Ten More Yards

by 5aszs

KICKOFF

Mayfield Avenue in West Fillydelphia was unusually quiet in the last thirty minutes before sunset, with only a few ponies walking down the long, smooth concrete road to enter their houses after a long day of work. The houses were lined up next to each other on both sides of the road, and families with a decent income tended to live in the area; demonstrated by the fact that the majority of the houses had at least two storeys. The area was a friendly one, with everypony knowing everypony and street parties being regularly organised throughout the year to celebrate the positive community spirit present in the area. The only ponies outside at this time were two colts, who were using the almost empty road to their advantage to play Equestria’s most popular sport. Within five years of its founding, hoofball was able to surpass buckball in terms of popularity, and the formation of the EHL and it's subsequent teams in the last thirty years confirmed that hoofball would be around in Equestria for a long time.

The colt waiting for the ball was an earth pony of an average height and skinny build, his baby blue fur complementing his short brown mane, and his light orange irises were accentuated by the setting sun, making them appear to be several shades lighter. The second colt was a pale green unicorn that was a few inches taller than his friend. He had long light purple hair, which was the subject of teasing from his friend. His cutie mark, which he had only got a few months ago, depicted a book with a hoofball engraved onto the cover.

“Five more minutes Mom, please! I just wanna do one last play with Thunder and today’s the last day of the summer holidays!”

“Alright then, but you have to come inside after that, it's getting dark and it’s the first day of school tomorrow Atomic Tangerine!”

The baby blue colt smiled gratefully at his mother who was standing at the door, before turning back to Thunderhoof, was standing on the other side of the road, using his magic to hold the hoofball in the air. The two friends had been playing hoofball outside for hours, hoping that with one catch, Atomic would be able to finally get (what he believed would be) his cutie mark in hoofball.

“Thunder, move back! I wanna see if I can catch a really far pass! If I catch it, I have to get my cutie mark!”

Thunderhoof nodded and started moving back, increasing the space between the two colts to almost fifty yards.

“Okay…..stop! Now throw it as fast as you can!”

Thunderhoof pulled the ball back with his magic and threw it high into the air. Atomic leapt from his spot and began charging down the road, looking up every few seconds to keep track of the ball.

Wait for it, wait for it…….NOW!

As the ball came closer to the ground, Atomic Tangerine lept into the air to catch the ball. But he missed the ball and fell to the ground roughly, and he slid across the road, scraping his legs on the bumpy concrete until he came to a sudden stop against somepony’s hooves.

“That was a risky call, Atomic. The ball was going too fast for you to catch, and you jumped too early. You should’ve waited a few more seconds before making your move.”

Atomic Tangerine tried to get up but winced and quickly fell back down as Thunderhoof galloped to his friend, helping him up to face the pony he had crashed into.

“Just tryna get my cutie mark, Dad.”

Syracuse looked at his son quietly for a few moments, making a note of the cuts on his forelegs before his face cracked into a smile.

“At least you gave it a good try. Now come on, it's getting dark and your mother will be worried.”

Syracuse placed an arm around his son’s shoulders to help him walk, and after Atomic said goodbye to Thunderhoof, the two made their way into their house.

Atomic winced with each step that he took, his face contorting. “Mom already knows.. that I was playing.. with Thunderhoof, so it's fine.”

“You know what your mom is like, son, and when she sees those cuts, she’s going to go absolutely ballistic.

“I know. But I had to get some more time in before Mom made me come inside for dinner.”

“Tea Rose, Atomic needs a few plasters for his legs. I’ll go up to say hello to Butterscotch, but I’ll be in the living room afterwards if you need me,” Syracuse called out, guiding his son into the kitchen where his wife was washing the dishes before heading up the stairs to his daughter’s room.

“What do you mean he needs-”

Tea Rose turned around as her son entered the kitchen and dropped the china plate she was washing onto the floor, ignoring the sound of broken china as she gaped at her son.

“Look at the state of your legs! How many times have I told you to be careful outside?!”

Atomic grinned sheepishly. “I’m sorry Mom, honestly, it isn't as bad as it looks.” He tried to take a step forward but he found that he was unable to put any real pressure on his right foreleg, and he winced as he slowly drew his leg back.

“You can't even walk properly! How are you supposed to go to school tomorrow like this?!”

When her son looked at the floor and did not reply, Tea Rose sighed and stepped over the broken china pieces to open the cupboard next to her, taking out a box of plasters.

“Come on, let’s fix you up in the dining room,” Tea Rose led her son into the living room, where Syracuse Orange was sitting on the sofa next to the radio with a notepad, adding to his notes every few seconds.

“Dad, what are you writing-”

Syracuse shushed his son before turning up the volume dial on the radio.

“You’re listening to the Western Fillydelphia news station, it is eight o’clock, and this has only just come in in the last few minutes, but we’re getting reports that the EHL have released the full calendar for next season’s matches. The first match is in two weeks time on the sixteenth of September at noon and it's a marquee matchup between the Fillydelphia Dragons and the two-time reigning champions the Cloudsdale Hawks at the Dragons’ home ground, in what is sure to be a very exciting season opener between the league’s two best teams that will hopefully set the tone for what we hope will be another excellent season of hoofball in Equestria.”

“That’s right, and this match is all the more exciting of course because of Nick Foals and Slate Gray, arguably the two best players at wide receiver and cornerback respectively. These two players are not exactly friendly on or off the pitch, and I expect that Nick Foals will be fired up by the recent comments that Slate Gray has made.”

