Tales of Apple Scratch: Roseluck & Fleetfoot

by RoyalRainbow


Chapter 9 – Blitz-ball Finals: Ponyville vs. Canterlot

Chapter 9 – Blitz-ball Finals: Ponyville vs. Canterlot

Finally, after five days of grueling matches, the Blitz-ball Tournament was almost over. With the winning team for third place already taken care of this Friday morning, all that remained this evening on the 10th day of the Equestria Games was the Blitz-ball Finals: Team Ponyville versus Team Canterlot. With the latest rivaling teams facing each other once more, the anticipating audience filled up every seat available in the Blitz-ball terrains as they were guaranteed for an exciting match from their favorite teams.

“Goooood evening, everyone!” Pinkie Pie greeted ecstatically as always. “And welcome back to the final day in our Blitz-ball Tournament! Hopefully, you all have saved your seats since the last game because it’s gonna get packed really fast! As most of you are already aware of, we’re going have to true dogfight underway! So let’s give a big howl to our favorite Underdog and Top Dog! Team Ponyville and Team Canterlot! ARRROOOOO!!

Everyone joined in the perky announcer’s wolf cry as they cheered wildly for the teams’ appearances. The players from both sides waved to their lively spectators as they crossed the fields. Even the other players of Ponyville besides the Apple Sisters and Cloud Kicker had received equal admiration for their extraordinary athleticism since their first game in the Blitz-ball Tournament. Once they meet in the center, each of them exchanged a friendly hand shake to the other players as both teams look forward to a good match.

When Roseluck and Fleetfoot came face-to-face, the white-haired Wonderbolt brought her hand forward and smiled to her, “Good luck, Rose.”

Smiling back at her, Roseluck gladly accepted the handshake and responded warmly, “Thanks, Fleetfoot. You too.”

After the friendly exchange of sportsmanship, Rose returned to her team’s pit and was greeted from the smirking Cloud Kicker, who leaned in with an arm wrapped around the florist’s shoulders.

“What? No goodluck kiss for her at all?” The blonde-haired Jupitarian teased lightly.

In a very low grumble, the flustered Roseluck replied, “Kiss my ass, CK!”

Cloud was momentarily speechless by Rose’s surprisingly assertive comeback, but then she retorted with an amusing smile, “Usually I would gladly take up on that offer, but my lips are reserved for only one special person in mind.”

For the first quarter, Canterlot brought out their usual guns since their very first match against Neigh Orleans, with the Wonderbolt Trio as the respective Players and Shining Armor as the goalkeeper. As for Ponyville, they too brought out their own triple threat: Vinyl Scratch as the Magic Player, Cloud Kicker as the Wing Player, and Applejack as the Ground Player. Along with the home team’s monster trio, they also have Raindrops Silverain as their ever reliable goalkeeper.

In for the opening throw-in were the Ground Players as they met each other in the central ring. While taking their positions, Applejack greeted the male Wonderbolt with a country-friendly smile while Soarin exchanged a slightly nervous smile to her.

“I don’t suppose it’s too much to ask if you go easy on me, will you?” he implored awkwardly.

“Nnnope!” she grinned flat out loud.

Sigh… never hurts to ask.” he responded in a mix of hilarity and disappointment.

Once the players and referees are all ready for the big game, Pinkie Pie launched the leathery ball from her special cannon as the hurled projectile headed toward the central ring. Upon it’s landing, AJ was as quick as a whip and snatched the ball first before she rammed past Soarin.

After taking the first charge, Fleetfoot met the sprinting player head-on and blasted her opponent with a strong gust of her wind magic. Though Fleetfoot’s air blast wasn’t enough to knock down the Monster of Ponyville, it was enough stop AJ in her tracks. Quickly enough, she passed the ball to her sister, Vinyl, as she carried on the charge from there.

From up above, Spitfire dive-bombed toward Vinyl and attempted to tackle her, but the blue-haired Titanian was able to throw the ball to Cloud Kicker before she ducked away from Spitfire’s aerial assault. Fleetfoot propelled two cyclones from her hands and chased away Ponyville’s Lieutenant of the Royal Guards. With Fleetfoot preoccupied in the sky, CK took the opportunity to pass the ball to AJ down below.

