Ten More Yards

by 5aszs

THE FOURTH DOWN

“Atomic, get up! We don't wanna be late for the match remember!”

“Ugh…..I hate school! Can I get five more minutes Mom, please?” he mumbled.

Syracuse entered his son’s bedroom and found Atomic lying on his side in his bed with his hooves tucked underneath the right side of his face.

“Okay then, I guess I’ll just go to the match with somepony else, I mean, I don't wanna waste this ticket if you don’t wanna go. I’ll ask one of my friends, see if he wants to go with me.”

Atomic’s eyes widened and he threw his duvet off as he leapt out of bed. “What time is it, are we late?! Did we miss the game?!”

“We’re not late, I just wanted you to wake you up early so that we could beat the traffic and get there early.”

Atomic breathed a huge sigh of relief and left his room for the bathroom. Five minutes later, he was in the living room eating breakfast with his father.

“Dad, do you think Nick Foals would sign my shirt after the game?”

“Uh, maybe, but we'll have to see. Our seats aren’t that not that close to the tunnel so I don’t know.”

“I have to get my jersey signed by him. I have to.”

The two finished their breakfast and took their bowls to the kitchen for Tea Rose to clean.

“So, today’s the big day. Looking forward to it?”

“The Dragons are gonna win and I’m gonna get Nick Foals’ autograph. So it’s gonna be an awesome day.”

Tea Rose nodded and took Syracuse’s bowl from him, turning the tap on and washing the bowl. “What time does the game start?” she asked her husband.

“Noon, but the stadium’s gonna get pretty packed an hour before that, so we wanna get there early.”

Syracuse and Atomic left the kitchen to go into the living room, and Syracuse headed straight for the radio to turn it on, and Atomic sat next to him.

“And we’re gonna go over live to Cirrus, who’s outside Almerald Centre with some fans. Cirrus.”

“Yes, Blaze, I am currently outside the Dragons’ home ground with some very excited and dedicated fans, the match doesn't start for another three hours! You guys looking forward to the match?”

“YEAH!”

“Who do you think is gonna win?”

“DRAGONS!”

“They got that part right,” Syracuse remarked.

“Nick Foals is totally gonna destroy them!” one of the younger fans exclaimed, and this got Atomic out of his seat.

“Dad, we have to go now! Imagine how ponies are already at the stadium, and if we get to watch Nick Foals practise, then I can him to sign my jersey then!”

“Let’s go now then.”

---

After buying their train tickets, the father and son waited at the fourth platform of Fillydelphia Station, sitting on a bench that was a few metres away from the train tracks. Atomic looked around at the other ponies that were waiting at the platform, and he noticed that a few ponies were also wearing Dragons’ jerseys, clearly making their way to the match as well. There was a noticeboard hanging down from the ceiling that showed the destination and arrival times of the next five trains to the station. The arrival times were being changed almost every minute by a unicorn porter standing next to it, and she used her magic to change the arrival times when appropriate. Atomic looked at the top of the noticeboard and saw that the train that they were going on, the train from Baltimare to Manehattan that passed through several stops in Fillydelphia, was due to arrive in two minutes.

“Dad, how long will it take for us to get to Almerald Centre?”

“Probably forty minutes. I think there’s three or four stops before Glider Square, which is where we’re gonna get off.”

A shrill whistle suddenly rang out in the platform and in the far distance, the train’s wheels could be heard sliding across the train tracks. A few seconds later, the train appeared, and it began to slow down, grinding to a halt a few seconds later. Syracuse and Atomic quickly got up from the bench and found themselves at the back of one of the two queues of ponies waiting to board the train. The ponies making up the second queue were stood near the back of the train with their suitcases, waiting for the passengers on the train to be given back all of their belongings.

“This is the Baltimare to Manehatten train. Please make sure that you have taken all of your belongings with you.”

Nearly ten minutes after the train had arrived, all of the suitcases on the train had been returned to their owners, and whilst the new set of passengers were having their belongings placed at the back of the train, the train doors finally opened so that the ponies without any baggage could finally board the train.

“Finally! Does it always take this long to get on the train?” Atomic asked.

