Ten More Yards

by 5aszs

THE SECOND DOWN

Where’s my name?! I can't find it!

As some of the colts sitting around him celebrated their success, Atomic continued to frantically to try and find his name on the whiteboard.

“I made the team! I actually made the team, I can't believe it, I made the-”

Thunderhoof stopped mid-celebration when he saw Atomic’s crestfallen expression.

“What’s the matter Atomic? Your name’s up there….right?”

“At least I tried my best,” said Chestnut, the disappointment evident in his voice and he hung his head low, trying to ignore the sounds of the colts celebrating nearby.

Atomic ignored the question and continued to stare at the whiteboard in silence, desperately trying to hold back tears.

I didn’t make the team

I failed.

They were right. They were all right.

I’m never going to be a hoofball player.

Atomic bolted from his seat and sprinted down the stairs, running out of the hall. All of the conversations stopped and the colts and stallions watched Atomic leave the hall in a hurry. Thunderhoof quickly got up to follow him but he was stopped by Chestnut, who pointed at Storm Shaker leaving the hall.

“Stay there. I’ll deal with this,” he called out as he left.

As Thunderhoof reluctantly sat back down, Storm Shaker closed the door and stopped in the middle of the corridor, considering where Atomic would’ve gone when he heard crying coming from the end of the corridor. The stallion quickly flew down the corridor and came across Atomic sitting against the wall, sniffling and covering his eyes.

“There you are. Are you alright?”

Atomic quickly stood up and fiercely wiped his eyes.

“I'm not crying.”

“I never said you were. Listen, I know you’re really upset that you didn’t make the team, but this isn't the end for you. You’re a good player Atomic, and you have the potential to be a great player in the future especially with your catching and running skills, but.. you don't have that, that edge we need for our team.”

Atomic nodded and hung his head low.

“Listen I’m gonna make you an offer, alright?”

Atomic slowly looked up in curiosity.

“If you’re alright with this, I want to make you a reserve. This means that you won’t be playing in many matches, and you don't need to come to every training session, but if one of our main players gets injured, then you will stand in for them and if we have any matches coming up, then you’ll play in whatever position the pony you’re replacing was in. I might also put you on in a match if we need fresh legs. That sound alright?”

Atomic nodded and thought about the offer.

A reserve?! I’m not even a part of the proper team! And I might not ever get to play!

It's better than nothing. I’ll kinda be in the team, and it's better than nothing.

I just hope somepony gets injured soon so that I can play.

“Okay.”

“Good. Now, the first training session will be tomorrow at five o’clock. Even though you’re a reserve, I still expect to see you there, alright?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Alright then, off you go.”

Atomic quietly thanked Storm Shaker before leaving, walking past the hall just as the door opened and the colts quickly barged past Atomic, eager to get home. Atomic spotted Thunderhoof at the front of the crowd and he quickened his pace.

“Thunder, wait up!”

Atomic pushed through the crowd and eventually reached his friend, who was walking with Chestnut.

“Are you alright? I was gonna go after you but Storm Shaker made me stay in the hall.”

“Yeah, I’ll…..be fine,” replied Atomic. “Well done on making the team, you deserve it.”

“Thanks, but it's not gonna be as fun without you. I don't know why you weren’t picked, you were one of the best players, if not the best today.”

“It's not all bad. Storm Shaker made me a reserve, so I’ll play in some of the matches and if anypony gets injured or can’t play, then I’ll play for them.”

“That’s good! At least you’ll get to play and you’ll be kind of a part of the team, even if you’re just on the bench,” said Thunderhoof, not realising the effect his words had. Atomic hung his head low and trailed behind Thunderhoof, dreading his father’s reaction to his failure.

“Did you make the team Chestnut?” asked Atomic, and nodded knowingly when Chestnut shook his head.

“It's good that you got another chance to prove yourself,” said Chestnut.

Atomic and Thunderhoof made it through the exit and found their fathers waiting with huge smiles on their faces.

“Guys, my mom is waiting for me on the other side of the road. It was nice meeting you, and good luck on the team.”