Syracuse turned the radio off. “Alright, that’s all I needed.” He briefly looked over his notes. “Looks like it going to be a busy day for me tomorrow at the office and if I’m sent to the the Dragons’ game on the sixteenth.”

“Dad, who do you think is gonna win?” Atomic asked as his mother gently sat him down next to his father.

“I’m supposed to be neutral in my job but I think that the Dragons are going to take this one. Nick Foals is going to be too much for the Cloudsdale defence to handle.”

Atomic cheered. “Go Dragons! Nick Foals is totally gonna take them down! Slate Gray gonna wish he never said anything!”

“Atomic, stay still, I need to finish putting these plasters on your legs,” Tea Rose admonished, before slowly placing the last plaster on the remaining uncovered cut.

“Now, if you can, help your dad set the table whilst I clean up the mess in the kitchen and wake up your sister,” Tea Rose ordered as she left the dining room, heading up the stairs to Butterscotch’s room. Syracuse helped his son get up off the sofa, and the two talked as they moved the bowls and cutlery to their right places.

“Looking forward to school tomorrow?”

“Yeah, me and Thunderhoof are gonna trade EHL cards in recess, but there’s no way that I’m gonna give up my limited edition platinum Nick Foals card, he’s my favourite player, not his,” Atomic Tangerine retorted, to which Syracuse chuckled.

“So if I told you that there are rumours that Nick Foals was going to be traded to the Cloudsdale Hawks in a few days, how would you feel about that?”

“What?! If he did that then I would hate him forever! How could he even think of moving to our rival team?! Why would he even want to move to the second best team when he’s already on the best team in the league?!”

Atomic was interrupted mid-rant by the sound of his father snorting, before he quickly descended into full-blown laughter.

“Dad!”

Atomic jokingly pushed his father, and Syracuse responded by grabbing his son’s waist and hoisting him up into the air to shake him, making sure that he avoided touching his son’s cuts, and Atomic squealed, begging his father to put him back down.

“I hope you two have finished setting the table, it sure sounds like it,” Tea Rose called out, and hoofsteps could be heard coming down the stairs.

Syracuse quickly put his son back down, and the two looked at each other momentarily before quickly moving around the table, desperately trying to finish setting the table before they got into trouble.

As Tea Rose entered the dining room with Butterscotch on her back, her husband and son quickly sat down in their seats, with huge smiles on their faces.

“All done!”

“You two actually managed to set the table properly for the first time, I’m impressed!”

Tea Rose walked over to the high seat and gently placed her daughter on the table, before lifting her up into her seat at the end of the table.

“Tomic, tomic!” Butterscotch gargled, reaching out a hoof to her brother, who held it, and Syracuse and Atomic sat down in their seats whilst Tea Rose went to the kitchen to get dinner.

“And how was your day today, Butter?” cooed Atomic, squeezing his younger sister’s cheeks and the two siblings continued to play with each other before their mother came back into the living room.

“Here we go everypony,” announced Tea Rose, wheeling in a large pot of vegetable soup on a trolley. She stopped next to her seat and picked up the ladle next to the pot, serving everypony with their dinner as they thanked her, and the dining table was mostly silent except for the occasional noises from Butterscotch as her mother fed her.

“Dad, can you take me with you to the first Dragons game? I’ve never seen them play before and I really wanna see Nick Foals live, and get his autograph!” asked Atomic, suddenly speaking up as he ate his dinner.

“I don’t think that I’ll be allowed to take me to the game with you, I have to sit with the other reporters and take notes of what happens in the game and who wins,” Syracuse replied.

“Please, Dad, just tell your boss that I have to go for...for research, yeah! Tell him that I have to do a school project on the Dragons and how they play, and if I don't do it, I’m gonna get excluded forever!”

“My editor would never believe that, Atomic. But, if tomorrow my boss tells me that I’m not being sent to the Dragons game to report, then I might be able to get us some tickets if they’re not already sold out and we can sit with the other supporters!”

“Yes! Go Dragons!”

“Please can we talk about something other than hoofball? Every day it's all about who’s being traded where, and if Nick Foals and the Fillydelphia Dragons will win the Sugar Bowl. Come on, there’s more to life than a silly game!”

Both Syracuse and Atomic stopped eating.

“Hoofball isn't just a silly game mom, when I grow up I wanna play for the Dragons just like Nick Foals!”

“And if it wasn't for ‘silly’ hoofball, then I wouldn’t have a job at Fillydelphia Daily,” Syracuse added, looking pointedly at his wife.

“We should be able to have dinner everyday like a normal family without bringing up hoofball. I am pretty sure that you two would not be able to go five minutes without the word hoofball coming up in a conversation,” said Tea Rose, finishing with a smirk.

“That’s easy! Me and Dad can manage that!” Atomic countered, and his father nodded.

“Okay then, how was work today, Syracuse?” asked Tea Rose, struggling to keep the smile off her face.

“Well, uh, I…...arrived at the office at nine thirty, and then I sat at my desk and started writing my column for the hoof-, I mean a sport’s season predictions. Then I had to go a meeting where the editor informed us of any promotions and demotions in our team, and one pony was promoted. I got a hay sandwich during lunch and my colleagues and we discussed who we thought was going win the hoofba- a sport title. Then I-”

“Okay then, Atomic Tangerine, how was your day?”

