//------------------------------// // Warm Ups // Story: Ponyville Dashers // by AimBot //------------------------------// Scootaloo paused, catching her breath. Somehow, her brightly colored blue and red jersey hadn't become thoroughly soaked in sweat yet, despite at least half an hour of laps around the field, and twenty-five minutes of drills before that. Hoof-ball was harder than she thought it was going to be; and they hadn't even played a single game yet. As Scootaloo picked up the pace again, her thoughts began to wander. I wonder how Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle are doing with Applejack... The piercing sound of the whistle broke Scootaloo's thought, and all the foals on the field stopped dead. A few even collapsed. The cyan-coated mare, the coach, flew up into the middle of the field, just to be sure that the entire team could see her. "Alright everypony, good work. Now, split up into groups of two and practice passing!" the coach called out, before she sank back onto the ground. Scootaloo quickly grew an uncontrollable grin, "At least I got the coolest coach in all of Equestria." She mumbled the same statement a few times, slowly trudging into the middle of the field where all the other foals were already practicing. It looked like everypony else already had a partner; all the fillies, all the colts... The team had an even number of participants, didn't it? A few moments later, she spotted a unicorn colt standing awkwardly alone off to the side of the field. Quickly snatching up a ball from the generous surplus of supplies, she kicked the ball towards the colt. When it rolled into his sight, he quickly jerked his head up. A nervous smile formed across his face as Scootaloo ran towards him. One week earlier The three fillies stared up at the poster; half-amazed, half-confused. A black and white ball was being rocketed towards a stallion standing in front of a large net, and the ball was apparently launched by a pegasus mare. In the background was a large stadium, each and every seat filled with ponies. It seemed to glamorous, so heroic, so... "Awesome..." all three fillies muttered. Rainbow Dash, noticing the three fillies admiring the poster, flew down and landed perfectly beside them. She wrapped her hooves around the three, and smiled. "If you're all looking to sign up for hoof-ball, look no further!" Dash said pridefully, pointing a hoof at herself. "The Ponyville Dasher's are still recruiting." Scootaloo's eyes lit up the moment Dash landed. "Really? I wanna join; where do I sign up!" the filly cried, joyfully bouncing. Rainbow Dash quickly unrolled a piece of paper, and gave Scootaloo a quill. Without hesitation, Scootaloo had signed her name. Before Sweetie Belle or Apple Bloom had the same chance, however, Applejack had seemingly materialized from out of nowhere. "Now hold up a minute!" The orange mare called out, stepping between Rainbow Dash and the three fillies. "You don't wanna sign up with her when you can join the Apple Zappers!" Dash snorted smugly. "Please. The 'Apple Zappers'," Dash raised her hooves, as if quoting Applejack, "Are twenty-percent more lame than the Ponyville Dashers." Applejack and Rainbow Dash stared each other down, the distance between their eyes decreasing every few seconds. Before either of them realized, they were practically butting heads. Sweetie Belle put her hooves up and made an attempt at pushing the two apart. Not surprisingly, the two mares barely noticed. Rainbow Dash, making a sudden move, snapped her wings open and whisked herself off into the air. "Whatever; my team will beat yours, anytime." On that note, Dash flew off, taking the sign-up sheet with her. Apple Bloom scratched her head. "Applejack, what was that all 'bout?" Applejack shook her head, and smiled at her sister. "Nothing sis; how 'bout you and your friends sign-up for the Apple Zappers?" Scootaloo took a few steps back, and sighed. "Sorry Applejack, I, uh... Have stuff to do... Yeah, see you!" Quickly, Scootaloo ran off in the general direction that Rainbow Dash flew off towards. Applejack raised an eyebrow. "What was that?" Apple Bloom shrugged, "Heck if I know, sis." The present Putting on a smile you would normally save for the family reunions, you firmly stamp your hoof on the ball and watch as she starts running towards you. Of course, you'd seen her before; around town, at the first practice. But you'd never actually spoken to her. As a matter of fact, the only fillies you've ever really spoken more than a few words to would be your big sister, Vinyl, and Dinky Doo from down the street. You wouldn't really count your mom as a filly though. That's just weird. "Hi, I'm Scootaloo." The filly says as she stops a few feet in front of you. Quickly, and relatively quietly, you introduce yourself and kick the ball back to her. "So, why'd you sign up?" Scootaloo asks, looking towards you as she delivers a particularly powerful kick to the ball. Using what little magic you have at the moment, you manage to curve the ball's path towards you, and send it straight back. "Uh... My mom told me I should start socializing more. Play with the other foals, you know?" You say back, just a tad nervous that she's going to comment about your mother. Scootaloo raises her hoof and stops the ball, giving you what appears to be an impressed smile. "How'd you do that, with the ball?" Your eyes shoot wide open at such a subtle (and slightly random, in your opinion) question. "I just use my horn, focus, and..." within a few seconds, the ball slowly begins to roll towards you. After another moment, its already right before you. Kicking the ball back, you instinctively ask "What about you?" The orange pegasus filly shot you a billion-bit, toothy grin, "Rainbow Dash is my hero. I'm gonna be just like her one day." On the outside, you nod. Its a good an answer as any other. But on the inside, you're a bit impressed. At least she's got her life figured out... "I'm surprised there's not more unicorns playing hoof-ball; you and my friend Sweetie Belle are the only ones I know who signed up." Scootaloo says in an honest tone, glancing at the ball before she kicks it high, giving it a flying arc. It takes a moment for you to properly determine the trajectory of the ball, but when you do; you realize you're about to be knocked out. It a panicked fit, you focus all your magic at sending the ball back. Instead of waiting, however, you close your eyes and wish for luck. But when the ball doesn't slam into you, you open