• Published 14th Aug 2020
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Rainbow Dash's Unstoppable Ego - MagicS



Bored at the recent lack of adventure in her life, Rainbow Dash goes flying off to find some.

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A Mammoth of a Problem XXXVII

When it came down to it you needed days where you could push all the bad stuff out of your mind and just relax or indulge in something fun. That’s what today was for Rainbow Dash.

Alykon’s Trunkball team had another game and Rainbow Dash was confident that they could finally win after all the extra practice and work they had put in lately. Unfortunately this time it was only her and Shibu who were watching. Larkon had decided it was better for him to stay home and keep an eye on Samarkon… and Rainbow suspected he just didn’t have it in him to do anything. He’d been despondent and lethargic ever since the failed meeting with the senate. Rainbow even offered to be the one to make sure Samarkon didn’t run off so Larkon could see his daughter play but he had completely refused. Now both he and Samarkon were probably just holed up in that house, quiet and depressed.

Two days ago Abalun had even snuck back into the city to tell them about a speech Karkona had given. But Larkon had seemed to have lost his drive. He said there was nothing they could do about it, nothing he could even think for them to do about Karkona now. It’s not like Karkona had even said anything specific either, it was just a speech for rousing his followers. Naturally this made both Abalun and Rainbow Dash rather dismayed and Abalun went back to the slums to continue watching over things.

Neither Abalun nor Rainbow Dash knew how to get Larkon out of this funk. First of all having to deal with Samarkon and then the betrayal of the whole senate. It was too much for him.

Rainbow Dash shook her head, no point dwelling on it and getting depressed. Right now she should be watching and cheering on Alykon. She could help out Larkon later.

“Hungry, Rainbow Dash? You look distracted,” Shibu said to her and held a bag of popcorn out to her.

“A little bit, yeah.” Rainbow graciously took the popcorn and shoveled a hoof of it into her mouth. “Just thinking about things I guess.”

“Probably the same things I am...” Shibu nodded sadly.

Rainbow Dash kept quiet, they didn’t need to bring each other down and the game was about to start anyways. There weren’t as many family members or friends watching this time but the stands were still fairly crowded. Down below, Alykon and her teammates were huddled together and getting ready to play along with the other team.

She smiled at Alykon, they were all taking this seriously and Rainbow had faith in them. Shibu too tried to pick up her mood before the game began, Her daughter needed her support.

Speaking of Shibu… Rainbow Dash pawed at her still braided mane. She had undone it and washed it out after getting back from the slums those days ago but Shibu insisted on rebraiding it this morning. It didn’t look like she was going to be allowed to go back to her old mane style until she left the city entirely. She absentmindedly tugged on the necklace she was still wearing too, along with the other jewelry.

Rainbow Dash was dismayed to realize she had gotten used to wearing it all. That was not something she would admit out loud.

“Do you think Alykon can win today?” Shibu asked her.

Rainbow Dash chuckled. “Heh, definitely. They still have a long ways to go as a team but with how much they’ve improved? Oh yeah, they can definitely win this game today. We’ve just gotta cheer for them and show em how much we believe in them.”

“No problem there,” Shibu smiled.

A whistle was blown by one of the referees down on the court and the two teams got into position to play. After the instructions Rainbow Dash had given them last time she was happy to note how much more confident and steady the team looked. They started to have the visage of pros about them and it was an impressive turnaround from where they were when she first met them. Orsal and Dathon had a serious look as they prepared for the toss up while Alykon and Makom hung back with their bodies tense and ready to spring if either of the offensive players on the other team got the ball first.

Upon the toss up, Orsal jumped high but he was outreached by one of the enemy players, who batted the ball to his teammate. The ball holder now dribbled it past Dathon and went going right towards Makom on defense. Rainbow Dash was proud how restrained Alykon was being, letting Makom handle things on his side. And Makom wasn’t slow anymore either, he could react well, he was just letting his opponent get in close where it was easier for him to not overextend himself.

Rainbow Dash nodded as she watched; already appreciating how her team was doing. She could see their game plan and how they would handle themselves for the next hour and it looked good to her. They just needed to keep their practice and lessons in mind. Don’t get discouraged if you fall behind, don’t let yourself lose focus, keep giving it your all, and just do what Rainbow Dash told you to do.

Makom’s trunk lashed out at just the right moment and he stole the ball from the enemy player. With a quick jog he ran around him and threw the ball to Dathon.

Now Dathon was on the offensive and there was zero hesitation in his play as he danced and dribbled around the first defender. His play had probably changed the most among all of Alykon’s team. He handled the ball with far more skill than before and he was very decisive in his movements and what he was doing.

Such as being confident enough to take a long shot at the basket instead of taking the risk to dunk the ball.

With the height advantage he had over the mammoth defending him, Dathon reared back and expertly tossed the ball to the hoop. His opponent tried his best but he simply couldn’t reach it at all and the ball sailed over his head and trunk to the hoop where it perfectly sailed right through it. Score one to Alykon’s team.

“Great work, Dathon!” Rainbow Dash shouted from the stands. “Great work all of you!”

Shibu and the others on their side cheered for the team and down below Alykon looked up at Rainbow Dash with a smirk.

Rainbow Dash winked right back at her. She was happy to see that sort of confidence. “Just keep it up!”

The ball was brought back to the middle and a new round of play soon commenced, both teams were really throwing themselves into it and neither wanted to let down the families and friends that were rooting for them. Alykon especially didn’t want to lose again in front of her new mentor. Her whole team was sorely hungering for their first ever win and Rainbow Dash sincerely hoped they finally achieved it.