“Me and Thunderhoof played hoofball outside for ages and- NO!”

Tea Rose burst out laughing as Atomic scowled and crossed his arms, and Butterscotch excitedly clapped her hooves as she giggled with her mom.

“I’m just joking with you two, I know how much you both enjoy hoofball, it would just be nice if we talked about something else as a family.”

Tea Rose got up out of her chair and took both her’s and Butterscotch’s bowls to the kitchen. Syracuse got up as well and ruffled Atomic’s mane before announcing that he was going to be in his study if anypony needed him.

“Hello, Butterscotch, do you want to play with big bro Tomic?”

Butterscotch clapped her hooves as Atomic carefully took her out of her seat and sat her down on the sofa, before pulling her arm forward and placing his hoof on top of her pudgy hoof.

“Round and round the garden, like a teddy bear,” Atomic sang, moving his hoof in circles, before slowly sliding his hoof up Butterscotch’s arm. “One step, two step, tickle you under there!”

Atomic suddenly snuck his hoof into the gap in Butterscotch’s exposed armpit and tickled her mercilessly, causing Butterscotch to wriggle about in her seat, laughing louder than Atomic Tangerine had ever heard her.

“Atomic, play nicely with your sister, she has to go to sleep soon,” called out Tea Rose from the kitchen.

“I am playing nicely with her!”

Atomic stopped tickling his sister and lay down on the sofa, and Butterscotch copied him, falling backwards next to him.

“It must be so boring to sleep all the time, like, when would you ever get time to play hoofball and talk to your friends and trade hoofball cards? Am I right Butter?”

Butterscotch lightly tapped his nose and smiled.

“Right, you can’t talk yet.”

Tea Rose entered the living room a few minutes later, and told Atomic to take his bowl to the kitchen and wash it whilst she was putting Butterscotch to sleep. As soon as he had placed the dry bowl in the cupboard, Atomic rushed out of the kitchen to the living room so that he could listen to the sports news on the radio.

“I don't know why you’re going back to the living room mister, you’re going to bed as well, you have school tomorrow,” Tea Rose said sternly.

Atomic deliberately slowed down and “But Mom, my legs really hurt, I don't know if I can walk,” pleaded Atomic, walking slowly towards his mother.

“Atomic Tangerine, you are going to bed right now, and I do not care about whatever excuse you have. You are going to school tomorrow whether you like it or not,” Tea Rose said sternly.

“Ugh, fine!”

Atomic Tangerine pushed past his mother and stomped up the stairs to the bathroom, closing the door behind him and rinsing his mouth, ignoring his toothbrush that was in the sink. He left the bathroom as quickly as he had entered it, and was about to go to his room when he stopped.

I should say sorry to Mom.

Atomic Tangerine quickly went down the stairs and entered the living room, where his mom was listening to the news on the radio.

“I’m sorry Mom. I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that.”

Tea Rose smiled at her son before patting the space next to her, and Atomic Tangerine walked over to the sofa and sat down next to his mother.

Tea Rose gently stroked her son’s mane. “Looking forward to school tomorrow?”

“Sort of. Apart from trading hoofball cards with Thunderhoof, school’s pretty boring.”

“You know, it wouldn’t do you any harm if you made a few more friends at school Atomic. Are there any other ponies in your classes that you have a few things in common with?”

“Not really. There’s a few colts in the grade above us that we sit with at lunch and play hoofball with every day.”

“The grade above? So they failed their end-of-year exams,” said Tea Rose disapprovingly.

“We'll, yeah but they’re still pretty cool, and it’s not like I’m going to fail my exams.”

“Okay then, how about some colts that are your age? Anypony in your class?”

“Yeah, there’s another colt called Pablo who likes hoofball as well.”

“Why don't you be friends with him as well?”

“Cause he supports the Cloudsdale Hawks even though we live in Fillydelphia! I can't be friends with somepony who supports that team. Anyways, I don't like him, he’s so annoying and he thinks that he’s better than me at hoofball,” retorted Atomic.

“Alright then, go to bed now Atomic. You don’t want to be yawning in your lessons tomorrow.”

Atomic quickly hugged his mother and left the living room, with Tea Rose looking on quietly.

---

“Bye Mom! Bye Butter!”

“Have a great day at school Atomic!”

Atomic closed his front door and stepped out onto the pavement and walked to Thunderhoof’s house, which was only a few doors down from his house. Atomic walked up to the door and knocked loudly three times, before it was opened.

“There you are Thunder! Come on we’re gonna be late!”

Thunderhoof yelled goodbye to his parents and closed his door behind him, and the two friends set off for their first day back at school after the summer holidays.

“How are your legs? Are they better now?”

“Yeah, they’re better. Did you bring all of your cards?” asked Atomic.

“Yep, did you?”

Atomic Tangerine nodded, and the conversation fell silent before Atomic spoke up again.

“There's no way I’m giving up my platinum Nick Foals card though, you know that right?”

“Of course I do, and there’s no way I’m trading my elite La Salle card to you,” replied Thunderhoof, holding his satchel a little tighter.

“I know. I wonder if there’s gonna be any new ponies in our class this year,” Atomic pondered.

“Maybe, but I hope that they support the Dragons like us, or we won't have anything to do with them.”