Near Canterlot’s goal line, Applejack passed it to Vinyl before she wrapped the ball with a couple of magic strings and launched it toward the blue-colored ring. Instinctively, Shining Armor projected his energy shield in front of the incoming shot. However, upon contact with the two opposing objects, Shining heard a familiar, sickening sound: the irritatingly buzzing sound of Vinyl’s magical tendrils that were infused with the ball. With no way to stop it now, the magically charged-up shot hacked right through the energy construct and scored Ponyville’s first point.

After the first point was tallied up on the scoreboard, the ball was in the Wonderbolts’ possession. However, in a quick turnover, the ball was back in Ponyville’s grasp, and Vinyl fired her special shot once again. As for Shining Armor, he prepared a much thicker energy construct in a shape of a large cube as it blocked the lone, blue goal ring. Nevertheless, the magical musician was confident that her chainsaw-like strings will cut through anything, no matter how thick the construct was.

But this time, Shining thought of a way to overcome Vinyl’s quaking shot as the magically infused ball attempted to push through the unexpected, jellylike substance. Due to its intangible structure, the gelatinous cube was strong enough to triumph over the buzzing tendrils as its magic died down. Once Vinyl’s shot lost its velocity, the rubbery cube ricocheted the ball at a great distance, and Fleetfoot caught it in mid-air with her magic.

During her dash, the Jupitarian was about to be side-tackled by Applejack. But with a quick spring of her feet, her diving body spiraled rapidly like an aileron roll maneuver as she created a barrier of strong winds to prevent AJ from tackling her. Near the end of her spiraling dive, Fleetfoot passed the ball to Soarin before she rolled on the ground and quickly got back up.

As Soarin ran for the other side of the field, Cloud Kicker swooped for a low flight to get the ball from him. Luckily, Soarin avoided that head-on collision when Fleetfoot summoned a miniature cyclone to act a spring for him as he leaped over CK’s head. After he passed it to Spitfire from up above, the Captain of the Wonderbolts fired her fastball and her high-speed shot goes into the yellow-colored goal ring.

After the score was tied one-to-one, Vinyl went up to her sister and their best friend as she said to AJ, “Hey, sis? Mind tagging along with me on this one? I’m gonna need your muscles on this one.”

With a huge grin, Applejack replied, “Got it, sis!”

“CK, keep the flyers off of us.”

“No problem, Vi!” she saluted with a smile.

With a plan in motion, Vinyl and Applejack made a mad dash for the opposing goal line while they rapidly passed the ball back and forth to each other. As for Cloud Kicker, she did her best to block Spitfire and Fleetfoot’s paths to prevent them from interfering with the Apple Sisters’ rapid advancement. With the goal in sight, Vinyl wrapped her magical tendrils around her levitated ball one last time and prepared to launch her latest shot.

Noticing this, Shining summoned her gelatinous energy barrier and blocked the lone goal ring for the Magic Player. Without hesitation, she fired her magically powered shot, and once it was close in range, Vinyl directed the ball away from the blue ring as Shining’s jellylike cube impulsively tracked it down. Once the amplified shot made contact with the goalkeeper’s unique form of defense, Shining Armor realized that he unintentionally blocked the ball from entering the lower right ring that was glowing a brown color, which represented the Ground Players.

As Shining puzzled over this, Applejack finished out her full-fledged charge and punched the ball that was momentarily stop by the thick, gelatinous shield. Thanks to the Eponian’s monstrous might, the ball miraculously broke through the intangible force field and scored another point for Team Ponyville.

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Ponyville: 7 Canterlot: 8

With less than a half of a minute left in the first quarter after Canterlot scored the last point, Vinyl, Applejack, and Cloud Kicker prepare for one big gamble to hopefully end the quarter in a tie. Half way across the playing fields, AJ threw the ball to Vinyl. Then she passed it to Cloud Kicker. As it looked like that she was going to throw it in the yellow, central ring, Shining Armor conjured up his floating magic shield as the Wonderbolts got close enough to get ready for the ball’s retrieval.

