl. Needless to say they hadn't really expected this...
At the Wonderbolts Academy, the ace flyers of Equestria proudly cheered on their young recruit and possible future member.
In some unspecified location somewhere, the Flim Flam Bros. were taking bets from anypony passing by on the outcome of the game. Angry mobs were already on stand-by for the inevitable moment when the swindler brothers couldn't honor their ends of the betting.
In a well-known pub in Manehattan, a large crowd of drunken ponies eagarly listened in on the final play. Amongst them was a light blue unicorn with a purple hat and cape covered in stars and moons. She had her face buried into the bar with an empty shot glass in front of her.
"Who'r you pullin' for, miss?" A drunken stallion asked her in an attempt to flirt.
The light blue unicorn lifted her head slightly and stared blankly ahead. "Trixie... hopes they all die..." her face slammed back into the bar. She didn't budge an inch after that.
At a small rock farm in the middle of nowhere, the elderly parents of one Pinkamena Diane Pie lay dead asleep in their rocking chairs, totally oblivious as to what their daughter was up to. They had no radio. They likely didn't even know what a radio was.
In a deep underground network of caves in an unknown part of Equestria, thousands of Changelings had gathered around to watch the game being projected on one of several massive crystals hanging from the ceiling. They watched mostly out of curiosity of what those six mares who had stood against them a while ago were up to. Unfortunately, they didn't get to see much, because at that time the image abruptly changed to one of their Queen, who glared angrily at them.
"Back to work, all of you!" She ordered.
The Changeling drones all groaned and went back to doing... whatever it is Changelings do when they aren't trying to take over the world. Make taffy, maybe?
And far north in the Crystal Empire, at the highest rated, most elegant restaurant in the Kingdom, all occupants, including the happy couple that was Shining Armor and Princess Cadence, had found themselves all huddled around the antique radio the restaurant prided itself on owning, shaking with the anticipation of hearing the outcome of the next big play.
Even Cadence had to admit that what was happening in Ponyville was truly the stuff of legend, and was willing to put her One-Year Anneversery on hold for a little while to enjoy this unforgettable moment in Hoofball history with the love of her life.
It was at that moment that the restaurant doors suddenly burst open, revealing the imposing form of King Sombra! The evil monarch had, for some reason too overly-complex and a tad implausible, returned once again to take control of his Empire!
"BLEEARGH! REEAALRGH!" Sombra sputtered incoherently as he began to unleash his signiture brand of evil upon the hapless crystal ponies...
A brand of evil that mainly consisted of tipping over some tables, smashing a couple glasses, pouring salt all over some young foal's chocolate cake, calling an elderly, bispectacled mare "four-eyes", marking Less than satisfactory on all categories of the restaurant's "How did we do?" grade cards, and telling a couple of impressionable and easily frightened young foals that if they don't wash their hooves when they finish in the bathroom, Santa Hooves will kill their parents.
Honestly, the guy was just not in his right mind anymore. But bless his black, little heart, he was trying.
King Sombra's "atrocities" only went on for about a minute before he brought the entire group of assembled ponies down on him.
"SHUT UP!" They all roared.
Sombra immediately stopped what he was doing and stared blankly at them. "Wha?"
"We're trying to listen to the game, idiot!" A random pony shouted.
"But... but... slaves!" Sombra said, his voice becoming rather whiney. "I want my slaves!"
"Ooooh, you want slaves? How very original of you!" Princess Cadence teased.
"Look, pal, why don't you go wait outside for a while and my wife and I will come sort you out in a moment?" Shining Armor ordered.
King Sombra just stammered for a moment before finally hanging his head in defeat. "O-okay," he moaned sadly as he shambled off.
Before he got to the exit, however, he was stopped by a rather uptight looking waiter. "Sir, you realize those tables you damaged cost about four hundred bits each?" He asked smugly.