Atomic and Thunderhoof reached the end of their road and turned right, walking straight through the empty alleyway until they reached the busy high street. Ponies of all ages were walking as quickly as they could on both sides of the road to get to either work or school. There were a few stalls that took up some space on the street that Atomic and Thunderhoof were walking on, and as they approached the last one, the warm, oily aroma of grilled vegetables hung in the air, tempting many ponies to give in to their hunger. Within a few minutes, there was a steadily growing line in front of the stall.

Atomic joined the back of the queue. “I’m gonna quickly get something from this stall, Thunder.”

“Atomic we’re gonna be late, this line is too long, and you always get something here every morning,” Thunderhoof argued.

“We have Miss Bellflower for homeroom remember? She’s not gonna mind if we end up being a few minutes late, and we won’t be late anyway. Look.” Atomic gestured to the shortening queue.

Thunderhoof opened his mouth to continue arguing, before he was suddenly pushed aside by ponies that were still walking.

“Watch where you’re standing, kid! We’ve got places to get to!” called out a stallion that had pushed past Thunderhoof.

Thunderhoof turned to glare at the stallion as he walked away, before sighing and standing next to his friend in the queue.

“Are you gonna get something Thunder?”

“Umm...maybe, but I’ve never had this before,” Thunderhoof admitted.

“You, my friend, have been missing out. Just get the same thing as me. You’ll like it, trust me.”
Atomic stepped aside to let the pony at the front of the queue walk past him.

“My favourite customer! What can I get you today Atomic?”

“Can I get the usual today?”

“And can I get the same please?” Thunderhoof asked, suddenly speaking up.

“Of course you can, I love meeting new customers everyday. Two grilled vegetable wraps coming right up.”

The stallpony disappeared underneath the table to get two flatbreads. He then opened the grill on the table behind him and he used a spatula to take out a spoonful of grilled vegetables for each flatbread. Once had wrapped them up, he handed over the wraps to Atomic and Thunderhoof, who each paid the stallpony.

“Come on, we can't be late on our first day back,” Thunderhoof mumbled, walking as quickly as he could whilst taking bites from his wrap. “This is so good!”

“I told you it's good. Look, we’re nearly here,” announced Atomic when he finally saw the large black gate of Sycamore Oak Elementary School, discarding the last bits of his wrap onto the floor.

The bell rang loudly four times and the large black gates began to close, signalling that school had begun. The second bell that was due to ring in two minutes was for latecomers and they were punished with a break time detention.

“Come on, we can’t be late on our first day!” Thunderhoof cried.

The two colts galloped as quickly as they could to the gates, and they both managed to sneak through before they slammed shut. Atomic and Thunderhoof came to a sudden stop to catch their breath.

“What are you two doing standing there?! Get to homeroom now before the second bell goes!” yelled a teacher as he came out of the main building.

“Yes sir!”

The two colts looked at each other before galloping through the entrance of the main building, stopping in front of their classroom, which was closest to the entrance. Atomic stepped forward and raised his hoof to push open the door when he was stopped by Thunderhoof.

“Look!”

Atomic Tangerine peered through the window next to the door and saw a class filled with fillies and colts much younger than themselves.

“Where is our homeroom class?!”

“We must have changed classrooms. Come on, there’s probably a sheet stuck on the walls somewhere that will tell us where we are this year. Look, it's over there!”

Atomic followed Thunderhoof to the yellow sheet of paper on the wall a few classrooms, and the two colts quickly scanned through it.

“Miss Bellflower’s class, room 7!” said Atomic, pointing to the yellow sheet.

“But isn't that Ms Ivory’s ro-”

Atomic pulled his friend forward and he pushed the door forward and burst into the classroom.

“Atomic wait-” cried Thunderhoof, desperately trying to pull his friend back but tripped over his own legs.

The two colts tumbled through the door and fell in front of the blackboard in the classroom, and both winced loudly as they tried to untangle themselves from each other.

The ponies in the class erupted in a fit of laughter, with some even falling out of their chairs in hysterics.

“SILENCE!”

The ponies quickly fell silent and returned to their seats.

“Who is-”

Atomic pushed himself off the floor and turned to look into his teacher.

“Ms Ivory,” he whispered fearfully.

Ms Ivory was a tall dark blue pegasus mare who had been teaching maths at the school for over ten years. In that time, she had managed to carve out a reputation as a terrifying teacher that nopony unfortunate enough to be in her class dared to defy. Countless stories of her unpredictable behaviour had been passed down through the years, and all students at Sycamore Oak dreaded having her as a teacher for either homeroom or maths.

“Yes.”

Ms Ivory turned around to pick up a piece of paper lying on her desk.

“Name?”

“Uhh...At-At-Atomic Tangerine, miss.”

Ms Ivory raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure?”

“Ye-yes, miss.”

“Take your timetable and sit at the back next to the windows, by yourself.”

Atomic nodded and slowly walked to the desk at the back of the classroom.

“Name?”

Thunderhoof managed to compose himself. “Thunderhoof, miss.”

“Sit at the back, at the desk on the left hand side. And take your timetable as well.”

Thunderhoof nodded and walked to the desk that was next to Atomic, relieved that he was sitting next to his best friend, before placing his satchel on the floor and pulling back the chair.

“Not that desk! Do you know the difference between your left and right?Did your parents ever teach you?”

“Ye-yes Miss, they did teach me,” Thunderhoof whispered, shrinking under the gaze of everypony.

“Then where did I ask you to sit?”

“At the...desk over there.”

Thunderhoof picked up his satchel and tucked the chair in, making his way to the desk that Miss Ivory was pointing at.

