//------------------------------// // Chapter 77 - The reason why we always win! // Story: The normal life of Nitpick Bittersweet // by Ryusun //------------------------------// "One, Two! One, Two! Move your damn asses faster, snails!" "Shut up, Heavensbane!" Gily slammed the back of a prideful Sugarcoat. "No complaining is allowed on my training sessions!" She barked while our Crystal Champion groaned in irritation. “Now move it!” It's been a while since the five of us were training together. It was one with fifteen in the afternoon, and hell, exercising my body was a much needed stress relief. After four hours of social training with Mayor Mare, my mind desired the fresh air from nature. Also, being far away from Shimmer was bliss on its own right. The girl was insufferable this morning. Always smiling with obnoxious energy. Always trying to be a kind of a role model for the school. Her resolution and effort to learn and help the school was admirable and exemplary, but it didn't mean that I must like her for that. What truly filled me with disgust of myself was that the fact that I must act passive with her for the purpose of avoiding a fruitless discussion. I just nod my head with approval when she says something humanitarian, praise her at every turn when it makes sense to do so, and she was happy. No fights at all. Still, there was another reason why I came here with the gang. I stayed behind with Gily while the rest were running at a steady pace. "Gilda." "I overhead a phone call between her and Zap when she stayed on my place. It looks like she cancelled today’s breakfast for an unexpected compromise. Since she knew the truth… Agh! We didn't talk about it during our sleepover. She didn't take Zap's betrayal kindly, so I ended up watching the Pirate Moon OVAs until two in the morning with her... I hope that was enough for now." "She looks calm today. So yeah, I think you did good enough for her." "OUT OF MY WAY, YOUR ROYAL SLOWPOKES!" She got ahead of Reem and Blueblood with fierce determination. "As calm as she could normally be." Gily chuckled "Awww! We really have a soft spot for her!" "Don't say stupid things, love!" "And I am supposed to be a pain in the ass." "That you are. So tell me, how was your social training today?" "Shimmer was a goody-goody as usual. More I will not say. But seriously, what kind of Mayor works on Sundays?" "Someone responsible, I guess. At least you asked her about Zap and how she ended up in Pie’s birthday, right?" "Yeah, because asking the girl who I gave the middle finger for not assisting at the party of her friend is a good idea!" "You could have asked." "Maybe you are right... I should have." "BAH! To hell with them!” She ran backwards besides me. “Today we have the field for ourselves! Nobody uses the city’s public parks on Sundays!" "I can see a few families walking around this particular park." "Nobody important is using the field for training on Sundays, you stupid asshole!" "Fine, fine. No need to be rude." "C’mon!” She laughed impishly. “Let's piss her off a little." We ran ahead with evil intent in our hearts. We told to the tired Royals with hand gestures to rest a while and be silent. Sugarcoat was giving her all with valor and dedication. Innocently, we joined her from the sides, but she noticed our ill intention immediately. It was too late, though. Before she could escape, Gily grabbed her from the arm and smashed her to the grass. Then, she jumped on her back and I restrained her arms. We were like idiotic morons assaulting the big cheese of the school. The Royals laughed, and we were having fun. “YOU STUPID APES! LET ME GO!” Well, almost everybody. The wrath of our little Sugarcoat was heard across the city. .... "Don't tell me you are tired already? Even Sugarcoat is ready to do a third and fourth round!" “I’m an elite student! This is nothing for me!” Said she with prime condition. We ignored her, much to her indignation. "W-we are but simple human beings, my m-mighty friend. We d-do not possess the strength of the noble g-griffonians." Said Reem with shaking legs and panting heavily. "Noble griffonians?” Blueblood sat on the floor with sweat and disgust. “If they are as she is, they may all be barbarians as well!" "Oh, come on! It's only been forty minutes since we started this!" "For royalty, that's an eternity!" "This is why you still lose to Nit and me in your fencing stuff! Your ancestors must be convulsing with shame for having such a worthless descendant." "More like a bunch of overrated losers, in my opinion!" That voice! "Dust!" Said Gily enraged. "Gilda! Royal Nobles! Champion Sugarcoat! And look what we have here; Nitpick Bittersweet!" She gave me a taunting gaze. "So, you still have the guts to hang up with them while wearing our uniform, even when you are CHS now?" "His transfer was a mistake, Dust." Said Sugarcoat with a bit of anger. "A mistake that I will fix soon enough. Tell me, what the hell are you doing here?" "I came to practice soccer with the school's freshmen! This is the biggest field in the city and it’s perfect for our usual training routine! Is that wrong of me to help out a little?" From afar, the soccer team of the academy was coming to us. Jet Set was at the lead of the new kids of high school, bringing me a nostalgic feeling. “Hey, Nitpick.” He greeted snobbishly but nicely. “Hi there.” “Jet Set, good afternoon. Rare of you to go out without Upper Crust, where is she if I may know?” Sugarcoat asked. “Sleeping right now… studies and all that takes a toll for her.” "I see.” She thought something for a moment. “If Jet Set is here, as