one eye, then the other when you see the ball land at Scootaloo's hooves. You look down at the ground, close your eyes again, and sigh, "Unicorns don't play hoof-ball much because we're not as physical as earth ponies or pegasai. It's just... not our game..." To your dismay, you find the ball sitting just in front of you when you reopen your eyes. Looking up, you see Scootaloo smiling at you. "That was a nice catch." A sudden tug at your stomach stops you from speaking... You barely manage to choke out "Thanks" before kicking the ball. The two of you trade passes for the next few minutes, Scootaloo occasionally pausing to tell you "Nice one!", or something along those lines. Usually, you just return the compliment and continue. Just as your luck goes, however, while you attempt to send a curve-pass to Scootaloo, your hoof scrapes against the ground and you stumble. Within half a second, you get a mouthful of turf. "Oh, gross!" Scootaloo cries out, taking a few steps back and cringing. You immediately spit the chunk of grass and dirt out, and struggle to get the taste out of your mouth. For the next two minutes, at least, you find yourself spitting out blades of grass and small specks of dirt. But Scootaloo's incessant giggling made you forget about it a few minutes later. Yet again, Rainbow Dash flew up above the field and raised her whistle. You have no idea why she loves it so much, when she could just call out instead. The piercing shriek stops all the players on the field, Scootaloo and yourself included. "Alright everypony, nice work out there!" she calls, smiling proudly at all of you. "Rest up, we'll be working on goals and blocking next practice!" A loud groan of relief came from the small crowd of foals, you contributing your own voice to it. Following the main mass, you find your bag and happily tug off your jersey, cramming it into the bag. You eagerly take the bottle of water your mother packed you, and open it. You easily down the first half of the bottle, and dump the majority of what's left on your head. Being stored under an extra jersey kept the bottle especially cool for such a hot day. Scootaloo shoots you one of the strangest looks you've seen (and you've gotten some strange looks before), and she can barely stifle a laugh and hold back her grin. Just as your mother had taught you, you shake the bottle in such a method that makes a certain statement. "You want some?" You ask quietly. She shakes her head and lets her full grin show. "No, I'm alright. Thanks though." Shrugging, the you close up the bottle and throw it back into the bag. Before zipping the bag up, you look at the back of your crumpled up jersey one last time. "11", it says. Number Eleven. After you finished with the bag, you sit down on the bottom row of the bleachers. Nothing better than watching clouds after a hard day of practice, you silently smile as you lay on your back and look up. Compulsively, you look over towards the field, and notice Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo standing in the center of the field, in what seems to be a relatively interesting discussion. But you're too tired to get up and join the conversation. After all, you're perfectly content with just watching the clouds go by as you wait. Quite a few minutes go by, and your once-soaked mane is relatively dry now. Every once and a while, you feel compelled to peer over at Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash, "Er... Coach", you correct yourself in your mind. It just seems odd to call her by her name. After the third peek, you feel a sudden sense of dread deep down, and it seemingly has no real reason to be there. The next time you looked over at the two, you notice another participant of the conversation. Vinyl; your older sister. Who just loved to embarrass you. Then you realize the sense of dread was perfectly correct. All three of them; Rainbow Dash, Vinyl Scratch (who is always so over-protective), and Scootaloo, look over at you and the three burst into a short fit of laughter. That very moment, you rolled off the first bench, right onto the second-tier's footrest, and banged your head off the metal. That isn't what worries you though; you easily pick yourself up, pick up your bag between your teeth, and rush over to the group. You have no idea what they were talking about, but the moment you came into earshot, you heard all of them laughing again. You drop your bag, and put on a fake smile. Vinyl puts on her usual got-you-now look and grins at you behind her shades. "Hey little brother, what's going on?" She asks you, with a hint of sarcasm hidden in her voice. You shoot her the you-are-so-done look, and retort "I could ask you the same." Vinyl looks back to Rainbow Dash and smiles. "Well, I'll finish the story later. Good seeing you again, Dash." Rainbow Dash nodded, "Yeah." She glances towards you and stifles a giggle. "Can't wait to hear the rest." Scootaloo giggles, not attempting to hide it like your coach, and raises her hoof towards you. "See you at practice." You tap your hoof to hers, and glare at Vinyl, before grabbing your bag and following your sister. You don't say a word, and neither does Vinyl. Using your magic, you strap your bag onto your back, and jab at your sister's neck. That's what annoys her the most. And you really want to annoy her right now. After the first three jabs, she swats your hoof away. When you persist, she jabs you in the stomach with a grin. "What story did you tell them?" you ask in the most serious tone you've used in a long time. "The 'Apple-Sauce' incident." She shoots back, her grin growing twice as wide. Your mouth hangs open and you stop dead in your tracks. Vinyl prods you with a hoof, and shakes her head. "Is it really that bad?" she asks, shrugging. "It was just an accident." "I can NEVER show my face at that diner again!" you shout back. Vinyl shakes her head at you sarcastically. "Drama queen..." she pauses for a moment, and a grin creeps across her face. The kind of grin that makes it seem like she just discovered the answer to one of pony-kind's greatest mysteries. "You're crushing on that filly, aren't you?" She asks, using her magic to remove her sunglasses dramatically. You put on a hurt and shocked expression. "What? No!" Quickly, you look away. "Awww," She says, emphasizing the sound, "My little bro's first crush! This is so cute!" "... shut up..." you reply meekly. Vinyl places a sympathetic hoof on your shoulder. "Don't worry little bro, I promise your secret is safe with me."