Chestnut smiled at Atomic and Thunderhoof, before making his way across the road to his mother. Once he had reached the other side of the road, he turned around and waved at Atomic and Thunderhoof, who waved back.

“He was a nice guy,” said Thunderhoof, and Atomic nodded in agreement. They walked over to their fathers.

“Are we looking at the two newest members of the under-twelve team?!” Syracuse asked excitedly, smiling at the other colts.

“No, you’re…..only looking at one of them. I didn’t make the team, he did,” answered Atomic, reluctantly meeting his father’s eyes.

“You didn’t get in, Atomic?”

When Atomic nodded and rubbed his eyes, Syracuse immediately went over to his son to give him a hug. Thunderhoof and his father stood silently and watched Atomic and Syracuse.

“You can head on home, you don’t need to wait for us,” said Syracuse, and Thunderhoof and his father nodded before saying goodbye and heading home.

“It’s alright, Atomic. There are always other teams in the area that I can take you to. You’re just going to have to work extra hard on your game so that you’re picked by another team.”

“The coach said that he was gonna make me a reserve, Dad, so I’m kinda on the team,” said Atomic, lifting his head up from the hug to look at his father.

“We can’t have you be a reserve, Atomic, it’s not good for the future, you need as much playing time as possible so that you get more experience. Stay in this team for now, but when I find another local team, you’re gonna go to their tryouts and you’re gonna get in, alright.?”

“But what about Thunder? I really wanna play with him, he’s my friend. That’s why we came to the tryouts together.”

“We’ll talk about this later, son. Let’s go home, your mom and sister will be worrying about us.”

---

“Atomic, there’s other teams that you can try out for at the end of the year. It's not the end of the world and besides, you need to focus on your studies, this is your last year at school. You don’t have time to play hoofball, you need to focus on your studies and forget about the fact that you didn’t get on the team today.”

“Yes, Mom, I get it! You don’t have to keep repeating that I didn’t make the team! What’s wrong with you?!”

Atomic stormed up the stairs and slammed his bedroom door, almost blowing it off its hinges.

“Syracuse, deal with him! I am not gonna stand for the way he’s speaking to me!” Tea Rose yelled, and a few seconds later Butterscotch began wailing in her room. “Now look what he’s done!”

Syracuse and Tea Rose headed up the stairs at the same time, with Syracuse heading to his son’s room whilst Tea Rose went to Butterscotch to try and calm her down.

“Atomic, it's me. Can you let me in?”

“Come in,” came the mumbled reply.

Syracuse pushed the door open and saw his son lying down on his bed with his hooves behind his head. He gently moved his son’s legs and sat down next to him.

“It's not fair, Dad. I'm way better than Thunderhoof, why did he make the team and not me?”

“What drills did you do? If you tell me how you did, then maybe I can get an idea of where it went wrong today.”

“The first one was a forty yard dash, and that was easy, I got the second best time and I was way faster than Thunder. The second one was called ‘bull in the ring’ and I…”

“And what, Atomic?” Syracuse asked gently.

“I did really badly in that one, everyone got past me so easily and even Thunderhoof managed to get past me as well.”

“What about the last drill?”

“We had to catch four balls that were thrown to us, and then we had to throw the last ball to the coach who was on the other side of the field.”

“How was that one then?”

“I caught all of the balls easily, but….I messed up on the throw and it fell short. Thunderhoof caught all of the balls and he made the throw easily.”

“Are you beginning to see why you didn't make the team, son?”

Atomic sat up and faced his father. “Yeah, sort of.”

“Look, why don't I coach you? After school, we can go into the back garden and I can help you with whatever you need.”

Atomic looked curiously at Syracuse. “You?”

“I’ve been writing about hoofball for a living for nearly fifteen years now. When you’ve been doing my job for as long as I have, you pick up a few things. I think I know how I can help you,” Syracuse said with a small smirk.

“Okay, but can we do it everyday after school?”

“We’ll see. Now, go and apologise to your mom, you shouldn't have spoken to her like that.”

