A Not-So Draconian Adventure

by Rock-Lee

The Best Game Ever!

The sun was shining on the soccer field, creating a vibrant and energetic atmosphere. Spike joined his teammates in the warm-up, feeling the excitement and tension before the game. The sound of enthusiastic spectators echoed in the stadium, creating an exciting buzz.

From the stands, players' family members, students from both schools, and members of the local community gathered to support their teams. Colorful banners and scarves waved in the air, displaying pride and passion for soccer. The atmosphere was filled with enthusiasm and anticipation.

Spike focused on the warm-up, feeling the adrenaline rushing through his veins. The game was going to be an exciting test, and he was determined to give his best. The cheers from the spectators created a symphony of support, and every player felt the responsibility to perform well in front of their audience, well... almost everyone.

"Do we really have to go out and do something so silly!?" Spike would hear Diamond Tiara shout from the locker room, making the green-haired boy sigh.

"Diamond Tiara, we've talked about this! You can't leave the team hanging like that!" Tender Taps would say, arms crossed, while he and Scootaloo forced the girl to leave the place, all dressed in the team uniform, with their names embroidered on the back courtesy of Rarity.

"Come on, guys!" Spike would turn as he heard a group of voices shouting, raising an eyebrow at the sight in front of him.

Bright Mac, Magnum, and Bow Hothoof, wearing green and reddish-colored shirts with Scootaloo and Spike's faces embroidered on them. Bow even went so far as to dye his hair in the colors of his shirt.

Then there were Pear Butter, Cookie Crumbles, and Windy Whistles, wearing the same shirts as their husbands, but with cheerleader skirts and a pair of pom-poms in their hands, which probably attracted some unwanted attention, judging by the man with the purple eye a few meters away.

"Oh, how embarrassing..." Scootaloo would say, trying to look away to avoid seeing her adoptive parents doing that. While she obviously didn't mind in general, she felt a bit embarrassed by how her friends were watching them almost mockingly.

"I think it's great! I don't remember anyone cheering me on like this before... for anything, I guess," Spike would say with a smile, waving to the sextet of parents.

"Embarrassing..." Scootaloo would say, trying to cover her face so that people wouldn't see the blush that seeing her parents like that caused her.

"I think it's great, nobody has ever cheered me on like this," Spike would say, greeting the sextet of supporting parents and the rest of the team.

After that, Spike would notice how Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were just sitting with their gazes on the ground, one looking disheartened and the other visibly angry. It wasn't hard to assume which was which, so Spike would approach the girls somewhat concerned.

"Hey, what's going on, girls?" Spike would say, standing in front of them, observing them with a small smile.

"It's nothing," Diamond Tiara would say, arms crossed, looking angrily at Spike, while Silver Spoon would just release a sigh.

"Our parents didn't come," the silver-haired girl would say. Spike would notice that her hair was tied in a ponytail to avoid bothering her during the game.

"Oh... I see," Spike would say, sitting next to Silver Spoon to put his hand on the girl's shoulder, making her, for some reason, sit up completely straight, her glasses fogging up from one second to the next. "But hey, you can still enjoy it! And a lot of people came to see both of you!"

"Tsk, we don't care about that... we only joined so our parents would come," Diamond Tiara would say, letting out a sigh, dropping her angry facade to reveal the disheartened and somewhat sad face underneath.

"That explains it..." Spike would say, somewhat embarrassed by what he had said seconds before.

"Oh, please," Scootaloo would say, walking towards the two girls with a furrowed brow.

"Scootaloo, it's not good—" Spike would be about to stop her, but Scootaloo would keep talking, interrupting his words.

"Are you seriously doing all this just for attention!?" Scootaloo would say, pushing Spike aside, looking at the two girls annoyed. "You two are the least concerned about what others think since I met you, basically the only reason I respect you even a little!"

"Wow, what great help, Scootaloo," Diamond Tiara would say, rolling her eyes somewhat annoyed.

"If your parents think anything is more important than coming, it's their loss! Just show them it doesn't bother you! Go win and then celebrate with us!" Scootaloo would say with a determined smile, extending her hand towards the girls in an attempt to cheer them up.

