Today was the day. Everyone at school was waiting for this day to happen, a chance to defeat the Shadowbolts of Crystal Prep. Pinkie’s decorations were already hung up in the hallways, with Cheese Sandwich’s help. And everyone was showing their school colors. Cadance already made sure the cheerleaders had their faces decorated for tonight. As for me, with my school jersey on, I was finally ready for tonight. I just had one thing that I needed to request.
When I arrived at my locker, I saw the others there, minus Sunset.
“Looks like someone had a great time last night,” Applejack said about me.
“OOOOHHHHHHH!!!” Pinkie replied. “What was it?”
The girls sighed and face-palmed at Pinkie’s comment.
“Pinkie, he just spent the evening with Sunset. What do you think happened?” said Rainbow Dash.
“That is true, but that’s not it.” I looked around and asked, “Where’s Sunset anyway?”
“I think she went to see Miss Luna about something,” Twilight answered. “She wouldn’t say what it was about.”
Rarity noticed something behind me and said, “Here they come.”
Both Sunset and Miss Luna were walking up to talk to us.
“Sunset might have come up with a plan that could help us out with all our problems, if we play our cards right,” said Luna.
“And what would that be?” Twilight asked.
Sunset waved her finger in the air and said, “Sorry. Can’t ruin the element of surprise, now can we.”
“I’m assuming that you brought the case, right?” Luna asked me.
“Blades and all. And I would like to bring them to the pep rally later today.”
“Well this would come as a surprise. And for what reason would you need them?” Luna glared at me for an answer.
“I would say, but I don’t want to ruin the surprise, now do I?” I looked at Twilight and asked, “Can you get in touch with your brother for me. I need to say something at the pep rally, if he will let me.”
“I pass by him after my second period class,” Flash answered. “I can let him know.”
“Thanks Flash. I figure that if everyone is relying on me, I might as well have something to say about it.”
“OK then. We’ll be having it during free study, so come see me before we pick it up,” Luna explained.
I left 4th period and mad my way to Miss Luna’s office so we could make our way to my truck and grab my case. Everyone else was making their way to the gym for the pep rally. As we were making our way to my truck, Luna asked me a question.
“So why the change in attitude? You were worried about what to do for tonight.”
I answered, “Well, I can take a guess that Sunset has something planned that involves my blades, the law, and Indigo.”
“That is correct. But from what I’m hearing, you have a different reason for bringing your blades.”
“That is correct.” We arrived at my truck, and I opened the driver’s side doors where my case was laying. I opened it to reveal both blades and a folded piece of paper. “I received this just last night from Double Diamond. It was an e-mail that he forwarded to me from someone I met back in Manehattan who attended Mane Coast Academy. We were both bench warmers last year. It seams that I’m not the only one who had changed in football.” I closed the case and let Luna take it for me. “I’m hoping this can boost our moral for tonight.”
“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Luna said. “Let’s go.”
We made our way back in t the school and towards the gym. We could hear the pep band playing and everyone making noise as we made our way in. Luna went to join Celestia with my case while I joined my fellow players.
“Hey Jack,” said Shining Armor, in which we exchanged brohoofs. “Flash tells me that you wanted to speak in front of the others.”
“Yep. I hope you don’t have a problem with that,” I said.
“No problem here. I mean everyone is looking up to you.”
“I know, I know. I just hope everyone understands what’s at stake.”
Celestia tapped on the mic, trying to get everyone’s attention. “Welcome Wondercolts. Tonight, we will be having our championship football game here at Canterlot High. I would like to hand the mic to our captain, Shining Armor.”
Celestia handed the mic to Shining Armor so he could speak. “Alright Wondercolts. Tonight’s the night. And it will be my last night playing for this team. But instead of giving you a speech, I would like to let Jack Diamond do it for me.” He handed the mic to me, and I nodded to Luna to bring my case over.
“This week has been a tough one for me. It’s an experience that I never had at my last school last year. I wasn’t sure what to do about tonight with all these feeling inside of me. But last night, I received an e-mail from someone that I only met once last year. And I would like to read it to you all.” Luna opened the case so that I could take out the letter that was in it to read out loud.