“Yes, Dad.”

Atomic hugged his father and left his room with him, bumping into his mother in the hallway.

“I’m sorry for what I said to you downstairs Mom. It was very disrespectful and I won’t do it again.”

Tea Rose stared at her son sternly for a few moments before sighing.

“Apology accepted, but as punishment, you’re not allowed to play outside after school for the rest of the week. When you come home from school, you’re going to straight to your room to do your homework and the only time you can come out is for dinner and if you need the toilet.”

“But that’s not fai- actually, that’s fine Mom. I understand, and I will not disobey your orders.”

Atomic hugged his stunned mother and went down the stairs.

“Syracuse, what did you say to him?”

“Oh, I just told him that we’d have some...father-son bonding time after school,” replied Syracuse smugly as he went down the stairs.

---

“And then they told us that our team was gonna challenge for the under-thirteen league title this year, so we have to-”

By lunchtime, Atomic had come very close to losing his temper with Thunderhoof as he repeated the talk he had in the hall after the tryouts for the fourth time.

“I can't wait to be playing matches every week and-”

“Look, they’re over there!” interrupted Atomic, pointing at their older friends as they entered the canteen.

Once they got their food, Atomic and Thunderhoof sat down with the older colts.

“What’s up guys? We heard that the Broncos under-thirteen team had tryouts yesterday, did you go?” asked Spade Ace.

“Yeah, we went and Thunderhoof made the team, but...I didn’t. They made me a reserve though,” answered Atomic.

“You kinda made the team, that’s good.”

“And it's better than being rejected from the team completely,” added Thunderhoof.

The table was silent for the next few minutes as the colts ate their lunch.

“Can we play with you guys on the field? We didn’t bring our cards today,” asked Atomic as he finished his food.

“Yeah, sure, the other guys in our class are gonna join us on the field, we’re gonna play a big match,”

“Alright that’s fine,” Atomic and Thunderhoof replied together.

The older colts got up from their seats first and they put their plates away on the trays behind him. Atomic waited for Thunderhoof to finish his food and they left the canteen a few moments later.

Jackpot took out a hoofball from his saddlebag and pointed to a large group waiting at the back of the field. “Let’s go kids, they’re all waiting for us at the back of the field.”

“Let’s race there, I bet I could beat all of you easily,” remarked Atomic, walking ahead of the other colts.

Maverick sped up and overtook Atomic. “I don't think you wanna do that, kid. It’ll be too embarrassing for you.”

“What, are you scared of losing? Come on, let’s do it. 3, 2, 1, go!”

Jackpot, Maverick, Moondust and Spade Ace barged past Atomic and quickly gained a few metres of distance away from the younger colts.

“Come on Thunder, we can’t them beat us!”

Thunderhoof grumbled before lowering his head and charging down the field after Atomic, who was getting closer and closer to the colts with every passing second.

“Crap, how did he catch us up already?!” cried Maverick, turning his head to see Atomic pass him.

As he came closer to the back of the field, Atomic was neck and neck with Jackpot. But as they neared the finish line, Atomic was suddenly pushed by Jackpot. The two seconds he took to readjust his balance was all Jackpot needed to win the race.

“Hey, that’s not fair! You barged me!”

Jackpot ignored him as he greeted the group of colts.

The rest of the group and Thunderhoof arrived a few moments later, and once everypony had caught their breath, the colts lined up and Jackpot and another colt volunteered to be the captains, with Jackpot having the first pick.

“Alright, first I’m gonna pick….Osprey!"

One by one, Jackpot and Maverick chose who was going to be in their team, until only two ponies were left.

“They’re both kids so they’re gonna be rubbish,” whispered some of the colts on both teams.

“Hurry up and pick!” Jackpot called out.

“Okay then, relax! We'll take the unicorn.”

“And we get Atomic.”

Atomic and Thunderhoof looked at each other as they joined their teams, disappointed that they had to play against each other.

“Bagsy being offence!” the captain on Thunderhoof’s team yelled.

“Ugh, fine we'll be the defence.”