“Not really, but there must be a lot of ponies travelling today.”

Syracuse looked at their tickets for their seat numbers, and he led Atomic through the other ponies to their seats, which to Atomic’s delight were next to the windows. Atomic surveyed the other ponies in their carriage, counting how many ponies were also headed to the match.

“Dad, there’s barely anybody here that’s going to the game! I bet everypony that’s going is already at the stadium in their seats! We’re gonna miss the match!”

“Atomic, relax! We’re gonna be fine, okay? We'll make it well before kickoff, and remember, you could get you-know-who’s autograph whilst they’re practising.”

“Oh, yeah!” Atomic lay back in his seat and began plotting how he was going to get his autograph. He was still yet to decide to a final method when the train came to a stop at Glider Square.

“This is Glider Square. This is the Baltimare to Manehatten train. Please take all of your belongings with you.”

The father and son left the train and headed straight through the platform exit, going down the stairs and approaching the checkout area. The two went to the closest free till and booked their return train tickets for after the game.

“All done. Woah!”

Syracuse was suddenly yanked forward by Atomic, and he was pulled to the train station’s exit by his son. He quickly balanced himself so that he didn’t fall flat on his face, and he laughed as Atomic pulled him again to burst through the other ponies leaving, and they finally made it outside the station.

Glider Square was arguably the most well-known part of Fillydelphia, and the square was named after Cloud Glider, a pegasus who grew up in the area and spent his entire seventeen-year career with the Fillydelphia Dragons as their quarterback, winning four Sugar Bowls and and gaining the title of the Dragons’ greatest player of all time and one of the top five greatest hoofball players of all time as well. In the middle of the square was a large stone statue of Cloud Glider, standing on his hind legs holding a hoofball with one of his hooves, preparing to throw it. Atomic walked up to the statue and read the description at the base of the statue.

Cloud Glider- an all-time great who played his heart out every match for the Dragons. Your efforts, achievements and what you brought to the city of Fillydelphia will never be forgotten.

“I'm gonna have my own square and my own statue outside Almerald Centre someday Dad, I know I will. I’m gonna be a Dragons’ legend.”

Syracuse smiled and put an arm around Atomic. “Someday soon, I hope.”

The two stared at the statue silently, time coming to a stop as they looked at Cloud Glider, both imaging the prospect of a statue of Atomic being built someday. Atomic was the first to snap out of the daydream, looking around him and spotting a large clock that hung at the entrance of the train station.

“Look, it's eleven o’clock,” Atomic exclaimed, turning around and pointing to the large clock that hung at the entrance of Glider Square Train Station, “the teams are gonna start practising soon, we have to get there now!”

“I can see a taxi over there, let’s go.”

Atomic followed Syracuse past the statue and to the crossing point, where they waited for the pedestrian light to turn green. Once the red light flashed on and the pedestrians could cross, Atomic and Syracuse ran across the road as the taxi came closer and closer to them.

“TA-TAXI, TAXI!”

The taxi driver, a dark-brown, older looking stallion slowly came to a stop in front of Atomic and Syracuse whilst they were slowing down as well, and he stuck his head out of the carriage.

“You guys need a ride?”

“Ye-yeah, just, gimme a second,” Syracuse panted, breathing heavily. A few moments later, he slowly entered the carriage with Atomic, and he opened his saddlebag to pay the fare.

“No, no, no, it's fine; you can pay me when we get to wherever you’re going,” the taxi driver reassured, and he then looked at Syracuse for a few seconds. Syracuse stared back silently before realising what the taxi driver was asking.

“Oh, sorry! Take us to Almerald Centre please!”

“Your wish is my command!”

The driver opened his window and placed his hooves on the pedals underneath them, pushing down on them in turn as the taxi set off for Almerald Centre.

“You guys going to the Dragons’ game then?”

“Yes, my son’s a big fan of them.”

“It’s all my kids have been talking about at home for the last two weeks!” the taxi driver replied. Ahead of him, the traffic light became, red, and the taxi cam to a stop as the pedestrians crossed the road. The taxi driver turned around to his passengers. “What’s your name, kid?”

“Atomic. Atomic Tangerine.”