long as you play within the rules, it is fine by me. We already experienced a bad outcome for trying to balance things out the wrong way. We don't want a repetition of that!" "Glad to see that Champion Sugarcoat can admit when she fails! So responsible of you!" Gily stood in front of Sugarcoat. "Want to have a fight, Dust!?" "I'll give you hell this time, Gilda!!" I grabbed my friend's shoulder. "Gilda, knock it off! We didn't come here to start a fight! Let's go home and rest a while. Today we finish the ‘Martyr of Heaven’ raid." "But Nitpick, my friend, we still need a mage!" Blueblood spoke reason. “We’ll get one, don’t worry!” "Hey! What are you doing here?" That voi- fuck it! "Dash." "Gilda." They exchanged ill-mannered gazes with unfriendly intensity. I did the only logical decision. "Screw it, Gilda! Let's get out of here!" I pushed her in the direction of the others until she budged. "But Nit!" "Shut up and walk, you fist-for-a-brain brute!" "I don't think that is the right way to talk to a friend, Bittersweet." Tiresomeness filled up my body. "Shimmer." "What brings you here?" She asked. “I thought you wanted to go home earlier.” "I was invited to train with my friends and I accepted. Let go of some steam, you know?" “Heh! I understand!” She smiled at me sweetly. Don’t do that again. "Yeah, right." Dash said with rolling eyes after seeing my old academy’s uniform. "Only because I don't care about your training during school, it doesn't mean I don't train at all!" I said with a pinch of saltiness. "Because of Gilda, that’s why!" Said Dash with an angry, frowning face. “Why you train hard with her and not with me and the school is beyond me!” "I trust her training. There nothing more to say." "Me too." Said Sugarcoat while joining us with the Nobles. "Reem and I trust her as well, if you wish to know, commoner!" Said the Prince while Reem nodded with a smile. "Whatever, I don’t have time to lose! Today, the Wondercolts must practice for the coming preliminaries of the Inter Tournament!" Dust laughed with sheer arrogance. “Excuse me? Are you referring to the Inter College Tournament? The one that will offer scholarships for elite players this year?” “Of course I’m talking about those!” Dust laughed harshly. “Do you have a problem with that?” “No, no! I’ll just say that you are wasting your time!” “What do you mean by that? You know, the Wondercolts have become stronger than the last time our teams clashed!” “That can be applied to Crystal Prep too, you know?” Said Dust straightforward and calm. “Yeah, but we are more awesome than ever! Seriously, my team and I really need to train! So, if you excuse us!” “I have a better idea!” Dust held Dash’s arm. “Why don’t our teams have a ‘friendly’ match and see whose are the biggest cheeses of the two?” “You got it! This time you’ll be the ones to bite the dust! No pun intended.” “Wait, just like that? Just straight to the action and no second thoughts from your teammates?” They both glared at me coldly. “He is right! Are you sure this is a good idea, Rainbow Dash? We haven’t even warmed up yet!” “Shut it, Soarin!” Spitfire came to the scene. “I also want to see how much we can kick-butt the Crystal Prep brats!” “And once again, the voice of reason is silenced…” I mumbled. “What did you say, Nitty?” A cute voice asked from behind. Twilight, Spike and the rest of the girls joined us as well. Their vibrant smiles were almost contagious. “Nothing, lovely Midnight.” I whispered to her. “Gilda, let’s go!” “Yeah… alright.” “DASH!” From afar, the last member of the Shadowbolts’ soccer team arrived. Indigo Zap, smiling like a sunflower glaring at the sun, ran like a wild thunder on the field. She was about to raise her arm to Dash when Dust showed up in front of her. “Cous’ Zap, nice to see you today! I see you are training on your own as well!” “D-Dust!? What are you doing here?” “I was asked to train the new kids today since the other soccer star players are busy! OH! Guess what!? Rainbow Dash here and the rest of CHS wanna have a match with us! Let’s team up and destroy them for good!” “…oh.” Dust saw her confused. “Ah, what’s wrong, cous’?” “Nothing!” She and Dash made a troubled face. "Whoa! Hey, Sugarcoat!” Zap rushed to her. “Did you come here to supervise our soccer team training?" She ignored the rest of the gang. "I was unaware of such event. I'm glad that you train by yourselves in your spare time, though." She said with little care. You are going to play it cool to the end, aren't you? "W-what's wrong, Champ?" Zap detected an anomaly in her attitude. Tell her how you feel, Sugarcoat. "Nothing." She looked at our gang relaxed. "T.U.O, come with me. We need to discuss a battle plan for today's session in a quiet place." Dammit, Little Champion! "What is T.U.O?" Asked Zap. She started walking to the bus stop with the others. "Our clan name." Clan that she told you off last winter, Zap. Nevermind. I softly put my arm around Gily’s neck and dragged her with the rest to the bust stop. “Gilda.” But Lightning Dust wouldn’t stop screwing with us. “I want you to play on the game as a defender!” “Why should I help you?” “I heard you had an old score you wanted to settle with Dash! This is the best shot we got! We may be enemies. BUT! The enemy of my enemy is my friend, right?” “That shit only happens on T.V.” “Before you give another step forward, think about it! You could trash the floor with her in the sport she is the best at if we join forces!” From behind, a cocky laughter coming from Sergeant Loyalty screeched on our ears. “Oh, please! There is no way I could lose to Gilda in this!” I