Defence?! That’s what I was so bad at in the tryouts and now I have to play it against these lot?!

“Huddle up!” Jackpot called out and the colts quickly gathered into a circle.

“Right, we’re all gonna mark the same ponies from last time okay?”

“What about me?” asked Atomic.

“Um….you can mark Thunderhoof. He’s the same size as you anyway.”

“Okay then I guess,” Atomic replied unwillingly, remembering how Thunderhoof had easily brushed past him during the tryouts yesterday.

Both teams broke from their huddles and they made their way to the middle of the field, where a growing crowd was waiting for them. The colts had placed their satchels on opposite ends of the space they were playing in to mark out the end zones.

“Here, pass the ball, I’m gonna kickoff.”

Atomic looked behind him and picked up the hoofball and gave it to his captain. The other colts in his team lined up on either side of their captain and glared menacingly at the other team, who had also lined in the same way.

“I’ll be the referee for this match.”

Everypony turned to look at Mr Cobalt, who had suddenly appeared wearing a whistle around his neck.

“Why are you looking at me like that? If you play without a referee, somepony will get injured. Do any of you want that to happen?”

“No, sir,” came the reluctant reply.

“Good. On my whistle.”

Both teams crouched and Atomic’s team punter placed the ball on the pitch before turning around and raising his hind legs.

BEEP!

The hoofball was bucked high and far above and across the pitch, and Atomic’s team charged forward, thundering across the pitch to stop whoever caught the ball. Unfortunately for him, it was Thunderhoof who was closest to the ball as it came flying down, and as soon as he caught it, he was only able to gain seven yards before he was tackled to the ground. The ball rolled free from underneath Thunderhoof, and several colts on both teams jumped on top of it, desperately trying to get the ball for their team.

BEEP!

Mr Cobalt ran to the middle of the pile and ordered the colts to get up. At the bottom of the pile, Thunderhoof and another colt were struggling over the ball but the other colt was able to pull the ball firmly into his hooves.

“Jackpot’s team got the ball, offense and defence switch over,” Mr Cobalt took the ball.

“Sir, how's that fair? They all jumped on top of the kid to get the ball!”

“Stop complaining.”

The colts on Thunderhoof’s team grumbled and a few of them helped a shaken Thunderhoof up.

“Who’s gonna be the QB?” asked Atomic.

“I’ll do it, I’m the best thrower here,” concluded one of the colts, moving away from the rest of his team.

Once they broke from the huddle, the colts on Atomic’s team lined up on the line of scrimmage, whilst the other team did the same and crouched. Atomic found himself standing at the end of his offensive line, marked by Thunderhoof.

“Let’s go!”

The colt in the middle of the offensive formation threw the ball backwards to the quarterback, who quickly moved backwards with the ball held up at eye level, looking for a free teammate.

Atomic kept from his starting spot as soon as the ball was thrown to his quarterback, and he ran through the middle of the field behind the defence, Thunderhoof a little slow to follow.

“I’m open! Here! I’m open!”

Atomic jumped into the air and caught the ball, quickly stepping over Thunderhoof who had fallen to the ground when he tried to intercept the pass. He spotted a large opening between two of his opponents and made a run for it, praying that he wouldn’t be tackled. The two defenders charged forward at a frightening pace, quickly closing down the distance between them and Atomic.

I need to do something, quickly!

Panicking, Atomic suddenly changed direction and moved away from the colts, turning back with the ball before finding another opening on the other side. He galloped as fast as he could to the other side and was just about to squeeze through when he saw another opponent charging at him.

Crap! They’re gonna get me!

Fortunately, one of Atomic’s teammates came in at the last second and tackled the defender, leaving Atomic free to sprint through the space and he quickly passed the ten yard mark for his team. The fillies and colts (many of them in his year) watching began to cheer on Atomic as he ran down the field, with most of the other defenders having been dealt with by the rest of Atomic’s teammates. The few that were the closest to Atomic quickly got up and tried their best to reach Atomic.

“Atomic, Atomic, Atomic, Atomic!”