Sombra sighed and levitated out his checkbook. "I picked a helluva day to lose my Discover card," he muttered bitterly. An angry mother of one of the foals he "terrorized" came up behind him and gave him a sharp smack on the back of his head with her saddlebag. He groaned in pain and shook his head hopelessly. Jeez, I suck.
Back in Ponyville, the possible final play had just begun...
"HUHGH!"
Applejack set back to throw. Rarity and Fluttershy were in the end zone quickly, doing all they could to avoid the three defender who were all over them. Applejack thought about running it, but she knew she'd be stopped before she got in. There was no sure touchdown pass to be had on this play. She was just going to have to put it up there and hope for the best.
She reared back and flung the ball with all her might. It was definitely gonna go far enough, she just had to count on her teammates make the completion.
The five mares in the end zone all clustered over to where the ball was set to land; the rear center. They squeezed in close together, giving each other small shoves, but nothing that would qualify as pass interference. The ball began it's descent, and Pinkie Pie saw that it was gonna hit right where she was. Fluttershy, who was standing right next to her, came to the same conclusion.
When the time felt right, both mares jumped, Pinkie Pie pushing off on Rarity a bit, and opened their mouths wide. Pinkie felt the ball come into contact with her teeth. She felt for sure like she had it close to the middle part.
Fluttershy felt herself grab it as well, though she was much closer to end of the ball. They both came crashing down, still in possession of their respective parts of the hoofball. They landed on their backs, and at that point became aware that the other pony had a piece of what could very well be the game-ending pass. They instinctively tightened their teeth and attempted to yank the ball away.
The entire crowd was going insane at this point. Everypony had made their own assumption about what had just happened, but Spike had not made a ruling yet.
"WHO CAME DOWN WITH IT?" The news anchor cried, his voice cracking. "WHICH ONE OF THEM HAS POSSESSION? THIS COULD BE THE GAME! WE HAVE YET TO RECEIVE A SIGNAL!"
On the field, Fluttershy and Pinkie continued to battle for control of the ball like dogs fighting over a bone. Meanwhile, the other mares were deciding for themselves what had happened.
"THAT'S A PICK! PINKIE PICKED IT OFF!" Dash cheered.
"FLUTTERSHY HAS IT! IT'S A TOUCHDOWN! WE WIN!" Applejack cried.
"ARE YOU BLIND? PINKIE CLEARLY HAS IT!"
"FLUTTERSHY HAS IT TOO! THAT'S SIMULTANEOUS POSSESSION! A TIE GOES TO THE RECEIVER!"
"SHE BARELY AS ANY OF IT! THAT'S NOT SIMULTANEOUS POSSESSION! PINKIE HAS WAY MORE CONTROL OVER IT!"
"PINKIE PUSHED ME DOWN WHEN SHE WENT UP FOR IT!" Rarity came in. "THAT MUST BE A PENALTY OF SOME KIND!"
"YOU WERE BACKING UP INTO HER!" Twilight entered the fray. "YOU COULD'VE BEEN CALLED FOR INTERFERENCE TOO!"
"THAT'S INCIDENTAL CONTACT! IT'S PERFECTLY LEGAL!" Applejack argued.
"Uh, guys?"
The mares all snapped their attention to Spike, who was standing in the back of the end zone. Pinkie and Fluttershy stopped fighting for a moment to look up at him, as well.
"It's... supposed to be up to me, remember?" Spike said sheepishly.
Twilight glared at him intensely. "SPIKE, I SWEAR IF YOU CALL THAT A TOUCHDOWN YOU'RE GROUNDED FOR A YEAR!" She spat.
"IF YOU EVEN THINK OF RULING IT AN INTERCEPTION I WILL NEVER LET YOU HELP AT MY BOUTIQUE AGAIN!" Rarity threatened, her eyes twitching with rage.
Spike's lips trembled, his eyes began to well up. He was one bad move away from making this the worst day of his life. "Uh... uh..." he stammered.
"WELL?" Rainbow Dash growled.
Slowly, with a terrified expression on his face, Spike raised his arms above his head and held them straight.
