//------------------------------// // Sixth Play, And the Team is... // Story: Wonderball // by ff0000 //------------------------------// -=≡Sixth Play, And the Team is...≡=- An air of anticipation filled the town of Ponyville. An energy filtered through the citizens, making them move slightly faster and smile more. It was a bright day with nary a cloud in the sky. All of the pegasi had made certain of that as Rainbow Dash wanted perfect conditions for that day. Everypony in town was looking forward to finding out who made the team, even those that didn’t try out. It was an exciting event that Ponyville could rally around. Then, it was on to cheering for the team at official matches. Ponies walking down the street were already gossiping about possibly seeing their friends of neighbors on the Equestria sport stage. It was right after lunch that a large group of ponies had gathered around the billboard in the town square. Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and the Cutie Mark Crusaders were all in attendance. The town hall beamed down proudly right behind it. Twilight, Spike and Rainbow Dash had to squeeze through the crowd to reach the billboard. Questions of who was on the team came from all sides on information that was about to be put up in just a few moments. Waiting next to the board was the mayor, looking her official best with perfectly grey hair and a well-tied adornment around the neck. “Is that the list for the Ponyville Wonderball team?” the mayor asked. “Yes it is!” Twilight happily said. “Since there are so many ponies here, how about I read it out loud instead of everyone trying to look at the list?” “That would be wonderful, mayor! This is the same list of names we submitted to the EWE.” Twilight floated the list over to the mayor. The mayor beamed at the captain and vice-captain of the soon-to-be official team. “Quiet. Quiet, everypony.” The crowd silenced down and had their attention raptly on the leader of the village. She straightened up the elegant collar before proceeding. “The official Ponyville Wonderball team (name to be decided) has the following members,” the mayor said in a voice that carried all the way through gathering. “In the position of mover, we have Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Berry Punch! “In the position of snatcher, we have Twilight Sparkle, Rarity and Lyra Heartstrings! “In the position of bouncer, we have Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Cloudchaser, Snowflake-” A cry of, “YEAH!” interrupted the list of names. “-and Ditzy Doo!” A grey pegasus flew into the air, waving her forelegs excitedly. “Woohoo! I made it!” She spiraled so far away that she crashed into one of the wooden pillars of the town hall. As the names were read, there were stomping of hooves and calls of congratulations. Ponies clapped hooves with those that were selected. In just one moment, the chosen members had gone from regular pillars of the community to mini-heroes. If the team actually did good, they would become huge heroes. And then Rainbow Dash noticed something off. “Wait, what? Did you just say Ditzy Doo?” “Why, yes,” the mayor said. She held out the list of names and the forms behind it. Sure enough, Ditzy Doo’s name was on both. “How did this happen?” Twilight gasped as the memory of a seemingly innocuous comment resurfaced. “When I told Derpy to place her form back in the folder, she must have put it in the one for the team instead of the general folder. I told you to let me double check it!” “I don’t know if Derpy is accident-prone or an evil genius,” Rainbow Dash mused. “I guess we can leave her in since we don’t have anyone else?” “I guess,” Twilight half-heartedly agreed. “Even with Derpy, we’re still only at eleven members.” “Congratulations from Ponyville to the new Wonderball team!” the mayor proclaimed to the cheers and adulation of the townsponies. Through all the joy, a harsh voice raged out. “That’s not fair!” The crowd parted to reveal a pale-purple pegasus. A pink bow was clipped to her windy-green mane. The crowd backed away even more when they saw her sneering expression. “Flitter?” Cloudchaser gasped in shock. “What are you talking about?” “The only reason Fluttershy is on the team is because she’s Rainbow Dash’s friend!” Flitter cried out. Fluttershy fell close to the ground as all of her happiness had deflated. “Um, well,” she tried to say but couldn’t find anything to contradict that statement. It was probably right after all. “I’m sorry.” “That’s not true, Fluttershy.” It wasn’t any of her friends saying that but Cloudchaser. “Flitter, what’s gotten into you?” “It’s nothing!” Flitter cried out. She suddenly became aware that all eyes were on her. Her wings beat furiously in an attempt to retreat from the innumerable stares. “Hey!” Cloudchaser reached out, but all she touched was air. “I’m sorry, Fluttershy. I’ll be right back.” She took off after Flitter. It was a chase through the skies. With the clouds cleared away, Cloudchaser easily saw the target. Her legs were extended straight as possible, reducing her size to a straight line. Gliding forward, she easily caught up. “Flitter!” she cried over the strong winds. “Let’s talk!” “There’s nothing to talk about,” Flitter said defiantly. “Stop, would you?” Cloudchaser said with such an angry force that the other pegasus slowed down out of surprise. The two of them landed