can sense an imminent tragedy approaching our way. “Oh, really?” Dust taunted her. “Of course! I’m awesome! Besides, I already defeated you on several occasions before! It won’t be different this time!” “WHAT DID YOU SAY, BITCH!? You only beat Zap and me by miracle during the Apple Fair! And the race during Wind Rider’s training was a tie!” “Of course not! I won by this much!” She extended her hand widely. “You bitch!” “Cousin, watch your language!” Dust calmed down from Zap’s scolding. “You are cocky as ever, Dash. I was right to end our friendship with you back then!” “That’s my line!!” “I have real friends who support and trust in me!” “Yeah, right! You are as aggressive, loud, and a meanie as them!” “Rainbow Dash! That’s not true!” Fluttershy scolded her. “It was just a big misunderstanding of the past! And she proved she is strong and kind when she helped me on the shelter last time!” My friend gave to the Veterinarian a discreet, soft smile. Well done, Fluttershy! Now, it’s time to retreat. “Gilda, let’s go al-!” “Oh please! She attacked Pinkie for petty reasons all those years ago! And about her being strong, I was the one who taught her everything she knows about being awesome when we were kids! Well, not everything!” “What did you say, you little shit!?” “Oh goodness! Gilda, watch your language!” DID SHE REALLY SHUT YOU UP? “Cousin Dust, it would be better if we don’t do this kind of match! No need to, uh, waste time on them!” She said somewhat reluctant on the last part. “Totally! Even if both of them joined forces, Spitfire and I alone are more than a match for them!” Gilda and Dust clenched their fists. “We are stronger!” They frowned. “Faster!” Crossed their arms tightly. “And better at teamwork!” “Oh, yeah!?” Indigo Zap smiled cockily. “Don’t leave me out of the equation just yet, Rainbow Dash! Let’s have a match then!” “You got it, Zap!” The air turned fervent as the faces of two very pissed off athletes looked at each other with killing intent. There wasn’t a need to words to understand the obvious outcome of this exchange. When Rainbow Dash and her teammates left to do some warm ups before the match, two angry women saw her with disgust. “I don’t like you.” “I really don’t like you.” “I wish I could end you right now!” “I wish I could strangle you to death right now!” “But there is something that I hate more than you right now.” “And I have something that I hate more than you since years.” “Dash.” They both said with dry voices. “Have you played soccer before?” “You are asking me this now, bitch!? But yes, I have… long ago.” “Then let’s go and prepare a strategy with the others.” They joined the academy’s team and started some warm ups. I better get some drinks for the others to watch the match. …. After buying some refreshments for my friends, we sat on the benches of the park. The city parks had public umbrellas in its facilities if the people desired to use them. And used them we did. The Royals, Sugarcoat and I sat together in the comfort of fresh concrete, much to our pleasure. Twilight sat in nearest bench with the rest of her girls and the reserves from CHS. She glanced at me somewhat… nice. I waved my hand at her in kind and then turned my attention to my shorty of a friend. “Why didn’t you tell Zap about what you feel, you damn hypocrite?” “I won’t say a word to her.” “What happened, my intellectual friend?” Reem was concerned. “You can trust in us!” “She cancelled our breakfast for this. If she doesn’t trust me enough to tell me what she really wants to do, then I don’t have to waste my time with sincerity on her at all!” “So, since we are pure and truthful to you, you always treat us like common filth?” Blueblood frowned at her. “Yes.” She smiled cutely with a pinch of arrogance at him. “This is the reason why you don’t have friends!” I jokingly said while untying her long hair. “Stop messing with my hair.” She started drinking her juice while getting back her ribbon from me. “Kiss me.” “Get away from me.” She slapped me playfully with a pseudo-serious face. She didn’t tie her hair again. “Look! The match is about to begin!” “It looks that way… I still can’t believe that my Gily actually joined Dust!” “Well, Miss Dash has that kind of attitude that makes mutual enemies join forces.” Reem drank small sips of her iced tea. “Such is the people of her kind, just like my mighty friend.” “Which is?” “Arrogant and obnoxious when they get full of themselves.” “The same can be said of Gilda.” Pinkie mumbled a little too loud. “I knoweth, Misseth Pie! Yond is wherefore I hath said, ‘people of h'r kind’ loudly! So thee can heareth and shareth thy thoughts with us all!” Said Reem sarcastically. “Next time you want to speak your mind, I recommend you to do it louder! Not to mention, your mumbles are so unpleasant and amateurish! Do not overhear our private conversations ever again, if you please!” “How dare you to speak to her like that!” Captain Friendship was about to get up but she was stopped by The Sheriff. “Calm down, sugarcube. It’s not worth it, y’all.” “You are right, Applejack…” Shimmer gave me a glance of disapproval. Extremely uncomforting situation is uncomforting… And why me? “There is a problem!” I spoke to my people “Who will be the arbiter?” “Oh! Don’t worry about that, Nitty! Indigo Zap said that she knew an arbiter that would help CHS in supervising its training methods! Look! I believe is him!” “That’s Zap’s uncle for sure.” Said Sugarcoat a bit angry. “Oh, yeah. I remember her family being associated with some national sport organizations on the state or such.” I said. “Wow! That’s