Diamond Tiara was about to say something, probably a comment about how silly what Scootaloo was saying, but she would be silenced by Silver Spoon putting her hand on Scootaloo's.

"Yes... let's play," she would say with a somewhat excited smile, happy to have heard those words.

"... I guess I can try," Diamond Tiara would say, letting out a sigh, also putting her hand on Silver Spoon's.

"Oh! Team huddle!" Snips would say with a smile, seeing what they were doing, so the rest of the team would run towards them to put their hands in the center over the others.

"Come on, Join in Spike!" Rumble would say with a smile, noticing that Spike still hadn't approached.

"Hehe, okay, okay," Spike would say, approaching the circle of students to put his hand on the rest of the team.

"One... two... three," everyone except Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara would start counting in unison. "Canterlot!"

The team's cheer echoed through the soccer field, breaking the tension and replacing it with a newfound determination. Spike, Scootaloo, Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, and the rest of the team joined forces, ready to face the upcoming match.

After that, the whistle would blow to signal both teams that it was time to play, so the group would quickly move to position themselves in their specified areas. Despite being a midfielder, Spike would be placed as a striker alongside Scootaloo and Rumble, with Scootaloo in the center zone next to the captain of the other team, a girl with silver hair tied in a ponytail somewhat similar to Silver Spoon's, but this time her hair was short like Scootaloo's. Something that surprised and confused Spike was that this girl had some kind of yellow lipstick on her lips, which, as far as he knew, wasn't allowed for girls of that age.

"Hey, Casanova! You already have our team's girls, leave the ones from the other schools!" Rumble would say from the other side with a mocking smile, making the girl turn to look at Spike, causing him to blush suddenly and look away.

After a few more minutes of preparation, the referee would enter the area and toss a coin to decide which school would have the initial kick-off, landing on the ground with the head side visible. "Gryffonstone High School has the kick-off!"

This would make Spike frown slightly, but he would simply nod and prepare for the game along with the rest of the team.

"Good luck, Spike!" Spike would hear Silver Spoon's voice shouting from the midfield zone behind him, making him smile with some confidence, ready for the game.

Several minutes of the match would have passed, approaching the end of the first half, and the score would still be tied at zero. The excitement in the stands would remain the same, and Spike would find himself with the ball at his feet, running towards the goal, avoiding two defenders from the opposing team while looking for one of his teammates to make a pass and create a goal-scoring opportunity.

"Here!" Spike would hear Rumble's voice a couple of meters away, but before he could make the pass, one of Gryffonstone's defenders would make a strong tackle, not hitting the ball but Spike's body, essentially sending him flying to the ground, falling face-first onto the turf.

The referee's whistle would stop the game due to the obvious foul committed, allowing the rest of the team to approach and help Spike.

"Damn, Spike, are you okay?" Tender Taps would say, helping Spike sit on the ground, checking his foot carefully without moving it too much.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just a hit... I've been through worse," Spike would say with a smile, although slight tears would form in his eyes from the pain.

"Are you sure? We can play with 10 players if you don't think you can continue," Silver Spoon would say, taking a miniature pack of wet wipes from her pocket and using one to carefully clean Spike's face.

"It's okay, I can keep going," Spike would say, grateful for the care his friends had for him.

"Hey! I'm really sorry, is your player okay?" The captain of the other team would say, running towards the group, being the gray-haired girl that Spike had been looking at moments before.

"...Y-Yes," Spike would say with a slight blush at the sight of the pretty girl, not noticing the angry glares Scootaloo and Silver Spoon directed at the girl from the other team.

"Okay... I really apologize. My teammates tend to take everything more seriously than necessary, but well... Good luck!" The girl would say with a final smile before running away with the rest of her team.

"Free kick for striker Spike Drake after that clear foul by Gryffonstone's defender!" Spike would hear Pinkie Pie's voice through the stadium speakers.

"Who else besides Pinkie? Hehe," Spike would say, not surprised that his pink-haired friend was the match narrator.

Spike would quickly run towards where the referee had placed the ball for the free kick. It was far enough to be risky to attempt a direct goal, but not so far that it would be crazy to try to pass to another teammate. Spike began to think as Gryffonstone set up their wall for the green-haired boy's free kick.