But in a surprising twist, Cloud Kicker turned her body sharply and threw an extremely long pass back at fields’ halfway point where Applejack was waiting. Taking advantage over the opposing team’s confusion and the distance between them, AJ lifted her strong leg for the incoming kick as Vinyl summoned two of her magic strings to create a large, glowing hoop in mid air that aligned up with Cloud Kicker and the central goal ring she was floating next to.

With the players of Ponyville set in place, Applejack unleashed a monstrous kick that could rival with one of her javelin throws as the ball aimed for Vinyl’s magical circle. Suddenly, as soon as it passed through the hoop’s threshold, the vibrant circle burst into a small shockwave as its deafening boom propelled the cannoned ball at a blistering speed greater than it was originally kicked. Nearly everyone, including the audience and Team Canterlot, was paralyzed with astonishment by the Apple Sisters’ combined might. But it didn’t stop there as within a split-second, the attentive Cloud Kicker swiftly twirled her hovering body at the right moment and firmly slapped the scorching ball with her purple wing into the yellow-colored goal ring. Thus, tying the teams’ scores: eight in all.

As a blaring horn signaled the end of the first quarter, everyone in the audience broke out of their astonished stupor and applauded wildly over the exciting finish that Ponyville provided for them. While the crowd continued their fanatic cheering, Applejack, Vinyl Scratch, and Cloud Kicker gathered together and the grinning ladies simultaneously gave themselves a high-five for their successful team attack. Once again, Team Canterlot was reminded on the unbridled prowess of Ponyville’s top three athletes. Of course, their latest battle is far from over.

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For the second quarter, Ponyville switched up their lineup with their other trio: Roseluck Greentouch, Allie Way, and Ditzy Doo while Canterlot kept the same Players as always. Although the physical attributes of Ponyville’s new lineup may not be measured up to the Wonderbolts, they still have their unique skills that can keep Canterlot on their toes. Allie made good use of her excellent precision and magic when she bounced the ball from the rim of Shining’s energy shield and into a blue ring. Ditzy Doo’s aerial agility and speed made her an extraordinary flyer that can put the Royal Guards’ new recruits to shame. And Roseluck’s incredible acrobatics allowed her to weave through the playing field and its players with ease.

An example of her feat was when Roseluck had the ball in her possession and Fleetfoot confronted the charging florist herself. As they had promised to each other nearly a week ago, Fleetfoot wasn’t going to hold back as her right arm pulled back while her hand was enwrapped in her wind magic.

When the Canterlotian swung her amplified arm forward, the steadfast Roseluck did not stop her direct charge as her strong, elegant legs allowed her to leap high in the air and dive forward. This dive roll allowed the red-haired Eponian to not only avoid the sweeping wind strike, but to also spring mightily above Fleetfoot’s head. After a quick somersault in the midst of her smooth landing, the gymnast passed the ball to the swooping Ditzy Doo while she sprinted forward. Looking back, Rose smiled to her thunderstruck rival before Fleetfoot smiled back and trailed from behind.

Sometime after that, the score was now 19-to-21 with Canterlot taking the lead momentarily. High above the ground when Spitfire held on to ball, Ditzy more or less intentionally crashed into her as the ball escaped the Wonderbolt’s grasp. With the falling ball in sight and from hear the first warning sound of the next color change, Roseluck quickly called out to her blue-ponytailed teammate.

“Quick, go long!”

Following Rose’s command, Allie ran for the goal as the florist rush toward the bewildered Soarin. Without delay, Roseluck performed a marvelous roundoff and performed a quick backflip before landing on Soarin’s shoulders. With the additional elevation from the somewhat wobbly Wonderbolt, Roseluck jumped high in the air and bicycle-kicked the ball with a great amount of force.

Meanwhile, during their advancement, Allie got Ditzy’s attention and she silently signally her with a forefinger. Once she got the message, Ditzy nodded and speedily flew in position as Allie looked back to the kicked ball coming at her direction. With her levitating magic activated, she retrieved the maroon-colored ball and looped it around herself before she launched it to her Wing Player.

After the last warning bell was heard, Ditzy kicked the ball sharply at the upper-left goal ring which was quickly changed to a yellow color. Once the ball made it through the recently changed ring, Ponyville’s three points were added to the scoreboard, and the score became 22-to-21, which knocked down Canterlot from the lead by one point.

