It took Rainbow Dash more than long enough to admit that she really needed to grant some players member status. She decided having a set of linemen was rather important in the end, so she allowed the Dumbbells to join officially. Yet they were still rather short on members, which posed a major problem. With their first game imminently near, she really couldn’t afford the luxury of being picky.

Fortunately, Rainbow had spotted something the previous day. Featherweight. He was jumpy… and that was it. When Apple Bloom let out a bellowing chastisement on her, Rainbow had saw the boy in the back of the room literally jump several feet in the air. Match that with his height and long reach, and you have sold yourself to a desperate Rainbow Dash.

How it went down was something reminiscent of a kidnapping straight out of gangster films; drive by, yank into the vehicle, speed off. The difference being that Pipsqueak was the vehicle and snatcher, yanking the boy out of class the next day. Propping the photographer up on a chair in a darkened room with a spotlight, Rainbow grabbed a fedora, lazy half-done tie and sunglasses, attempting to grill Featherweight until he joined. It only took her mentioning the Equestrian Football team for him to say ‘yes’. Befuddled by his abrupt acceptance, the rainbow girl furiously yanked the boy out to the field.

Immediately, Featherweight took off running down the side of the field the instant their quarterback launched the pigskin into the air. She deliberately gave it some spin and threw it to the side forcing the tall, thin Featherweight to use his head. Rainbow stared with a bit of shock when she saw Featherweight zip off in one direction while the ball seemingly arced to the left, only to start smiling when the football’s trajectory was headed directly towards where the boy would be. With a swift jump, Rainbow saw Featherweight leap three feet into the air which made her grit her teeth; she could only jump far on account of her speed. As the boy returned, he wordlessly tossed the ball over to Rainbow and silently walked away, pulling out his camera to capture the moment.

The next, and last thing she had to do was find an eleventh player… and maybe a backup. But she was at a loss until it happened.

Snips and Snails; tweedle-dee and tweedle-dumb; the dynamic duo; two sides of the same coin that permits entry to the glue factory. During many of her precious seconds figuring out how to seduce Applejack, Rainbow Dash had spotted the two chucking a basket ball around in the gym… specifically, after school hours. She knew that they weren’t terrible troublemakers, young and stupid sure, but she also knew they were… well, boys. And as such, she knew not to base any decision on maturity level, or lack thereof. She took a photo of the scene with her mobile phone and decided to follow them the next day.

Expectedly, she discovered that they had gym class and, just her luck, they happened to be playing dodgeball. She wondered if the stereotypes would permit them to be the last picked but immediately, they were in the first five to be picked. Curiously, Rainbow pressed her face against the thick glass separating the gym from the school’s main hallway. Upon start, she grinned as she saw that not only were they not troublemakers, that they were boys; they could catch. And the tall and lanky boy, Snails, could even run. Rainbow watched as they dominated the game of dodgeball; catches, throws yet in the end, they were still boys.

“Watch it, you peabrain,” Snails shouted as he roughly slammed into his friend.

“Hey, you watch it. I was dodgin’ to this spot,” Snails shouted back as they pushed each other back to avoid a ball.

They weren’t star players, but they had the qualities she needed to fill up the last spot. They were like a watered down version of Spike, lacking the muscle and speed but they severely ousted him when it came to catching, and if need be, Snips could easily be a replacement lineman due to his larger build.

A brief scuffle occurred in the gym spurring the teacher to send the two boys to the office. Jogging down the hall, gripping the clipboard showing football team members and pickup lines she wrote for the quarterback, she followed them into the office as they dejectedly had to explain why they had fought to the Vice Principal. Without wasting a second, and completely passing by the secretaries much to their objection, she burst into the door of the vice principal to the shock of all three parties.

“Hold it!” she called, pointing a finger into the air dramatically.

“Miss Dash, may I ask why you barged in here without permission?” the Vice Principal asked in a dull tone, expecting as much from the brash young girl.

“I can answer your question if you answer mine; are these two boys in trouble?” Rainbow Dash inquired without hesitation.

“Possibly, yes.” That answer caused the duo to shift nervously in their seats, exchanging glances as the Vice Principal calmly sighed.

“Now, I’ve got an idea, stay with me here,” Rainbow declared, shutting the door in the face of the secretary that had attempted to scold her.