The crowd went wild. Team Applejack screamed with joy. Fluttershy spat her section of the ball out and began jumping up and down wildly with her team.
"WHAT?!" Team Rainbow Dash screamed simultaneously at Spike.
"TOUCHDOWN! IT'S RULED A TOUCHDOWN!" The news anchor roared. "FLUTTERSHY CAME DOWN WITH IT! TEAM APPLEJACK WINS! WHAT A FINISH! WHAT A- ...WAIT A MINUTE..."
It was at that moment that Spike had begun to wave his hands behind his head. The crowd went into a frenzy of indescribable insanity. This time Team Rainbow Dash began to cheer and dance around.
"NO!" Team Applejack cried as one.
"IT'S A PICK! NOW HE'S CALLING IT A PICK! PINKIE PICKED IT OFF!" The news anchor was starting to look like an escaped mental patient by this point. "THIS REF CAN'T SEEM TO MAKE UP HIS MIND! THIS HAS TO BE THE MOST UNPROFFESSIONAL OFFICIATING I'VE EVER SEEN IN ANY GAME ANYWHERE! I'VE SEEN MORE COMPETENT OFFICIATING FROM HOOF-LOCKER EMPLOYEES!"
"Ya can't change yer mind, Spike!" Applejack yelled. "Ya ruled it a Touchdown first, so that's what it is! We win!"
"What, you've never heard of official review?" Rainbow Dash argued. "They can go back an look at a play if their unsure about the original ruling!"
"Well we clearly don't have the equipment necessary to do that, dearest!" Rarity hissed. "He'll have to make up his mind based on what he remembers!"
The group turned back to Spike, glaring at him with pure, unfathomable rage in their eyes. "Spike, what's the call?" Twilight asked sternly.
The crowd hushed. All eyes fell upon the baby dragon. "I... I uh..." Spike stammered. Suddenly, he could do no more to hold back the flood; he burst into tears and collapsed to the ground. "I DON'T KNOW!" He cried.
The entire crowd gasped in unison, and the six mares surrounding him gradually went from seething with rage to full of concern... and guilt.
"W-why do you guys always lay this stuff on me?" Spike sobbed, his face buried in the ground. "All I wanted to do today was have some ice cream and enjoy my day off! Then you guys drag me over here and force me to ref a meaningless Hoofball game that you said was just supposed to be for fun! Then it's like five minutes later and the entire town shows up to watch, and then their broadcasting the game across all of Equestria because apparently it's a really slow news day or something! Next thing I know, you girls are threatening me and bribing me and putting me on the spot, acting like if I don't make the right call Equestria will burn overnight!
"I don't deserve this kind of shabby treatment! I helped save the Crystal Empire for crying out loud! Doesn't that make me like a national hero or something?"
"Eh, more of a regional hero, really," Rainbow Dash quipped.
"Whatever! The point is I actually did something noteworthy for once! And now this is what I have to show for it?! I'm sorry to say this, guys, but you've taken this WAY TOO FAR! What was supposed to be a friendly game has turned into a death match from Tartarus! And the only reason it got that way is because you didn't want to have to rub each others stupid backs if you lost, which is something Rainbow Dash and Applejack do for each other all the time anyway! Yeah, that's right, I've seen you two!"
AJ and RD coughed and shuffled nervously.
"As far as I'm concerned," Spike continued. "You're all losers. Because the one thing you've succeeded in doing today is making me never want to watch another Hoofball game again."
From there, Spike just continued to sob quietly. The six mares all stared at him for a moment, expressions of deepest shame and remorse on their faces. Before long, Twilight trotted up to her little assistant and nuzzled him gently. "Spike, I'm so sorry," she apologized.
"As am I, dear," Rarity cooed, stepping forward to nuzzle him as well.
"You poor thing." Fluttershy came forward next.
"Don't cry Spike! We still love you!" Pinkie Pie gave the little dragon a big hug.
