Equestria Hockey League

by XFizzle

EHL Part XI - For Whom the Belle Tolls

Equestria Hockey League Part XI – For Whom the Belle Tolls
by XFizzle

Another “X” marked on the calendar to begin another day of loneliness for Twilight Sparkle. She sighed loudly as she glanced at the current day’s square and saw the words “weekly practice” in bold red letters. Twilight lazily began to ready herself for the long day, dragging herself to the mirror to brush her mane. Spike rustled out of his sleep and yawned his way up and out of his bed. Even while rubbing his eyes, Spike could see Twilight’s distress. He let out one last yawn and stretched out his tiny limbs.

“Well somepony looks down in the dumps. What’s wrong Twilight?”

Twilight looked away from the mirror and down at her hooves. “I don’t know Spike. Ever since the Appleloosa game, I’ve been feeling incredibly lonely and a bit guilty.”

Spike walked up next to Twilight and began fussing with his scales in the mirror beside her.

“Lonely I can understand, but guilty? The girls weren’t listening to you and they quit on the team. Why are you the one feeling guilty?

Twilight walked over to her dresser where she grabbed her winter saddle and scarf. “Because Spike, even though they were less than cooperative, I wasn’t being a good leader. I’ll admit, I lost my cool and I yelled at them while I wasn’t performing my best and I blamed them for the bad game. We were all to blame, as a team. A good leader knows when it’s the right time to push their teammates’ buttons and which buttons to push. We moped too much about the Cloudsdale loss, including myself. A good leader would have encouraged their team to shake the loss off and turn their focus to the next game right away, not waiting until the night before. ”

“I guess. So what are you going to do now?”

“I’m going to the girls’ homes and apologizing for my actions. There’s no time to be standoffish and spiteful. We have two games left against teams we lost to already. The playoffs are coming soon and we need to build momentum going into them. Oh I hope the girls will hear me out!”

“I hope so, for the Golden Leafs’ sake, more importantly, Ponyville’s sake. The fans love you guys.”

“Well I’m going to head out now. Our usual practice time is getting closer.”

“Good luck, Twilight.”

Twilight trotted down the stairs to the main floor. Before she could open the door, the mail slot opened and a newspaper was pushed into the house. Twilight levitated the newspaper and quickly flipped through it. When she reached the sports section, a headline caught her eye.

“RANGERS’ CAPTAIN FLINGS SCATHING REMARKS AT PONYVILLE”

Twilight dissected the sports page to find the whole article. When she found it, she began to read intently.

“When discussing the Manehattan Rangers’ next opponent, the Ponyville Golden Leafs, Rangers’ captain, The Great and Powerful Trixie, didn’t pull any punches. ‘The Ponyville Golden Leafs have been an utter disgrace not only to the Equestria Hockey League, but to the sport of hockey. It amazes me how they truly believe they are a legitimate team. I mean, did you see their latest games? They completely embarrassed the league with their barbaric attack on Fillydelphia, they completely choked away a win in Cloudsdale, then they followed up with a vomit-inducing effort against Appleloosa. You know what I think? I think they are the beneficiaries of favoritism. Yes, you can quote The Great and Powerful Trixie on that. Princess Celestia personally requested Ponyville be granted a team. Why? Because she is the mastermind behind the EHL while Commissioner Bettpony is merely a figurehead. The EHL was just fine before the Golden Leafs came along. They are giving the other teams a bad rap, including The Great and Powerful Trixie’s perfectly flawless team, the Manehattan Rangers. I, The Great and Powerful Trixie, along with my teammates, will show Equestria once and for all that the Golden Leafs do not belong in this league and should be disbanded immediately. When asked why Manehattan is 4-4 even though The Great and Powerful Trixie called her team perfectly flawless, Trixie quickly chased our interviewer from the room. It should make for an interesting evening in Ponyville when these two teams meet on the ice. How will the Golden Leafs respond? We shall find out in two nights.”

Twilight’s blood gradually came to a boil as she read Trixie’s remarks. She was now more determined than ever to gather up the girls and put the other night’s meltdown behind her. Twilight tucked the article into her scarf and galloped off toward Sugarcube Corner.

---

With snow gently falling from a dull, grey sky, Twilight reached Sugarcube Corner in a hurry. Twilight approached the counter where Mrs. Cake was placing the finishing touches on a cake.

“Hello Mrs. Cake, is Pinkie home?”

“Why hello Twilight Sparkle! I believe she is.” Mrs. Cake went over to the stairs and yelled up into the top floor. “Pinkie dear! You have a visitor!”

Excited scuffling shook the ceiling and Pinkie emerged from the stairs.

“Oh boy! A visitor! Who is it?” As Pinkie walked down, she noticed her visitor was Twilight. Pinkie’s face soured from an anticipatory smile to a dour frown. “Oh, it’s Twilight. Back to call me mean names again? I don’t even know what a sieve is, but I bet it’s not tasty!”