Hey Jack. I was wondering where you were at the Knights vs. Dragons game. One of your knights told me that you moved to Ponyville and that you have become a big name over there. I guess that makes two of us, a pair of bench warmers one year, and big name players the next. Yep, I became the starting quarterback for the Dragons after the first game. Our last QB graduated and I was planned to be the backup QB. But and early injury to our new starter on the first game forced me to take the role and lead the team to our regional championship game Friday night.
Now I have been told that you are facing a school that has a perfect record in their region, and that you helped in delivering their first lost this season. And I’ve also been told that you have been going through a lot of pressure for this game. I know the feeling. When Fillydelphia High came over to face Mane Coast Academy, we were on our way to finish our perfect season. But we lost to them by a point, forcing us to the second seed in the playoffs, by tiebreaker of course. They took a loss to Baltimare to open the season, so they don’t have a perfect record either.
But at the time of our loss, I thought I let my team, and school, down against our best rival. And this was to be the year that we would break the regional football record in championship wins. It was then that I learned that everyone was still supporting me, even if we loss a part of home field advantage. The truth is that no matter what happens, as long as you are still fighting, everyone will be there for you. Remember what both our schools represent. As knights, you represent honor. As dragons, we represent respect. And while we have our own hometown rivalry, we learn that we both honor and respect each other, before and after the game.
Your rival bench warmer and friend, Blaze Lionheart.
I put the letter away and turned my attention to the crowd.
“Last year, I was just some backup kicker who didn’t get much playtime but a few field goals. And the only reason I played for them was that they needed someone to help complete the team roster. And while the team wasn’t as great as most schools in that region, I learned that they kept fighting, even if they were going to lose. But that one time we faced the Mane Coast Dragons on the other side of the city, I learned that the dragons keep their rivalry on the field. What happened before and after the game was different. They treated us as allies, and we did the same. Before the fans show up, the guys would exchange stories, pass the football, even a few would play with a soccer ball just to keep their skills up.
“As for me, I was just sitting on the bench just waiting for the game to come and go. That’s when Blaze came and joined me. He was a sophomore 3rd string quarterback that they needed to have around, since their starter was a senior and their backup was a junior. He never had any game time that year and was only active during practice. And the reason they had three quarterbacks was that they wanted to make sure the next ones were ready for the next season, which would explain why they have been one of the best in their region. Now, he holds a big weight on his shoulders. His school’s football team has won the championship for the last six seasons, which has been the record in their school’s history. They, or even any school in that region, haven’t won seven straight seasons in high school football.
“Now since I’ve come to Ponyville, I’ve heard about another school that is known to be the best in the region. In fact, all they like to do is trample their rivals into the ground, because they believe that they are the best. They don’t care about honor. They don’t care about respect. They don’t care about any of that expect their own bucking PRIDE!!!”
That got the crowd going. So I went and grabbed Muramasa from my case to show to the others.
“Now I’m sure that anyone who takes Dr. Whooves History class would know what this is. But for those who don’t, what I hold here is Muramasa, also known as the blood-thirst blade. It can cut anything without even moving. And it requires for blood to be spilled before it can be sheathed. This is what Crystal Prep represents. They like to take down their rivals without lifting a single finger. They believe that being the best is how you survive in the real world. The problem is that they won’t put the blood, sweat, and tears to get the job done. This is what a Shadowbolts represents.”
I placed Muramasa in the case and grabbed Masamune to show them.
“This is Masamune, a holy blade if you want to call it. It doesn’t cut down anything unless it is needed to defend itself. This is what we represent. We don’t go striking down our rivals at anytime unless we have no other choice to do so. That’s because we work long and hard to make us who we are. And no matter what they throw at us, we come back stronger than before. And tonight with be the first time they will have to defend their title on our turf. And we will prove to them that it takes blood, sweat, and tears to be the best…BECAUSE THAT’S WHAT WONDERCOLTS DO!!!”
The crowd started to get louder than before.