“Oh boy, here we go,” the Vice Principal murmured with a heavy sigh, resting her elbow on the table and her head on her palm.

“Instead of punish them for roughhousing, why not give them an outlet to roughhouse as well as set them up for post-secondary means? See, as this school’s ace sports star, I can tell that these boys have the potential to be athletes.” Rainbow set the clipboard down as well as her palms on the table as she got closer to the Vice Principal. “Let them join the football team.”

“Rainbow Dash, honestly, I’m surprised. I didn’t think you’d care about what these two boys did or what happened, let alone think of something like that,” the Vice Principal spoke honestly, genuinely surprised.

Rainbow stood up straight, frowning for a second before shrugging.

“All right, all right, that was a lie. To be honest, I really don’t care what happens to them. We just need an extra member or two to be qualifiable for the tournament. Apple Bloom scared the other potential members off,” Rainbow admitted, losing her rather excited tone she forced.

“And there it is,” the Vice Principal said expectantly, rolling her eyes. Snips and Snails had been idly watching and listening, worried for a moment about the prospect of the football team. “Well, though their antics could land them in a lot of trouble, it’s clear that they’re good friends, so it’s not like they legitimately wanted to hurt each other. It was just a petty argument with some horseplay in class.”

“Oh, and they were also using gym equipment after school hours,” Rainbow chimed in, holding up her phone with the photo displayed.

The two boys gulped as they awkwardly chuckled.

“Uh, y-yeah, we were supposed to put it away but then we made a bet about who could shoot from the farthest. Nothing too bad, eh? Right?” Snails asked nervously, his voice getting nervously higher with each passing word.

The Vice Principal sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. She glanced over at the two boys with a tired expression. “Snips, Snails,” she started in a stern voice.

“Y-yes, ma’am?” the two asked in unison.

“You are to report to football practise every day and comply to Rainbow Dash’s commands; using school equipment after school hours is strictly forbidden. You are to do this until the end of the season tournament, or until you get disqualified,” she explained, turning to a computer to enter a punishment report. “Which, with you two on the team, is entirely possible.”

“Sweet,” Rainbow clenched up her fist and made a victorious gesture in the air.

The duo groaned before reluctantly agreeing as Rainbow Dash grinned smugly. The Vice Principal wasn’t finished, though.

“Rainbow Dash, report to the detention hall tomorrow at lunch,” she said, writing up a detention slip after printing out Snips and Snails’ punishment form.

“What!? Why?” Rainbow asked, wondering why she was on the receiving end.

“This was a private meeting and you just burst in here. That’s disrespectful,” the Vice Principal told her calmly.

Scoffing with a coarse sigh, Rainbow snatched the detention slip before the Vice Principal could fully extend her arm to hand it over and she waltzed out of the office, forgetting her clipboard. The pickup lines and team member sheet was returned, but not without the somewhat clever lines erased. Rainbow whined about lost brilliance afterwards.

Now, Rainbow Dash had never been on amiable terms with the Dumbbells trio, but part of growing up was putting small differences aside for the greater good. She could only hope they were loyal enough to hang around, and that they didn’t hold any grudges. They were Applejack’s line of defense against the enemy, and they had better hold up their duty, or they would have to answer to the team captain herself. Not that that ever really worked before.

“Dash, quit daydreamin’ an’ put on yer helmet!” Apple Bloom shouted at the older girl, who scowled and stared blankly at her.

Though Applejack managed to talk her out of being a lineman, Apple Bloom opted to make a decent case about holding a position as fullback, which her older sister could not refute. With the not-so-intimidating Rainbow Dash as half back, she needed someone behind the line who could handle blocking well enough to keep the both of them safe, and Apple Bloom was perfect for it. She was not much for speed of course, so any rushing plays would likely go solely to Rainbow Dash.

“I can’t help it if your sister’s sweet, sweet body is too hot to get out of my head,” Rainbow Dash told her with a smirk, noticing how the comment made the younger girl a little confused or repulsed.

Rainbow Dash fell forward a bit as she felt a hard thwap on the back of her skull, with enough force to knock her for a loop. She glanced back irritably at the taller blonde girl and rubbed the sore spot.

“That wouldn’t’a hurt if y’had your helmet on,” Applejack reminded her pleasantly before patting her back twice and taking the helmet from her hands, plopping it onto her bright noggin. “Al’right, captain, our first game’s tomorrow, we gonna run some plays today t’prepare?”