“The two latecomers will be coming back here at the end of the day for a detention. You are both already off to a bad start in this academic year. Don’t be late again,” Miss Ivory began to walk around the classroom.

“You all are in your final year at this school before you move on to high school. I am sure that I do not need to tell you how important this year is, and you all will need to focus, making sure that you come to school everyday on time,” Miss Ivory paused to look at Atomic and Thunderhoof, who hung their heads low, “to work hard in every single one of your lessons so that at the end of this year, you are in the best possible position to be successful in the future. What I don’t want to see from any of you is failure in your end of year exams, since that will result in you repeating this year. Do not let yourself get into that position.”

A filly slowly raised her hoof as Miss Ivory continued talking to the class.

“What is it?”

“Miss, if I want to become a businesspony in the future, what grade do I have to get to go to?”

“First of all, do you have your cutie mark?”

“No, miss.”

“That isn't very good for a filly your age, but are you good at mental maths? If you want to own a business in the future, you are going to have to be able to calculate the change you need to give, how much you have to pay your employees, how much tax you have to pay.”

“Um, I’m not that good at math in general,” replied the filly, her voice notably quieter.

“Then how in Equestria are you going to cope with owning a business?”

The filly fell silent.

“Let’s look at your average for maths last year, Miss…”

“Lily,” she whispered.

“Miss Lily.”

Ms Ivory sorted through the papers on her desk before finding what she was looking for.

“Miss Lily, last year you averaged…. 55% for English, 49% for History, 42% for Prench, 40% for Science, your averages are not very good at all but where is maths…...ah! 29% overall for maths last year! You were indeed right when you said Maths is your weakest subject. Judging by your score, I’m not sure if you’ll even be able to cope with this year’s syllabus let alone pass this year if your average is already this low. Come and see me during lunch and we’ll discuss how to improve your marks, and I am also going to have to consult your parents about this.”

Lily weakly nodded and looked down at her desk, trying her best to hold her tears back.

“Right, now we have that out of the way, I’m going to give you these before the bell goes.”

Miss Ivory picked a pile of books that were on her desk, and she walked around the class, handing a book to each pupil.

“These are your progress diaries. You are to write your name and my name, which I will not spell out on the board, on the front of the book. Once you have done that, turn to the first page.”

The ponies wrote their names and Miss Ivory’s name on the front of their books before turning to the first page as instructed by their teacher.

“On the first page, write down on at the top what you want to be when you’re older; what you aspire to be, but make sure that it is something that you are already working towards and are able to achieve. For example, if you want to become a librarian but you’ve read less than ten books in your lifetime, then you urgently need to have another think about what you want to do. You must especially take your cutie marks into account as well, as they will give you the best indication of what you should write down and what job you are best suited for.”

Atomic finished writing at the top of the first page and he put his quill down, and a few moments later, most of the ponies in the class had also finished writing.

“Mr Tangerine, come up to the front and tell the class what you have written down.”

Atomic nodded and pushed his chair back, picked up his book and walked to the front of the class to stand up in the blackboard. He opened his book to the first page and read out what he had written.

“When I grow up, I want to play hoofball for the Fillydelphia Dragons and win the Sugar Bowl.”

“Hoofball?” said Miss Ivory, making her disapproval obvious.

“Yeah, hoofball.”

“Why are you copying me, that’s what I wrote!”

Ms Ivory whipped her head round when she heard a colt’s voice.

“Who was that?!”

The class remained silent, and every pony was avoiding Miss Ivory’s terrifying glare.

“If the culprit does not own up in the next five seconds, then this entire class will be coming back after school for an hour everyday for the rest of the semester. For the last time, who was that?”

“I said it Miss.”

Everypony turned around to look at the colt that had put his hoof up.

“Come here, now.”

The colt had light green fur and light green hair brushed up into a mohawk. His cutie mark, partly covered by his wings, was a hoofball illuminated by three spotlights above it. He picked up his progress diary and walked to the front of the class confidently to the shock of everypony else.

“What is your name?”

“Pablo, Miss. Pablo Scar.”

“Did I give you permission to speak?”

“N-no, Miss,” replied Pablo, cracks in his confident facade beginning to appear.

“Why have you written down hoofball?”

“Because I want to play for the Cloudsdale Hawks when I’m older.”

“You’re not going to make it.”

“W-why?!”

“Your blatant lack of disrespect when I was talking to Master Tangerine is why. Is that what you’re going to do with a coach; cut them off constantly and not let them get a word in? What coach in their right mind would want to pick a player as disrespectful as you to be on their team? The fact that you’re also concerned about somepony copying you also show that you are not as passionate about becoming a hoofball player. You are to change what you have written Master Scar, and you will coming back here everyday after school for the rest of the week.”

“How long do I have to stay for then?”

Ms Ivory got up from her seat. “Excuse me?”

“How long will the detention be, for after school?” whispered Pablo Scar, regretting that he had asked the question.

“TO THE HEADMASTER’S OFFICE. NOW! AND IF YOU EVER DISRESPECT ME LIKE THAT AGAIN, YOU’LL BE HELPING THE CLEANERS EVERYDAY AFTER SCHOOL FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR!”

Pablo Scar slowly walked out of the classroom and closed the door behind him. Miss Ivory then turned her attention back to Atomic.

“What team are you playing for currently?”

“Team?”