Twilight tried to crack an inviting smile but her guilt sank back in. “Pinkie, I came here to apologize for how I acted and what I said the other night. I wasn’t being a good leader or a good friend. You’re not a sieve. You are a fine goalie and your positive attitude always brightens up the locker room. I hope you can forgive me and we can get back to practicing like a fun team again.”

Pinkie took in Twilight’s apology but didn’t respond. She stared at Twilight silently, causing Twilight to feel more anxious and uneasy. After more awkward seconds passed, Twilight pulled out the article from her scarf and duplicated it with magic. She drifted the copy over to Pinkie and sadly turned to leave. Pinkie received the article and began to read it. After quickly skimming the paper, Pinkie yelled out, “Wait, Twilight!” but Twilight had already moved onto the next house.

---

Next stop was the Carousel Boutique. Twilight knocked on the door and began rehearsing her apology to Rarity in her head. Rarity peered out the window to see who it was. When she saw it was Twilight, Rarity quickly closed the curtains out of sight. Twilight could hear a conversation inside the home but was puzzled and becoming more downtrodden when the door wouldn’t open. Letting out a sigh, Twilight turned to leave when the door finally opened. Hearing the creak of the door propelled Twilight back around with relief. The relief was quickly washed away with disappointment as it was Sweetie Belle who answered. Sweetie Belle looked up at Twilight with her large, green eyes and smiled.

“Hiya, Twilight! How are you doing?”

“Oh hello, Sweetie Belle. Is Rarity home? I have something to need to tell her.”

Whispering emerged off from Sweetie Belle’s side, “Don’t tell her I’m here! Tell her I’m delivering an order of dresses!”

“Umm…Rarity isn’t home right now. Can I leave a message?”

Twilight heard the whispering and was slightly irked, but she remembered the article and refocused on setting things straight. Talking louder than her usual tone, Twilight began her apology knowing Rarity was listening. “Tell Rarity that I came by to apologize for my actions and my words the other night. I wasn’t a good leader or a good friend. Rarity has a great shot and she did spend a lot of time putting together out uniforms. I hope she will still show up for practice today. Also could you give her this?”

Twilight handed another copy of the article to Sweetie Belle. Forgetting she was covering for her sister, Sweetie Belle started to give the article to Rarity but Rarity put her hooves up to block her from doing so. Sweetie Belle looked back to Twilight and grinned. “Sure thing, Twilight. I’ll give this to Rarity. See you in a few days for the game!”

“Thanks, Sweetie Belle,” said the apologetic Golden Leafs captain as she turned to move on. Sweetie Belle closed the door and gave Rarity the article. Rarity read over it and turned red with anger. Her face returned to being flush when she recalled Twilight’s apology. Hoping to catch her friend, Rarity quickly ripped the door open and saw Twilight in the distance. She tried to yell out, “Twilight darling!” but like Pinkie, Rarity was too late.

---

With time running out until practice was supposed to begin, Twilight galloped to Sweet Apple Acres. As she drew near, Twilight noticed Big Macintosh plowing away snow from the barn. Looking around, there was no sign of Applejack anywhere. Twilight ran up to Big Macintosh with urgency.

“Hello Big Macintosh, is Applejack around?”

“No, ma’am. She’s been trottin’ around Ponyville helpin’ plow some snow. She’s been feelin’ mighty rotten the past couple’a days, talkin’ down to herself and feelin’ ashamed about somethin’.”

Twilight found a bit of solace in Big Mac’s words and was encouraged that at least one of her friends was feeling as bad as she had been. “Well, if she comes back soon, could you tell her that I stopped by to apologize for what I did during and after the game the other night? Also could you give her this article? I’d appreciate it.”

“Eeyup, no problem, Miss Sparkle.”

“Thank you. Hey, Applejack told us before the season started that you used to play hockey. Is that true?”

“Eeyup, sure did. I reckon I was a mighty solid forward when I was a young colt. I ain’t played in ages but I do miss it.”

Twilight began formulating an idea in her head. “I think I might have a way to get you back into the sport. Expect another visit from me in the near future.”

“Sure thing. Y’all take care now. Get the Golden Leafs back together.”

Twilight smiled. “I’ll try. Thank you.”

Big Macintosh resumed his snow plowing as Twilight sprinted toward her final reconciliation destination, Fluttershy’s cottage.

---

At the cottage, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were hanging out and grooming each others’ wings. When Twilight was close enough, she looked through the window and was very thrilled to see her remaining apologies could be completed in one swoop. Twilight quickly knocked on the door to which Fluttershy answered. Twilight greeted Fluttershy with a smile while Fluttershy leaned away in fright.

“Aw Fluttershy, please hear me out. I came to apologize for the other night. No need to be afraid of me. I promise I won’t yell at you like I did. I’m sorry.”

Fluttershy relaxed and smiled. “Oh Twilight, I’m sorry too for leaving. I was just so scared. I didn’t mean to leave you all alone. Could you forgive me?”

A rewarding warmness blanketed Twilight as she smiled back. “Yes, Fluttershy. I forgive you. Ready to get back to practice?”

Before Fluttershy could respond, Rainbow flew to the doorway. When she saw Twilight, Rainbow immediately turned away from Twilight and crossed her forelegs. “What do YOU want?”