“Wait, it’s tomorrow?!” Rainbow Dash’s jaw hit the field, and Applejack’s eyes narrowed at her.

“Y’forgot?!” The farmer roughly poked her team captain in the gut, aiming for the bruise that still remained on her soft skin.

“Ouch! I’m still tender, AJ,” Rainbow whined and rubbed the spot, glaring at her friend. “How would you like it if I started poking at your tenderest spot? Actually, you might.”

“This is serious, Rainbow,” Applejack reminded her with a stern expression. “You’re tellin’ me that you ain’t got nothin’ planned that’ll help us win tomorrow’s game?”

“I don’t remember saying that,” the captain grumbled as she traced the fading bruise with gentle fingers. “Look, I’m captain for a reason. I got plays coming out of my ass, and with your little sister here picking up the slack, we could train an hour before the game and pull it off.”

“Is she f’real?” Apple Bloom questioned skeptically, not really sure how to take anything that came out of the rainbow-haired girl’s mouth.

“You better not be screwin’ with me,” the farmer grumbled as she crossed her arms.

“Not ‘til tonight, babe,” Rainbow Dash winked rosiness into Applejack’s cheeks, which she tried to play off as anger. “You trust me, don’t you?”

“Ah...” Applejack looked into Rainbow’s bright pink eyes, finding some solace in their familiar beauty. “Yea’, Ah reckon Ah do.”

“Then give me a quick kiss and let’s do it,” Rainbow Dash knocked her helmet back and puckered her lips, leaning towards Applejack expectantly.

“Not happenin’,” Applejack grabbed the visor of the captain’s helmet and dropped it down past her eyes, leaving it covering most of her goofy face.

Rainbow Dash laughed loudly as she adjusted it right, noticing the amused smile on Applejack’s lips as she got her sight back. Applejack grabbed Rainbow’s jersey and yanked her over to the middle of the field, her younger sister following. As the team relaxed after another tough go around of tackle training and several yard sprints, Applejack nudged Rainbow to get their attention.

“All right, you shitstains!” Rainbow Dash shouted, and both of the Apple siblings slapped their palms to their faces in embarrassment. “Gather the fuck around!”

“Ah can’t believe she’s th’ captain,” Apple Bloom murmured to her older sister.

“She sure is one of a kind,” Applejack replied with a genuine smile.

“Mutiny,” Rainbow Dash glared back at them, though Applejack spread her hands and shook her head incredulously, since she had been the one defending her. “The reason I scheduled the practice for today, is because we have our first game tomorrow,” Rainbow Dash began to explain as the team fell in around her.

“Is that so?” The farmer chuckled to hear her lie.

“Mutiny!” Rainbow repeated as she pointed a finger back at Applejack, who went still under the attention. “Anyway, today we’re going to go over a few plays, you know, the boring stuff, and if we’re lucky we’ll get to play a down or two for real. I don’t want to hear any complaining, do I made myself clear?”

“Yeah,” came a few grumbles here and there.

“I said, do I make myself clear?!” Rainbow Dash shouted louder.

“Yes ma’am!” the team agreed hurriedly.

“Bunch of fucking pussies, I swear,” the captain groaned as she turned around and shook her head, only to snatch the clipboard that Applejack held and read it over.

Peeking up to look for a pen, she spotted it tugged into Applejack’s shirt, hanging between her breasts as her jersey had no pockets. Rainbow Dash reached out and plucked it without remorse from the private spot, earning some protests from her teammate. Without response, Rainbow Dash tore the papers from the iron grip of the clipboard and turned them around, only to begin scribbling on the blank backs and between the eraser marks from her old pickup lines. Applejack leaned curiously over her shoulder, only to be pulled in closer not by any wandering hand of Rainbow Dash, but by the intriguing plays that seemed to spout from nowhere.

“Shoot, that ain’t half bad,” Applejack praised as she put her hand on her captain’s shoulder and leaned ever nearer.

“You know better than anyone how awesome I am,” Rainbow Dash grinned and raised her eyebrow suggestively, though it did not brush Applejack off like it usually might have.

“You’ve really outdone yourself,” Applejack nodded as she watched Rainbow’s agile fingers prance over the paper.

“Come on, I could make much more magic between bed sheets than over paper ones,” the captain continued easily as she flipped to another blank page, starting a new play.