“TONIGHT WE PLAN TO SHOW THOSE SHADOWBOLTS WHAT IT MEAN TO BE REAL WINNERS! BECAUSE WE’VE WORKED LONG AND HARD TO MAKE IT THIS FAR! AND WE DON’T PLAN TO STOP UNTIL WE GET THE JOB DONE!!!”
The crowd went crazy, shouting “Wondercolts!” all together. I handed the mic back to Shining Armor, who responded, “Good job, Jack. Couldn’t have done it better myself.”
I replied, “Thanks, Shining.” I went back to my case and placed Masamune back in its slot and closed the case. All that was left was tonight’s game.
It was almost game time, and the team was getting ready in the locker room. I was in front of my locker with my case in it, holding to Masamune as I placed my head next to the hilt mediating.
“Nervous?” I looked over to see Shining Armor standing next to me.
“No. Just clearing my head,” I replied.
He sat down next to me and said, “I know the feeling. I had to focus on what I was getting into before it started. But this is the last game of the season. After that, we can rest easy with Crystal Prep.”
“For the time being,” I added.
“That’s true. But no matter what happens, we had a great run this season. Even better than last year.”
That’s when we got the call from Coach Iron Will to go to the field. I placed Masamune in my locker and closed it, grabbing my gear and joining the team on the field. When I made it to the field, we saw the other team warming up. We decided to keep our distance from them after all that has happened this past week. After I was finished with warm-ups, I sat on the bench to drink some water when I heard a familiar voice behind me that I haven’t heard in a while.
“Hey there, Jack.”
I looked to see Apple Bloom and her fellow Crusaders with her; Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Babs Seed. But they were with three boys with them. One was a white boy with brown hair, and another was brown boy with tan hair wearing a red and yellow striped cap, and the third was gray with slick dark blue hair.
“Hey, Apple Bloom. Been a while since I’ve seen you girls around. I see that you’ve made some friends.”
“Yep. This here’s Pipsqueak.” Apple Bloom placed her hand on the white boy’s shoulder. “He moved from Trottingham a few years back.”
“Nice to me you,” he replied as we exchanged handshakes. “The girls tell me that you lived in Trottingham back then.”
“Yep. It’s a nice town. Just wish it didn’t have its bullying problem when I was there,” I said.
“Well, you were able to make some changes to solve that since then, from what I have heard,” Pipsqueak replied.
Sweetie Belle was the next to speak. “This is my sweetheart, Button Mash.” She had her arm wrapped around the brown boy’s arm.
“S-s-sweetie Belle?” he responded with his cheeks turning red. This made the others giggle at his response.
“Don’t mind them. They share a few classes together,” Babs Seed responded.
“And this here is my pal, Rumble,” Scootaloo said as she was pointing to the gray boy.
“It’s nice to meet you, Jack,” he said as we exchanged handshakes. “My brother has told me much about you.”
“Your brother?”
“That’s right.” I turned around and saw Thunderlane walking up to us. “How’s my little bro doing?”
“Just fine, T,” responded Rumble.
“We figure we introduce the boys to Jack before the game started,” explained Apple Bloom.
“Yea. We were moved by Jack’s speech earlier today,” added Rumble.
“Well, I’m glad that it helped,” I responded.
“Well we won’t know for sure until after the game, now will we.” Applejack was able to join us with Sunset nearby. “Now you kids go on up and find yourself a seat. We’ll be joining y’all shortly.”
“OK sis,” Apple Bloom replied, and they all left to the bleachers.
“Seems like a small world out there,” I said.
“I know,” Thunderlane replied. “My little brother used to look up to me until you came along. Now he’s like your number one fan.”
“Really?”
“Yep. He plans to try out for the team next year, and I’ve been helping him get ready whenever I can.”
“Seems like everyone is looking up to you, Jack,” Sunset added. “By the way. Diamond Tiara wanted me to give this to you.” She pulled out a small pink letter from her pocket. “But I don’t think it’s from her.”
I took the letter and took a whiff of it. “Pink Rose Petals. Just like the candles that Fleur has. Fleur must have asked Diamond Tiara to deliver this to me in secret.” I opened the letter and read it.