“Rainbow, I’m here to apologize for the Appleloosa game. I was wrong to single you out in front of the team during the first period and then to yell at everyone throughout the game. I wasn’t being a good leader or a good friend.”

“You’re darn right you weren’t! I’ve been a workhorse for this team and yet I get thrown under the cart when it wasn’t my fault.”

Twilight began to feel guilty again and tried to give a rebuttal when Rainbow slammed the door on her. Instead of being upset, Twilight sighed to herself. “I probably deserved that. I guess I’ll be practicing by myself today.”

Twilight slipped the last copy of the article under Fluttershy’s door and sadly started off on her trek toward Ponyville Pond. Back inside the cottage, Fluttershy was not pleased with Rainbow’s behavior and applied her patented stare. Rainbow freaked out and rushed to get back to Twilight to properly apologize but Twilight was already gone in the distance. Rainbow noticed the article lying on the floor and picked it up to read. Rainbow became infuriated as she read the article and shredded it to pieces when she finished, startling Fluttershy.

---

Ponyville Pond was hollow and somber as a lonely Twilight put on her practice uniform and took to the ice. The echo of her skates cutting the ice and the puck smacking the boards made Twilight feel like she was playing inside a black hole devoid of all life. As Twilight skated around and shot on the empty net, she noticed that there was additional noise coming out from somewhere as it didn’t match up with the things she was doing. As the noises grew louder, Twilight’s hopes shot upwards that it was her friends returning to her and accepting her apology. She waited anxiously for the rabble of voices to come to the rink. Twilight’s enlarged, anxious eyes shifted into concerned, apprehensive ones as it was not her friends at the rink, but the Manehattan Rangers. Trixie was in the front of the pack with Lyra, Octavia, Vinyl Scratch, and Bon Bon closely following behind her. The Rangers stepped out onto the ice and began encircling Twilight. They all came to a stop, spraying Twilight with ice chips from every angle. They all let out a laugh as Trixie skated up to Twilight.

“Hello loser! Remember us? Where’s your lame team? Did they all abandon you and leave you all alone? I don’t blame them. If I played for you, I’d abandon ship too since you spread lameness to everything you do!”

Twilight gnashed her teeth and was ready to stand up to Trixie.

“I’m not afraid of you, Trixie. I suggest you get out of here before I humiliate you with my magic in front of your team.”

Trixie laughed off Twilight’s threat. “Oh please, Twilight. Don’t try to be all tough and heroic. You’re outnumbered five to one. We’re taking over this ice for our practice and there’s nothing you can do to stop us!”

As Trixie said this, the other four Rangers closed in on Twilight, causing Twilight to back herself into the corner boards with nowhere to run. Suddenly, Lyra and Octavia sandwiched Twilight and began pushing her around from side to side. They thrust her at Vinyl Scratch who proceeded to whip her tail in Twilight’s face. During the bullying, Trixie was near the benches, planting a tiny spying device on the boards that viewed the entire rink.

Twilight was dazed by Scratch’s tail whipping and it was made worse by a helmet-to-helmet headbutt by Bon Bon. When she reclaimed her focus, Twilight found herself pinned to the glass by the Rangers. Back from her mischievous scheme, Trixie closed in with her skate blade held up. Lyra tore Twilight’s helmet from her head and held out a large chunk of Twilight’s mane for Trixie to cut off. Octavia was holding Twilight’s tail out as well as Trixie began laughing maniacally. Right as Trixie was about to touch Twilight’s hair, a lasso flew right above her head and came down around her to constrict her. Trixie was dragged to the opposite end of the ice as the other Rangers released Twilight to save their captain. The wide zamboni doors opened and Trixie yelled out, about to become swallowed up by the darkness. Twilight looked on in shock as the Rangers flailed into the darkness after their captured captain. Raucous rustling and shouting emanated from the mysterious zamboni area as a struggle continued. Suddenly, all five Rangers were spat back out onto the ice tied up in a giant pony bundle. Stepping out from darkness were the Golden Leafs, showing up in the nick of time to help out their best friend. Twilight shot up like a rocket and happily dashed off toward her friends.

“You girls did show up! You have no idea how relieved I am.”

Applejack drifted forward to speak. “After I heard how you came ‘round to apologize today, me and the girls got together and we discussed how childish we were all bein’ before and durin’ the Appleloosa game. You had every right to be angry with us and for that, we apologize to you, sugarcube.”

“We behaved like absolute mules, dear. We’re ready to focus and do whatever it takes to perform as a team!” said Rarity.

Twilight had the world’s largest smile and was happy the ugly episode was appearing to be behind them.

“As for you jokers, you better believe we’re telling the EHL about this!” shouted Rainbow into Trixie’s ear. Trixie and the Rangers tried shouting but they were muffled by the ropes constricting their mouths.

Fluttershy began shoving the bundle of Rangers toward the opened doors. “We’ll find a nice, quiet place for these meanies and then we can get back to practicing and being a team again.”