incredible, darling!” Shut up, Rarity. The match was about to begin when suddenly Spitfire made a hand gesture to one of the reserves. She quickly got up to join the rest of the main team’s formation while Soarin walked toward us. He was about to sit with the rest of his teammates, but he glanced at me for a moment. Instinctively knowing that rejection was the cause from Spitfire’s decision, I gave him a gesture to seat beside me if he wished. He returned a little smile at me and sat on the bench. “Hey, boss!” “We are not in the Thanksgiving competition, Soarin. Call me by name.” “Sorry, Nitpick!” “Why are you here?” Asked Sugarcoat politely. “You are a third grader and your team should be playing at full strength against the likes of Gilda, Zap, Jet Set and Dust!” “Yeah… I don’t think that I am that good on the team. At least, not on the current one.” “What do you mean by that, Soarin?” I asked. “The new team’s mantra is misguided, I think.” “Mmm…” The referee blew his whistle to announce the beginning of the game. “Let’s go guys! We got this!” The captain of CHS encouraged her teammates. It was exactly two with thirty when the ball started to roll. The audience only consisted of a handful of students from both sides and the three reserves from CHS. This game was the most important game for my new school since this could give them a clue whether or not they had a chance at their so desired tournament. The sky was clear and the guys from CHS wouldn’t stop screaming cheers of encouragement. Dust was running like lighting as she approached the goal. The Canterlot team wouldn’t allow that. However, they were not match for her speed and skill. But one fiery flash wouldn’t allow her to take another step more. Spitfire and Dust clashed with their foot on the ball. The impact sent away the sphere to the heavens at great speed. The nearest players were trying to guess with their innate instincts where the ball would fall. A rainbow comet flew from earth and intercepted the ball with such little effort. “LET’S GO!” The front attackers went back to the danger zone of Crystal Prep as Rainbow Dash was almost dancing on the field when evading the players of my old school. Gilda was leading the defense near the penalty area. Dash brashly got into a one on one with my pal. Their legwork was making me dizzy and my heart raced with the terror of seeing her lose against the ever annoying Sergeant Loyalty. My worst fears came true when after almost one minute of struggling Dash passed Gilda and approached the goal. The new kids from the academy delayed her with a tight defense, using various block tackles and stubbornly getting in her way, forcing her to go back and forward to find a chance to score. “WOOOHOOO!” Sunset raised her arms with cheer. “YOU CAN DO IT, DASHIE!” “GO GET THEM, DARLING!” “DON’T WAIT FOR SPITIFIRE AND PASS THE BALL TO FLEETFOOT!” Soarin barked. Rainbow Dash didn’t listen. She waited for Spitfire to come and started a Push-and-run tactic. My hated CHS captain shot to the goal with bluntness and great precision. She missed… but it was extremely close. I could see the frustration of my good acquaintance beside me, so I asked for his point of view. “Why Fleetfloot and not Spitfire?” “Look at where she is! What do you see?” “I only see a single player from the academy and her in that position!” “Exactly! Rainbow should have passed the ball and Fleefloot would have had a better chance to score a goal!” “It’s true.” Sugarcoat was caressing her chin with thought. “That position would have given her a better chance.” “Also, the formation that CHS is playing is wrong! Crystal Prep has a tight defense! We should be playing a four-four-one-one instead of a two-four-four!” “What’s the difference?” I asked. “The former has essentially four at the back, a flat-four midfield, one support striker and one out-and-out striker! Spitfire could help Rainbow as support while she makes the goals! The rest could be defending the danger zone and attack when needed! It’s a very flexible formation unlike the attack mentality of the latter! Since Crystal Prep has a knack for changing positions quickly, flexibility is the key to at least tie with them!” “Why do you suggest that?” “I believe it is obvious why, Nitpick!” No… I didn’t see it. The match proceeded as fiercely for the next fifteen minutes. Both teams fortified for some minutes their defenses far too well, much to each other’s annoyance. Soarin shouted from time to time some strategies that his team should do. He was totally ignored. Gilda, with her bad habit of getting impulsive and frustrated, tried to face Rainbow on her own. But where my friend triumphs on physical power and endurance, Dash simply had the advantage on dexterity. She was nimble as fuck! The fastest girl I have ever seen! “HOW’S THAT, NITPICK!? THIS IS THE SECOND TIME NOW! I TOLD YOU I DON’T CHEAT!!” Exclaimed Rainbow with a winking eye. "GILDA! KEEP FIGHTING!" I shouted supportive. “YOU CAN DO IT, MY MIGHTY FRIEND! DO NOT GIVE UP!” “TEACH THAT FILTHY COMMONER WHO IS BOSS HERE!” The Idol Six didn’t take that kindly. “BEAT THOSE MEANIES OF CRYSTAL PREP, DASHIE!” “DON’T LOSE AGAINST THEM, RAINBOW!” “YAY!” Fluttershy… that was cute. “SPITFIRE! SAVE YOUR ENERGY FOR THE SECOND HALF OF THE GAME! DON’T RUSH-!” “SHUT UP! WE ARE DOING JUST FINE!” “Ok! I give up!” Soarin crossed his arms infuriated. “Do whatever you want!” I patted his back and offered him fresh water. He kindly accepted, calming down a little. “Isn’t better to try and score as many goals on the first time and then fortify your defenses on the second?” “Yeah… I guess.” As