Adventures at Canterlot High

by MLP Fangirl

A Rainbow of Confidence

It was the final quarter of the first soccer game of the season. Canterlot High and Cloudsdale Academy were tied: four to four.

But, Rainbow Dash was determined to change that. She stole the ball from an opposing team member, dribbling it towards the goal. She narrowed her eyes as her target grew nearer.

"Wha - hey!"

"Keep your eye on the ball, Dash!" Lightning Dust taunted, stealing the ball from Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow Dash skidded to a halt and turned around, "You're gonna eat those words, Lightning Dust!" She sped towards the other side of the field with remarkable speed.

Lightning Dust was fast approaching the net. Rainbow Dash willed her legs to speed up even more.

"Go, Rainbow Dash! Go!" Pinkie shouted from the sidelines, waving two pink pompoms in the air.

Rainbow gritted her teeth as she ran towards Lightning Dust. The other Wondercolts did their best to stop her, but she was good.

Lightning Dust weaved effortlessly past each Wondercolt in her way. Rainbow Dash was only a couple feet away.

"You're not gonna score, Dust!" Rainbow shouted as she tried to pull the ball away from Lightning Dust.

Lightning turned around, "Oh, yeah? Watch me." Without much effort, she kicked the ball past the goalie and into the net, just as the whistle blew, ending the game.

"CLOUDSDALE IS THE WINNER!!!!!" The announcer proclaimed over the loudspeaker.

Rainbow Dash gawked, staring at nothing in particular, "W-we lost?"

Lightning Dust marched past Rainbow Dash proudly, "That's right. Don't feel bad, though. You almost caught up to me." She laughed as she strode off the field.

Rainbow's friends came running over to her.

"It was a close game, Rainbow. You did your best." Twilight patted Rainbow on the back.

"Yeah! Besides, it's only the first game of the season. I bet you'll pummel 'em good next time." Pinkie exclaimed, jumping onto Rainbow.

Rainbow quickly shook her off, "We should've pummeled them this time! I can't believe we lost!" She kicked the grass in frustration.

"Easy there, sugarcube. Don't let yer anger get the better of ya. Ya'll know what happens when ya do." Applejack put her hands on Rainbow's shoulders, restraining her.

"You tried your best. That's what matters the most." Sunset said.

Rainbow groaned, breaking free from Applejack's grasp. "No. What matters most is that we win. Or should've won."

She walked a few feet away from them and hung her head, "And, I didn't try my best. If I had, we would've won."

"Now, darling, you most certainly did try your hardest. We could see you pushing yourself all the way down the field." Rarity walked over to Rainbow, placing a hand on her arm.

"And, you did score all those goals." Fluttershy pointed out, walking over as well.

"And, CA's a hard school to beat when it come to athletics," Sunset folded her arms.

Twilight nodded, "We played them a few times back when I was at Crystal Prep. We would always beat them, but the scores were usually extremely close. So, don't let it get you down."

Rainbow sighed, "I appreciate you guys trying to cheer me up, but that fact of the matter is, we should have won. I should've stopped her. I should've easily been able to take the ball. And, at the least, we would go into overtime. But...I didn't." She walked off the field and into the gymnasium.

Fluttershy shook her head, "Poor Rainbow Dash. Should we follow her?"

Sunset held her hand up, "No. She just needs some time."

Applejack nodded, "You know how important winnin' is to Dash. She'll get over it."

-----

"This isn't good."

Applejack looked over at Twilight, arms crossed, "You can say that again."

"How long has she been at this?" Sunset came over and sat down next to Twilight on the bleachers.

"About half an hour. And, she's only gotten the ball in twice. TWICE!" Pinkie waved her hands in the air.

"UGH!!!" Rainbow's cry could be heard all over the campus.

"Well, I hate to state the completely obvious, but I think Monday's loss has severely sapped Rainbow Dash dry," Rarity looked at her nails, then back at the girls.

"Oh, I hope she breaks out of this soon," Fluttershy looked over at the soccer field to see Rainbow Dash stomping in fury.

"Does she really take winning that seriously?" Twilight turned to Applejack.

"That'd be Rainbow Dash for ya. She may be a great athlete, but she ain't the best when it comes to good sportsmanship," Applejack shrugged. "That's just who she is."

"Forty-two balls." Rainbow Dash came storming over. "Forty-two balls! How many did I get in? THREE!" She collapsed onto the bleachers, running her hands down her face.

"Three? I counted two." Pinkie put a finger to her chin.

"Pinkie!" Twilight yelled, elbowing Pinkie in the ribs.

"Or, it could've been three." Pinkie smiled sheepishly, placing her hands behind her back.

"Three's not much better than two, is it?" Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth, punching the bleacher with her fist. "Ugh! What is wrong with me?"