Pinkie bounced around, playfully slapping the Rangers’ helmets like a set of bongo drums as they were being removed from the ice, their growls and grunts failing to break through. After the Rangers were taken care of, the Golden Leafs held their first practice back together. Twilight taught a new play which the Golden Leafs’ ran to near perfection by the end. The play would see the Golden Leafs set up in a pentagon formation with Rainbow behind the net, Rarity and Applejack at their respective faceoff circles, and Fluttershy and Twilight at the points on the blue line. Rainbow would control the puck and quickly pass to either Rarity or Applejack who would then immediately pass it back to the point where Fluttershy and Twilight switch places and receive the pass on the cross and fire away.

During the practice, Trixie frantically tried using her magic to free herself and her team. By time the Rangers were finally free, the Golden Leafs’ practice was over and they had left the arena. Although her team was wrangled up and thwarted by Twilight and company, Trixie was not terribly upset as she had spied on the entire practice and knew the Golden Leafs’ new trick. Trixie relayed the information to her team and they left the arena, prepared to gain revenge for their humiliation at the Golden Leafs’ hooves.

---

Game night arrived and Ponyville Pond was sold out for the final home game of the regular season. A sea of royal blue covered the arena as nearly every pony in attendance was now sporting a Golden Leafs’ jersey. In celebration of the final home game, white pom-poms were given away and the sea of royal blue became a polka-dotted spectacle of royal blue and white. Golden Leafs fans cheered and waited anxiously for their team to get back to their winning ways, unaware of the turmoil that had befallen their team during the week.

In the locker room, the Golden Leafs were finished getting dressed and were aware and ready for Manehattan’s revenge. In the visitor’s locker room, Trixie furiously marched in front of her team and riled them up with more scathing words about Twilight and the Golden Leafs. It was time for the teams to hit the ice as the one minute horn sounded. The Golden Leafs made it to the ice first which prompted a loud eruption of cheering. The cheering switched to equally loud booing when the Rangers stepped into the rink. The Rangers, cold and calculating, stuck to their side of the rink and skated around while Ponyville did the same. Sweetie Belle and Pinkie Pie slid from side to side in their creases to chip up the ice for traction as the referee grabbed the game puck. Rainbow bent over and skidded to a stop at the faceoff dot while Octavia met her head on. With both goalies ready and the Rangers and Golden Leafs prepared for the faceoff, the puck dropped on the home finale.

---

Octavia won the opening draw and flung it back to the newest Ranger, Bon Bon, who dumped it into the Ponyville zone. Manehattan chased after the puck and maintained control for a decent chunk of time. Twilight directed the defense and was calling out instructions and things she noticed the Rangers were doing. Manehattan kept passing out of the Golden Leafs’ reach, trying to find a window to shoot through. Their passing got quicker and soon they were getting their shooting opportunities. Pinkie faced five shots and stopped them all, holding onto the fifth one for a break in the play. Twilight gathered up her team and told them that as soon as they finally break into the Rangers’ zone, run the play they practiced. With the faceoff off to Pinkie’s right, Rainbow won the draw and Ponyville skated up the ice for their first offensive series.

Applejack dumped the puck into the corner with Rainbow flying through to retrieve it. Rainbow swooped past Trixie and had the puck behind the net as her teammates got set into their positions. Trixie looked back to see the Golden Leafs’ formation and knew it was their new play. Trixie peeled away from Rainbow and sprinted toward the middle, waiting for the next pass. Rainbow handed the puck off to Rarity on the left faceoff circle as Twilight and Fluttershy switched places along the blue line. As Rarity flicked her stick to pass to Twilight, Trixie jumped up into the passing lane and intercepted Rarity’s feed. Twilight and Fluttershy stumbled a bit trying to turn quickly to give chase to the streaking Trixie. Trixie was all alone for a breakaway and Pinkie skated up to cut down the angle. Trixie drifted to the right but suddenly snapped a long slap shot to the top left corner. Pinkie was caught off-guard by Trixie’s misdirection and the puck slammed up into the net. Trixie began her arrogant laughter as the Ponyville crowd booed.

”Manehattan goal, scored by number 4, Trixie.

Trixie broke away from her teammates’ goal celebration to yell up to Spike.

“THAT’S THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE, YOU LITTLE PIPSQUEAK!”

”Geez sorry. Manehattan goal, scored by number 4, The Great and Powerful Trixie.

The Golden Leafs gathered around Twilight and were in shock of what just happened.

“That was just bad luck. There’s no way Trixie knew what we were going to do, right?” asked Rainbow.

“An absolute fluke I say!” shouted Rarity

Twilight looked over at the Rangers, then up to the clock to see two minutes left in the period, and then back to her teammates. “Next time we’re on offense, let’s run it again. We’ll just have to pass faster.”