“You looking forward to watching the Dragons?” the driver then turned back round at the same time that the traffic light turned green, and he set off again.

“Yeah, and I’m gonna get Nick Foals’ autograph!”

“That sounds fun. Good luck with that!”

Forty-five minutes later, the taxi driver steered the carriage into the Almerald Centre parking lot, which was already half-full, and he drove up and down through the rows of carriages, until he found an empty space that was at the back of the parking lot. The carriage came to a stop and Atomic opened the door next to him, jumping out of the carriage whilst Syracuse paid the taxi driver.

“Enjoy the game, you two!”

The taxi driver waved goodbye to Atomic and Syracuse as he drove past, and the father and son did the same.

“Right, let’s get out of here and find our seats!” Atomic announced, taking his father’s saddlebag and opening it to take out their match tickets. “Dad, where are the tickets?!”

“They’re in here, what are you talking-” Syracuse took his bag from Atomic and tipped it open, watching the coins and pieces of paper fall out. He dropped to the ground and ran his hooves through his belongings, his face becoming paler and paler with each second that passed.

“No, no, no, they have to be in here! I put them in this morning, there’s no way that I could’ve forgotten them!”

“Dad.”

Syracuse looked up to find Atomic holding the two tickets with a huge grin on his face.

“Gotcha.”

Syracuse sighed loudly in relief as he picked up his belongings and got up off the concrete. He suddenly grabbed Atomic and picked him up, holding him high in the air. He then moved his arms lower and forward simultaneously, bringing Atomic closer to the ground

“Okay, okay Dad, I’m sorry, please put me down!” Atomic squealed. Syracuse laughed but obliged with Atomic’s request and put him down.

“You almost gave me a heart attack!”

“Just keeping you on your hooves, that’s all,” Atomic smirked. The two then exited the parking lot and Atomic spotted some fans that were headed to the stadium and the two of them followed the group, coming to a stop when they finally reached their destination; Almerald Centre. The Fillydelphia Dragons’ home ground had the second-largest seating capacity in Equestria (after Manehatten) with the stadium being able to hold a maximum of 77,000 ponies. The outside of the stadium had another large statue of Cloud Glider, standing on his hind legs but this time his arms and wings were outstretched and his head was tilted up. There was already a large number of fans outside the stadium, with many in line waiting to be granted entry. Atomic and Syracuse joined the back of the queue and they struck up a conversation with a family of five behind him, their hopes for the Dragons to be victorious over the Eagles being the main topic.

“So did all of you come out for the match today?” Syracuse asked.

“Yep, there was no way that we were gonna miss the season opener!” they replied, and the youngest one jumped up and down.

“Are you the only two to come out for the game?” the mother asked, holding her youngest child next to her.

“Yeah, my wife’s not really a fan of hoofball and she has to look after our daughter.”

“Tell her to bring your kid next time, she’ll have fun at the game.”

Syracuse continued speaking to the mother and her other children as they waited in the queue, and Atomic waited quietly and listened in to the conversation, before he was tapped on the shoulder. Atomic turned around and was stunned to see a familiar face.

“Chestnut!”

“Hey Atomic,” he shyly greeted.

“I didn’t even see you there, who did you come with?”

“My family,” Chestnut pointed to the ponies that Syracuse was talking to.

“You did? I didn’t even notice you!”

Chestnut’s lips curled back down. “Yeah, that happens a lot.”

Noticing Chestnut’s melancholy expression, Atomic swiftly changed the subject.

“So, you excited for the match?”

“Yeah, but I’m more of a Mustangs fan.”

“The Manehatten Mustangs? How come?! They’re such an average team!” Atomic exclaimed, stepping forward and this intimidated Chestnut.

“Er, well I’ve pretty much lived all of my life in Manehatten, and we only moved here three months ago. We used to go to most of their matches. But Nick Foals is one of my favourite players, so I don’t mind coming to watch them.”

“Okay, that makes sense, I thought you were gonna say something like, ‘the Mustangs are way better than the Dragons!’” Atomic reassured, and Chestnut smiled.

“Chestnut, where’s my saddlebag?” his mother asked.