"I think that game brought down more than just your morale," Rarity pointed out.

Rainbow Dash suddenly stood up, "This is crazy. I'm the best athlete Canterlot High has ever seen!"

Sunset walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, "And, you still are. You're just a little out of it after that loss. I'm sure you'll come out of it soon."

Rainbow Dash shook her off, "You better be right, Sunset." She walked off the field, leaving the others behind.

"I hope she gets better soon. Isn't there another game on Friday?" Fluttershy asked.

"Yeah, away against Griffin High." Sunset folded her arms. "If there was ever a game where Rainbow was needed, it'd definitely be this one."

"Griffin High? Isn't that the school with the meanie pants Gilda?" Pinkie bounced over next to Sunset.

"Oh, indeed. I still cannot believe that Rainbow Dash used to be friends with that brute, " Rarity examined her nails and rubbed them against her shirt.

"What are we talking about?" Twilight asked, adjusting her glasses.

"We were hostin' a get-ta-together for all of the school's in the area. Griffin High bein' one of 'em, " Applejack explained, looking over at Pinkie Pie who nodded in agreement.

"Uh huh! And, Dashie introduced us to her friend Gilda. Even from the start, I could tell she was a big mean meanie pants." Pinkie frowned, remembering the experience with the mean girl.

Twilight turned to Sunset, "Then what happened?"

Sunset shrugged, "Don't look at me. I was still in Equestria when this happened."

"Basically, Gilda didn't like the fact that RD was friends with people who were quote un-quote 'the opposite of cool.'" Applejack explained flatly.

"Yeah, " Pinkie crossed her arms, "she was the biggest party pooper I've ever met."

"She wasn't very nice at all, " Fluttershy ran her hands through her pink hair.

Sunset sighed, "Let's hope Rainbow Dash is in better spirits by Friday. I hadn't realized how much losing would affect her."

Applejack nodded, "You'd be surprised, Sunset. You'd be surprised."

-----

Sunset came over to Rainbow Dash at gym class, panting. The rainbow-haired girl was currently sitting on the bleachers, arms crossed and looking miserable.

Sunset wiped her forehead, "Dash, what are you doing? P.E.'s your favorite class."

Rainbow rolled her eyes, "Yeah, back when I was actually good at it."

Sunset sighed, placing her hands on her hips, "Rainbow, you have to stop thinking like that. You're still good. You've just been slacking a little."

Rainbow stood up, "If by a little, you mean a lot, then yeah, I have been." She walked a few feet away. "If I can't help win the first game of the season, then what's the point of playing?" She walked out of the gymnasium.

Twilight came over to Sunset, breathing heavily. "Whew. P.E. was never my forte. What's going on?"

Sunset continued looking towards the doors of the gym. "I think I know why Rainbow Dash has suddenly lost her sporting abilities."

"Let me guess. It's not her athleticism she's lost. It's her confidence." Twilight surmised, adjusting her hair which she had in a ponytail.

Sunset nodded, "Hit the nail on the head."

Twilight bit her lip, "How are we supposed to restore it by tomorrow?"

"Well, I think it's high time we gave that girl a little pep talk."

-----

"What do you mean you're not playing tomorrow?!" Spitfire, the co-captain of the soccer team, yelled in outrage.

"You heard me, Spitfire. I'm not playing." Rainbow stared coldly at Spitfire.

Spitfire groaned, "Ugh, look, Dash. I know Monday's loss bummed you out a little, but, girl, we need you. We're up against the Griffins tomorrow. We need your A-game. Snap out of it."

"Forty-two balls. Forty-two balls. How many did I get in the net? Two! You guys can handle it on your own." Rainbow turned around to leave the locker room.

Spitfire narrowed her eyes. "So, you're not even gonna come to the game tomorrow?"

"No, I'll be there. I just won't be playing."

Spitfire groaned once again, marching up to Rainbow and looking her in the eye, "Rainbow Dash, what happened to you? All of a sudden CHS's top athlete doesn't want to play? What's the deal?"

Rainbow Dash pushed past her, "You can't stay the best forever." She walked out of locker room.

She walked outside and was surprised to see her friends waiting for her.

"What do you want?"

Fluttershy stepped forward, placing a hand on her shoulder, "We're worried about you, Rainbow Dash."

"Darling, this is not like you at all."

Rainbow Dash brushed off Fluttershy's hand, "I'm fine, Rarity. Really."

Sunset walked up to her, "No, you're not. You may say you are, but we know you."

"And, the Rainbow Dash we know would never let one tiny loss get to her." Pinkie jumped onto Rainbow and gave her a noogie.

"What are you talking about?" Rainbow pushed Pinkie off.

Twilight approached and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Rainbow, I haven't known you very long. But, from the time I've spent with you, I know that you are the type of person who would never let her friends down. You're always there when we need you."