I continued watching the match between both teams, I glared at any anomaly I could perceive to help Gily in any way possible. Nothing out of the ordinary was happening until I saw Jet Set looking at us, specifically at Sugarcoat. They were exchanging command gestures with their hands. They stopped when our little Champion was lost in thought while looking at the opposition. We lost too much time thinking and barely saw an unexpcted outcome! Rainbow Dash scored the first goal! “GOOOOOOAL!” The CHS crowd cheered with thunderous power. “GOAL! GOAL!” Rarity was overjoyed. “WE CAN DO THIS, Y’ALL!” Applejack threw her hat upward. “THEY DID IT! OUR FIRST GOAL AGAINST CRYSTAL PREP EVER!” Pinkie was jumping radiantly. That is sad. Sugarcoat didn't submit to defeat! She watched the opositon with near fanatical perseverance! Then, after several minutes of analyzing their gameplay, she received divine enlightenment. “HEAVENSBANE! DON’T PURSUE RAINBOW DASH ANY LONGER!” The defending players and Gilda were shocked at those words. “Why did you tell her that!?” “Look closely at their players and their game style! Why didn’t I see this before!?” What I was missing? What? What!? WHAT!? They were playing wild, passionate and energetic while the academy was playing too tight and… I see! It took me several minutes, but now I understand! Agh… I can’t believe I’m going to do this. “DUST! ZAP! KEEP PRESSURING THEM BUT DON’T PUSH TOO HARD! SAVE YOUR ENERGY FOR THE SECOND HALF!” “JET SET! DO AS HE SAYS! GIVE THEM DEFENSIVE COMMANDS FOR NOW!” The Thunder Duo and Set at first were dubious, but Lightning Dust’s instincts told her to listen to Sugarcoat and ordered the attackers to stand by for further instructions. The problem was Gilda who was still chasing Dash’s tail. “HEAVENSBANE!” “NO! I GOT THIS!” “MY MIGHTY FRIEND! GO BACK TO THE DEFENSE AREA AND HELP THE OTHER DEFENDERS STALL THE OPPOSITION AS MUCH AS THEY CAN!” “HELL NO!” “DON’T BE STUPID, GRIFFONIAN! PLEASE TAKE HEED TO OUR WORDS!” “SHUT UP!” “GILDA!” The Crystal Champion’s voice blasted the field. Gilda slowed her pace in shock, giving Dash greater space to maneuver on the defenses. But how could she keep playing when she heard her first name from Sugarcoat herself? It was a first for those who know her to speak the first name of someone like that. Zap’s own momentum was altered for a few seconds. “PLAY WITH YOUR BRAINS BUT NOT WITH YOUR HEART ALONE! YOU WILL HAVE YOUR CHANCE ON THE SECOND TIME! GO BACK TO YOUR POSITION AND LISTEN TO JET SET’S INSTRUCTIONS FROM NOW ON!”I could feel Gily mumbling in doubt. Our friend was reluctant to follow that plan. “GILDA! DO YOU TRUST IN ME!?” My friend made a full stop. She and Sugarcoat exchanged their clearest eyes yet. Gilda looked at the floor and closed her eyes for a moment. Soon, she locked her sight with our friend once more with a soft grin and the little Champ smiled tenderly, giving to our prideful friend two thumbs-up close to her heart. In the end, she went back to her position. With little to no surprise, the players followed the goalkeeper’s new instructions and played with a ‘Defend deep’ mentality. Curiously, he was giving away too much space in a particular are in that new formation. He must have noticed something else. CHS at first was confused by their enemy’s decision. But then, Spitfire and her team played far more fiercely than before. The cheers from their crowd echoed across the fields. Even Fluttershy’s voice was getting louder and louder than ever. The academy was playing too wary, following the goalkeeper’s defensive commands. Jet Set wasn’t just a pretty face on the school when he got into something. That didn’t mean that CHS would stop. They became relentless and passionate. I almost felt overwhelmed by Rainbow’s assault and her assault all alone with Spitfire. She used the free area and scored on the net with a cannon-shot, almost sending away Set’s arm. The arbiter signaled the second goal from Rainbow Dash. "YEAAAAH!" "YOU ARE GONNA DO IT, Y'ALL!" Eventually, the first half ended. The score was two-zero in favor of CHS. “How do you guys think we’re playing?” Dash asked them. The small crowd gave the whole team water and vibrant smiles. The Cutie Crusaders, Lyra and Bon Bon arrived shortly after the team gathered and after being informed of the recent events, Lyra threw Rainbow upward. Dash was undeniably happy in the sky for a second as the people around chanted her name. Except for that pretty but mysterious girl. Bon Bon was there… smiling… ominously... Most of them patted Dash’s back as she was the star of the first half with two, hard to deny, great goals. Scootaloo herself hugged her idol for a long period of time, much to Dash’s approval. Soarin was asked to bring more water from the nearest convenience store and he complied somewhat grumpy. Zap stayed behind on the field with his uncle and talked about their stuff. On the other hand, Dust was having a surprisingly civilized conversation with Sugarcoat. Our team was paying complete attention to her words and plans. “So that’s why!” “They haven’t noticed yet because their own stupidity and lack of vision doesn't allow them to. Now you must crush them on this second half. Do you understand the plan, everyone?” "Yes, Champion!" "Heavensbane?" "Of course, my friend!" "Good..." She smiled at her. "And you, Dust? Crush them and have your revenge!" “With pleasure, Champion Sugarcoat!” She said excited with a malicious grin. I didn’t think that a game could unite hated enemies against a common foe this easily. “Well, taking in consideration that I imprisoned you in a