“If you want to play hoofball professionally, you should already be in a team so that you get enough experience for the future. How will you even be good enough to be selected by a college, let alone an EHL team if you haven't already been playing hoofball competitively? Colts your age have probably been in a team for years and are already in a better position than you are. What do you say to that?”

Ms Ivory looked pointedly at Atomic, waiting for a reply.

“I’m….not sure Miss.”

Atomic slowly closed his book and stared at the carpet.

“You’re not sure,” repeated Miss Ivory, and she opened her mouth to ask Atomic another question when she was interrupted by the bell.

The ponies immediately began packing up their belongings and tucking their chairs in, eager to leave Ms Ivory’s room.

“HAVE I DISMISSED YOU?! SIT. BACK. DOWN. NOW!”

The fillies and colts fearfully sat back down in their seats, and Ms Ivory looked at them before sitting down and turning her attention back to Atomic.

“You don't have your cutie mark either, do you?”

“No, Miss.”

“Master Tangerine, it is clear that you are going to need to have another think about your ambitions. If you are not taking the steps needed to become a hoofball player now, then it is very unlikely that you will ever be good enough to make it, however passionate you may be. Class, you are dismissed. Atomic Tangerine and Thunderhoof, do not forget to come here after school for your detention. Somepony needs to remind Pablo Scar that he is to also come back here after school as well. Miss Lily, you are to see me in here at lunchtime. Dismissed.”

The fillies and colts quickly left the classroom and Atomic slowly made his way back to his desk, hanging his head low. Thunderhoof quickly walked over to his friend, and the two left the classroom together to go to their first lesson.

“Don't listen to her Atomic, you’re the best hoofball player I know, and you will play for the Dragons when you’re older, I know you will. Miss Ivory doesn’t know what she’s talking about,” reassured Thunderhoof, putting an arm around his friend as the two went up the stairs.

“Yeah, she’s just stupid,” retorted Atomic, but there was still a hint of sadness in his voice.

“Anyway, we have Miss Bellflower for English now, and I’ll have to check, but I think we have PE after lunch, and you know that’s it gonna be fun,” said Thunderhoof, playfully punching his friend’s shoulder.

“Yeah, it will be,” replied Atomic, starting to cheer up.

Atomic Tangerine and Thunderhoof arrived at the top of the stairs and turned left, following the other ponies that were in their year to their English class.

“You’re not dumb Lily, and you will become a businesspony, okay?”

“But Ms Ivory’s right, I’m rubbish at maths and I need to be really good at it if I want to become a businesspony. I’m just angry that she said my scores out loud and pretty much called me dumb in front of everypony like that,” sniffled Lily, rubbing her eyes.

Atomic and Thunderhoof joined the back of the line outside the classroom and watched Lily’s friends try their best to console her.

“At least we have Miss Bellflower now, she’s the complete opposite of Ms Ivory,” said Lily, taking a deep breath and smiling.

The classroom door opened and Miss Bellflower greeted her students.

“Good morning my little ponies. Why don't you come on in and I’ll introduce you to what we’re covering this year.”

The fillies and colts eagerly entered Miss Lily’s classroom and looked at the seating plan on the blackboard to find their name before sitting at their seats.

“Now, how were your summer holidays?” asked Miss Bellflower, closing the door and walking to the front of the class.

The ponies began eagerly putting their hooves up shouting over one another.

“Okay, settle down now. I’m going to choose….Lily! How were your summer holidays?”

“It was really good! Our whole family went to the Crystal Empire to stay with our aunt, uncle and cousins and I had so much fun with them! It's really pretty in the Crystal Empire and we even got to see Princess Cadence during a big parade! She was so nice and she even signed my sister’s scrapbook! Isn't that so cool?!”

The fillies and colts looked at Lily in shock as she finished her recount of her summer holidays.

“You’re so lucky, you actually got to see Princess Cadance!”

“Okay then, if we have time at the end of the lesson, then I’ll ask a few of you to tell us about your summer holidays. Now then, open up your exercise books to make some notes and I am going to give each of you a copy of one of my favourite books; The Isle of the Lost.

---

The rest of the morning’s lessons flew by and Atomic quickly became familiar with the structure of the school day once again and before he knew it, the bell rang, signalling lunchtime.

“Come on Thunder, you know the line’s gonna get really long if we don’t go now, just finish it at home,” pleaded Atomic, impatiently standing in the doorway of Thunderhoof’s Prench classroom as Thunder continued copying off the blackboard.

“Okay, I’ve finished now, let’s go,” said Thunderhoof, putting his book into his satchel and quickly leaving the classroom.

The two colts ran down the corridor and went down the stairs three steps a time.

“Slow down! She’s over there!” exclaimed Thunderhoof as they reached the bottom of the stairs, pointing at Miss Ivory, who was currently locking her door.

Atomic slowed down and the two friends walked quickly past Miss Ivory, keeping their heads low.

“Okay… she can't see us anymore! Let’s go!”

Atomic and Thunderhoof began galloping again and to their relief, found that the queue outside the cafeteria door was short. They joined the back of the queue and a few moments later, they entered the cafeteria.

“After we eat, we’ll go outside and trade,” said Atomic as he got to the front of the queue and got his lunch.

Once Thunderhoof had got his lunch, he followed Atomic to their unofficial seats in the cafeteria, which was on the table that was closest to the exit.