“Right here Mom,” Chestnut handed the saddlebag to his mother and she took out four tickets, handing one to each of her children.

“Don't let anything happen to them kids, alright? If you damage or lose them, then they won't let us in to watch the match, understand?”

“Yes, Mom,” the foals replied.

Chestnut’s family reached the front of the queue and handed over their tickets to the pony behind the counter, waiting for a few minutes whilst she scanned each ticket.

“Chestnut, what seats did you get?”

“I don't know, but I think they’re in one of the bottom rows in the middle.”

Atomic looked at his ticket and checked Chestnut to see if they were sitting near each other. “We’re sitting right next next to each other! The view’s gonna be ace from there, and Nick Foals will definitely see me!”

Chestnut’s family’s tickets were scanned and they entered the stadium, with Chestnut asking his mom if he could hanging back to wait for Atomic, telling her that they were going to end up sitting next to each other anyway. Once their tickets had been scanned, Atomic and Syracuse headed inside with Chestnut into a lobby that was filled with ponies in a line for a stall selling the usual match-time foods such as vegetable hot dogs and hayburgers. To the far right was the official Dragons shop, which was almost completely filled with fans making last-minute purchases of Dragons merchandise. To the far left, Atomic was barely able to make out the flight of stairs, the steps being almost completely covered by hooves clambering up the stairs to get to their seats quickly. In the middle was a large help desk that had quite a large line waiting in front of it, the stallion in the front demanding that his ticket (a scrunched up strip of paper with ‘Dragons vs Eaegles’ written in black marker) was real.

As Chestnut walked over to Chestnut, Atomic pulled on his father’s foreleg. “I can’t wait to see what Almerald Centre is like on the inside! I’ve only ever seen pictures of the outside!

“Let’s go and find out what it looks like on the inside.”

The three of them joined the ponies climbing the stairs and they made their way up the two flights of stairs and stepped out into the open.

“Woah.”

Almerald Centre was bigger and better than Atomic could’ve ever imagined. The seats were dark green to match the team’s colours, the team’s logo (a fire-breathing dragon) was displayed on each seat. Most of the seats on the other side of the stadium had already been filled, but there were still several seats open on the side of the pitch that Atomic, Syracuse and Chestnut were sitting in. As they squeezed past other ponies to get to their seats, Atomic and Chestnut saw that the two teams were already training on the two ends of the pitch, and Atomic’s heartbeat quickened when he spotted a tall, baby blue colt making runs and catching passes from his teammates.

“Dad, I can see him! It’s Nick Foals!”

Syracuse led the colts down the steps to their seats, with Atomic’s growing infectious excitement even having an effect on Chestnut, who couldn’t keep a smile off his face. The three of them sat down in their seats, with Atomic sitting in between his father and Chestnut.

“Look, he’s so close to us!”

The group’s seats were luckily only a few rows above the pitch, so they all sat together and watched the Dragons practise, with Atomic only focusing on Nick Foals. He watched as the Dragons’ star player easily caught a thirty-yard pass, and he achieved the same result with a teammate marking him for a further catch. His next attempt saw him stumble a little as he went up to catch a forty-yard pass with two defenders, but he was still able to make the catch.

“Woah.” Atomic’s eyes were as wide as saucers and he couldn't keep his eyes off Nick Foals. The receiver clapped his hooves and took several steps back, asking for a longer pass. The ball came at him low and fast, and Nick galloped as fast as he could towards the ball, diving with both of his arms outstretched. The ball was able to come into contact with his hooves, but it ricocheted off the edge of Nick’s left hoof and made a beeline towards the stands.

“Atomic! Are you okay?!”

The ball dropped to the floor off off Atomic’s nose, and he groaned and held his hooves to his nose for a few seconds. Chestnut picked up the ball and threw it back onto the pitch before turning to help his friend.

“Atomic, move your hooves, I need to see if you’re bleeding!” Syracuse pleaded.

Atomic nodded slightly and slowly moved his hooves away, revealing thick lines of blood running down from both of his nostrils.

“Your nose! Wait there, I’m gonna go get a first aid kit!”

Syracuse bolted from his seat to find a first aid kit, and Atomic winced as he pressed his hooves against his nose to try and stop the bleeding, but this only resulted in droplets of blood landing onto the front of his jersey.