The crowd went wild over Ponyville’s well-timed maneuver as the Ditzy, Allie, and Rose grinned ecstatically over the success of their tag-team tactic while forming a hugging circle and bouncing up and down. After that brief moment of excitement, they retreated back into positions as the ball was handed over to Canterlot.

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Ponyville: 35 Canterlot: 35

For the third quarter, Cloud Kicker replaced Raindrops as the team’s goalkeeper as the teal-haired Jupitarian was now a Wing Player while Allie and AJ took up their respective roles. Thanks to CK’s talent for cloudshaping, she could create effective barriers that are just as thick enough to block the incoming shots, but also plushy enough to recoil it across the field and into her teammates’ hands. Not even Fleetfoot’s “whirlwind” throw was enough to penetrate through the cloudy surfaces of Cloud’s specially made shields.

But that was no concern with Spitfire when she carried on the next blitz. Facing Cloud Kicker directly, the orange-haired Wonderbolt threw the ball up and spiked it with her fiery, yellow wings. The self-made fireball took aim at the yellow-colored goal ring as CK blocked its entry with her cloud barrier. But her barrier was no match for the heated shot as it evaporate the Lieutenant’s personal cloud and scored another point for Canterlot.

“Wow! Oh, baby! She is on fire tonight!” Pinkie Pie commented with an ecstatic smile. “As expected from the Captain of the Wonderbolts! Using her hot and spicy wings, Spitfire caused the ball to radiate enough heat to melt right through Cloud Kicker’s defenses! And before you even ask: YES, this is technically allowed since Spitfire was permitted to use her wings for this clever move.”

After that perky explanation, fans of Canterlot applaud for Spitfire’s hotshot as the celebrated Wonderbolt faced the Ponyville goalkeeper. With a teasing smirk, Spitfire brought her right forefinger to her face and blew a light puff of air to her figurative, smoking gun. In response, Cloud Kicker childishly stuck her tongue out at her former commander before Spitfire flew back to her starting position.

Later on, Spitfire gained possession of the ball once again and used the same hot tactic to bypass Cloud’s defenses. But this time, Cloud Kicker used her clouds to wrap it around it as the hot projectile steamed immensely within the condensed net of thick vapor. Once it was quickly cooled down enough, she flung the wet ball pass the astonished Spitfire as its trail splattered some water droplets on the Wing Player’s face.

As Spitfire wiped her face dry with one swipe of her hands, she saw Cloud Kicker displaying a cocky grin as she teasingly licked her right index finger and place it on her swayed hip while imitating a sizzling sound. Ignoring the teasing comeback with a deadpan glare at first, Spitfire broke into a very small, amusing smile and rolled her eyes at CK’s usual shenanigans before she carried on with her pursuit for the ball.

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Ponyville: 60 Canterlot: 60

Before the beginning of the fourth and final quarter, Ponyville were still deciding on who to choose for their last lineup. Thanks to their Doctor's calculations, they were able to score a lot of 3-pointers due to the estimated pattern of the color changes in the rings. Of course, over time, so was Team Canterlot once they have figured out the pattern themselves. Regardless, they had been neck-and-neck since the beginning of the match.

“Man! I can’t believe they haven’t change their lineup one bit!” Allie gasped over the astonishing fact. “They really are the elite of the elite!”

“Yeah, no kidding!” Raindrops agreed.

After pondering this for a short period of time, Vinyl Scratch turned to their coach, Zecora, for her sage advice, “Hey, Coach! Who should we put out there?”

The dark-skinned woman with the mohawk replied with an all-knowing smile, “If going for gold is our aim, then I say speed is the name of the game.”

With a broad smile, Vinyl concurred, “Well then, we should stick with our fastest players for the last quarter.” Then, she turned to the Ponyville’s best mail-woman and grinned to her, “Ditzy, we’re certainly gonna need you on this one.”

Bubbly as always, Ditzy saluted to her ruby-eyed commander, “Ready and at your service, ma’am!”

“If that’s the case, you should be out there, Vinyl.” Allie Way added. “Your strength and speed would be enough to keep up with them.”