Applejack and Rainbow Dash looked at each other for a moment and sighed. "He's right, Dash," Applejack said. "Maybe we did take this whole thing a bit too far."
Dash took a look around at the thousands of ponies and dozens of hot air balloons surrounding them, their thousands of flash-bulb cameras still sparkling brightly in the early evening. "Eh, maybe a little bit," she deadpanned.
"Really though," Applejack continued. "We gotta do a better job o' keepin' our rivalry under control. It's bad 'nough when it's just us two. But when we drag the other girls inta it..."
"Yeah, you're right," Dash sighed. "We probably shouldn't have tackled. The others really aren't quite built like us; they could've gotten hurt."
"Ain't that what I said?" Applejack asked, an eyebrow arched.
"Nah, you never would've been that insightful."
The two just stared at each other a moment, then chuckled together.
"Spike?" Twilight gave the dragon a gentle nudge. "You're right; it wasn't fair of us to dump this all on you, especially when I gave you the day off. You don't have to make the call if you don't want to."
Spike looked up again. His eyes were red and puffy. "I... I don't?" He sniffled.
Twilight smiled and gave him a hug. "No, Spike; I'm officially relieving you of your officiating duty. I don't think I really even want to know what the call would be anymore. What about the rest of you?"
Everypony shook their heads.
"Nopey nope."
"Nuh uh."
"Ain't worth it anymore."
"Certainly not."
"Um... no, not really."
"There ya go, Spike!" Twilight said, wrapping a foreleg around him. "None of us care anymore. In fact, we'll just call the game off. It's a tie."
Spike sobbing finally began to die down, and slowly he began to smile. "Well, if that's what you guy's want, I guess. We'll call it a tie."
Twilight gave him another hug. "You did a great job today, Spike. I'll buy you that ice cream before we go home."
"And I'll let you go gem hunting with me tomorrow if you'd like," Rarity offered sweetly.
Spike fully perked up now. "Wow! Thanks guys!" My life doesn't suck so much after all!. "But tell ya what, Twilight, I'm actually pretty tired. I think I'm just gonna go home and eat the ice cream we have there. Even if we don't have gems to sprinkle on it, it's still ice cream; it's good either way."
"Well, if you're sure," Twilight said. "I guess I'll see you back at the library."
"Alright," Spike said as he got to his feet. "But there's one thing I gotta do first." He walked in the direction of the massive crowd, who were all just standing around looking confused now, like they couldn't even remember what they were doing there in the first place. Spike made fists with his hands and pushed them out to his sides. "Game over!" He shouted to the crowd. "It's a tie! Everypony go home!"
The crowd just gaped at the little dragon as he casually left the field, a small spring in his step. Then the boo birds came out in full force.
"WHAT?!"
"RIP OFF!"
"I HAD TWENTY BITS RIDING ON THIS GAME!"
"I DITCHED MY WIFES INTERVENTION FOR THIS?!"
"WORST ENDING EVER!"
It started to look pretty ugly, but before it could get any worse, the three little fillies known around town as the Cutie Mark Crusaders turned to face them and started forcing them to back up.
"Okay, ponies! Break it up, nothing to see here!" Sweetie Belle ordered.
"Yeah, go on back to yer homes, it's gettin' late!" Apple Bloom added authoritatively.
"Make some space for Rainbow Dash, you're crowding her!" Scootaloo shouted.
For some reason, the crowd seemed genuinely intimidated by the three fillies, and they began to slowly flow out of the area. Scootaloo, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle all suddenly looked to each other with wide, excited eyes.
"CUTIE MARK CRUSADER CROWD CONTROL WORKERS! YAY!" They cried in unison.
Twilight and her friends laughed as they watched the three fillies effectively clear the crowd.
"Hey," Rainbow Dash said when she turned to Applejack. She raised a fore hoof towards her. "Good game, Applesmack."
Applejack smiled and raised her own hoof to bump Dash's "You too, Rainbow Crash."
