Chapter 13

Gryffindor vs Slytherin

Everypony in Canterlot is waiting anxiously for today's buckball match between Gryffindor and Slytherin. All of the excitement for the first game of the season got Twilight nervous. She sat at the Gryffindor table, barely eating her breakfast at all. "Twilight, you have to eat more than that. You need your energy for the game." Applejack advised. "I'm not feeling that hungry, Applejack." Twilight confessed. In just a few moments, Twilight was going to compete in a stadium filled with hundreds of ponies watching her. Just thinking about it made her feel sick.

"Miss Sparkle." a dark, cold voice spoke to the purple unicorn. As if her day couldn't get any worse. She just had to be face-to-face with her least favorite teacher. "I just came to tell you that Slytherin is a very formidable buckball team." said Flintheart. "Don't let being a seeker get you overconfident." Twilight glared at Flintheart. She didn't know whether he was giving her advise or just trying to discourage her.

Without another word, Flintheart walked away. As he walked down the hall, Twilight realized that he was limping the whole way. "That explains the blood." Twilight muttered. "What blood?" Rarity asked. Twilight scooted in closer to Applejack and Rarity, making sure nopony else heard her. "Listen! Last night in the bathroom, I noticed that Professor Flintheart had a big scratch mark on his leg." Twilight whispered.

"I have a feeling that he was the one who let out the manticore so he could sneak passed that three-headed dog." "But why would a Canterlot teacher want to go near that monster?" Applejack asked. "I don't know, but lets agree to keep a close eye on Flintheart." Twilight advised. "I don't really trust him!" Her two friends nodded in agreement.

"Hey, Twilight!" Soarin called out to the unicorn. "Let's get going! We need to be at the Cloudsdale Stadium in a few minutes!" "I'm coming." Twilight said. She followed Soarin out of the hall as her friends wished her luck.

Seats in the Cloudsdale Stadium were filling up as the game was about to begin. Both teams were getting ready to fly off on their brooms. Despite the excitement, Twilight was the only pony to remain silent. "Are you feeling nervous, Twilight?" Soarin asked. "Maybe a little." Twilight admitted. "That's alright! I felt the same way back at my first buckball match!" "How did your first match go?" Twilight asked the buckball captain. "I'm not so sure, to be honest. In the middle of the match, an anti-buckball knocked me off my broom. The next thing I knew, I woke up in the hospital."

Before Twilight could respond, Coach Spitfire blew her whistle signaling both teams to fly towards the center of the stadium. Twilight's flying position gave her a good view of the stadium. There were yellow and orange flags surrounding the perimeter and everypony sat in seats made of clouds. It didn't take long for Twilight to spot Applejack, Rarity, and Big Mac cheering for her.

Coach Spitfire carried a case of buckballs between both teams. "As a reminder, the first team to score 250 points wins the match!" Spitfire reminded. She then grabbed her wand and pointed it to the case. "Now, let the games begin!" Spitfire announced as she unlocked the case, releasing the multicolored buckballs in the air.

As soon as the game started, Soarin caught the red buckball and proceeded to fly to the goal. He raced through the stadium avoiding Slytherins and passing the ball to the Gryffindors. The Gryffindors eventually bucked the ball through the goal, earning their team 10 points. Cheers erupted from the stands as the game was starting to heat up.

The next buckball was quickly snatched by the Slytherin captain, Wind Rider. He tried to pass it to another Slytherin, but a small pegasus named, Fleetfoot swiftly caught it instead. Fleetfoot dashed passed everypony and scored another 10 points for her team.

It was at this point when Slytherin started to play dirty. They started to knock the Gryffindors off their brooms by hitting anti-buckballs at them. With most of the Gryffindors injured, Slytherin quickly earned 20 points, making the score even.

Meanwhile, Twilight desperately searched for the golden crystal orb. An object that small could be anywhere in the stadium. Fortunately, the orb started to flutter right in front of the unicorn. Even up close, it looked like a tiny insect. The orb dashed passed Twilight before she had a chance to grab it. Twilight chased after it, but the Slytherin seeker, Lightning Dust noticed the orb and started to give chase as well.

The two seekers raced around the stadium, knowing that both teams were close to victory. Twilight got closer to the orb and she was just about to grab it before her broom was pulled back by an unseen force. Twilight started to lose her grip as if the broom itself was trying to shake her off.

"What's wrong with Twilight's broomstick?" Big Mac asked staring through his binoculars. Rarity got her answer as she stared at the professors' seats. "Applejack, look! I think Flintheart is trying to jinx Twilight's broom!" Rarity exclaimed pointing to Flintheart. He had his eyes focused on Twilight and muttered an inaudible spell. "Oh no!" Applejack gasped. "We have to stop him!" "Just leave it to me!" Rarity assured. "I'll be right back!"

The white unicorn then sneaked her way under the professors' benches. She pointed her wand towards Flintheart's cape and ignited sparks from the wand, setting the cape on fire. It wasn't long before Rarity heard somepony scream, "Fire! You're on fire!" Flintheart took his eyes off of Twilight and was shocked to find his cape slowly burning to ashes.

As Flintheart was trying to stomp out the flames on his cape, Twilight managed to regain her balance on her broom. She took off on her broom again and started closing in on the orb. Twilight reached out her hoof ready to swipe the orb, only to lose her balance and hit the ground.

Twilight tried to get up, but a sick feeling in her stomach prevented her from doing so. She felt something in her mouth that made her feel queasy. She spit out the object from her mouth and realized that it was the orb. The orb retracted it's wings as it rested on the unicorn's hooves. "Twilight Sparkle has caught the golden crystal orb!" the announcer exclaimed. "Gryffindor wins the buckball match!"

The crowd cheered and applauded Twilight for her victory. Twilight has never felt more proud of herself. Not only has she won the match, but she also got over her anxieties of playing buckball. Everpony then started to leave the stadium as the match came to a close.

After the game ended, Applejack, Rarity, and Big Mac met Twilight out of the stadium to congratulate her. "Well done, Twilight!" Big Mac praised. "You were amazing!" "Thanks, Big Mac!" Twilight smiled. "I feel that I have grown to enjoy buckball."

Even though Gryffindor won the game, Rarity still felt concerned. "Twilight, I hate to ruin the moment, but you need to know that Professor Flintheart tried to jinx your broom." Rarity explained. "Now that's crazy talk!" Big Mac laughed. "Why would Professor Flintheart want to jinx Twilight's broomstick?" "But it's true, Big Mac!" Applejack explained.

"He even tried to sneak passed that three-headed dog after the Nightmare Night feast!" Big Mac eyed the farm pony curiously. "How do you know about Cerberus?" he asked. "That thing has a name?" Rarity gasped. "Why of course!" Big Mac replied. "I bought Cerberus from a pony back at the Equestrian Cauldron. We need Cerberus to guard the-" The stallion paused. "Sorry, but I can't tell you anything else. It's private Canterlot business."

Twilight and her friends were puzzled by the stallion's words. He was obviously hiding something from them. "Big Mac, please listen!" Twilight pleaded. "Professor Flintheart is up to something and he is probably after whatever is being guarded by Cerberus!"

Big Mac gave a sigh. "Alright, you three listen!" he told them sternly. "You three are meddling in things you shouldn't know about! The only ponies who should know about this sort of stuff are Professor Celestia and Star Swirl the Bearded!" "Who's Star Swirl?" the lavender unicorn asked. Big Mac's eyes widened when he realized what he said. "I shouldn't have said that." he mumbled to himself. "Just forget that I said anything!" Big Mac then walked away, leaving the trio pondering on who the mysterious pony was.