Atomic was now only twenty yards away from the end zone and he spurred on, the crowds’ cheers driving him to make the touchdown.

“Somepony catch him, quick before he gets the touchdown!” cried one of the defenders, but it was too late. Atomic crossed the end zone line and threw the ball down emphatically, cheering loudly. The rest of his teammates charged down the pitch and tackled him to the floor, joining him in celebration.

“That was rubbish, anypony could do that,” Pablo retorted, standing closest to the end zone line with his usual entourage and he sneered at the celebrations.

“I’d like to see you do that in PE next time, instead of standing on the sideline talking rubbish,” Atomic replied smugly.

Pablo grumbled and walked away, his sidekicks continuing to watch the game before a sharp whistle from Pablo made them reluctantly leave.

“You weren’t kidding when you said you were fast, that was awesome!” Jackpot putting an arm around Atomic.

“Right, offence and defence switch over. Come on hurry up, you’ve only got about two minutes left,” Coach Cobalt called out.

The two teams switched positions and Coach Cobalt brought the whistle to his lips.

BEEP!

The defenders immediately raised their arms to hold the offense back, whilst the other offensive players moved from their spots to try and get free from their markers. Atomic ended up marking Thunderhoof for the play again, and he was a few milliseconds late to mark Thunderhoof. As he saw the ball soar in the air towards Thunderhoof, Atomic dashed forward, before quickly digging his hooves into the ground and leaping into the air, his arms stretched out to try and reach the ball. But Thunderhoof saw him coming and he was able to quickly jump up, catch the ball and twist his body, narrowly avoiding a collision into the airborne Atomic, who crashed onto the field roughly. Thunderhoof turned around and began to run down the pitch, but he was easily tackled before he could make the ten yards.

Ouch! That really hurts.

Atomic rolled up into a sitting position and realised that some of the healing cuts on his legs from the weekend had been reopened, and blood flowed from his wounds at an alarmingly quick pace.

Mr Cobalt had seen the fall and had initially stayed in his spot, believing that Atomic wasn't hurt and that he’d get up quickly, but when he saw the blood running down his legs, he blew his whistle loudly and ran across the pitch to Atomic.

“Atomic, what happened?”

Atomic winced, trying his best to slowly swivel his bleeding legs round without hurting himself. “I don’t know sir, I just….. jumped to try and get the ball and I fell really badly.”

The end of lunchtime bell rang, and within two minutes, the field was empty except for the ponies that had been playing hoofball and ponies that had PE.

“Right, the rest of you get to your lessons now, I don't wanna hear any complaints about punctuality from any of your teachers,” Mr Cobalt ordered, and the other colts quickly got their belongings and ran back into the school to get to their lessons.

“Sir, me and Atomic have Maths now, so I can take him to the nurse,” Thunderhoof said, quickly joining Coach Cobalt.

“Atomic, can you get up?”

“I think…..so.”

Atomic put his hooves behind him and pushed into the ground, slowly but surely standing up.

“Thunderhoof, take him to the nurse now, okay? Who do you have right now?”

“Ms Ivory,” they replied at the same time.

“I’ll tell her why you were both late after school. But I don't want either of you to be wandering around the school. You are to both go straight to Maths as soon as possible. Is that clear?”

“Yes, sir.”

Coach Cobalt and Thunderhoof both helped Atomic walk down the field and when they re-entered the school, Coach Cobalt went to his office and Thunderhoof took Atomic through the door on their right to the nurse’s room at the end of the corridor. He stopped with Atomic in front of the door and knocked.

“Come in, dear,” called out the nurse in her office.

Thunderhoof opened the door and guided Atomic inside.

The nurse gasped and jumped out of her seat. “Oh my goodness Atomic, what in Equestria happened to your legs?!”

“I was playing hoofball and I fell.”

“You really need to more careful outside okay, I don't want to be seeing you in here as much as I did last year, okay? Right, come sit up on this bed here and I’ll put some plasters on those cuts.”

Thunderhoof and the nurse both lifted Atomic up and onto the bed.