Twilight and Rarity embraced tightly. "You were incredible today, Rarity." Twilight said.
"As were you, dear," Rarity replied. "I must say that, in spite of all that wretched drama, this was quite simply the most fun I've had in years!"
"You know, even with everything that happened, I actually had a lot of fun too. I could definitely see myself trying this again sometime. I'm always up for learning more about something I enjoy."
Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were engaged in a big hug as well. "I had a lot of fun playing with you, Flutters!" Pinkie said. "You're actually really good! When you jumped over me on that one play? WOW! I've never seen anything like that before! And I didn't even see you flap your wings once!"
"Thank you, Pinkie," Fluttershy said warmly. "You're really good too. I hope we can play again sometime. I mean, if it's not too much trouble."
The group continued to exchange hugs and hoof bumps for a while. High above them, the hot air balloons began to depart. One particular news anchor, however, remained staring at the group of friends. The guy looked a total wreck.
"Well folks," he said into his mic. "It seems that we'll never know who really won that amazing game in Ponyville. I think I'm willing to admit that I may have overreacted a bit. My voice is really sore, I have sweated up a storm, and to top it all off... I think I'm going to need new pants. But at least I can say that I helped bring one of the truly greatest games of Hoofball ever played to several territories across Equestria. And to me, that makes my madness and possible future therapy sessions all worth it in the end." He turned back into his balloon. "So I'll end tonight's broadcast by saying-" he looked down at his equipment, and his face fell. "My mic was never even plugged in..."
Back on the field...
"So, I guess the wager's off now, huh?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"We never should've made it in the first place," Twilight said with a frown. "It's what blew this whole thing out of proportion in the end."
"Yeah, I guess," Dash sighed. "It's kinda too bad, though; I'm really sore right now."
"I think we all are, sugarcube," Applejack said.
Rarity smiled and levitated her saddle bag over to her. She gave it a little shake, causing a jingling sound. "Well, I think I know just the place to remedy that!" She said in a sing-song voice. "I fear Aloe and Lotus will have an absolute fit when they see me. But then again, they do like a challenge."
Everypony gave a relieved smile, except Rainbow Dash, who looked a bit apprehensive. "I thought you weren't ever taking me to the spa again for what I did to you today."
"True, I did say that," Rarity said. "But I also said I'd never forgive you, and I have clearly done that. So I suppose I can take back what I said about the spa as well."
Rainbow Dash perked up. "Really? We're cool now?"
Rarity giggled. "Yes, Rainbow Dash. We are, as you put it, 'cool'."
"Well, what are we waiting for, girls? Let's go get pampered!" Pinkie Pie cheered.
And the group left the now almost completely empty park. As they trotted merrily through town, they thought they heard a brief, faint cry of "MY ICE CREAM!" coming from the direction of the library, but chose to shrug it off as nothing to worry about.
"You know, I think I might just send a letter to Celestia about creating a new, separate Hoofball league for mares," Twilight said after a while.
"If that ends up happenin' ya oughta try out, Rarity," Applejack said to the ivory unicorn. "Ya sure as hay are a lot tougher than ya let on. Ya oughta give that Iron Pony competition a shot too."
"Oh, I don't think so, dear," Rarity replied with a laugh. "While I do admit to having a lot of fun today, I think I'll stick to fashion as my hobby of choice." She added quietly, "For now..."
"What about you, Dashie?" Pinkie asked excitedly. "Are you still planning on being a Wonderbolt? Or would you rather try Pro Hoofball?"
"Well," Dash thought for a moment. "Being a Wonderbolt is still my top priority. But if that doesn't work out, at least I know I have something to fall back on now."
"Um, girls?" Fluttershy said softly. "I don't mean to sound rude, but I think I've had enough Hoofball talk for one day. Let's just focus on enjoying the spa, okay?"
Everypony seemed to silently agree, and together they continued for their well deserved reward.
"But I totally had that final pass. Not Pinkie," Fluttershy added quickly. "Um, just saying..."