Dathon getting the ball back immediately was a very good sign. He and Orsal were making an aggressive offensive duo and Alykon and Makom were always ready to receive any backwards passes or do what they could to help the scoring of more points too. They were a real team now, not just four mammoths playing Trunkball together because they liked it. Rainbow Dash was pretty smug in her knowledge of how much she was responsible for that.

She hoofed the popcorn back to Shibu so she could lean in and pay complete attention to the game, Dathon had just made a wickedly fast pass to Orsal who then attempted to rush forward and dunk the ball. But he was just barely blocked off by one of the defenders and had to step back to get some more room for himself. He couldn’t shoot above the defender’s head like this, he needed to dribble away.

But as he backpedaled the other defender came behind him after ditching cover of Dathon. Risky, but it worked as Orsal didn’t react fast enough. He had the ball stolen away from him and the defender passed it right to his teammates on offense.

This time the mammoth with the ball was going down Alykon’s side of the court.

Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes as she watched. “Okay Alykon, show me what you can do.”

The opposing mammoth with the ball was juking to her left and right, trying to psych Alykon out and make her dive the wrong way. But unlike the old Alykon who would’ve gone in already this time she held back until she was absolutely certain what her opponent was doing. As she went to the left and tried to cut into the center of the court for a straight shot at the basket, Alykon sped right in front of her and lashed out with her trunk.

It was a wild strike that wasn’t looking to hit the ball anywhere in particular. Just “away” from the mammoth who currently had it. And in that it certainly succeeded, Alykon’s trunk hit it to the other side of the court where the enemy defenders had to fight over it with Dathon and Orsal.

Rainbow Dash was already happy though that Alykon had mounted a successful defense. If they could keep up this energy and momentum for the whole game they’d surely win.

Shibu clapped for her daughter and Rainbow Dash joined in. Everything was coming together for their team.

Dathon was stuck on the sidelines by one of the defenders so he passed to Orsal who then made a long route around the outside of the court before turning to head for the hoop. He was being cutoff again but this time he had only one defender to worry about, and he wasn’t going to be satisfied with only scoring one point. This time Orsal was going all in for a dunk.

So instead of backing off and looking for more space like last time he charged his defender. The other mammoth was quite surprised by this change in strategy and he didn’t have the reflexes to pivot on time or take the ball from Orsal with his own trunk. Orsal dove right past him and dribbled to the hoop with the other mammoth hot on his heels. But that defender just didn’t have the time to catch up and Orsal easily made his jump and dunked the ball past the rim for two points.

“Yeah!” Dash nearly leaped out of her seat as she congratulated Orsal for his dunk. Three to zero, things were looking great so far.

Orsal jogged over to Dathon and they clapped trunks together while Makom and Alykon did the same in the back of the court. Nice of them to congratulate each other and keep themselves pumped up, little things like that went a long way. Keeping your mood up and your mind set on the belief that you would win for certain was a big part of the psychological aspect of any sport. Rainbow Dash knew that well, it’s why she had boundless confidence in herself and knew she would always win.

The other team was now going to have to try coming from behind while Alykon’s team would try to grow their lead, and Rainbow Dash was pretty sure just from looking at how the early game has gone which team would succeed.

The rest of the game played out as to be expected (in Rainbow Dash’s mind) with the opposing team making a good effort but never really being able to take the lead or get the momentum going in their way. Alykon’s team maintained a steady gap in the score the whole way through, playing a smart, consistent, but passionate game of Trunkball. By the time of the last minute all eight mammoths on the court were sweaty and exhausted from an hour of fierce play, and even though the game was lost, the enemy team was still trying their best to end as respectably as they could. That was good sportsmanship in Dash’s opinion.

One of the other team member’s did manage to score a basket with just seconds to go but it didn’t make up for the point deficit.

And at last the bell was rung and for the very first time, Alykon’s team had won a game of Trunkball.

“Wooh!” Rainbow Dash yelled and this time she did fly right off the bench and doze down to Alykon. “You four did great, congratulations!”

Alykon saw her and reached up with her trunk, pulling Rainbow Dash down and then tightly hugging her. “Thank you so much! If it wasn’t for you we never would’ve won!”

“Hrk!” Rainbow Dash wheezed as the crushing power of Alykon’s hug made it impossible for her to breath.

“Uh, Alykon? I think you’re suffocating her,” Makom said.

“Oh!” Alykon let go and Rainbow Dash dropped to the ground, sucking in breath after breath. “Sorry...”

“N-No problem… you were just excited to win. I’m really proud of you,” Rainbow Dash grinned up at the four.

“Me too,” Shibu said as she walked down and enveloped her daughter in a much healthier hug.

“Thanks mom,” Alykon actually cried slightly as she hugged her mother back. “I just wish dad could’ve seen it too.”

Rainbow Dash’s face fell a bit and she flew up to put a hoof on Alykon’s shoulder. “Yeah, me too, but he’ll be really happy to hear you won.”

She hoped something like this would be able to lift his mood. Now as she floated here she sourly realized that despite the great occasion she still couldn’t fully shake the melancholy feeling that had infected both her and Larkon. She was able to take her mind off things during the game but now that it was over… nothing had changed and she still didn’t know what to do. But maybe Larkon would at least be feeling a little better with some time and Alykon’s victory could cheer him up. That was all she could wish for and work towards for now.

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