Play resumed and Rainbow won the faceoff back to Fluttershy who passed over to Twilight to dump it into the Rangers’ zone. Rainbow once again flew in after it as the others reclaimed their positions. This time, Octavia and Vinyl Scratch were in on the play. With Rainbow stalling behind the net with the puck, Trixie made a beeline for the back of the net to apply pressure. Octavia and Scratch shaded near Rarity and Applejack. With Trixie coming after her, Rainbow felt rushed and bounced the puck over to Rarity. Scratch stepped in front of Rarity to steal the puck away as Octavia broke for center ice, splitting Twilight and Fluttershy. Scratch spun around quickly to feed the puck up to the breaking Octavia. The puck was just out of Fluttershy’s stick reach and it landed on Octavia’s stick. Pinkie had to skate up again as she faced her second consecutive breakaway. Octavia turned her body so she was skating backwards into Pinkie. Pinkie was thrown off and completely unaware what was coming next. Octavia motioned that she would turn from her right side, making Pinkie shade right, but instead Octavia turned back around from her left side. With a mostly open net, Octavia blasted the puck in to give Manehattan their second goal. The goal light flickered and Scratch was the first to meet Octavia at the boards to celebrate once more.

”Manehattan goal, scored by number 15, Octavia, assisted by number 66, Vinyl Scratch.

Dumbfounded again, the Golden Leafs drifted toward each other with groans and moans pouring down on them from their impatient fans. Not much time remained in the period, so Twilight waited for the first intermission to address this alarming violation of their game plan. Play resumed but the rest of the period ran out unexcitedly. Both teams headed to their locker rooms to assess their first period performances.

---

During the intermission, Twilight furiously flipped through her sketches and notes on the Golden Leafs’ new play, hoping to find a reason for why it failed twice. When she couldn’t figure out the problem, she tossed all the paper aside and spoke to her team.

“Alright, so our play didn’t work. We’ll just have to leave it alone for now. Any suggestions on how to attack the second period?”

Applejack sat up quickly. “Let’s just hit ‘em! It’s ‘bout time somepony knock ‘em off their high horse. After what they were doin’ to Twilight at practice, they need a good whuppin’!”

“I’m all for that!” shouted Rainbow.

Rarity, remembering Twilight’s complaint from the previous game that she wasn’t physical enough, echoed her teammates’ sentiments. “Agreed! Let’s take out those ruffians!”

Twilight at first was surprised by Rarity’s remark but grinned with approval. Fluttershy meanwhile was getting antsy and fired up by her teammates’ plan. She walked up to the doorway and cleared her throat to get the girls’ attention.

“Ahem, girls, do you know what time it is?”

Confused by Fluttershy’s question, they all shrugged back. Fluttershy raised one of her legs to look at it as if she was wearing a watch. She then lifted up her head to yell, “IT’S CLOBBERIN’ TIIIIMEEEE!”

The Golden Leafs leapt to their hooves with great excitement and Fluttershy emphatically led them out of the locker room and back to the ice.

---

Both teams were back on the ice and the Golden Leafs were skating with swagger, despite their 2-0 deficit. Manehattan was puzzled as to why Ponyville were appearing so confident. Trixie banded her team together to get them to refocus. Each Golden Leaf nodded to the other as they set up for the faceoff. The puck dropped and the second period was underway.

Octavia won the faceoff but was immediately trucked over by Rainbow. Rainbow kept chugging on toward Bon Bon who fired the puck into the Ponyville zone in fear of getting hit. The referee held his hoof up as Twilight skated down to touch the puck for icing. Trixie gave Bon Bon a disappointed scowl as the faceoff moved to Sweetie Belle’s right. Rainbow won the faceoff back to Fluttershy who moved the puck back toward the blue line. Applejack stepped around Scratch and was open in the slot, receiving a pass from Fluttershy. Applejack was trying to cut to the crease but was sandwiched between Scratch and Bon Bon. Rarity blew past Lyra’s cover and set up behind Applejack, tapping her stick frantically. Applejack passed the puck off to Rarity and continued off to the corner to clear the lane to the net. With the slot empty of bodies, Rarity fired on her little sister. Rarity pinpointed her shot just high enough to zip past Sweetie’s glove hoof. The puck clanged the bottom edge of the crossbar and settled in the net. The Ponyville crowd was awoken and emitted a loud cheer as the goal horn sounded.

”Ponyville goal! Scored by number 9, RARITY! Assisted by number 88, Applejack! And number 0, Fluttershy!

The Golden Leafs’ goal salutation was a short one as they still had unfinished business, down by one. They reset for the center ice faceoff as the Rangers broke from their huddle. The puck dropped and Manehattan took back over. The Rangers’ offensive series was cut short by a Rainbow Dash pass interception. Rainbow broke toward the Rangers’ net with only Bon Bon skating back to challenge her. Bon Bon squared up with Rainbow and waited for her to make the first move. Rainbow narrowed her eyes and focused in on making a sick move. Rainbow held the puck over to Bon Bon’s left and Bon Bon skated up to steal it. When Bon Bon reached her neck out with her stick to steal, Rainbow squeezed the puck through Bon Bon’s legs and quickly shifted to Bon Bon’s right. Bon Bon was caught by surprise and got twisted up, falling to the ice while Rainbow approached the crease. Rainbow curled the puck off her stick and rifled it through Sweetie Belle’s five-hole. The goal horn sounded again and the Ponyvillians jumped to their hooves to cheer Rainbow as she jumped and crashed back-first into the boards in joy. The Golden Leafs rushed down to Manehattan’s end to congratulate Rainbow with the home crowd pumping their pom-poms in the air like a pulsating wave.