Labyrinth of References and you tried to kill me once…!” “Stop reading minds, Reem!” “Whatever you mean, my beloved friend!” Said she happily while resting her head on my shoulder and hugging my arm. “Whatever you mean…” The referee signaled both teams that it was time to start the second half. “Let’s go, Wondercolts!” CHS shouted out. The second half started. Ten minutes into the game, Spitfire had possession of the sphere at the center. No one from the academy was challenging the ball so she had a clear shoot at the net. Every single person from Canterlot’s crowd was in suspense as they all saw the ball curving into the goal and then making a swish sound on the net. “GOAL!” They screamed out loud. Right after that, all of her teammates began to run at her and started hugging her like crazy. When the ball was in our possession, the Thunder duo and the rest of the attackers and mid field players were controlling the ball well enough that the other team couldn’t take it away from them. Zap was playing around, running in zigzag and passing the ball on her teammates and Dust back and forth for as long as she could. The Wondercolts were following the ball without stopping for anything. The defense of the opposing players looked like a wall. The cheers from CHS were passionate and full of dreams. Everything was just fine… Then, at the eighteen minute of play, Zap scored our first goal. “DON’T WORRY! WE ARE STILL WINNING THIS!” Dash shouted to her teammates. “WE ARE WONDERCOLTS!” “AND WE ARE GOING TO WIN!” The teammates gave their battle cry. Dash flicked the ball, finding itself falling to Spitfire’s legs. She tried to drivel on all the defenders, but the team suddenly gave her an aggressive resistance. Now, she only needed to pass the ball to one of her teammates from her back. That pass didn’t happen. I slowly started to understand the fear of Soarin with their current mantra. My hated new captain began to play with the ball and driveled through all the defenders. She was sprinting as fast as she could. Jet Set was leaving the right side of the goal open so there is where she shot the ball. He swiftly dashed to the sphere and quickly made it lunge at Dust. The defenders of the opposing team were chasing her zealously. But this time, Dust passed through them with average effort. The second goal from Crystal Prep was made. I could see lingering frustrations from CHS surfacing at full strength on their faces. I was so excited that Rainbow was losing her temper and I wanted to celebrate… but I didn’t because the match wasn’t over yet. Slowly but surely, like the rest of the academy, I was waiting for what we were expecting to happen soon. The so awaited outcome was starting to manifest on the Wondercolts. In the minute thirty-six, it finally happened. Heavy panting and exhausted players sprouted on the enemy, one by one. Jet Set shouted, “NOW!!” and Crystal Prep academy took a ruthless play style of two-one-four-three position according to Soarin. The new kids started to ambush the opposition who had the ball. They hunted them down. Stalked them viciously like wolfs drowned in hunger and bloodlust, forcing them to retreat further and further to their own goal keep. Dash and Spitfire were the only ones who kept the pace at full throttle. Dust clashed most of the time with Spitfire, while Gilda challenged Rainbow Dash at every turn. It was bliss for me, seeing Gily’s face in exhilaration as her old mentor was slowly been butchered from alternatives. The rest of CHS tried to maintain the pace, but they were succumbing to exhaustion. That forced Dash and Spitfire to double their efforts. “RAINBOW DASH! PASS THE BALL!” Sunset urged her. She didn’t listen. Her pride wouldn’t allow her to submit against her old friend. Her captain was in the same boat as she tried as hard as she could to outsmart Lightning Dust when fighting for the ball. Zap and the rest of the mid players waited for the right moment to charge for the third goal. Then, it happened. Gilda stole the ball from Dash and passed it to Zap. Indigo was leaving her trace on fire as she approached the net. She didn’t even put effort to avoid the defenses. There were no defenses! Only dead men! She made a pass to one of her teammates and the third goal was scored! Crystal Prep tied effortlessly. I wanted her to lose… but… “RAINBOW DASH! TRY TO PLAY SMART! WE CAN THINK ON SOMETHING DURING OVERTIME!” Soarin was desperate. “DASH!” I shouted with pity. “FOCUS ON THE DEFENSES OR YOU ARE GOING TO GET KILLED!” “NOW YOU ARE SUPPORTING US, NITPICK!?” She ignored Soarin. “I DON’T WANT YOU TO LOSE THAT BADLY, MORON!!” “WHO ARE YOU CALLING A MORON, JERK!!? DON’T SPEAK TO ME ANYMORE!” “THEN SUFFER A BRUTAL DEFEAT!” Midnight, Spike, Lyra, the Crusaders, the rest of the Idol Six and the reserves gave me a disappointed look. I didn’t care anymore. Her team assumed a stubborn attitude that cost them the right for an overtime. Every single minute was another goal. They took turns to score in the net. Even Jet Set as a goalkeeper scored one for the team. From there, slaughter! Complete, painful, and brutal slaughter! I didn’t want to see this any longer, but Gilda had the ball in her possession so I needed to watch it to the bittersweet end. She was challenged by both star players of CHS, charging against them with brute force and steady pace. From the sides, Zap and Dust ran in a perfect coordination so she could pass the ball to either of them. “GILDA! PASS ME THE BALL!” “NO! ME!” “ME!” “ME!” “OKAY, HERE IT GOES!” Dash and Spitfire ambushed the Thunder Duo at the same time. It was all a heartless