• Published 15th Dec 2017
  • 14,051 Views, 779 Comments

Sunset Among Shadows - RedPegasus



Because of Anon-A-Miss Sunset is abandoned by everyone, so she decides to start a new life, among shadows, she will seek happiness, but what will happen with the magic of friendship?

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Vs Trottingham

Author's Note:

I feel ashamed of myself for too long without working on this

I really sorry

I hope you like the chapter, and I will try to avoid it again.

Although the sun is at its zenith, the winter clouds completely obscure it, making the day gloomy, dark, and cold.

The stands at the Crystal Prep soccer field are filled with young students, half of them wearing the Crystal Prep uniform. The other half have different uniforms, each student standing out from the Crystal Prep students via a distinctive, gray jacket with Trottingham College’s emblem.

A voice is heard from the speakers located around the field. "Welcome, everyone, to the annual sporting event between Crystal Prep and the Advanced Trottingham College!"

The crowd of Trottingham students answer with cheers and applause, in contrast to the less animated applause of the young people of Crystal Prep.

A young man with dark skin and fluffy chocolate hair wearing Trottingham's jacket sits in an observation booth, his microphone projecting his voice around the field. "I'm Cheese Sandwich, and this is my friend Boneless!" he says, pointing to a rubber chicken seated next to him. "We all know why we’re here! Every year, both schools compete in this friendly contest, and I must say, I'm a big fan! Seriously, I'm just a fan. I was walking to my seat, and the door was open, so—"

"Hey, what are you doing?!"

Immediately, Cheese runs off, leaving a puff of smoke behind, grabbing Boneless with a cartoonishly stretched arm.

An older man enters the cabin with a frown. He sits down at the mic. "Sorry about that, folks. Welcome, everyone. Again."

Once more, the Trottingham students cheer animatedly, while Crystal Prep’s applause is far less jubilant.

"The competition promises to be extreme this year; both schools have been preparing for this for a long time. Even now, the teams are using these last minutes to stretch and get in tip-top shape, ready to give this their all!"

As said, both teams are huddled in their locker rooms. Trottingham is preparing with some stretches and words of encouragement between players.

Crystal Prep, on the other hand, watch as their captain Indigo Zap speaks.

"All right, team!" announces Indigo. "This is it. We’ve prepared for this for months, and I am not exaggerating when I say that we have this in the bag."

There is no reaction beyond an almost mechanical nod of assent from the players. Except for one.

Sunset looks between the other players, her nervous expression the only bit of emotion in the team.

"I'm sure you all know what to do," Indigo says.

"Yes, captain!" all the students say loudly, surely, and emotionlessly.

"Um... I think..." Sunset starts shyly.

"Don't forget your drills. Not that I think you will."

"Yes, captain!"

"Um... I think..."

"Let's show those clowns that the Shadowbolts are number ONE!"

"YES, CAPTAIN!"

"Um... okay...?"

"Everyone to the field! Move!"

The students rush out of the locker room. Sunset remains in her place, somewhat surprised by their attitude.

Indigo approaches her and smiles confidently. "Ready for this, Shimmer?"

Sunset turns around, seeing the confident smile of the girl who put her into this. "... I'll be honest with you, Indigo... No, I'm not."

"Ha! Don’t get nervous. You trained for this.”

"Four days of kicking a ball is not training. I'm not at the level of the others."

"Pffft, please! In four days, you memorized the plays, you learned the tricks, and you even showed me several weak points in our formations that I hadn’t noticed."

"And I gained several bruises on my legs and face." She rubs her cheek, remembering the times she 'stumbled' and fell to the ground.

"But today is your day! Victory awaits us!"

With that, the captain leaves the room. Sunset, seeing herself alone, allows herself to sigh. "At least it can’t get any worse."

*S*A*S*

"Give me an 'S'! Give me a 'U'! Give me an 'N'! Give me an ‘S’! Give me a... um... Is 'Sunset' written with one 'S' or two?

Sonata looks expectantly at her companions Lemon Zest and Twilight. The three of them are standing at the side of the field, all wearing a cheerleading outfit consisting of tight, sleeveless shirts and short, white skirts, each girl holding a pompom in each hand, one red and the other yellow.

While Lemon and Sonata are animated, Twilight tries to shrink as much as possible. "Sonata, why are we dressed like this?"

"Duh! To cheer Sunset on in her big game, obviously."