Rainbow started to smile, but it was quickly replace with a frown, "Thanks, Twi, but what does that have to do with anything?"

Applejack came over as well, "Dash, if you don't play tomorrow, you're gonna let a whole bunch of people down."

Rainbow Dash turned to her surprised, "How'd you know I'm not playing?"

"I was in the bathroom while you were talking with Spitfire!" Pinkie grinned, "So, I may have overheard what you were saying."

"Rainbow Dash, you're a great athlete, the best Canterlot High has ever seen, but you need to learn to accept defeat. You're not always going to win. Everyone loses. You're no exception." Sunset patted Rainbow on the back.

"But, that game should've been an easy win. We should have won." She kicked the grass angrily.

"Everyone wants to win, Rainbow Dash. But, it's impossible to win at everything. You're going to face defeat sometimes." Fluttershy said softly.

Rainbow sighed, "I hate losing."

"You aren't the only one who does, Rainbow, " Twilight said, patting Rainbow's shoulder. "No one wants to admit they've lost, but in order to have good sportsmanship, you have to."

Rainbow sighed, walking a few steps forward. "Yeah, I get that. But, that doesn't explain why I can't kick a single ball into the net."

Applejack walked up to her, "Well, that's easy enough. You've lost yer confidence."

"It was only one game, darling. There's at least ten more to come. So, what if you lost one? You have plenty of chances to redeem yourself." Rarity smiled.

Rainbow sighed again.

"You're still a great athlete, Dash. Everyone is confident of that fact. The only one that's not is you. You need to believe in yourself. Everybody else does." Twilight walked over in front of her, giving her an encouraging smile.

"Especially us." All the girls came over to her and engulfed her in a group hug.

After a few seconds, they let her go.

"So, Dashie, you up for a game tomorrow?" Pinkie grinned.

Rainbow Dash looked down at the ground then back up at her friends. She smiled confidently and walked back towards the gym.

"Where are you going?" Fluttershy asked.

"I need to talk to Spitfire."

-----

Rainbow was running down the field, dribbling the ball and feeling an odd sense of deja vu. But, this time she was determined to score. Like the first game, the score was tied: three to three, and the final quarter was nearing its last few minutes.

And, just like the first game, the ball was taking away.

"Gilda."

"Later, Rainbow Crash!" Gilda taunted as she dribbled it down the opposite end of the field.

Believe in yourself.

Rainbow narrowed her eyes and took off after Gilda. With a new vote of confidence, Rainbow began to pick up speed.

From the stands, her friends were watching her anxiously.

Sunset began to notice a faint streak of rainbow trailing behind Rainbow Dash as she ran. She leaned back against the hard bleachers and smiled, crossing her arms.

Rainbow dashed across the field, zipping by every opponent in sight. She was fast approaching Gilda.

We believe in you. Her friends' words echoed in her mind.

A familiar sensation began to spread through her body. She could feel the tingling of the magic course through her veins.

Gilda was quickly approaching the Wondercolts' end of the field. With only a minute remaining in the game, she was sure she would score the winning point.

"What the huh?" The ball had disappeared from in front her in a blur of rainbow. She turned around and saw Rainbow Dash speeding down the other side of the field towards the Griffin's net.

Rainbow Dash had ponied up, a streak of bright rainbow followed her as she ran.

Five seconds remained.

Four.

Three.

Two.

One.

"GOAL!!!! The Wondercolts are victorious!"

The crowd went wild.

Rainbow Dash slowed down, her wings, ears, and pony tail disappearing.

She looked around the stands, listening to all the thunderous applause. She saw her friends cheering wildly as well.

She smiled, placing her hands on her hips. "They don't call me Rainbow and Dash for nothing."

Author's Note:

Okay. I am so sorry for the late update. But, you know me, I may update several chapters in row, and then- BOOM! - no activity for months
I'm super sorry. This chapter took a while. I'm not even that thrilled with the results, but that's what I got.
Comments are appreciated.

Comments

[RNBW]

Awww, never change Rainbow.

[The Chip]

Oh yeah! That's Rainbow Dash for you!

[MrAskAPirate]

Rainbow Dash had ponied up, a streak of bright rainbow followed her as she ran.

That's soooooooo cheating!

[FightingDreamer]

There are no quarters in Soccer. Just halves

[Godslittleprincess]

Shouldn't Spitfire have graduated already?

[p61blkwidow]

another excellent chapter, in this fine and great story! well done!

[MoldyShishkabob]

6715962

[MixMassBasher]

I don't see anything wrong with the chapter. Great Job!!

[Highlord Langslock]

We played them a few times back when I was at Crystal Prep. We would always beat them, but the scores were usually extremely close. So, don't let it get you down

I know what you were trying to do there, Twilight, but somehow it feels like it had the opposite effect.