”Ponyville goal! Scored by number 20, RAINBOW DASH!

Visibly upset with their depleted lead, Trixie skated over and clunked Bon Bon on the helmet which prompted Lyra to push Trixie away from her friend. The Golden Leafs looked on in satisfaction as they were now in the Rangers’ heads.

Three minutes remained in the period and Twilight and friends were determined to grab the lead before intermission. When the puck dropped, the Golden Leafs infiltrated the Rangers’ zone and shuffled the puck around like a pinball machine. Their crisp, fast passing mixed up and confused the Manehattan defense and opened up a multitude of lanes to the net. Rarity had the puck on the left wing boards and was being pressured by Lyra. Bon Bon came in for the double team but Rarity kicked the puck along the boards to Rainbow in the corner. Bon Bon turned to go after Rainbow and Octavia began to close in to help. Seeing an open slot developing in front of her, Twilight stepped up into it, furiously slapping her stick. Rainbow heard the noise behind her and kicked the puck in that direction. Down on one knee, Twilight one-timed the puck right past Sweetie Belle’s blocker. Ponyville Pond erupted with celebration again as Twilight was playfully pushed down to the ice by her teammates in elation.

”Ponyville GOAAALLL! Scored by number 42, Twilight Sparkle! Assisted by number 20, Rainbow Dash! And number 9, Rarity!

The arena kept rocking with cheering and pom-pom pumping as the final minute of the second period ticked away. When the period horn sounded, the crowd volume peaked again as the Golden Leafs left the ice with a 3-2 lead.

---

The Golden Leafs’ locker room was the most festive it had been in ages. Twilight and company proudly traded hoof and chest bumps as they decided to stick to their plan of hitting everything in sight.

Off in the Rangers’ locker room, Trixie stewed in the corner and tried scheming up a devious plan. She recalled in their previous meeting against Ponyville back in Manehattan that Rarity was greatly distressed when Sweetie Belle was shot on. Trixie emerged from her evil planning session and addressed the Rangers.

“Oh Sweetie Belle, could you be a dear and go grab me a bottle of water to drink?”

“Sure thing, captain!” squeaked the young filly as she shuffled off into the hallway in her goalie gear. Trixie made sure Sweetie Belle was out of hearing range before sharing her plot with the others.

“Alright Rangers, I know how we’re going to win this game. I’m going to place a spell on Sweetie Belle so that whenever Ponyville tries to take a shot on her, she’ll start howling in pain. We will play every pony extremely tight on defense except her sister, Rarity. Leave Rarity open. With Sweetie Belle in immense pain, Rarity won’t have the heart to shoot. We’ll control the puck and steal the victory back! Mwahahaha!”

The Rangers joined in on Trixie’s laughing when Sweetie Belle waddled back into the locker room. The laughter stopped as Sweetie handed over the bottled water.

“Aww, did I miss a funny joke?”

Sweetie’s teammates looked to each other and kept laughing under their breaths. Trixie answered Sweetie Belle’s question.

“Uhh, yeah, you did. It was a good one. Great joke Scratchy!”

Vinyl Scratch flashed a wide grin along with the other Rangers. With the final period close to starting, Sweetie Belle led the Rangers back toward the ice, unaware of Trixie’s magic beginning to work itself into her.

---

Ponyville Pond kept on rocking during the second intermission and they greeted their Golden Leafs back to the ice. The Rangers snaked their way back onto the rink with slimy grins on their faces. Sweetie Belle bounced all the way down to her net and got ready for the period. The teams met at center ice for the faceoff.

Trixie’s evil plan couldn’t start just yet because the Rangers held the puck in the Golden Leafs’ zone. Lyra had the puck in the corner where Rarity pushed her against the glass, trying to poke the puck away. Octavia joined in the scrum and pushed Rarity away. Lyra passed the puck to the blue line to Bon Bon who dumped it right back to the same corner to Octavia who was now alone. While waiting for a teammate to get open, Octavia lost focus and had the puck swiped out from under her skates by Rainbow. Rarity began breaking down the ice and called for the puck. Rainbow zinged the puck down to Rarity, just out of Bon Bon’s reach. Rarity passed center ice and was on a breakaway. Pain began to ripple throughout Sweetie Belle’s body. As Rarity came closer, Sweetie Belle couldn’t endure the pain anymore and she ripped her mask off, howling in agony. Rarity completely stopped her stride, dropped her stick, and rushed over to Sweetie. The whistle blew to stop play as Rarity tended to her sister.

“What’s wrong, Sweetie? Are you hurt? Tell big sister where you’re hurting. I’ll make it all better!”

Because play was now stopped, the pain inside Sweetie Belle quickly dissipated. Sweetie Belle was confused and didn’t know what to tell Rarity.