"But why do we have to use these?" Twilight asks trying to use the pom-poms to cover herself.

"Because that’s what cheerleaders use!" the siren responds joyfully before improvising a dance.

Twilight hugs herself, blushing. "This is shameful!"

"Come on, Twi-Spark! What's so bad about Sun-Shim seeing you in that outfit?"

It did not seem possible, but Twilight’s blush only increases. "I-It’s not that..."

"Hee hee! Twi-Twi’s blushing!"

"No, I’m not!"

"Come on, Twi-Spark, this is to support Sunset. With how hard she worked, she’ll need a support team."

"And as her friends, it's our job to do it!"Sonata shakes her pom-poms and jumps. "Yay, Sunsite!"

"We could do that without having to dress like this. Besides... it’s cold..." As if on cue, an icy wind blows over them, and Twilight’s shivering intensifies as it passes over her exposed arms and legs.

"If you danced around a little, you wouldn’t be so cold," the green-haired girl comments.

"Sunset, Sunset, let's goooooo!"

Lemon joins Sonata’s cheering, the duo kicking their knees into the air. Twilight can’t help but notice their skirts fluttering upward with each kick, and she hides behind her pom-poms, blushing more. "I couldn't do something like that!"

"Come on, Twi-Spark! Do it for Sunset."

"Sunset doesn't need this kind of help!"

"I'm afraid I have to disagree," speaks a fourth voice.

The voice makes them all turn around, finding Sunny Flare wearing the same cheerleading attire as Sonata and her friends.

Surprised, Lemon exclaims "Sunny!"

"Sunny Flare?" the scientist asks, confused.

Sunny, ignoring Twilight’s confusion, keeps talking. "Moral support is important. It builds confidence, reduces stress and insecurity, and helps the development of physical and mental activity," she says as she approaches the group.

"Sunny, what are you doing here?" says Lemon

"What do you think? I came to support Sunset," the girl responds as if it were obvious.

"But why the outfit?" returns the guitarist. "I mean, I never would’ve thought."

"Well, I'm also Sunset’s friend, and if you're going to support her this way, I can't stay behind."

"YAY! Sunset’s best friends together to support her!"

For some reason, that phrase makes Twilight worry. "... Best friends...?"

Twilight stares at Sunny, remembering the day she saw Sunset and Sunny at the mall.

Sunny Flare is a nice girl... Fun and pretty...

Sunny is… very attractive. The cheerleader costume fits her body’s curvature perfectly, from her legs covered only by tight, long socks, to her thighs half-covered by the skirt, which fluttered and moved at every movement of her shapely hips, to her slender waist, and going up to her bust...

Twilight turns her eyes downward toward her own body.

Suddenly, she felt... inferior...

Twilight had never cared about appearances. Such things mattered little in school, and it’s not like she gave the other girls much competition; her other female classmates were much more attractive than she. She knew that her appearance and her... anatomy were not something that stood out in a crowd.

But that had never mattered to her.

Until now.

Steeling her nerves, Twilight stomped toward the field just as the players began entering the field, surprising her companions as she began cheering.

"Come on, Sunset! You can do it!" she screams, jumping in place and waving her pom-poms energetically, trying to ignore the blush igniting her face.

Her friends pause for a bit in surprise before smiling and joining along.

"Give me an ‘S’! Give me a ‘U’! Give me an ‘N’!"

"Sun-Shim! Sun-Shim! We believe in Sun-Shim! Hip hip hurray!"

Sunny Flare smiles and immediately joins them, the four exclaiming Sunset’s name.

*S*A*S*

Trottingham arrives on the scene first, the students scattering to their starting positions, waving their arms in greeting to the audience. Instantly, their classmates begin cheering them on.

Crystal Prep, on the other hand, enters in perfect order, forming three rows that move in sync.

Sunset seems focused on keeping up with her peers, although her eyes soon catch a peculiar view: Her bandmates and Sunny Flare jumping around and shouting her name, each wearing a cheerleading outfit. Even Twilight is going along with it.

Surprised, Sunset isn’t paying attention to her walking and trips, her face hitting the earth.

Her companions, instead of helping her, only give her a reproachful look as they all continue forward.

Sunset lets out a whimper. "I should have gone to Trottingham..."

*S*A*S*

Minutes later, all the players are in place, firm and ready.