Surprised by Allie’s insistence, Vinyl placed a soft hand on the ponytailed Titanian’s shoulder and smiled with pride and gratitude, “Thanks, Allie. You did good to bring us this far. You just leave the rest to me.” This earned a beaming smile from Allie Way as she saw this as a promising sign on Vinyl no longer seeing her as a kid.

Then, Vinyl turned to Cloud Kicker and recruited her as well, “CK, you should be our goalkeeper again. You can anticipate the Wonderbolts better than anyone else, so we’re going need all the defense you can muster for us.”

“No problem, Vi.” Cloud replied as she cracked her knuckles in anticipation.

“So… I guess all that’s left now is our Ground Player.”

Everyone directed their gazes on to one person for that position: Roseluck, who didn’t get the hint at first, but with everyone grinning widely and gluing their eyes on her, she immediately got nervous on this important task she will be entrusted with.

“M-m-m-me?!” she stammered in discomfort. “But what about Applejack?”

“Honey, Ah’m only fast when Ah run in a straight line.” AJ countered with a reassuring smile as she wrapped a strong, gentle arm around Rose. “You on the other hand are as nimble as a jackrabbit out there. You’re far more agile when it comes to a fast-paced game like this compared to me. So what do ya say, Rose? Think you’re up to the challenge?”

A bit hesitant to respond from the peer pressure, Roseluck then looked out on the other side of the field and spotted Fleetfoot. From gazing at her from a distance, she recalled the promise she made to her on two occasions: from the locker room on the Games’ first day and when they finished their lunch on Monday afternoon.

With a determined smile on her face, she turned back to Applejack and nodded, “Yes, I am! I wouldn’t let you down, AJ!”

“Glad to hear that, sugarcube!” Applejack grinned before she nudged her playfully with a wink. “Now go get them!”

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Ponyville: 89 Canterlot: 87

At the home stretch of the last quarter, spectators could hardly stand the suspense as it was still too close to call on who will win in the grand finale of the Blitz-ball Tournament. For the moment, Ponyville had the lead in the last minute of the game, and all they have to do is hold on to the ball for as long as they can. But for now, they need to intercept the ball from Canterlot.

In the air, Spitfire and Fleetfoot had been rapidly passing the ball back and forth as Ditzy is caught in the middle of two while trying to catch it herself. Noticing the mid-air struggle that Ditzy was dealing with, Roseluck was quick on her feet as she improvised a plan while she and Vinyl were trailing the flyers.

“Hey Vinyl, can you give me a boost?”

“Sure thing, Rose!” she grinned to that idea. “Prepare for liftoff!”

While on the move, the musician flung her two magic strings forward and conjoined a blue, floating circle like before. At once, Rose got on the magical platform and stood ready for her launch. And after timing it just right, Vinyl snapped her fingers and fired the daring gymnast into the air like a cannonball. In the middle of the Wonderbolts’ pass, the soaring Roseluck came in-between them and snatched the ball.

The flyers and spectators gasped extravagantly as the bold florist from Ponyville intercepted the ball and made a smooth landing once she did a quick somersault. The crowd went wild over Roseluck’s awesome display of gymnastics as she turned around and hastily flung it to Vinyl Scratch. She was prepared to retrieve it, but she failed to notice Soarin approaching from the sides as he intercepted the ball in front of her.

After breaking out of her daze over Rose’s awesomeness, Fleetfoot noticed from the scoreboard’s clock and saw the last remaining seconds on it. With time running out and their last chance for a three-pointer drawing near, Fleetfoot quickly called out to Soarin down below.

“Quick, Soarin! Throw it over here!”

Without hesitation, Soarin tossed it to Fleetfoot before the white-haired Wonderbolt prepared her all-or-nothing shot for the last match. From seeing that unorthodox pass to Fleetfoot, Roseluck figured out what her rival friend was up to as she heard the final warning of the last color change. From recalling how Fleetfoot ended her team’s first match in the tournament, Rose hastily called out to Vinyl once more.

“Vinyl, boost me up! Now!”

“But Rose, I--!”

“DO IT!”

While Vinyl Scratch was hesitant on how crazy Rose’s stunt might be, the goal rings changed their colors one last time as Fleetfoot launched her almighty air-cannon at the lone blue ring. Finally, Vinyl gave in the firm florist’s demand and hastily propelled up with another sonic boom of her magic ring. In the air once again, Roseluck facing the incoming, high-speed ball and braced herself for impact.