“I don’t know. It felt like my horn and my whole body was on fire but it’s stopped. I’m not hurt anymore!”

Rarity eased up. “Whew, that’s a relief. If you feel hurt again, tell me and we’ll help you.”

“Okay!”

Trixie was pleased that her plan helped prevent a breakaway attempt as the Rangers readied for the next faceoff in their own zone. Twilight skated over to Rarity to check if everything was okay. Rarity shook her head yes with a relieved look on her face. The puck dropped to resume play and Manehattan took control back over.

In the Ponyville end, the Rangers tried working the puck around but the Golden Leafs kept to their hitting strategy, knocking around every Manehattan puck handler. Octavia had the puck on the right wing boards with Fluttershy and Applejack closing in on her. Rainbow was spying over, looking to intercept a possible pass. Octavia kicked the puck down into the corner where Scratch took over control. Rainbow decided to make a move and sprinted toward Scratch. Scratch noticed Rainbow and pushed the puck back to Octavia in a panic. Rainbow finished her check on Scratch as Octavia curved toward the net with Fluttershy on her. Octavia passed off to Bon Bon at the blue line who blindly ripped a shot on net. The puck glanced off Pinkie and landed off to the right side of the net. Lyra was in the right place at the right time and cleaned up the lucky rebound to tie the game up at 3 each. Lyra was mobbed by Trixie and the Rangers as Pinkie pulled out and ate a cupcake from her bottle and the Golden Leafs smacked their sticks to the ice in frustration.

”Manehattan goal, scored by number 10, Lyra. Assisted by number 20, Bon Bon, and number 15, Octavia.

The raucous noise level was shot down to silence as it became a brand new game with five minutes remaining in the period. Rainbow won the ensuing faceoff and the Golden Leafs pushed the puck into the Manehattan end. In accordance with their new strategy, the Rangers defended each Golden Leaf, except Rarity, very closely. Rainbow was double-teamed as she tried to move the puck around. Somehow the puck squirted out to Rarity who had it on the left wing. Rarity turned to face the net and wound up for a shot. Immediately, a swell of pain flowed through Sweetie Belle and she began to yell out from behind her mask, “OWWWWWW!” Rarity stopped again to care for Sweetie but Octavia swooped in to steal the puck. With the Rangers heading back down the other way, Sweetie’s yelling stopped and she reverted back to normal. Twilight saw the entire situation from the blue line and noticed a small glow out of the corner of her eye. When Sweetie Belle began her screams, Trixie’s horn had the faintest of aura around it which caught Twilight’s attention. Before Twilight could link it together, she was sprinting back on defense to break up Manehattan’s rush.

The Golden Leafs recovered and played strong defense, denying Manehattan any room to shoot as the period ticked down to two minutes left. The play stopped after Pinkie held onto a save. With time to think, Twilight quickly pieced together what she saw with Trixie and Sweetie Belle. She was about to tell Rarity but couldn’t since the referee had already begun to drop the puck for the next faceoff. Play was back on and Ponyville grabbed the puck and began their trek down the ice. Applejack carried the puck in over the blue line but was closely followed by Scratch. Applejack worked the puck all the way to the corner where Scratch pushed her against the boards. Rainbow tried to swoop in to swipe the puck away but Trixie and Bon Bon were right on her flank. Rainbow missed and Applejack had to try to head back toward the blue line. Twilight called for the puck from Applejack and received it with a minute and twenty seconds left. Twilight was immediately pressured by Lyra and had no choice but to zip the puck over to a wide open Rarity. Trixie saw the puck heading toward Rarity and began imposing her spell early. The pain returned within Sweetie Belle and she began writhing in agony in the crease. Rarity now had the puck and completely froze. Rainbow and Applejack yelled out “SHOOT!” but Rarity stood petrified as Sweetie Belle couldn’t hold it in any longer and was screaming once again. Trixie swooped by and took the puck away with Scratch heading up ice.

“Say goodnight, losers!” smugly proclaimed Trixie as she pushed the puck up to Scratch who had a two-on-one with Lyra and only Fluttershy back on defense. Rarity dashed toward her sister who was fine again. At the other end, Scratch and Lyra approached Pinkie and Fluttershy while the others sprinted to catch up. Scratch faked a pass to Lyra which caused Fluttershy to stutter and get beat. Vinyl Scratch stayed wide on the wing and fired at the net, totally missing it wide. However, it was not a missed shot, but a strategic bounce pass off the back boards. The puck angled off and landed right onto Lyra’s stick on the other side of Pinkie. Lyra nudged the puck right past Pinkie’s outstretched kick save and the Rangers stole the lead with only thirty seconds left. An immense groan bellowed out from the crowd as Lyra was tackled into the corner by her teammates.

”Manehattan goal, scored by number 10, Lyra. Assisted by number 66, Vinyl Scratch, and number 4, The Great and Powerful Trixie.

Many of the Golden Leafs faithful stood up and began marching toward the exits as Twilight called a timeout to get Pinkie out of her goalie gear to be an extra attacker.