The announcer’s voice erupts from the speakers. "It's time, folks! Crystal Prep Academy versus Trottingham College. Will Trottingham defeat Crystal Prep on their own terf, or will Crystal Prep send them home with nothing but disappointment?"

The referee comes onto the field, and with the sound of his whistle, he drops the ball, and the game begins.

Trottingham quickly gains possession and rushes forward, the young man dodging all defensive plays before quickly passing to his teammate. However, Sunset intercepts, stopping the pass with her shin before giving it a strong kick to midfield, where her waiting teammate stops it and begins moving toward Trottingham’s goal.

Crystal Prep’s movements are almost mechanical as they pass their ball to one another in precise, almost synchronized movements to avoid the defending Trottingham.

The player advances, rushing toward the goal, but surprises everyone at the last second by a quick kick off to the side. The pass is received by Lightning Dust, who, taking advantage of everyone’s surprise, kicks the ball hard and clear toward the goal.

The ball advances at an amazing speed. Crystal's point seems certain, but to everyone's surprise, the goalie quickly interrupts, catching the ball with both his hands and his chest. Amazingly, despite the force of the impact, the goalie stands his ground.

Lightning stares, shocked at how easily her offense was blocked. The goalie, on the other hand, gives her a smirk before dropping the ball and kicking it far past midfield.

Lightning huffs. "This will be a little harder than expected..." She sees the goalie’s smile still present on his face, and she returns with one of her own. "That just makes it interesting."

*S*A*S*

For a while, Sunset only moves from side to side on the field, focusing only on the trajectory of the ball and plays.

"Heads up, Shimmer!" a teammate exclaims as a Trottingham student approaches Crystal Prep's goal.

Sunset advances, planting herself in front of him to block his path. He tries to swerve, but she doesn’t let him. She throws herself forward, and they start fighting for control of the ball.

Eventually, the Trottingham player is forced to throw a pass, which is intercepted by Sunset's partner, turning the attack towards Trottingham.

Sunset sighs and takes a moment to breathe.

"That's our Sunset!”

"You're doing great, Sunsite!"

"Hurray, Sunset! Ra, ra, ra!"

"Y-You can do it, Sunset!"

The voices make her turn her head, watching her... personal peanut gallery, all waving their pom-poms and giving smiles and cheers of encouragement.

"Why do I always choose the weird ones as friends...?" Sunset thinks.

Trying not to show her embarrassment about the situation, Sunset gets back in the game.

*S*A*S*

"Shimmer! To the right!" Crystal Prep’s goalie shouts as she throws the ball at Sunset.

Sunset stops it with her chest and, without losing time, runs off with it toward the goal. Several players from Trottingham rush her to stop her advance, and Sunset dodges one but finds herself unable to safely pass the second. At the last second, she passes the ball to her teammate, who tears off toward the goal with it.

Noise thunders throughout the stadium, from the echoing voice of the announcer as he narrates the different plays, to Sunset’s personal cheer squad, to the applause and cheering from the students of Trottingham. The only silent areas are the stands on Crystal Prep’s side.

*S*A*S*

Sunset runs behind a pair of her teammates, twins who carry the ball toward Trottingham’s goal. Many try to stop them, but they pass to and receive from each other perfectly, as if they had a telepathic link.

Eventually, though, the pair is blocked, and they pass backward toward Sunset, who receives the pass and veers to the side to run past the opposing defense. Taking advantage of Trottingham’s distraction, the twins rush past the defense, and Sunset returns the ball to the pair.

Closer and closer, they approach the goal, and one of the twins gives a powerful kick. The angle is perfect.

But so are the goalie’s reflexes.

The goalie grabs the ball from midair, flashing his smirk at the twins, who sneer simultaneously.

Sunset cannot help but be surprised by his speed. "He’s really good…"

With the long throw of the ball, the game continues. Sunset stands for a moment and takes a deep breath before following her companions.

*S*A*S*

The announcer's voice booms over the speakers. "We’re coming up on the end of the first half, folks, and the score is still tied zero-zero! Both teams have shown their skills and strength, but which one will break this stalemate?"

Lightning runs fast on the field with the ball in her possession, but as she gets close to the goal, two opponents block her path. She barely manages to get passed them, but the dodge unbalances her, and she finds herself unable to get past another blocker.

Indigo shouts from behind, "Lightning, pass it to Sunset!"

Lightning turns her gaze, seeing Sunset standing a few meters away, no opponents too close to intercept any pass.

