The Sons of Barricade. Part 1. Cooper

by Askre

Chapter 5. The Game.

Chapter 5

“I can’t believe it. He’s your BROTHER!?” Tootsie cried, she looked almost pleadingly at Dinky, hoping she was just joking.

“Hey, I’m just as stunned as you are,” Dinky remarked and glanced up at Barricade who sat next to them. “Seriously, this isn’t a joke?”

“Nope. I’m Cooper’s dad,” her father told her with a smirk. “Junebug had a good reason not to tell anypony, I respected her wish to not have it known.”

Tootsie groaned and covered her face with her hooves. Coal, who sat on her other side, reached to pat her reassuringly on the back. The unicorn sisters and Barricade were sitting on seats that had been arranged around a playing field just outside Ponyville. A soccer game was coming up. Already few other ponies had gathered to watch it. On the other side of Barricade sat his brother, Private Iceland. Junebug could be spotted closer to the benchers were the teams would sit, she was sitting with the flower triplets, Roseluck, Daisy and Lily Valley.

“Dare I ask what this dramatic performance is about?” Barricade asked, glancing down at his violet colored daughter. She was already looking bored at the prospect of watching a soccer game.

“She has a crush on Cooper,” Dinky simply responded, ignoring the glare from her foster sister.

“Ah,” her father understood and then looked at Tootsie. “You know, Toots, you’re not his biological sister, so strictly speaking, it’s alright.”

“I don’t have a crush,” Tootsie grumbled and folded her legs in a huff.

“Yeah, sure,” Barricade chuckled then turned to his twin brother, who was just watching everything silently and with his usual neutral expression.

“So bro, I was told you knew who Cooper was all along,” he said, his daughters leaned forward to stare shocked at their uncle, Tootsie did as well. All Private did was nodding.

“Oy, that explains why he greeted Cooper with a normal hi instead of a grunt.” Coal shook her head in disbelief, Private actually grinned slightly at that.

“Any more secrets we need to hear before the game starts,” Dinky snapped and mock glared at her father.

“Well you have a younger brother named Chisel, but I doubt you’ll ever meet him anytime soon. His mother also has a good reason to stay far away from me,” Barricade told her, this caused Dinky to blink.

“I’m not the youngest?” She grinned almost eagerly.

“Hey, you’re only few months younger than me.” Coal stuck her tongue out at her sister.

“That still made me the younger, even Tootsie is older than me,” the violet filly snorted. Tootsie snickered.

“Speaking of, anything you would like to share with the class, bro?” Barricade eyed his brother again who just shook his head.

“But you know how Chisel looks like?” Barricade asked, Private nodded. “But you haven’t met him or Sunny?”

Barricade sighed when his brother just shook his head. Even he could sometimes forget that Private really was the quiet twin.

More ponies were arriving, so the five ponies had to shift a little to make more room. Barricade resisted an urge to smirk when hearing an annoyed grunt from Private, who really did not like crowds around him. He was past making fun of his brother over this.

“Ladies and gentlecolts, let’s hear it for the Ponyville Soccer team youth league,” a voice sounded from the loudspeaker as a team of local foals began filing into the field, headed by Rainbow Dash.

“WHOO HOO, GO PONYVILLE!” the crowd for the home team roared.

“Yay Cooper!” Tootsie cheered and this time her sisters joined in. The opal filly glanced at them unsure when she realized that.

“What? He’s our brother,” Coal pointed out and Dinky nodded. Barricade smirked at their response.

“And let’s give a warm welcome to our guests, the Appleloosa youth league,” the announcer sounded as the visiting foals started to come in with their coach. The cheers were a little less enthusiastic from the locals, but the Appleloosa ponies who had arrived to watch cheered loudly.

“Okay, I’m a little rusty on soccer, that’s the one where no magic and no flying is allowed, right?” Barricade asked, his daughters just shrugged but Tootsie nodded to confirm that was right.

“Yes, it’s hooves only. That’s why this game is more popular with earth ponies,” she then added. Indeed, most of the foals were earth ponies but there were a few unicorns and pegasi in both teams. “Although pegasi who are goalkeepers are allowed to use their wings to block, but they can’t fly to reach the ball, they must only jump and not glide or anything.”

“Lickety Split and Noi are the strikers, Toola Roola, Cooper, Archer and Cotton Cloudy are midfielders, Mocha Berry, First Base, Carrot Crunch and Pipsqueak are defenders and Firelock is in goal,” Tootsie explained the lineup and who was who in the Ponyville team. “Adult games are usually ninety minutes divided into two forty-five minute halves, but since this is the youth league they only play fifteen minutes each half.”