ruse. The game was over as soon as she kicked the ball and scored the last goal. “TIME IS OVER! CRYSTAL PREP WINS!” The referee blew his whistle again to announce the end of the game. I found myself sprinting towards Gilda and we embraced each other while jumping like imbeciles. “YOU DID IT, SUCKER!” “YEAH! WE WON!” Crystal Prep’s cry of victory was heard across the land. The final score was three to eleven in favor of the academy. Everyone clashed their hands with one another with an unexpected demeanor. It was a first for me to see students from the academy acting like this. Where they usually act snobbishly and arrogant, now they were burning with energy and big grins on their faces. “Crystal Prep Academy’s reputation has been cleansed a little!” Said Sugarcoat like a prophet with bliss in her heart and her hair dancing with the wind. “Tantene! Conditioning your hair to look smooth and slick!” Reem winked. “Shut up, Oakwo-” Gilda soon came into the field of vision of the little Champ. She walked slowly to the direction of the one who put all her faith in her. Sugarcoat was just there, waiting for her arrival. As soon as they were close to each other, they shared a warm hug. Their Friendship has been deepened one more time. “I have never supervised a match so free of fouls in my life! It was a first for me to not being forced to bestow penalty cards or punishments! Well done!” “Thank you for coming, Uncle Rulebook!” Zap hugged her relative with appreciation. “Oh, my little Indigo! Everything for my favorite nephew!” He smiled warmly at her. “As for you, Lightning!” He turned stern all of the sudden. “Don’t cause any trouble to your cousin on the school! Understood, lady?” “Yeah, yeah…” “Yeah, yeah?” “Yes, dad. Sorry.” She looked at the side with arms crossed. …Ouch. “I know you have them, Indigo, but here are the rules of the Inter Tournament for your friends in case you want to review them together! I put some notes in there to help you understand them better!” “Thank you!” “Well, gotta go! You parents and I will eat seafood with your aunt! You know how she gets angry when we get late!” “Just like cousin Dust!” They both laughed wildly as my poor, disliked enemy was being ashamed in front of Gilda, Sugarcoat and me. When he was gone, Zap waved at Sergeant Loyalty. “Dash! Look! You need to see this!” Shrouded in despair and sadness, looking at the team of my new school was a horrendous view. Faces swollen with discreet tears and anger fell through their cheeks. I think that it's perhaps harder to learn from victory than it is from defeat. Losing is horrible. Especially against the ones who always crush you at every turn. But still… they gave you the best teachings. “Uh… Dash?” “HEY!” An angered girl faced Dash face to face. “Cous’ Zap is talking to you!” “Only to laugh at us…” “I wouldn’t do that!” Zap said empathically in a very uncharacteristic way. “Yeah, you would!” Lightning was being bitchy as always. Her cousin gave her the mean look. “What?” She smiled cockily. “Don’t be soft with them unless you want to spoil them.” “Cousin Dust…” “AH, C’MON!” She wasn’t budging at all. “Ok, Fine! I’m sorry! Even so, you know it’s true! Admit it, they played terrible!” Indigo sighed in defeat. “Rainbow Dash, your performance was, uh, bad, compared to other occasions. Were you sick today or you trained way too hard earlier?” “Are you saying that I played that bad?” Rainbow was depressed. “No… I mean, you all played incredible in the first half, and you were… stubborn and valorous...” “Sugarcube… tell us the honest truth…” Applejack smiled weakly. “Come on, don’t be shy!” “Well… I… I… It’s just… Well…” She took a massive bunch of air. “HORRIBLE! Your team play is horrible! I have never seen such atrocious team effort before! This is way different than the triathlon we had during the games! Why didn’t you change to a defensive formation when we scored the first goal? Why didn’t you change players from your reserves to substitute the most tired of your team? Why you were so obsessed to not pass the ball when your teammates had perfect opportunities in perfect places to score an almost sure goal!!? You played terribly bad on the second time!” “Terribly bad? That was atrocious!” Said Blueblood with pity. “Even an ignorant like me on such matters knew that you were performing badly on communication!” “I can’t believe I am agreeing with Blueblood, of all people!” Dust was ashamed of herself. “HEY!” “Speaking of communication, you should have played in the four-four-one-one formation as that guy suggested! Spitfire, you are obviously a born supporter while Dash is the gifted goal scorer!” “But how would the rest of the team participate during the match? Everyone has to play actively to feel important!” “Dash, the team helps when they are fulfilling their jobs!” Zap gripped on Dash’s shoulders. “Your play style gave away too early that you tried too hard to assume all positions! That’s not good! No matter how boring the job is, a good defender is as important as the scorers! Is this is really your current mentality and level?” “Yeah…” “Not good enough! But, if you train on new strategies and coordination, you could challenge the Inter Tournament decently! You just need to last the ninety minutes of gameplay plus the probable thirty of overtime and-!” “Wait! Did you say ninety minutes!? AND THIRTY MINUTES OF OVERTIME?” “Ah, yeah! It is the standard for that tournament! It’s the kind of match we just had! It’s here in the rule guide concerning the tournament!” “Hey!” A player from CHS looked surprised. “Isn’t that the book Soarin was carrying