Lightning doubts, looking between her position, her blocker, and the goal, so very close.

"Lightning!" Indigo shouts.

The blonde clenches her teeth, pulls her leg back, and unleashes a powerful kick. The ball flies past the Trottingham players and advances in a straight line toward the goal, but the goalie, ever vigilant, has little trouble intercepting the ball’s predictable path, using only one hand to stop its movement.

Lighting only stares at him, her neutral expression against his confident smile.

"Damn it, Lighting..." complains the captain of the team.

Again, the goalie’s pass goes long, taking the ball to a member of his team on Crystal Prep’s side of the field, who wastes no time turning and running toward Crystal Prep’s goal.

"Come on! Sunset, I’ll get the ball, you block whoever comes near!" Indigo exclaims.

"Y-Yeah, okay!"

Both speed toward the advancing player. A Trottingham player tries to cut Indigo off, but Sunset gets in the way, keeping him away from Indigo. Indigo rushes toward the Trottingham offensive and tries to take the ball away, her angle such that the player has no choice but to try to pass wildly.

Sunset keeps blocking the other player, who, in his desperation, ends up pushing through to receive the pass, causing Sunset to fall to the ground hard.

The sound of the referee's whistle is immediate. The whole game stops, and the man gives the penalty shot to Crystal Prep.

Sunset’s friends watch with some concern. "Sunset..."

"Calm down, Twily. Our Sun-Shim won’t let that beat her."

"Go, Sunset! Yay!"

On the field, Indigo approaches and extends her hand to the former equine. "Hey, Sunset, you okay?"

Sunset accepts Indigo's help. "Yeah. I’ve taken my fair share of falls... in more ways than one..."

"Well, can you make the shot?"

"Oh, no, no." Sunset shakes her head emphatically. "I prefer someone else to do it; I don’t want to mess it up."

"You won’t mess up."

"Please, let someone else do it,” Sunset begs.“I prefer to just be support."

Indigo sighs. "Well, I’ll do it, then. Go to your position."

"Thank you," Sunset says.

The penalty kick was blocked by Trottingham’s goalie, and Trottingham takes the ball. Two Crystal Prep players move to intercept, and the keeper passes, but the receiving player fails to catch it, and the ball goes out of bounds. The whistle is blown, and Crystal Prep selects Indigo to throw the ball back in.

Indigo stands with the ball, looking at the positioning of her team.

"All right, it's time for our 'Lightning Dominoes'."

Indigo looks at the nearest teammate and signs. He catches her meaning, and soon, the message is spread throughout her whole team.

"All right, let's win."

Indigo throws the ball in, her teammate snaps it up, and all players begin to advance, Trottingham not far behind.

Whenever Trottingham gets too close, Crystal Prep reacts with surprising speed, passing to the right to another waiting teammate, the field-wide line of players getting closer and closer to the goal.

Sunset receives the pass, moving quickly. Two opposing players approach her from the sides. Sunset glances to the side, but her teammate is blocked. She looks frantically for someone else, feeling the opponents closing in.

She suddenly hears Lightning Dust shout from across the field, "Sunset! I’m open!"

Sunset hears the order, and although she doubts, her advancing opponents don’t leave her much choice. She gives it a hard kick, and the ball careens through the air.

Trottingham's defenses approach to catch the ball, but Lightning gets there faster and takes it first, easily evading the remaining players, her approach to the goal wide open.

She and the goalie lock eyes, Lightning determined to best him this time.

She gets closer, rearing her leg back. Time seems to stop for a second before she lowers her leg and, with a huge blow, sends the ball soaring towards the goal.

Everyone in the field and in the stands are frozen.

The ball advances directly to the goalie. He extends his arms, blocking the ball with his hands, but surprisingly, the ball doesn’t stop. It just keeps spinning and pushing the goalie. He clenches his teeth hard, feeling the friction burn his gloves to the point that smoke rises from them.

All eyes are on the scene, and more than one face show amazement as the force the ball carries starts pushing the goalie back toward the goal. His feet leave drag lines in the grass as he tries to dig his cleats into the ground.

Sunset looks at the scene as much or more surprised as the others...

The power of that shot was amazing... but even more amazing is that the ball is still going...

The young man is still being pushed backwards. Almost his whole body is inside the goal, but he keeps resisting, trying to keep the ball from crossing the line of the goal.