The nurse turned around and picked up a quill to write on one of the sticky note on her table. Once she had finished, she gave the sticky note to Thunderhoof. “Take this with you and show your teacher okay?”

“Yes, Nurse.”

Once Thunderhoof had left the room, the nurse turned back to Atomic.

“Now, where did I put those plasters?”

---

“Master Tangerine, stay in your seat.”

Atomic stopped in the middle of putting his maths book and reluctantly sat back down, grumbling under his breath as he watched the other fillies and colts leave the classroom to go home.

“I’ll wait for you out here,” Thunderhoof whispered as he walked past his friend.

“You will do no such thing Master Thunderhoof, or you’ll be in here with me for the next hour. Is that what you want?”

“No miss.”

“Then go home.”

Ms Ivory closed the classroom door and went to her desk, picking up a book and gesturing for Atomic to sit next to her. She asked Atomic to take out his progress diary and when he gave it to her, she placed her hooves on top of it.

“The headteacher has assigned everypony in your year without a cutie mark a mentor to guide them through this year and ensure that the mentee is doing all they can to get their cutie mark if they don’t have one. I will also be guiding you when you begin your high school applications after your mocks in January. Do you know which high schools you will be applying to?”

The fact that he was going to be starting high school next September had not even crossed Atomic’s mind until now, and he had no idea which high school he wanted to go to.

One more thing for me to worry about.

“Um, I'm not sure yet, but I’ll definitely start research.

Ms Ivory opened Atomic’s progress diary and turned to the first page.

“What did I tell you to change on the first page of your progress diary on Monday?”

“What I wanted to be when I’m older.”

“And why haven’t you done so?”

“Because, I will become a hoofball player miss, I know I will.”

“The headteacher has assigned everypony in your year without a cutie mark a mentor to guide them through this year and ensure that the mentee is doing all they can to get their cutie mark.”

“And..you’re my mentor?”

“Correct. Have you taken any steps to increase your chances of becoming a hoofball player?”

“Yes miss. I went to a local team’s tryouts yesterday with Thunderhoof.”

“And did you get into the team?”

“Well, they made me a reserve, so sort of.”

“It's...better than nothing. I am going to set you a target for each month of this academic year that concerns your ambitions. By the end of this month, you need to become a member of the starting lineup.”

Atomic frowned. “The starting lineup?”

“Yes, and I don't need to repeat myself. We'll meet next Thursday to begin discussing which high schools you should apply to. You’re dismissed.”

Atomic put his satchel on and quickly left the classroom.”

“Hey, Atomic!”

“Thunder! You actually waited outside?!” Atomic said, pleasantly surprised to see his friend.

“Of course. So what was she talking to you about?”

“She told me that everypony in our year is gonna get a mentor to help with getting your cutie mark and high schools, and since I have the worst luck ever, she’s my mentor.”

“That sucks.”

“Watch, you’re probably gonna end up with some nice teacher like Miss Bellflower.”

“We'll see.”

The colts walked through the school gates and stopped, waiting for the road to be clear before crossing.

“So, training today. Did the coach tell you to come?”

“Yeah, he said that’s it's the first one so I had to come, even if I’m a....reserve.”

“That’s cool. At least we’ll be together.”

“Yeah, that’s one good thing that’ll come out of today.”

Twenty minutes later, Atomic and Thunderhoof reached their houses and said their goodbyes.

“Atomic, I’ve been waiting for you, come in!”

The colt smiled when he heard his father’s voice in the living room and he stepped into the hallway, closing the front door behind him.

“I’m coming, Dad! I’m just gonna say hi to Mom!”

Tea Rose came out of the kitchen and hugged her son tightly.

“How was your day? Good?”

“Yeah, but I kinda hurt myself again.”

“What d’you mean you hurt yourself….”

Tea Rose looked down at her son’s legs and gasped loudly.

“Again, Atomic! What have I told you about playing safely?! And you’ve managed to cut open the same wounds!”

“Sorry, Mom,” Atomic muttered, looking for an opening to leave the conversation.