“What’s up kids?” called out one of the four colts on the table, to which Atomic and Thunderhoof smiled. Diamond Ace, Jackpot, Maverick and Moon Dust were all a year older than the ponies in the sixth grade. However, all of them had failed their end-of-year exams, so they were being held back for another year in exclusive classes to help them pass. Jackpot had a large pot of gold as a cutie mark, Moondust’s cutie mark was the moon with a layer of grey dust underneath it, Maverick had a large, multicoloured parrot cutie mark and Spade Ace’s cutie mark depicted the ace of spades card.

“Nothing much, what about you?” asked Thunderhoof as he sat down.

Maverick grinned. “We’re good. You kids ready to get pounded outside?”

“We’re actually gonna trade cards after we eat, so we can't play today. Sorry,” said Atomic with his mouth full.

“I was looking forward to an easy match today, but oh well, have fun.”

“Did you guys get a new homeroom teacher?”

“Yeah, we got Ms Ivory,” answered Atomic.

The four colts winced.

“That’s harsh. I remember when I had her last year, she told me that I would be lucky to get a job,” Maverick reminisced.

The colts finished their food and said goodbye to Atomic and Thunderhoof as they left the cafeteria.

“I swear, the food here gets better and better every year,” said Thunderhoof, taking the last bite from his food.

“Meh, it's alright.”

The colts gave their plates to a lunch supervisor that was nearby and left the cafeteria to go onto the field. The field was behind a large playground that was often filled with students in the first ten minutes of lunchtime.

Atomic scanned the field. “Right, where should we sit?”

“There!”

Thunderhoof pointed to a shaded spot underneath a tree at the back of the field.

“Last one there’s a big crybaby!”

“Hey!”

Thunderhoof lowered his head and soon caught up to Atomic as they raced across the field.

“How..did..you..catch up? Are you...using magic?”

“Nope. This….is all natural,” grinned Thunderhoof, before overtaking Atomic.

Atomic growled and pushed harder, willing himself to win the race. His legs became a blur as his muscles worked harder and faster. Atomic ignored the sweat trickling down his face and continued, his only focus on reaching the tree first ahead of Thunderhoof.

Thunderhoof had begun to slow down, confident that he had won the race when suddenly, he felt a rush of wind. He turned around and was stunned to see Atomic zoom past him and reach the spot first.

“Ha! Never count me out of a race, Thunder. Never,” Atomic panted, collapsing onto the grass.

Thunderhoof smiled and sat down opposite his friend. He opened the smallest pocket in his satchel and carefully took out a large pile of cards.

“I can see loads of elites in there! Where did you get all of them from?”

“My cousin in Detrot had loads of them, he let me take whichever ones I wanted when we went to him in the summer.”

“Alright then.”

Atomic sat up and opened his satchel to take out his cards, laying them out onto the grass. He looked Thunderhoof in the eyes and cleared his throat loudly before speaking in a deep voice.

“We are gathered here today to witness the seventh EHL trading event between Master Atomic Tangerine and Master Thunderhoof. Both participants must now decide the five cards that they are going to protect.”

Thunderhoof struggled to keep a straight face as he sorted through his cards and placed five of them behind him.

“Are both participants are ready? Then let the trading begi-”

“Look at what these babies are doing.”

Atomic and Thunderhoof turned to see Pablo, with his friends Blaze and Mustang, glaring at them.

“Look at them swap their little baby cards, aren’t they pathetic?”

Blaze and Mustang sniggered as he sneered at Atomic and Thunderhoof.

Atomic slowly got up off the grass and stood in front of Pablo.

“Just cause you got sent out for writing hoofball doesn't mean that you can come here now and cause trouble. Just buck off, Pablo,” countered Atomic.

“I don't know why you’re even trading cards, it's not like you’re ever gonna be a hoofball player.”

“What?!”

Thunderhoof got up from the grass and gave Pablo a hard shove, and he fell to the floor.

“Don’t talk to him like that!”

Pablo was helped up by his friends as Atomic pulled Thunderhoof back.

“I can defend myself. Stop butting in every single time,” Atomic whispered furiously.

“Even I play for a hoofball team, and besides, it's not like you would ever make it onto a team, I’m ten times better than you at hoofball and you know it. All you care about is copying Nick Foals every PE lesson, and it's so embarrassing to watch. You don't even have your cutie mark yet, so you can forget about becoming a hoofball player. Lie to yourself all you want, but you’ll never be like Nick Foals. Just give up.”

Atomic staggered back, trying his best to hide that he was hurt by Pablo’s words. Pablo chuckled as he walked away, and his friends laughed as well before following him.

“Atomic, are you okay? Just ignore him, he’s always-”

“I’m fine.”

“Are you su-”

“I said I’m fine! Why do you have to act like my mom, always asking if I’m okay. Just leave me alone!”

Atomic put his cards away and got up, taking his satchel and barging past the ponies on the field, before storming into the building.

“Students are not allowed to- hey, I’m talking to you!”

Atomic ignored the elderly teacher on duty inside and went into the colts’ toilets, slamming the cubicle door behind him.

He’s always on my case, always speaking up for me. Why can’t everypony just leave me alone?!?!

Atomic punched the cubicle door and sat on the toilet, holding his head in his hooves.

Why does today have to be such a rubbish day? Everywhere I go, there are idiots telling me what to do with my life. Why can't nopony accept that I want to play hoofball and there’s nothing they can do about it!

The bell rang for the end of lunch, and Atomic got up from the toilet, surprised that he had been in there for so long. He looked in his satchel for his timetable and took it out, and his mood was deflated even further when he realised that he had Maths with Miss Ivory and not PE.