Lighting grunts and clenches her teeth in suspense. "Come on… Go in..."

With his whole body behind the line, only a few centimeters of his arms prevent the ball from crossing. He keeps gritting his teeth, but soon, he flashes a smile.

The ball’s energy finally fades as it slows its spinning, its force weakening, until finally... the ball stops and falls to the ground... just outside of the goal.

The whistle announcing the end of the first half sounds, and the announcer starts exclaiming, “Wha—I don’t—I’ve never seen anything like what we just saw here, folks. That power, that defense! Incredible! And, to make things even more interesting, we’ve reached halftime, and the score is still zero-zero!”

Trottingham explodes in cheers and applause for their team. Crystal Prep, however, stays silent, most wearing an irritated or even disappointed glare. Soon, though, the teams return to their locker rooms, and the stands empty for the brief interlude between halves.

*S*A*S*

The Crystal's captain looks at her team scattered in the locker room. "I’m not gonna lie. I hoped it would be simpler, but we don’t always get what we want. I know that we can turn this game around and win!"

"Yes, captain!"

Sunset can’t help but look with doubt at the robotic response of her teammates.

"Now, we saw our opponents at work," the captain continues. "What can we say about them?"

The team thinks for a moment before answering.

"Their ability is outstanding, and they are able to coordinate their movements perfectly."

"They seem more focused on agility and evasion. I don’t think they can bring up much force if we corner them. Except for the goalie, maybe…"

Sunset listens as everyone continues to talk about the Trottingham team. She, on the other hand, is focused on the goalie.

"Sunset. Hey, Sunset!" Indigo snaps with a clap of her hands.

"Huh?! What... what's up...?"

"What’s on your mind?"

"I'm sorry. I was just thinking about their goalie. That guy’s intense."

Crystal Prep’s goalie nods her head in agreement. "He moves like lightning and is as solid as a brick wall. Not even Lightning Dust’s shots could get through."

All eyes go to the blonde girl leaning on a nearby wall. She just snorts with annoyance. "Whatever. I just have to kick harder. Break his arm, if I have to."

Sunset swallows hard, not sure how serious Lightning is about that.

Indigo thinks for a second. "As things go, I don't think force is the key. However, we will make some player changes and get some fresh legs on the field to keep the team at one hundred percent."

Suddenly, Sunset feels a gaze on her back. She turns to see Lighting giving her a serious—and strange—look.

Sunset turns around and tries to ignore her and focus on the orders of the captain.

*S*A*S*

Meanwhile, Trottingham meets up in their own locker room, and by the words and actions of the captain, it seems their plans revolve around one person: Lightning Dust.

*S*A*S*

There is a slight break before the second half begins. Once the strategies are discussed and arranged, the players of both teams use that time to rest.

Sunset finds herself splashing water from a drinking fountain into her face. "Ugh... Why do these things happen to me...?" She thinks as flashbacks to the game assault her mind. Just one disaster after another...

"It's as if my life were controlled by a sadistic and egocentric loser who just can’t get a girlfriend and takes it out on me!"

(HEY!! that was not necessary...!)

She lets out a sigh, shuts off the water, and walks back to the dressing room, stopping when she hears voices nearby.

"What do you want to talk about, Lightning?"

Sunset recognizes the voice: Indigo Zap. Cursing her curiosity, Sunset approaches the place, and hides, watching and listening in.

The blonde sportswoman crosses her arms. "Zap, you gotta kick Shimmer from the team."

That surprises both Indigo and Sunset. Indigo recovers first. "Seriously, Dust?! Would you just put aside your grudge for a second and— "

"This has nothing to do with what happened between us!" Lightning snaps. "Trottingham is better than we thought. At this rate, we’ll end up tying the game, or worse, we’ll lose."

"You’re overreacting," Indigo says but finds it hard to maintain eye contact.

"You know I'm right. If we want to win, we need the best players in the field. We can’t waste one of our valuable spots on a rookie."

Sunset should have felt insulted... but she could not deny that Lighting was right...

Trottingham was good, a balanced and coordinated team. Crystal Prep's students were strong, with tremendous training and gaming experience.

But Sunset? Sure, she had almost mastered the teams plays and movements, but the rest of the team have also mastered their teamwork and cooperation with each other. Sunset didn’t know her teammates’ strengths and weaknesses as intimately as the rest of the team did. She was an outsider.