“Atomic!” Syracuse called out again.

“Sorry Mom, but Dad’s calling me, I’m gonna see what he wants.”

Atomic hurried away from his mother and entered the living room, where his father was sitting on the sofa next to the radio.

“There you are! Why did you come home late?”

Atomic decided to tell his father about his meeting with Ms Ivory later. “I um…. was doing my maths homework. Yeah, I wanted to get it out of the way so that I didn’t have to worry about it later.”

Syracuse looked at his son sceptically for a few moments before smiling.

“Anyway, we can go into the back garden for half an hour and then you can have some food before I take you to training. Is that okay with you?”

“Sounds good,” Atomic threw his bag onto the sofa, pulling his father up from his seat and out of the living room, through the hallway and kitchen and past the back door that led to the back garden.

“So, what are you gonna help me with Dad?” asked Atomic.

Syracuse picked up the hoofball that was a few metres away from him and he suddenly threw it to Atomic, who jumped into the air before crying out in pain and dropping to the grass hard. Some of the plasters on his legs peeled off and Syracuse quickly ran over to his son.

“Atomic, are you alright? What happened?”

“I’ll… be okay Dad. I just have a few cuts on my legs.”

Syracuse looked at his son’s legs and reacted in an identical manner to his wife.

“Atomic!”

Syracuse picked up the plasters that had fallen onto the grass and he held them up, wincing at the blood that covered all of the plasters.

“Right, let’s get you inside. If you want to go the training today, you have to rest, alright? I don't wanna see you running around the house or doing anything that will make the cuts worse. You got that?”

“Yes, Dad.”

Syracuse helped his son up and guided him into the house. Atomic went into the living room and lay down on the sofa, hoping to get a quick nap before he had to leave for his first training session.

---

“Here at the Western Fillydelphia Broncos, hard work will get you very far. That means no fooling around, no coming late to training and never, ever talk back to me or any of the other coaches. Clear?”

“Yes, Coach!”

The twenty four colts stood in a line in front of Coach Storm Shaker, who then began to hand out bibs to the colts.

“Now, if you are wearing a black bib, I want you to go over to Coach Tornado, you’ll be working with him today. Blue bibs, head off to Coach Arctic and white bibs, you’re with me.”

Atomic looked down at his white bib as the other colts went off in their groups before looking at the other ponies that were with him. There were six other colts in the group but Atomic didn’t remember seeing any of them at the tryouts.

They must be the other reserves then.

“Right, you guys are going to be working with me for the next six weeks. All of you have the potential to be part of our starting lineup in the future, but you’re not at that required level yet which is why you’re all reserves. I will be making sure that you get as close to the starting lineup as possible by the end of the six weeks, if you do not become a part of the starting lineup.”

“Great, so I’m with all the rubbish ponies,” Atomic muttered, looking disdainfully at the other colts.

“Was that a question Atomic?”

“No sir!”

“Okay then, that’s enough talking from me. Line up in front of me. We’re gonna start with a smaller version of bull in the ring today, a drill I’m sure that you are all familiar with.”

The colts formed a line in front of Storm Shaker and to no surprise at all, Atomic found himself at the front of the line.

“What’s your name again?”

“Atomic. Atomic Tangerine.”

“Alright then. You know what to do,” Storm Shaker tossed a ball to Atomic.

Atomic nodded and ran forward, hoping that he wasn’t tackled too hard. Storm Shaker easily grabbed Atomic and pushed him to the floor.

“You made it very clear that you were gonna go right Atomic, you need to work on evading your defenders, especially in a match, otherwise you're gonna keep being brought down.”

“Yes sir, whatever you say,” Atomic grumbled, before joining the back of the queue. Storm Shaker heard Atomic’s tone and frowned.

“You know what, Atomic? You switch places with me, you can be the bull for everypony.”

Atomic turned around and opened his mouth to protest, before giving up and walking to Storm Shaker to take his spot.

“Right, next pony, go!”

---

Sixty minutes later, Storm Shaker blew his whistle to bring the training session to the end, and he called all of the colts over to him.