“You are really into this game, aren’t you?” Barricade looked at Toostie impressed.

“She’s just into Cooper,” Dinky chuckled mischievously.

“Shut up!” Tootsie growled, glaring at her sister.

“Now, now, that’s enough,” Barricade said sternly. Dinky smiled sheepishly then apologized to her sister who accepted it happily.

Their attention was soon on the playing field. The referee had just started game. Lickety Split had the ball but soon passed it onto Noi. She managed to weave the ball closer to the opposite goal before having to send it to Toola Roola who quickly passed it to Cooper.

Cooper quickly danced around two defenders with the ball but was faced with two more, he sent the ball to Archer who immediately passed it to Lickety Split. The colt was close enough to the goal and made an attempt to score.

The unicorn goalkeeper cringed and fired up her horn to grab the ball as it rocketed towards her. The referee immediately blew his whistle and pointed at the penalty area.

“Ooh, magic grab within the penalty area,” Tootsie cringed. “This must be her first game; they usually go over this in basics.”

The players stepped outside the penalty area and Noi stepped up to the spot. The goalkeeper looked nervous and shifted a bit, already embarrassed for having fouled so early in the game. The whistle blew and Noi ran for a kick, hammering the ball into the far corner of the goal.

“GO NOI!” all three unicorn sisters cheered along with the rest of Ponyville residents who were watching. Dinky and Coal then looked a little surprised that they had cheered at all, Tootsie was grinning.

The players resumed positions on the field and the game restarted. Now it was Appleloosa on the offense. Two of their players were quickly dangerously close to the goal. One shot but First Base blocked it with his wing. Again, the referee whistled.

“Wing block, not allowed if you are an outfielder, free kick,” Tootsie continued to explain to those not too familiar with the game.

“First Base, watch those wings!” they could hear Rainbow Dash snap from the bench.

The Appleloosa team prepared for the free kick, few of the Ponyville team formed a wall hoping to block the shot. An earth pony filly took the kick, the ball sailed just above heads of the defenders going straight for the goal. Firelock jumped and kicked the ball out of the danger zone. The crowd cheered.

Cooper managed to get the ball and immediately rushed back towards the Appleloosa goal. As two of the opposite team approached, he passed it to Noi who then sent it to Lickety Split. The colt got in trouble as three defenders began surrounding him. Split bounced the ball up and used his head to pass it to team member.

It was Cooper who just barely won the ball as another opponent jumped at the same time as he. The colt dashed off, weaved past two defenders and then gave the ball a hard kick, tearing it into the goal.

“GO COOPER!” the unicorn sisters bounced up and down as they roared his name along with the crowd.

“That’s my boy!” Barricade shouted, grinning ear to ear, his eyes met with Cooper who had looked up to the stands. The colt smiled before rushing back to join the defense.

It was soon halftime with Ponyville having scored two goals. Each team gathered around their benches to rest, stretch and drink some water. Rainbow Dash also used the opportunity to talk with the team, congratulating and giving some well-earned critiques.

“Thanks for the low down on the game, Toots, I would have had no idea what was happening otherwise,” Barricade used the opportunity to thank the filly who was beaming.

“Okay so I guess this game can be kind of fun,” Dinky relented, she hadn’t been too thrilled when her father and Coal arrived in Ponyville and told her they were going to attend the soccer game. She had mostly come when hearing that Cooper was her brother, that just changed everything. Then she just got caught in the excitement of the crowd.

“Yeah, it has its moments,” Coal nodded, eyeing Tootsie who was smiling more smugly now. “We are never living this down, are we?”

“Nnnope!” Tootsie cackled in glee; she had been quite enjoying seeing her sisters enjoy this ‘boring’ game.

“Say, why did Cara not come?” Dinky decided to change the subject. She hadn’t had a chance to inquire about their oldest sibling.

“She had already planned to go visit her grandparents this weekend last week, she said she would though tell them about what happened and they might show up later,” Barricade explained, his eldest was very close to her grandparents, having lived with them before moving in with her father.

“Huh, the game is starting already?” He looked to the field when seeing that the foals were positioning themselves on the field again.

“Oh yeah, youth league games only have five minutes half time,” the opal filly nodded.

The Appleloosa team had changed their goalkeeper, this time a pegasus filly was guarding the goal. On the bench sat the unicorn, looking a little downcast, her coach was sitting by her and seemed to be trying to cheer her up. Rainbow Dash had made no changes on the Ponyville team.

The game began again and the Appleloosans began the offense. This time they looked a little more determined and managed to get past the defense. Their striker tried for a goal; Firelock just barely managed to bat the ball away. However, another opponent managed to get the ball and quickly shot and scored a goal.