---

“You are to complete page seven, eight and nine of your textbooks for tomorrow’s lesson. I do not need to tell you what will happen if you do not complete your homework. Dismissed.”

As their classmates packed up their belongings and left the classroom, Atomic stayed in his seat and decided to get started on his maths homework, ignoring Thunderhoof who was trying to get his attention from the other side of the classroom.

“Thunderhoof, do you want me to double your detention? Then be quiet and get out some work to do now,” called out Miss Ivory, who was coming back into the class.

Pablo suddenly burst through the door, gasping for air.

“Ms Ivory, I’m not late, my maths teacher made everypony stay behind to give out our homework.”

“Sit a the back by yourself and get on with some work, and I don’t want to hear anything from you.”

Pablo nodded and sat at the back in his homeroom seat.

Nearly forty-five minutes later, Atomic finished the last question from page nine of the textbook, amd he put his books away in his satchel.

“Atomic Tangerine and Thunderhoof, you are free to go home. Do not be late again.”

“Yes miss,” Atomic and Thunder hot up at the same time and as he reached the door, Atomic barged past Thunderhoof and quickly made his way across the corridor, eager to get as far away from Thunderhoof as possible.

“Are you really gonna ignore me Atomic?”

Atomic stopped in his tracks and turned around.

“Pablo’s an idiot, but just because you’re angry with him doesn't mean that you can just turn on me for no reason,” said Thunderhoof, walking towards Atomic.

“I’m not a baby. I don't want you protecting me all the time; I can speak for myself you know, and it looks stupid if you're speaking for me every time something happens. Just, leave me alone.”

Atomic turned around and walked away, leaving Thunderhoof.

---

“Atomic, is that you? How was school?”

Atomic ignored his mother and slammed the front door behind him, quickly going up the stairs and closing his bedroom door behind him.

“Syracuse, can you go and see what’s wrong with him please?” asked Tea Rose as she fed Butterscotch.

Syracuse nodded and got up from the sofa, leaving the living room and going up the stairs to his son’s room.

“Atomic? Open this door, please. I just want to talk.”

Syracuse did not have to wait long before the door was opened, and Atomic stepped aside to let his father in.

“How was school today?”

“Rubbish.”

“Why, what happened? Come on, you can tell me.”

“My homeroom teacher told me that I will never become a hoofball player in front of my whole class and me and Thunderhoof aren't talking. Can I stay at home with Mom and Butter tomorrow? I don't wanna go to school and see him.”

“Atomic, all friends fall out sometimes, it's a part of life. And as for your teacher, I need to have a word with her if that's what she said to you today; she doesn't have the right to say that to you in front of everypony.”

Atomic nodded and fell back onto his bed, placing his hooves behind his hooves.

“Why did your teacher say that you’ll never become a hoofball player?”

“She said that I wasn't already in a team; so all the other colts are already more prepared for the EHL than me, and that no team would pick me. She even said that because I did not already have my cutie mark, then it would be even less likely that I would ever make it.”

“I think there are a few teams nearby; I’ll start looking and we’ll get you signed up hopefully before the end of this week. I can see why your teacher would say that though; maybe she’s just trying to warn you off hoofball so that you don’t become disappointed.”

“I will become a hoofball player, I will! Dad, you’re the third pony that’s told me this today, what’s wrong with everypony?” cried Atomic, pushing his father’s hoof and turning away from him.

Syracuse raised a hoof and gently turned his son’s head.

“I never said you won't Atomic, but if hoofball is what you really want to do, then you are going to have to make it your life if you get a hoofball cutie mark; you have to go to training after school everyday, you’ll have to start going to the gym when you’re a bit older, just to make sure that you are good enough to be drafted by a EHL team, let alone the Dragons. And of course, you still have to keep up with your studies and maybe get a job as well, so if the worst case scenario happens, you still have something to fall back on.

“I can do that Dad; hoofball is all I’ve ever wanted to do, and I’ll do anything to play for the Dragons.

“That’s good. If you are willing to put the work in, then I don’t see any problem with you becoming a hoofball player and you have my support. Speaking of hoofball…..”

Syracuse slowly pulled out two strips of paper behind him, and he held them up in front of Atomic’s face with a large grin.

“It was a good idea that I was able to get the last two tickets today then.”

“Tickets to what?” asked Atomic, before quickly reading what was written on the tickets in bold, his eyes widening.

“You got tickets to the Dragons game?! Are these real, please Dad, tell me they’re real,” whispered Atomic.

When Syracuse nodded, Atomic leapt forward and hugged his father tightly.

“Thank you so much Dad! I’m actually gonna see Nick Foals and the Dragons for real! Like, they’re gonna be so close to me! I can watch the Cloudsdale Eagles get destroyed by the Dragons! It's gonna be so much fun!”

Syracuse smiled as he watched his son punch the air, taking the tickets from Atomic’s bed and quietly leaving the room.

Atomic got up from his bed and quickly went to his calendar that was hanging on the wall at the other side of his room, picking up the marker with his mouth and circling the date of the match in two and a half weeks.

Seeing the Dragons is gonna be so awesome!

And Dad just gave me permission to become a hoofball player!

“Atomic, come down here! You haven’t said hello to us yet!”

Atomic put his marker on his bed and left his room, rushing down the stairs and into the living room, where his mother, father and sister were waiting for him.