"Do what you think is best, Spike!" Spike would turn to see Snails, who with his perpetually slightly dumb expression, lost smile, and squinted eyes, would raise both thumbs in approval.

Spike would nod slightly, take a couple of steps back, ready for the penalty, waiting for the referee's whistle to kick the ball.

"Now!" The referee would say before using his whistle, prompting Spike to quickly signal to his teammates to advance with a hand movement before running towards the ball and giving it a powerful kick that sent it flying.

"I got it!" Pipsqueak would say when he saw that the ball wasn't going to reach the goal, jumping and heading the ball towards the goal. However, Gryffonstone's goalkeeper would hit the ball to send it away. Everyone had planned to let the ball go out of bounds to continue, everyone except one.

"Mine!" To everyone's surprise, Diamond Tiara would appear running along the side of the field towards the ball, giving it a powerful kick before it could go out of bounds. This surprised both Gryffonstone and her own teammates. Without giving the goalkeeper time to react, she scored the first goal of the game.

"...And we have the first goal of the tournament by Canterlot's midfielder Diamond Tiara's hand! Or should we say, by her "feet"!?" Pinkie Pie's voice would fill the stadium with cheers and excitement from the stands as Diamond Tiara's team quickly ran towards her to celebrate, piling on top of her in a classic dogpile, to Diamond Tiara's dismay.

"I almost feel like going to celebrate at Rocky Road for the happiness of these little ones!"

"Wait... Cheese?" Spike would say upon hearing that voice coming from the stadium speakers, indicating that Pinkie's boyfriend was narrating with her despite not having said anything until that moment.

The remaining minutes of the game were spent with Canterlot players preventing Gryffonstone from scoring, and they succeeded, ending the first half of the match with a 1-0 lead for Canterlot.

"That was a great play, Diamond Tiara! It was amazing!" Silver Spoon would say, hugging her best friend tightly.

"What? Did you think I'd let those Gryffonstone weirdos beat us?" Diamond Tiara would say with a slight blush from the situation but a genuine smile on her face.

"Hey, Tiara, you dropped this," Spike would say walking towards her, placing the diamond tiara she always wore on her head. He took the opportunity to fix her hair, which was disheveled from all the running during the game.

It was at that moment that Diamond Tiara stared at Spike's face for a couple of seconds, feeling his hands gently caressing her face with the tips of his fingers as he fixed her hair. This caused a slight blush that no one would notice.

"Okay, guys! The break is over! Time to play!" Rainbow Dash's voice would make everyone nod and return to their positions, this time with the advantage of the initial kick-off for the match.

As the referee's whistle signaled the start of the second half, Scootaloo would quickly pass to Rumble, who was to her right. However, the ball would be intercepted halfway by Gryffonstone's captain, who quickly ran towards the goal, dodging all attempts from the defense to take the ball from her. She then took a powerful shot towards Snips' goal. He managed to stop it with his hands, but the ball bounced towards another Gryffonstone player. Trying to repeat Diamond Tiara's move, he kicked the ball strongly, but Snips would block it again with his body. However, once again, the captain grabbed the ball, shooting it to the other side of the goal and scoring Gryffonstone's first goal, tying the score at one-one.

"Darn it... Good job, Snips! Keep it up, bro!" Button Mash would say despite having conceded a goal. Snips had done his job masterfully; it was only because of the failure of the defense to perform well that they had been scored on.

Spike would feel disheartened seeing that Gryffonstone had practically "woken up," demonstrating complete superiority from one moment to the next. However, a particular voice would catch his attention.

"Don't give up, Spike! Come on, you can do it!" Sunset Shimmer's voice could be heard even above Gryffonstone's celebration for that goal.

"Remember! An Apple doesn't give up!" Applejack would shout alongside Sunset Shimmer, holding a banner with Spike's name written in green.

"Kick their butts!" Rarity saying that would catch the attention of all the girls and Spike, making them look at the fashionista in surprise. "What? A lady can enjoy something like this, you know?"