Indigo, after a pause, resumes the conversation. "Sunset’s good. You saw what she achieved in just a few days."

"It’s. Not. Enough," snaps Lightning. "Okay, fine, she’s got potential, but that’s all she has: potential. Potential isn’t going to carry us to victory, and we can’t be relying on potential in a game as important as this one."

Indigo seems nervous, but as she opens her mouth to speak, Sunset decides to pipe up.

"She's right."

Both are surprised when the former equine comes out of the corner and approaches them. "Lighting Dust is right,” Sunset continues.“You gotta replace me with someone else, someone better prepared."

"You are prepared for this," Indigo says almost pleadingly.

"Yeah, I mastered the plays you taught me, but only those. I don’t know the others, so the only thing I can really do is pass and intercept, while you have to narrow our plays to what I know. It would be better to have someone who knows the team inside and out."

Lightning remains serious, but she lets her curiosity about Sunset’s attitude show.

"Come on, you're helping us a lot," Indigo pleads.

"Zap, that’s enough," Lightning interjects. "Shimmer isn't ready for a game like this. Even she realizes it."

The captain remains nervous, looking at Sunset as if begging for support, but it is clear that the fire-haired girl is siding with the blonde.

Finally, with a sigh of defeat, Indigo speaks. "Sunset... I lied to you before..."

Curiosity overtakes Sunset’s features, and Indigo continues, "None of our players got hurt. I brought you onto the team at Cinch’s demand."

Now, Sunset is really curious, and by the look on Lightning’s face, it looks like Sunset wasn't the only one kept in the dark about this.

"Cinch wanted you to join the game. She told me to train you and get you ready to play today."

"What? Why?" Sunset’s voice reflects her discomfort at Cinch’s subterfuge.

"I don't know; she didn't tell me. I didn’t want to do it, but she threatened to pull us out of this year’s events if I refused."

"She what?!" Lightning exclaims, surprised and angry in equal parts.

"She can't do that!" says Sunset, even more surprised.

"She's the school's principal. She can do whatever she wants. Anyway, she showed me your performance in gymnastics, and she told me to train you. She left me no choice, so I fixed the plays and tactics a bit in order to integrate you and still maintain the level of the team. I won't lie, you did better than I expected, but... yeah it's true. You're not ready for a game like this..."

There is silence for a few seconds, the two girls processing this new information.

"Well, then we agree. Someone’s gotta replace me," Sunset says matter-of-factly.

"Didn’t you hear me? Cinch wants you to play. I can’t just remove you."

"Tell her I can't play."

"Do you think I didn’t?" Indigo rebuts, frustrated. "From the beginning, I told her that the team was fine, but that old woman is too stubborn. If I take you out without any good reason, who knows what she’ll do?"

Sunset begins to respond, but she pauses as she thinks.

She had only seen Cinch a couple of times, but that woman looked dangerous.

You should not judge a book by its cover, but that woman had an authoritarian and intimidating air. From the first day, she had left her intentions for Sunset clear.

She looked like the type of woman who would get what she wanted at any cost.

Indigo continues, "Even if you're not as good as the rest, we still have an opportunity in the game. I'd rather risk it than disobey her."

"… Maybe you're right…" Sunset mumbles.

There is silence for a moment.

"Maybe… there is a way..." Lightning comments.

Both look at Lightning with intrigue.

*S*A*S*

The students in the stands rush to take their seats with varying degrees of enthusiasm as the teams return to the field.

The commentator's voice is heard again. "And, we’re back, folks, and just in time! After that short break, the teams are ready to return to the field for the exciting second half."

The two teams take their places on the field. As before, Trottingham’s cheering and applause dwarfs Crystal Prep’s unenthusiastic response, with the exception of Sunset’s cheer squad, who start up their cheering again, must to Sunset’s embarrassment.

The whistle sounds, and the two teams start the game. Crystal Prep seizes the ball and starts the attack. A defender of Trottingham blocks the player, who wastes no time in passing to Sunset, who receives and rockets down the field, her cheer squad’s chants intensifying.

Suddenly, a Trottingham bolts toward her and intercepts with a sweep.

Time seems to slow as Sunset begins to fall. Everyone's eyes widen is shock and fear.

Sunset's knee hits the ground and her scream is heard throughout the field.

Sonata, Sunny, Lemon and Twilight look in horror at their friend lying on the ground, clutching her leg in pain.

"SUNSET!"