“Don’t do that, you’ll only make it worse!” Chestnut’s mother reached over and pushed Atomic’s hooves back down onto his lap. “Wait for your dad, he’ll be back really soon.”

Amidst all of the commotion, Atomic hadn’t noticed that a certain Dragons player was making his way towards the stands, and he jumped over some of the seats and climbed up the stairs.

“Atomic, lo-look!” Chestnut stammered, pointing to the approaching pony. Atomic lifted his head and found himself face to face with Nick Foals.

“What’s your name, kid?”

Atomic’s eyes widened and he opened his mouth, but no sound came out. The pain from his nose becoming a mere dull sensation and time came to a standstill as his brain tried to comprehend the fact that his all-time favourite player was actually standing in front of him and talking to him.

Say something!

“.....It’s Atomic, sir. Atomic Tangerine,” he managed to get out.

“No need to call me sir, just Nick. Atomic Tangerine’s a really cool name. It’s definitely a lot cooler than plain old Nick Foals!”

Atomic laughed slightly but his eyes were still wide open, and he quickly moved his father’s saddlebag onto his lap as Nick Foals sat down next to him.

“I'm so sorry I hit you with the ball. I normally make those kind of catches, but I don't know what went wrong today. You gonna be okay?”

Atomic moved his hoof towards his nose and found that the blood previously running from his nostrils had dried up.

“Yeah, it's fine now.”

“Let me sign your shirt for you, as a proper apology.”

Atomic nodded quickly and opened the saddlebag, taking out a marker and handing it to Nick Foals, who used his mouth to take off the lid off before lowering his head and writing on the front of the jersey.

“There you go, Atomic. Looking forward to the game?”

“Yeah! We’re definitely gonna win!”

“That's good to hear!”

“Foals! You’re needed down here! Let’s go!” the head coach yelled, tapping his clipboard impatiently.

Nick Foals sighed and got up off the chair.

“Looks like they need me down there. Enjoy the match, yeah?”

Atomic and the others waved at Nick Foals, and he smiled and waved back before leaving to go back onto the pitch.

“Did that really happen? Did I talk to Nick Foals, and did he speak to me? This has to be a dream, somepony pinch me!”

Chestnut’s family laughed as Atomic leaned back and put his hooves behind his head. At that moment, Syracuse emerged at the top of the steps and quickly came down towards Atomic, holding a small first aid briefcase in his mouth. As he arrived at his seat, he dropped the first aid kit onto his chair and knelt down in front of Atomic.

“You feeling okay son? Sorry I took so long, it took me ages to find somepony who knew where first aid was and- wait, how come you’re smiling?”

Atomic simply smiled and gestured to the front of his jersey. Syracuse looked at the jersey and read the message.

Stay cool like your name, Atomic.

Nick Foals

“See Dad, I told you I was gonna get his autograph!”

Syracuse smiled and ruffled his son’s mane before getting up and sitting in his seat. He used a wet tissue to wipe away the dry blood, and put the bloodied tissues into a small plastic bag to throw away later.

“Judging by all the ponies that are here now, I think it's safe to say that kickoff is probably very soon,” Chestnut’s mother pointed out. Atomic and Chestnut turned around and saw that the rows behind him were almost completely full with fans. The rest of the stadium was also filling up rather quickly, with the away fans taking up a significant portion of the seats behind the far goalposts. Players from the Fillydelphia Dragons and Cloudsdale Eagles left the pitch for the players’ tunnel, and at the same time a few ponies holding trays of fast food came out and they began going through the rows.

“Mom, look! Can I get a hayburger?!”

“And I wanna get a soda. Please, Mom?!”

Chestnut’s siblings were pointing to two ponies coming down the steps, one holding a tray of hayburgers and hotdogs around her neck whilst the other was holding a tray of drinks, stopping every few seconds to serve ponies. Chestnut’s mother nodded and the children celebrated briefly before they called over the two ponies.

“What can we get you guys?!”

As Chestnut’s siblings shouted over each other to try and get what they wanted, Atomic laughed and turned to Chestnut.