around all these past weeks?” “Yeah! It is the same!” “Soarin! Care to explain!?” Spitfire barked. The passive guy from the soccer team withdrew from his backpack a guide book identical to the one Zap was carrying. “Principal Celestia gave me this book several weeks ago before we started our training.” “Why didn’t you give it to us, you moron!?” “I tried! But you didn’t listen! Just like with Twilight's notes, you didn’t want to read the book because you were so busy training ‘awesomely and cool’ instead of reading boring stuff! We trained wrongly all this time and we could suffer for that!” “He is right, Dash! Your team sucks!” “HEY! Don’t insult my teammates like that, Dust!” “I’m sorry to say this, Rainbow Dash, but Cous’ is right. This is not a inter high school competition! This is a ticket to have a chance to be part of the nation’s pro community! You can’t play with sup-bar players and strategies in a tournament like this! Even Cinch herself gets nervous when watching those matches because of the overwhelming level the best players of other recognized schools have!” “Not to mention that you just were surprised at hearing the time of each official match! I’m gonna guess that you hoped you were going to play the standard eighty minutes of high school gameplay, right?” The Wondercolts were left speechless. “Let me tell you that this is not the case! No wonder you didn’t last the full match! We of Crystal Prep always train with the official rule set of the I.F.S.F in mind!” “What?” I asked. “The International Football Soccer Federation, Bittersweet.” “Thanks, Sugarcoat.” “Tell me, how big is your soccer field, Dash? Ours is the maximum allowed of one-hundred and twenty yards long and eighty yards wide!” “Well, uh, I don’t know!” Dust made a facepalm. “One hundred yards long and sixty yards wide!” Midnight answered. “Markings of the penalty area, the goal area, the goal and the touch lines are the same as I.F.S.F, having the required hash mark along the goal line eleven yards from the corner to indicate where opponents cannot encroach during corner kicks. The team bench is ten feet from the touch line. I did all the research, measurements and calculations with Nitty some weeks ago!” “Pfff… Thanks, Sparkle. Pffff… I, uhm, appreciate it!” Dust was clearly containing her laughter caused by my nickname while Midnight gave away a big grin. “Kitty…” I heard that, bitch! “I’m here to help.” Said Midnight with pride and fully unaware of the situation. “What does it have to do with the actual tournament?” “Dash! The size of the field is important!” Zap took her hands and made some traces with her fingers on her palm. “It doesn’t look like much but a few yards of difference and game time punishes or benefits one’s performance! Crystal Prep Academy’s soccer club starts it’s training on the first year of middle school! Then, the best players of each generation join the official high school team, and the best of high school joins the college team! And it’s the same deal with the other clubs!” “That’s why we always win in virtually every competition like soccer, tennis, and even golf! Not only against you during the Friendship Games, but against other schools as well!” Said Sugarcoat prideful. “We take our training and studies seriously! This is why we ALWAYS win!” “But we have trained hard too!” “For how long? Weeks, months, years? Your way of training and how constant you are matters, Rainbow Dash! I won’t lie! You have talent, girl! Real talent! Perhaps more so than me!” Everyone was left in stupefaction when Dust said those words. “But! You are even worse at teamwork than me! You wanted all the glory for Spitfire and yourself! I hated to work with Gilda, even if I was the one that asked her to do so! And yet, we managed to make a decent formation because there were two factors into play; communication and a common goal! Our hate to you overrode our pride and we worked together to beat you! Add the fact that the rest of the team knew their place and worth on the game and BAM! A recipe for success! While yours were just running like crazy, waiting for a chance to have a bite on the cake! Chance that never happened because it was all about you!” “But-!” “Rainbow Dash! If you want to shine, play the kind of sports I do! Tennis, boxing, athletics! No matter how good one is, in a team based sport, one or two star-players can´t carry the team by themselves! Either they suck at team play or the team itself is a hindrance to them!” “She is right!” Said Fleetfloot. “Why didn’t you pass me the ball at the beginning of the game? I could have helped!” “Why you didn’t make a back pass to me when you were surrounded? I had a clear shoot line to score a goal!” Complaints erupted from the frustrated athletes of my new school. Whether she was being sincere or not with what she said, Lightning Dust enjoyed the inner struggle her enemy had amongst themselves. Knowing her abusive ways, she probably just said all that to screw with Dash. Gilda on the other hand only said to us, “Let’s go and celebrate this victory, Sug!” “My treat!” She replied. “Let’s go, T.U.O!” As I got further and further away from the fields with the rest of the gang, both schools’ star players soon clashed in a ‘friendly’ conflict concerning the tournament rules. Zap and Shimmer were being the mediators as Rainbow and Lightning kept bitching with their methods. I didn’t have the energy to watch them anymore. I kept walking with a relaxed demeanor and enjoyed the - so much missed - breeze of the wind. Sugarcoat invited us at her home and did some homemade cookies for Gilda as a prize.