Upon contact, the flying ball impacted Roseluck’s abdomen harshly and she let out a painful grunt from the force of the maroon projectile. Everyone gasped at the awful sight before them as the rocketing ball continued to carry the unwavering Rose toward the targeted goal ring. Fleetfoot especially was horrified by the result of her own actions as she feared the worst of Roseluck.

“NO!”

Following from that exclamation, Fleetfoot summoned all of her wind powers, and she strongly flew after Rose. Due to the how extraordinarily fast Roseluck and the ball were coming toward the goal line, Cloud Kicker didn’t have enough time to prepare for a suitable cloud cushion for such an emergency before their unexpected arrival. But luckily enough, Fleetfoot was able to catch up to them and shielded Roseluck with her arctic blue wings before they dived right through the blue goal ring.

After that, Cloud Kicker provided a thick enough cloud just in the nick of time as it cushioned Fleetfoot and Roseluck’s landing. As the crowd let out various sounds of relief over the safety of the two athletes, Cloud Kicker approached them as Fleetfoot unfolded her wings gently to examine her recent catch. Sighing with relief, she smiled as she gazed at Roseluck, who curled up with the ball firmly held in her arms and her eyes closed tightly.

“Fleetfoot, how is she?” Cloud asked concernedly.

“She’s fine, Kicker.” she reassured softly. “Thanks for the save, Lieutenant.”

“No… thank you, Sergeant.” she replied with a grateful smile.

Finally, Roseluck opened her eyes slowly until her gaze met with Fleetfoot’s, and then her eyes shot wide open. Initially shocked from being held so closely in Fleetfoot’s arms, the blushing florist softened up with a thankful smile as the Wonderbolt smiled back warmly.

“Hey.” Roseluck greeted simply.

“Hey.”

“Umm… Fleetfoot?”

“Yeah?”

“You can let go of me now.” she answered with an awkward blush.

“O-oh! Right… sorry.” Fleetfoot apologized with a flushed face matching that with Rose’s.

With Cloud Kicker snickering in the background on the adorable sight before her, Fleetfoot helped Roseluck up as the florist was greeted by the welcoming cheers of the vast audience for her tenacity and recovery. Rose blushed humbly at the astonishing attention she was receiving as she waved to the encouraging crowd.

After that, Roseluck asked her savior, “So… uh… who won?”

“Well…” Fleetfoot replied uncertainly as she awkwardly brushed her white, fluffy hair.

The rest of the players were just as confused as Fleetfoot on how to call her last play of the game. So they looked up to Pinkie’s private blimp as they sought some clarity over the indecisive game-changer. Waiting in her personal aircraft, the self-proclaimed announcer received some sealed paperwork from an official Juptarian deliveryman. After going through all the letters sent to her, Pinkie reactivated her megaphone as everyone else held breath over the final decision on tonight’s winners.

“Sooooo… after discussing it with the Games’ committee and the Princesses, we’ve decided…

…pause for dramatic effect…

…that Fleetfoot’s throw stands as it is! That means the last three points are still tallied up and making the final score 89-to-90! Team Canterlot wins and takes the gold in the Blitz-ball Tournament while Ponyville takes the silver!”

A good portion of the audience groaned heavily over the announcement of Ponyville’s lost, but their disappointment went over rather quickly as they too joined in the latest celebrations over the results of the exhilarating match and its accomplished medalists. For the finalists, they exhaled in tiring relief as they exchanged handshakes and hugs to their teammates and their well-respected rivals.

“Congratulations, Fleetfoot!” Roseluck commended her happily as she hugged her mightily. “You were amazing out there!”

“Thanks, so were you!” Fleetfoot returned the favor as she held the ecstatic florist in her arms softly.

“And uhh… thanks for the save… again.” she quietly added with a blushing smile.

“Happy to be of service… again.” she responded with a light nod and a sheepish smile. After giggling over how their short history had come in full circles, the announcer called out all the medalists to meet at the podium before the grinning gold medalist insisted to her silver medalist friend.

“Come on! Let’s go collect our medals!”