“Are they always like this?”

“Pretty much, but they’re cool.”

“You guys want anything?” Syracuse opened his saddlebag and took out some coins.

“Okay then, can I get a hotdog and a soda?”

“I'm fine sir, I ate before we came here.”

The group were all eventually served their food and Syracuse and Chesnut’s mother paid for the food.

“Hey, what school do you go to Chestnut? I feel like that’s one of the first things you ask when you meet somepony new that’s your own age, but I’m gonna ask now.”

“I go to Oakleaf Elementary, but my mom wants me to go to a school that’s closer to our house, so I’m probably gonna leave soon. What about you?”

“Greenfield Elementary. It's alright.”

The two colts continued talking about their respective schools for the next ten minutes, until they were interrupted by the booming voice of the announcer.

“FILLIES AND GENTLECOLTS, ARE YOU READY?!”

Almerald Centre erupted with cheers that shook the stadium to its core, and Atomic and Chestnut eagerly joined in.

“NOW PRESENTING, YOUR FILLYDELPHIA DRAGONS!”

As the announcer finished the sentence, the smoke machines that were on either side of the entrance of the players’ tunnel came out, and within a few seconds smoke completely covered the tunnel entrance. The crowd cheered and clapped as the players began to emerge from the tunnel one by one, and Atomic recognised most of them, including the quarterback Cartwheel, and the Dragons’ star receiver was the last to come out to rapturous applause.

The Cloudsdale Hawks’ entrance onto the pitch was a lot calmer, but their fans still be heard cheering throughout the stadium. The two teams went over to their benches and stood with their coaches and the reserve players, lining up and waiting quietly.

“Please stand for the Equestrian national anthem, performed by Colouratura.”

The spectators clapped as the pop star made her way to the centre of the pitch, where a large stage with a microphone was waiting for her.

Syracuse laughed as Atomic tried to stand up. “You don’t have to stand Atomic.”

“But this is what I’ll have to do when I go pro. It’ll be good practise.”

Atomic stood up and cleared his throat, waiting for the song to begin. Once the instrumentals came in, he joined in with the rest of the crowd, but he quickly remembered that he did not know all of the lyrics of the anthem, and he struggled, briefly turning around trying to read the lips of the ponies nearby in order to keep up.

“You know what, next time I’ll just stay sitting down,” Atomic whispered sheepishly.

“Yeah, that isn’t a bad idea,” Syracuse smirked.

The anthem came to an end and applause rang out through the stadium before coming to a stop. Colouratura bowed before leaving the pitch and the microphone and podium were quickly cleared away.

“The Dragons are gonna win, I’m already telling you, they will!”

Chestnut laughed as Atomic continued cheering for the Dragons, and soon he found himself joining in along with his brothers and sisters. Syracuse and Chestnut’s mother looked at each other before laughing. The two captains from both teams met at the middle of the pitch and shook hooves, before speaking with the referees.

“The Fillydelphia Dragons have won the coin toss and have chosen to receive the ball,” the announcer informed and the announcement was met with a loud cheer from the home fans.

“Yes, that means that we’re gonna score the first touchdown, and Nick Foals is probably gonna get it!”

The two sets of eleven players lined up on the opposite ends of the pitch. The punter placed the ball down in front of him and turned around before bucking the ball across the pitch. Nick Foals was standing in the middle as the ball flew across the pitch, and he stretched his arms up to grab the ball, receiving cheers from the crowd. He lowered his head and galloped to his right, his teammates blocking the other team from tackling him. Nick Foals made it through twenty, thirty and forty yards before he was tackled on the fifty yard line.

The Dragons’ supporters cheered and Nick Foals celebrated with his teammates before they huddled together to draw up their play for their first drive.

“We’re gonna a touchdown on the first down, I’m calling it right now,” Atomic proclaimed, barely able to stay still in his seat.

“It’ll probably take a few downs to get to the end zone,” Syracuse countered, and Atomic looked at him in disbelief.

“Come on Dad! You’re not working right now, you’re allowed to say that the Dragons are gonna get to the end zone!”