“Oh… unlucky,” Tootsie muttered, the Ponyville crowd got silent but the Appleloosa one cheered loudly.

Ponyville went on the offense, Cooper and Archer passed the ball between themselves before it got sent to Lickety Split. The colt pressed forward getting past a defender before passing it to Noi.

The filly passed it to Toola Roola who just barely managed to send it further to Cooper. The colt quickly sent it once again to Archer with a high ball, she used her head to knock it over to Lickety Split who raced straight for the goal. He met three defenders on his path and was forced to pass the ball to Noi who struck the ball hard towards the goal.

This time the Appleloosan goalkeeper managed to punch the ball away, however it landed on Cooper, he immediately sent it to Lickety Split who was wide open. The striker kicked, just barely missing the goal as it was sent to the stands.

“Aw, so close,” Tootsie grumbled.

The game went on, the Appleloosans tried to press one but the Ponyville team tightened its defenses, not giving their opponents any openings. Then Barricade noticed Noi nod to Cooper who nodded to Lickety Split.

Cooper suddenly dove in a tackle, managing to kick the ball to Noi, she immediately passed it to Lickety Split who quickly sent it back to Cooper. The three foals then continued doing this in almost a triangle formation as they made their way back to the Appleloosa goal.

“Ooooh, they are doing the Triangle!” Tootsie squeaked in excitement.

“Triangle?” Barricade asked confused.

“Cooper, Noi and Lickety Split have this game plan sometimes, where they pass the ball between each other in triangle as they make their way to the goal. It doesn’t always work, but it can confuse the other team sometimes,” the filly explained.

The Triangle got closer, Lickety Split made a quick pass to Cooper who managed to get past the defenders who had been forced to split up. The colt aimed for a shot at the goal. Barricade frowned, it looked a little obvious where his son was going to shoot.

It turned out to be, the goalkeeper saw where the shot was going and immediately positioned herself so she could jump and kick the ball away. Cooper cringed and started trotting back, his ears downcast.

“Come on, Cooper! You can do it!” Barricade shouted loudly and cheerfully. The colt looked up to the stands, meeting eyes with his father again.

Cooper grinned, his ears perked up and the colt rushed back to join the defense. Rainbow Dash looked up, spotting Barricade, the mare smirked and then returned her attention back to the game.

“Cooper has a little trouble with telegraphing his shots sometimes,” Tootsie quietly said she had winced when seeing how easily the goalkeeper had seen the ball coming.

“We all make our mistakes, some more than others,” Barricade responded, smiling when seeing Cooper manage to steal the ball and send it to Lickety Split. “And some we can fix.”

It was a tense moment as Lickety tore across the field back to the Appleloosa goal. The time was ticking and there wouldn’t be a lot more chances for another goal. The colt then passed it to Noi, who passed it to Cooper. The three foals were doing another Triangle.

Noi kicked the ball to Cooper who had a good chance at the goal, but the colt instead sent it to Lickety Split who caught it with his head, sending the ball into the goal. The goalkeeper hadn’t noticed in time, having had her attention on Cooper who had looked in far better position to try and score. His pass had been quick and unexpected.

The crowd went wild, cheering Lickety Split. The Appleloosans quickly got ready to restart the game, now with only very few minutes to spare and they were now again two goals under.

The Appleloosa team made a desperate attempt to scora, but Firelock managed to kick the ball easily away. Then the referee blew the whistle and there was roaring cheer from the Ponyville crowd and the foals began running around as they celebrated their victory.

Barricade smiled proudly, then looked at his brother who had watched everything silently. The quiet twin was smiling and Barricade could see he was no less proud than him.

As the crowd started dispersing from the stands, the unicorn brothers made their way down to the benches with the sisters following. Rainbow Dash was talking with the team and various parents were also present, hugging or otherwise congratulating their foals.

“Dad,” Cooper broke away from his mother and rushed over to the arriving ponies, stopping in front of Barricade. “So you came.”

“Wouldn’t miss it,” Barricade said as he stepped closer to ruffle the colt’s mane with a hoof. “You did very good down there.”

“Thanks, too bad I telegraphed again,” Cooper sighed a little, still a bit miffed at himself for that.

“Hey, it can happen,” Barricade assured him, then he gestured to Dinky and Coal. “I think you have already met your sisters.”

“I have actually,” Cooper looked at the fillies with a grin. “Sorry I didn’t say anything already, but mom and I decided to save it for a surprise when dad came to see the game.”

“Eh it’s okay, I like surprises.” Coal shrugged and Dinky nodded.