I’m sorry for all the trouble that I have gotten you into the past weeks. I decided to give you some space so that you would be ready for the big game. During that time, Long Shot has come by to fix dinner for me after he came back from practice. He even invited me to his parents’ house. Now I know that he learned from his mother in cooking. His parents are really nice. Now if I can convince my mother the same thing, maybe everything would be easy for me. But, if that’s going to be the case, then it’s her loss. Coach Fleetfoot and Indigo Zap have been watching over me, making sure I don’t get caught in any trouble with the others again. I know this game is going to be a challenge for you, but no matter what happens, you will always be a good friend to me. Thanks.
Fleur De Lis
“Nice to see that things are looking up for her,” Applejack said. “And I will say this. If the guy can cook, then he’s a keeper.”
“Wow. Good thing I went for Sunset instead of you,” I said sarcastically.
“Hey, I would have help teaching you how to cook if you wanted to,” Applejack replied.
“AJ, if you can teach both of us how to cook, then I’m all in on that,” said Sunset.
“Well, we better join up with the girls. You teach those Shadowbolts a lesson, you hear.”
“Will do AJ. Sunset?” She looked at me and quickly gave me a kiss on the cheek, knowing what I was expecting.
“Good luck Jackie.” And the two girls left to join the others.
Thunderlane looked at me and said, “Jackie?”
“I’m as surprised as you are. Maybe she wanted to get back at me for calling her Sunny.”
We joined up to the others to get ready for the game. When we went up for the coin toss, Brick Wall wasn’t with the others. I guess Long Shot kept to his word on striping the “A” patch from him. They won the coin toss and asked for the ball first, so we pick our side so that we were ready for anything during the 2nd and 4th quarters. When they started their drive, it wasn’t long before they would score the first touchdown. Then we took the ball and did the same thing during our drive, scoring a touchdown and tying the game. As Crystal Prep started their next drive, the chance that we have been waiting for came up. Two failed rushing plays led to a 3rd and twelve play. It would have been here that they would try for a pass play like in their last drive.
That’s when Thunderlane and me were called for the blitz play. Coach gave us our instructions, and we went to our spots. Thunderlane took the side closest to the visitor’s sidelines, while I took the other side. We knew this had to count if we really want to level the playing field. If Sugarcoat was right about the guys that she noticed, it had to work.
Long Shot snapped the ball and begin looking for his targets. Thunderlane and me made our blitzes to him. He picked up on Thunderlane and looked to see him coming. Long Shot started to run the other way with the ball, hoping to find a hole and work on getting a first down. But his attention was on Thunderlane and not on me. I started to make my way to him on the other side. I needed to make the hit hard and still stay active. But somehow, the one art I needed wasn’t working like the others. In an instant, just as he moved his head to look ahead, I was inches close to tackling him. But at that point, our helmets hit each other full on. The impact was so hard that it knocked us to the ground, shaken up.
My senses were blurred and shaken. I couldn’t know what was going on. All I could see was Coach Spitfire checking up on me before I blacked out. When I started to come through, it looked like I was someplace else. I let out a groin and started to barely hear Sunset’s voice. It wasn’t wrong before I could see Miss Luna, Sunset, and Applejack looking over me.
“What…happen?” I tried to get up, but so much pain was felt in the attempt.
“Don’t move,” said Luna as she placed her hand near my shoulder. “You were shaken up in the hit. We’re back in the locker room on one of the medical rooms. Nurse Redheart checked on you and thinks you might have badly injured yourself. She already placed a neck brace on you just to be safe.”
It was then that I heard someone entered the room. I was able to move my eyes to see and nurse in white with red hair. It was our school nurse, Nurse Redheart. “How are you feeling?”
“I can barely get up.”
“Can you move your arms or legs?”
I tried, but there was too much pain to do so. All I could do is slowly move my left arm. “I don’t think so.”
“I should have guess. You might have injured your neck or spine. I’ve already alerted the hospital, but they already called a ‘Code Black’ over there, so there’s not much that can be done at the moment. I’ll be at my office nearby in case they call back. If you need anything, let me know.” And she left the room.