Syracuse pointed to the pitch, where the two teams had already lined up in formation; the Dragons’ offensive line were stood in front of the defensive line, with the tight end standing a few metres away from the right. The two receivers were standing to the far left and right of the offensive line respectively, with Nick Foals slightly ahead of the other receiver. The referee moved his whistle to his mouth and blew to start the first down. The ball was snapped to Cartwheel and he he quickly took two steps back whilst the offensive and defensive lines charged at each other, the offensive line desperately trying to hold back the Cloudsdale Eagles from rushing Cartwheel. The quarterback surveyed his surroundings, spotting Nick Foals trying to push Slate Gray away from him and get free, whilst the other receiver was being heavily marked by his defender. The defensive line were beginning to get past and they approached Cartwheel, their arms reaching out to grab him and throw him to the ground. Cartwheel shimmied to his left to avoid being tackled and he threw the ball to the tight end Wild Ace. The tight end made a dash for the sixty yard line, and he was able to make it up to the fifty-six yard mark before he was tackled.

The home fans cheered loudly and Wild Ace high-fived his teammates.

“We’re gonna get the TD on this down, I’m telling you,” Atomic claimed, high-diving a smiling Chestnut.

Play restarted from the fifty-six yard line and this time the Dragons’ formation was made up of Cartwheel waiting behind the centre with an extra two wide receivers being deployed. This increased the number of passing options that Cartwheel had, and he was able to throw the ball to Nick Foals who was at the forty-five yard mark.

“Yes, come on Nick!” cheered Atomic and Chestnut.

Unfortunately for the Dragons and their fans, Nick Foals’ defender was arguably the best cornerback in the league, and Slate Gray was able to use his wings to reach up into the air above Foals and catch the ball, although he was quickly tackled to the ground by Nick Foals before he could travel ten yards.

Atomic threw his half-finished hotdog down. “We lost the ball already?! How?!”

“He’s gonna be a real problem for us today,” Syracuse solemnly stated, taking a sip from his soda.

Slate Gray quickly pushed himself up and pointed at the hoofball, sneering as he made a comment. Nick Foals’ teammates tried to pull him away, but the receiver bounded up to Slate Gray, and the two clashed helmets. The referees ran onto the pitch and pulled the two apart, with Nick Foals still shouting as he was taken off the pitch.

“Why did they pull Nick away? They should’ve let him beat the crap out of Slate!”

“Atomic, it's still the first quarter, we have loads of time to get the ball back,” said Syracuse, picking up Atomic’s hotdog and putting it in his lap.

The Cloudsdale Hawks wasted no time in lining up behind their line of scrimmage into a singleback formation, and when the whistle blew, they used the gaps created by their tight end’s blocking to throw a pass to their outermost receiver, and he charged towards the end zone.

“Come on guys, get him already!”

The receiver dodged the first defender and a teammate swooped in to take care of the next closest defender, giving the receiver a clear path to the end zone, which he took.

“NO!”

Atomic threw his hotdog to the floor again in frustration as the Cloudsdale Hawks celebrated getting the touchdown, and the scoring receiver ran to the fans watching behind the goalposts and celebrated with them, before he was gently pulled back down by a security guard.

“They beat the Mustangs last year in the first round, and now it looks like they might win again,” Chestnut said, but Syracuse interjected.

“Come on guys, don't lose hope now. Yeah, it sucks that they scored first, but there’s still loads of time for us to get the comeback and win.”

Atomic and Chestnut nodded unconvincingly before re-focusing their attention onto the pitch for the Eagles’ conversion attempt, which was successful, thus giving them a seven point lead at the halfway mark of the first quarter. The next six minutes saw the Dragons only advance eight yards for their first three downs, thus running the risk of turning over the ball to the Hawks.

The whistle blew to begin the fourth down and Cartwheel made a long pass to Nick Foals at the forty yard line, who this time was able to grab the ball before Slate Gray. As they both came back down, Slate Gray slipped and fell to the ground, and Nick Foals jumped over him and made a beeline for the endzone.

“Thirty, twenty, come on!”

Whilst some of the other Dragons players had brought down some of the defenders, a linebacker was able to steer clear of a tackle attempt and he pumped his wings quickly as he flew low across the ground, quickly catching up to Nick Foals and bringing him down at the fifteen-yard mark just as the whistle blew to end the first quarter.