“Good work today everypony, I have had very positive feedback from Coach Tornado and Coach Arctic. Right, you’ll come back here same time next week, and nopony can be late. You can go home now.”

Atomic ran over to join Thunderhoof and head into the changing rooms to collect their things.

“Oh hey Atomic! How was Coach Storm Shaker?”

“Annoying. He made me be the bull for that stupid bull in the ring drill for like half an hour. I swear, he hates me already and I haven’t even done anything.”

“He can't already hate you, Atomic. It was only the first training session today.”

“Trust me, he does. How was your coach?”

“Great! He told us that we were all the ponies that are most likely gonna be on the starting lineup and he was giving us advice at the end on how we can make it to the EHL.”

Atomic and Thunderhoof passed through the large glass doors and found their fathers waiting for them.

“Thunderhoof, come on! I can see a taxi coming from over there!” cried Thunderhoof’s father, pointing to the other side of the road. The two yelled goodbye to Atomic and Syracuse, and ran across the road to reach the taxi in time.

“So, how was it Atomic? Good?”

“It was so annoying. We did that stupid bull in the ring drill for the entire time and our coach hates me.”

“I’m sure he doesn’t hate you Atomic. But that doesn’t matter because I have some good news for you,” Syracuse reassured as they entered their taxi waiting for them, and Atomic waved goodbye to Thunderhoof before entering after his father.

“What is it Dad?”

“I was talking to one of my friends today, and he told me that there are tryouts taking place in a few weeks for another team that’s actually closer to us; the Western Fillydelphia Eagles.”

“I’ve heard of them! Aren't they really hard to get into though?”

“Yes, if you go in with a negative mindset. Do you wanna go for it or are you happy here?”

“Um…..”

I don’t wanna be a reserve for at least a month!

But Thunder’s there. I won’t know anypony at their other team.

“Can I think about it Dad?”

“Sure.”

As they passed through downtown Fillydelphia, Atomic looked out of the window and saw a Fillydelphia Dragons billboard with Nick Foals' face plastered on the front, the date of their match against the Hawks written in a bold, white font which was now less than two weeks away.

“I’m so excited for the Dragons match Dad. There’s just under two weeks left until the season starts and we’re gonna watch Nick Foals destroy them and finally win the Sugar Bowl!”

“It’s definitely gonna be a good match.”

“Should I tell Thunderhoof to tell his dad to buy tickets so that we can all go together?”

“I don't know son, there weren’t many tickets left when I bought them, but you can tell him to tell his dad.”

The carriage pulled up in front of their house and Atomic was the first to get out of the taxi, running inside whilst Syracuse paid the taxi driver.

“Tomic, tomic!” Butterscotch squealed in delight in her mother’s arms, reaching out to her older brother.

“Hey Butter,” Atomic grinned, and Tea Rose handed Butterscotch to Atomic.

“Be careful with her,” Tea Rose warned as she went out to say hello to Syracuse.

Atomic carried Butterscotch into the house and he took her into the living room, gently placing her down on the sofa.

“Should I show you what we had to do today Butter?”

Butterscotch fell back onto the sofa and giggled.

“OK then, first we had to split into groups and that stupid Storm Shaker made me a defender for the entire time,” Atomic complained, before lowering his head and charging at Butterscotch, leaping onto the sofa next to her and tickling her.

“And he made us do this today as well!”

---

“And even though he gave me a chance and made me a reserve for the team, Coach Storm was really annoying me today, and he better not make me a defender again. Oh yeah, and Dad found me another team that I can play for, but I don't wanna leave Thunderhoof. But then I don't wanna be a reserve either and never play any matches.”

Atomic sighed and put his hands behind his head before suddenly sitting up.

“Why am I talking to Nick Foals out loud? Oh well, nopony can hear me anyway.”

Atomic got up from his bed to blow out the candle on top of the bedside drawer, but before he climbed into bed, he went over to his calendar on his wall and opened his marker pen, crossing out today’s date.

Only twelve days until I get to see Nick Foals for real.