in a wide open field within view of Sweet Apple Acres. Their horizon was a row of lush trees. “Flitter, what’s wrong?” Cloudchaser asked. “You never see,” Flitter said. “Well, tell me then!” Flitter looked away to hide her tears. “It’s just that you’re always making it. First to the Wonderbolt Academy and now this. I tried. I tried so hard, but it’s never good enough. You’re just so much better than me at flying and sports.” “But what does that have to do with Fluttershy?” Cloudchaser asked. “If she wasn’t on the team, maybe I would have made it.” “But, uh, I’m pretty sure at least two other pegasi scored higher than you.” Flitter responded with an ugly glare. She couldn’t keep it up for long, however, and it melted away into a frown again. “Remember when we were kids? You used to look up to me because I was good at flying. But then as we got older, you just naturally got better. I worked so hard, but you were always ahead. “I’m frustrated that I can’t keep up with you anymore!” “Flitter,” Cloudchaser mumbled. “Why did you never tell me before?” “It’s my problem. You didn’t do anything wrong. You’re just more naturally talented than I am.” Flitter drooped towards the ground. Deciding not to resist, she just fell onto the cool grass. “Cloudchaser, you should go.” “What?” “Go back to the team. They probably want to talk to you. I feel like being alone right now,” Flitter said dully. Cloudchaser looked back towards the town. Even from this distance, she could see the crowd at the center of town. She really wanted to return, but it wouldn’t feel right just leaving Flitter out alone like this. Back and forth, Cloudchaser looked between her two choices. Flitter had made a point to look away, though. “You’re fine, right?” Cloudchaser asked. “Yes.” “Alright. I’m going to go back then. Okay?” she asked uncertainly. “Fine. Could you apologize to Fluttershy for me?” “Yeah, sure.” After one final look, Cloudchaser went back to town. The atmosphere had already recovered into one of celebration, and the heroes of the day were in the center. Among all the ponies, one massive, muscular pegasus still stood out. The ten players were soon joined by their eleventh. “Cloudchaser!” Rainbow Dash snapped. “What happened?” “Nothing. Everything’s fine.” Cloudchaser looked around and found Fluttershy moping near the back, as far away from the onlookers as possible. “Hey, um, Flitter wanted me to apologize.” “It’s fine,” Fluttershy said. “I hope she is alright.” “I guess she’ll be okay.” Rarity flipped her mane and turned her nuzzle towards the sky. “Flitter should come here and apologize herself.” “That’s not necessary,” Fluttershy said. “It’s fine, really.” “Well, that’s that, I suppose,” Cloudchaser said. “So, what now?” A few of Fluttershy’s friends still weren’t certain that things should be dropped so easily, but there was nothing to be gained from pushing it further, either. Rainbow Dash waved her hoof to call the attention of the team. “Alright. First order of business is to set up a training schedule.” From near the edge, Pinkie slid through the legs of the others and into the center. “Wait! What about our team name?” A murmur of agreement went out among the team. Even more ponies agreed from the crowd that was still gathered around. “Oh yeah, that,” the team captain muttered. “Any ideas?” “Fruit Salad?” Berry Punch suggested. “Or Hay Fries? Maybe Apple Cider?” Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. “Are you just hungry?” They got suggestions from more than just the team. All of the villagers wanted to get involved as well, since they were the Ponyville team. It was near impossible to pick out anything being said in the din. Rainbow Dash nervously jerked around, trying to at least acknowledge everything said. With hooves rubbing against her head, she shouted, “Quiet!” Surprisingly, it worked. Rainbow Dash’s eyes swiveled around. Everypony was waiting with held breath for some kind of big announcement. “Uh, well.” She looked around. After clearing her throat, her voice became more confident. “Team names are often something the city is known for, right? So what’s Ponyville the best known for?” Almost unanimously, everypony pointed towards the combined group of Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. An alicorn princess and the elements of harmony? What more could there be than that? It wasn’t something they made a big deal about, but it was the undeniable shining spot in their town. “Oh, right. Us,” Rainbow murmured. Lyra piped up with an excited chirp. “How about the Harmonies, then? The Ponyville Harmonies!” “I like it,” Twilight said, and most of the other team members shared her sentiment. “How about you, captain?” “Yeah, yeah!” Rainbow Dash said. She shot a quick glare to Snowflake before he could add anything. A wide grin pushed her cheeks outwards. The entire team had been lined up by the mayor and her staff. They stood as eleven proud ponies ready to take on the rest of Equestria. Rainbow Dash understood why a warm feeling was lit inside her body and why she just couldn’t stop grinning. Her wings itched as they wanted to spread out widely and proudly. With their name now solidified (and needed to be sent in to the EWE), they now really felt like one team, not a gathering of friends. The mayor announced with a voice that clearly carried across the town center, “I present your Ponyville Harmonies!”