“Damn it! We were so close! How is he allowed to fly like that, isn't it against the rules Dad?”

“No, pegasi can't fly above six feet and he was flying really low, that's why the tackle is allowed,” Syracuse explained, and Atomic grumbled as he gulped down the last of his soda, hoping that his team would come through and win the match.

---

The second and third quarter of the match saw the Dragons and Hawks locked in a stalemate, with both of their defences playing brilliantly to stop the offence they were facing from scoring a touchdown, and this meant that by the five minute mark of the fourth quarter, a field goal allowed the Hawks to hold a 10-0 lead over their opponents.

“We can’t lose the first match of the season, we can’t! How are we gonna challenge for the title at this rate?!”

Chestnut opened his mouth to dispel Atomic’s worries but couldn’t think of anything good to say. The whistle rang out to begin the final quarter and the Dragons restarted play from the forty yard line for their first down. Cartwheel threw a bullet pass to Nick Foals who was the closest to him at the thirty five yard mark, and the star receiver made a dash for the thirty yard line, eventually making it to twenty five yards before he was tackled. The Dragons quickly regrouped and wasted no time with their first down, and this time Cartwheel handed the ball off to the running back behind him, and he was tackled just before the ten yard line.

“Come on, we’re so close,” Atomic muttered, staring intensely at the pitch. Cartwheel called the play and threw a short pass to Nick Foals at the edge of the end zone.

“YES!”

Nick Foals held the ball up in the air and yelled to the fans before being tackled to the ground by his other teammates.

“I knew he was gonna get it, I knew it!” Atomic and Syracuse high-fived and Chestnut did the same with his brothers and sisters, joining in with the home fans’ celebrations.

When the Hawks took possession of the ball again, they were unable to score the winning touchdown or get within field goal range. This meant that the Dragons has been provided with a last-second opportunity to win the game.

Atomic clasped his hoof together and squeezed them. “Come on, just make the field goal and we can beat them in overtime.”

The Dragons’ kicker waited beside his placeholder for the ball to be snapped. When the long snapper threw the ball backwards, the placeholder quickly brought it down to the ground as the locker turned around, and he bucked the ball with all his might.

“YES!”

The kicker was congratulated by his teammates and all of the players ran off the pitch in preparation for overtime.

---

With overtime entering the final thirty seconds, the score was still tied and the Dragons were currently attacking, the impressive thirty yard run of their running back bringing them up to the forty yard line.

“Come on, we have to win. We have to!”

Atomic began nervously chewing on his jersey and he leaned forward to focus on what was happening on the pitch. The tension in the stadium had reached a peak level by this point, with each fan hoping and praying that their team would come through to take the win.

The ball was snapped and Cartwheel ‍threw the ball long to Nick Foals, who was quickly making a dash for the end zone, desperately trying to keep pace with the ball. His defender Slate Gray used his wings to stay close with him, meaning that the two were neck and neck as they came closer and closer to the ball.

“Come on Nick, come on!”

The ball began to descend earlier and quicker than Nick Foals expected, and he realised in a panic that he would not be able to catch the ball in time.

“He has to catch it, he has to!”

In a final, desperate attempt to win the game for his team, Nick Foals dug his back legs into the grass as he reached the end zone line, and he dove forward into the end zone, his right arm stretched out as far as possible.

“I think he caught it!”

As his right hoof gripped onto the hoofball, Nick quickly pulled his arm inwards into his body to secure the ball as he landed onto the grass. Slate Gray tried his best to wrestle the ball out of Nick Foals’ grip. The two were quickly separated by the referees, and they declared that Nick Foals has caught the ball in the end zone.

“YEEEEESSSSS!”

The Dragons fans celebrated wildly; drinks were thrown into the air, ponies jumped out of their seats to celebrate with each other and the cheers rocked the stadium to its core.

“HE DID IT, HE DID IT!”

Atomic, Syracuse and Chestnut’s family hugged each other as they jumped out of their seats, and in the embrace of his father and newfound friend, Atomic never wanted this moment to end.