During the timeout, Twilight informed Rarity of what she figured out.

“Sweetie Belle isn’t in any real pain!”

Rarity was shocked by Twilight’s words and was about to get in her face but Twilight continued. “I noticed that whenever you were about to shoot, Trixie’s horn had a glow around it, and right away Sweetie Belle began her screaming. It must be Trixie who’s hurting her!”

“OH, SHE’S GOING TO GET IT!” yelled Rarity. Rarity broke away to chase after Trixie before Twilight hustled to block her.

“No, we’ll take care of Trixie after the game is over. There’s thirty seconds left. We’ll make Trixie pay, I promise.”

The referee skated by to tell Twilight to wrap it up as the play was about to resume again. Pinkie was out of her goalie pads and was ready to help the final rush. The puck dropped at center ice but Manehattan won the draw. They played keep away, not allowing Ponyville to come close to touching the puck as time ran out. When the final horn sounded to signal the end of the game, Twilight immediately took off her helmet and used her magic to freeze Trixie in mid-stride. Trixie began to struggle but wasn’t moving.

“Hey! What’s going on here!?”

Before her teammates could help her, the other Rangers were corralled and were being held against the boards by the other Golden Leafs. With Trixie unable to move and teed up, Rarity began charging from the opposite end of the ice. Rarity angrily gained speed and locked in on Trixie who was frantically panicking. “YOU DO NOT HARM MY SWEETIE BELLE!” yelled Rarity before gritting her teeth and readying her pounce. Trixie let out an exasperated yell as Rarity uncoiled and flew like a missile toward her, with Twilight releasing the magical bind. SLAM! Trixie was hurled across the ice and skidded to a crashing halt into the boards. Twilight and Rarity skated up to Trixie and looked down upon her as she was now the one writhing and wincing in pain.

“YEAH! HOW DO YOU LIKE THAT?!” yelled Rarity in Trixie’s face.

Twilight had to keep Rarity from going off the deep end. Holding Rarity away, Twilight turned back to the trembling Trixie. “We’re reporting you to the EHL right away! How low do you have to stoop in order to win? How could you hurt your own teammate? And a young filly at that! I hope you learned your lesson!”

Trixie didn’t respond and she was curled up into the fetal position. Rarity skated up to the other Rangers and roared at them fiercely. Horrified, the Rangers kept themselves pinned to the boards as Applejack, Rainbow, Pinkie, and Fluttershy released them from their clutches. The Golden Leafs skated backwards, keeping their eyes locked with the Rangers as they went toward the exit. Rarity grabbed Sweetie Belle and directed her to the Golden Leafs’ locker room. When Rarity was finally off the ice, the Rangers rushed over to help their captain up. Trixie had trouble regaining her balance and wiped out onto the ice again.

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In the locker room, Fluttershy and Pinkie tried to calm Rarity down while Twilight wrote out a letter to the EHL offices about the Rangers’ actions not only that night, but during the practice the other day. Included in the scroll was the spy device Trixie had planted in the boards. Applejack noticed it during the big confrontation after the game and took it with her into the locker room. Twilight examined the device and deduced it was some sort of camera. She hoped there would be visual evidence for the EHL to see to help their case. Spike came down from the announcing booth and fired the scroll away. Applejack and Rainbow went over to praise Rarity for her vicious hit as she was now relaxed. Sweetie Belle had trouble taking her pads off but was helped by Pinkie. With a fiery belch, Spike spit out a response scroll from the EHL.

”From the Offices of the Equestria Hockey League:

Based on your accusations and the device you sent, the EHL has decided to launch a full investigation on the Manehattan Rangers on the charges of tampering and illegal use of magic. We request the Ponyville Golden Leafs’ presence at a trial hearing at EHL Headquarters in Canterlot next week on this matter. This should be more than accommodating since the Golden Leafs’ final regular season game is against the Canterlot Equestriens in Canterlot.

EHL Board of Discipline”

The Golden Leafs were pleased with the EHL’s response and were excited to bring Manehattan to justice. Even though they had lost their third straight game, the team was too preoccupied with Sweetie Belle’s safety to care about their record. The team was back together and united once again for a new, minor cause along with the original goal, to battle for the Celestia Cup while having fun as a team. Twilight and friends had officially hit rock bottom but were now on their way back up the mountain. Will they be able to build some momentum in one last regular season game before the playoffs arrive?

To Be Continued

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Three Stars from Manehattan @ Ponyville
* Vinyl Scratch (MHN)
** Rainbow Dash (PGL)
*** The Great and Powerful Trixie (MHN)

Other Scores Around the EHL (Home Team in CAPS)
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Cloudsdale 1, APPLELOOSA 0
FILLYDELPHIA 3, Canterlot 2

EHL Standings (with Projected Playoff Seedings, 1 & 2 byes, 3 vs. 6, 4 vs. 5)
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(1) Cloudsdale 6-3
(2) Appleloosa 6-3
(3) Manehattan 5-4
(4) Canterlot 5-4
(5) Ponyville 3-6
(6) Fillydelphia 2-7