"You're right, Spike! Don't give up. We scored one goal; we can score another!" Tender Taps would say with a determined smile, placing a hand on Spike's shoulder.

"Yeah... You're right. Let's do this!"

The rest of the game was fiercely contested for both teams. The balance always tilted towards Gryffonstone because their defense wasn't the best, with people like Pipsqueak or Snails playing there. Still, Snips had shown great ability to defend the goal, being a wall that didn't let anything pass.

"Come on, guys! They've had like 6 shots on goal, and we haven't had any! Snips can't stop everything forever!" Scootaloo would say, running towards Gryffonstone's area, dodging the defenders trying to prevent her from reaching the goal. "Rumble!"

"I got it!" Rumble would receive Scootaloo's pass, passing the ball under the legs of another Gryffonstone player. The clock showed that there were less than 5 minutes left in the game, so it was now or never.

A surprising play unfolded as the defender, who had previously committed the foul against Spike, lunged towards Rumble with determination. In an agile exchange of movements, Rumble made a pass seemingly to an open area, only for Spike to emerge like a torpedo, executing a powerful shot without hesitation, sending the ball into the opposing goal minutes before the end of the match. The cunning and speed left everyone astonished, rendering the stadium in an eerie silence.

"...Goal...Goal! God damn it, a goal!" The voice of what seemed to be Rainbow would break that silence before the stadium erupted in celebratory noises from Canterlot, with everyone watching hugging each other in a celebration, and the players following suit by rushing towards Spike in a strong group hug.

"And the referee blows the final whistle! Thanks to the great teamwork of Rumble and Spike Drake, the tie is broken minutes before the end, giving Canterlot the victory in an amazing 2-1!" Pinkie's voice echoed throughout the stadium, with her Canterlot bias showing for a brief fraction of a second.

"And this only proves one thing, ladies and gentlemen! Canterlot only has one way to play, the way of seeking victory! The way of perform this way!" Cheese's voice, accompanied by what could only be assumed was a strange reference, joined Pinkie's as celebrations continued for several more minutes.

Almost an hour had passed since the game, and Spike would be sitting on one of the benches adjusting his shoes while Scootaloo put on her regular clothes to join the celebration with Rainbow Dash's family. It was then that the captain of the Gryffonstone team approached somewhat nervously.

"Hey... that was a really good game," the girl said, scratching her head nervously.

"Same goes for you... Your goal was amazing," Spike would say, also with a slight blush, unsure of what to say.

"I... I know I already apologized for my teammate, but I'd like to do it again... I'm really glad it wasn't anything serious."

"You have nothing to worry about; just feel good that you played so amazingly!" Spike said with a smile, trying not to stutter too much.

"Hey... Your way of playing was very interesting... I'd like to know if you could... give me some advice?"

"Oh... Sure, b-but I don't have a phone or anything to talk to you, sorry."

"We can exchange letters! My mom works at the post office and says it's the safest way to communicate!" the girl said with a big smile, trying to find a way to stay in touch.

"I... That sounds great!" Spike would say, nodding slowly, happy to have found a way.

"Awesome! Give me a second!" The girl quickly grabbed a piece of paper and wrote a couple of things before handing it to Spike. "Here's all the information to send me a letter and have it reach my home..."

"Oh... thanks!" Spike would quickly take the paper carefully, putting it in his pocket well-folded.

Before they could continue the conversation, a shout would draw the duo's attention. "Gabby! The bus is ready! Let's go!"

"Oh! That's my coach, thanks, Spike! Send me a letter soon!" And so, Gabby ran off in the direction of where that shout had come from.

"I-I will!" Spike would say with a big blush, waiting for the girl to leave, letting out a relieved sigh as a silly smile formed on his face... until he noticed something. "Wait... Gryffonstone... Gray hair... Her name is Gabby... Oh god, it's Gabby, I'm an idiot!"

And so, mentally kicking himself for not realizing such a stupidly obvious detail, Spike would stay in that spot, waiting for the rest of his weekly family to arrive.

Author's Note:

One day late...yeah sorry guys, i was sick barely all the week

Comments

[Wildcard25]

That was an awesome game

[nightshroud96]

Amazing game for sure