“So…what happened after I blacked out?”
Applejack spoke. “Well, Long Shot also went out and dropped the ball in the process. Thunderlane was able to get on the ball and gain possession. Somehow, he was able to recover and was taken to the sidelines to be looked at. As for us, we were able to score a touchdown and take the lead.”
“And where do we stand now? Do you know?”
“Hang on.” Applejack took out her cell to look something up. “Sweetie Drops says that it’s 24 to 13 at the half. Long Shot did return to the game, but he hasn’t played as he used to. It looks likes the plan worked. He doesn’t have his powers anymore, if that’s true.”
“Then he’s done what he needed to do, right?” asked Sunset.
“I’m guessing so,” Luna answered. “But we won’t know if it worked until the end of the game.”
“As long as they know what to do, then we should be OK,” I said.
“I just wish you didn’t hurt yourself,” Sunset replied.
“Yea, what happened anyway? Wouldn’t the tenth art helped you avoid injuring yourself in the process,” Applejack added.
“I…don’t know. I tried to execute it, but nothing happened. All I could do was make an extremely hard hit at him. I’m not sure what went wrong in the process.”
“We’ll worry about that after you get better,” Luna said. “For now, you just get some rest.”
But that would have to wait, because we heard a commotion going on outside.
“I better go check and see what’s going on,” Applejack said and made her way to check on the commotion. It wasn’t wrong before she hastily came back. “LUNA! YOU NEED TO COME QUICK!”
“I’ll go check. You stay with Jack, Sunset.” She nodded and Luna followed Applejack.
“I hope it’s not to serious,” Sunset said. “Do you sense anything?”
“No. I think it’s the pain that I’m feeling that’s blocking my gift again. Anything that negative that’s coming from me blocks my powers from working, remember?”
“I see. I guess the pain that you are dealing with is affecting your gift. I hope it’s not as bad as it seems.”
Luna returned with a disappointed look on her face.
“Miss Luna? Is something wrong?” asked Sunset.
“That was Shining Armor they brought in. Turns out Brick Wall sacked him hard on the first play, giving him a sprained ankle and dislocated shoulder. And it’s the same shoulder that was injured last time. Applejack is trying to pop his shoulder back in place. Nurse Redheart is calling the hospital again about this.”
It was then that we heard a scream. Then it went quiet again.
Luna looked at the direction of the scream, then back at me. “Can you sense anything?”
“I’ve already asked him that,” Sunset said. “Because of his injury, it’s masking his gift.”
Luna looked down and said, “I’ve should have known.” She looked back up and said, “Sunset, can I talk to you for a moment?”
“Sure.” Sunset looked at me and said, “I’ll be right back,” and got on her feet and walked out with Luna.
I just knew something went wrong in all this. If Brick Wall went straight for Shining Armor, it had to be in retaliation of what I did, but worse. Sunset returned feeling defeated.
“Looks like things aren’t going as we planned it. They just scored a touchdown.”
“That means it’s 24 to 20. It’s in Thunderlane’s hands now.”
“Let’s pray that they could make it through.” It wasn’t long before another scoring update came through. This time, Sunset got the text. She sighed and said, “It just got worse. Twilight just text me saying that they just scored again on a defensive touchdown after taking down another one of our players. Now they lead 27 to 24.”
Sunset sat back down next to me and grabbed my left hand with her left hand, not knowing what to say. When I saw this, I was able to find something to say to her.
“Remember that promise that we made?”
“That you would be at my side as long as I didn’t harm myself?” She noticed how we were holding hands. “I guess it looks like I have to be at your side this time, since you harmed yourself in all this.”
“The irony of it all,” I said. “I guess we have to go back to square one again. Maybe we can find our answers when basketball season starts, if I’m ever better than I am now.”
Sunset smiled at me and decided to lay her head on my chest, closing her eyes. “At least you were there to get me through the pain that I faced in the past.”
I squeeze her hand and said, “I know. I guess that’s the best I can do.” I decided to close my eyes as well and just rest, waiting for all this to be over.