“And this is your Uncle Private Iceland.” Barricade nodded his head towards Private. “I think you can tell that we are twins.”

“Yeah I figured,” Cooper chuckled, he looked back when noticing Rainbow Dash and Junebug were walking over.

“Barricade!” Rainbow Dash grinned and hoof bumped with the stallion. “What do you think of your boy now?”

“The same as I do with all my kids, couldn’t be prouder,” Barricade responded with a smirk. “I can see he has a very good coach.”

“Of course he does,” Rainbow puffed her chest. “Did you see that Triangle? I taught them that.”

Tootsie Flute felt a little like the odd one out right now. Dinky and Coal were now barraging Cooper with questions, Junebug had joined Rainbow Dash and Barricade in the conversation, talking about the colt’s game.

The filly felt weird, she had always looked at Dinky as her sister since they grew up together, as Derpy was her foster mother. It had been easy to view Coal as such as well.

However, as much as Tootsie denied it, she had always had a bit of a crush on Cooper and it had really helped that he was playing a sport she enjoyed watching. But now he was suddenly her sisters’ brother and she wasn’t sure what to think.

“You okay?” a quiet voice asked her. Tootsie glanced up, Private had approached her.

“I guess,” the filly sighed. “Dinky and Coal having a Cooper as a brother, Barricade is their dad. It feels kind of weird.”

“Doesn’t have to feel weird,” Private said, the filly looked at him then sighed in exasperation.

“Okay fine, I do have a crush on Cooper,” Tootsie whispered, eyeing the others to see if they were too close.

“You are a young, you saw a somepony you like also playing a game that you love, it happens,” the stallion told her. “You can love and admire him as a brother instead.”

“But he isn’t my brother,” Tootsie sighed sadly.

“Wait here,” Private just said and walked over where Barricade was still talking with Rainbow and Junebug.

Tootsie arched her brow as she watched Private speak quietly with his twin. Barricade looked at him, unsure before turning to look at the filly. Tootsie wondered what was going on as her sisters’ father started walking to her.

“So, Toots, word on the field is that you are feeling a little complicated right now,” Barricade said smirking a bit.

“Yeah I guess,” the filly grumbled and started poking at the ground.

“Well I do need somepony to help me explain the sport when I go watch Cooper’s other games. Soccer is not Dinky and Coal’s thing, they are only here because I wanted them to more officially meet their brother,” Barricade raised his hoof to rub the back of his neck, the glanced at where Cooper had gone over to Junebug and Rainbow with his sisters.

“Really? Even the away games?” Tootsie gasped, so far she had only been able to watch the home games.

“Yeah I think I can strike a deal with your mom. I have five kids, but you know, I think I already have six.” He dropped his hoof down and looked at Tootsie again.

Tootsie’s jaw dropped. She had never expected this, she had managed to conceal it much better, but the filly had sometimes been a little jealous that Dinky had a dad. Well, she could technically consider Time Turner her dad now, since he was with Derpy, but it never really felt the same.

“But that would mean Cooper is my brother…” Tootsie frowned as she considered this. Then she shrugged. “Eh, he sounds more fun as a brother anyway.”

“So I can call you dad now?” she then looked at Barricade with a grin, the unicorn chuckled.

“You always could before,” he said and smiled when the filly rushed over to hug him. “Now go join your sisters before they drown Cooper with questions.”

“Ack, I’m coming brother!” Tootsie cried and charged to her siblings, she also realized Dinky would probably be trying to subtly hint at her crush.

“Six kids?” Private had been quietly watching and finally spoke up.

“Yeah, Derpy reluctantly admitted to me once that Tootsie was sometimes jealous of Dinky going to visit me. Time Turner is a good guy, but the girls never seem to look at him as a dad,” Barricade told his brother as he watched his kids, chuckling as Tootsie was angrily glaring at her sisters over something, probably more teasing about her crush.

“May have to speak with them about that, say it’s alright for them to look at Turner as a dad too. Nothing wrong with having two dads,” Barricade then shrugged as he walked back to Rainbow Dash and Junebug.

“Did we hear right, is Tootsie calling you dad now?” Junebug asked skeptically as the twins came closer.

“Jeez, Barricade, how many kids do you have?” Rainbow Dash teased.

“Ugh, why do I have a feeling I’ve been answering that question all week,” Barricade grunted, but then laughed along with the other adults.

End chapter 5

Author's Note:

Aside from Cooper, all the foals on the Ponyville team can be found on the list of foals at the MLP wiki https://mlp.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_ponies/Foals

The playtime rules are based on the rules presented by the Icelandic Football association, KSÍ.

I still can't believe I managed to write an entire chapter that's basically a soccer match.