“Prove it.” Applejack prompted her captain, who slammed the pen down onto the clipboard and whirled around to face her, eyes wide and almost unrestrained. Applejack blinked at the sudden reaction, and hurriedly tried to set it straight, “A-Ah mean t’say that your plays are good, RD, that’s all. Ah was just goofin’ around.”

“So you say,” Rainbow Dash murmured disappointedly as she turned back to her sketches, continuing right along.

Before long, Rainbow Dash had drawn out a full set of plays that suited her team to their few strengths and were easy enough to get by with little coaching. She plucked the papers out of the clip and held them out in front of her team, who looked over at her with some fraction of reverence; about as much as they could legitimately give their perverted, crazy-haired captain.

“All right, ladies, gentlemen, and Spike,” Rainbow Dash addressed them, and Spike growled irritably at the implication. “You get these plays down, and we’re going to trash them tomorrow!”

“I don’t remember a single play!” Scootaloo squealed as she looked out to the field, the darkening sky reminding her how little time they had left before the game, all of about five minutes.

“Are y’serious?!” Apple Bloom gasped to hear such a thing, though she herself hardly had much of an idea of them herself.

“Honestly, I m’self am a tad lost,” Pipsqueak chimed in while rubbing the back of his head, his helmet bent up under his massive arm.

“Hey, kiddos!” Rainbow Dash’s voice boomed from down the hall towards the change rooms, and the three younger players flinched to hear it echo, “Get into your gear, I’m not waiting around for some fucking fashion show!”

“Don’t tell Dash, she’ll kill ya,” Apple Bloom warned her childhood friend, who nodded surely. “But I ain’t too happy with y’neither!”

“Fuck, I really need a smoke,” Scootaloo murmured grouchily as she made a frustrated face.

“A what?!” Apple Bloom wasn’t certain if she heard her right, but didn’t get much of a chance to get into it.

“I meant now!” Rainbow Dash’s voice shook them once more, and the three hurried over to the source of the bellowing.

The rest of the team gathered in the common mezzanine room, considering the boys and girls weren’t allowed to share a change room. The three younger players were the last to arrive, and they still buttoned up their uniforms here and there until they reached the meeting spot. Rarity had done a fine job of stitching up the uniforms in time for the game, so everyone was still settling into the comfortable fit.

The team captain did not hesitate to stand up in front of the whole crowd, clearing her voice to gather the attention. The latest arrivals hurried to get seats in front of her as she readied to speak.

“So here we are, the first major milestone of our season,” she started simply, looking out into the faces of the less than capable players, some more seasoned than others. “And yeah, we’re a bunch of fucknuggets and screw-offs, but we look damn good anyway, don’t you think? Or at least, I do.” She posed, tugging at the fresh fabric over her fit body.

“Rainbow,” Applejack directed her back on topic, and the captain snickered a bit.

“Now, when we go out there, we’re going to go as a team, okay? The way Applejack had us marching on the way to the rec centre,” Rainbow Dash explained certainly as she placed her leg up onto a bench.

“Why?” one of the Dumbbells whined dully, and the captain shot him a glare.

“Because we’re up against the Canterlot Wondercolts tonight, one of the most formidable teams in the league, we can’t afford to look weak,” the football captain picked up her own helmet and strapped it onto her head, holding the attention. “But just because they’ve got some good reputation doesn’t mean they’re better than us, got it? Personally, I kinda prefer to be the underdog, don’t you?”

Spike perked up from his position at the far corner of a bench to notice Rainbow Dash’s challenging gaze was on him. He shifted uncomfortably under the attention, until the captain got back to business.

“I want you all stretched and warmed up by the time we get out there, Applejack and I already did all that before coming down here, so we’re good.” Rainbow grinned as she tightened her strap, and the quarterback shuffled in her stance beside her.

“We did?” she asked curiously, only to catch the suggestive gaze from her friend, and nodded slowly to find it was just another sexual joke. “Oh, Ah get it.”

“Now, I’m not really good with speeches and shit, and I don’t want you dickheads getting all teary-eyed about it,” she continued cheekily, and Applejack rolled her eyes at the odd way she went about motivating the group. “So just fucking win. Sound good?”

“Yes ma’am!” most voices agreed loudly, and Rainbow Dash smirked on one side as she stood back up straight and broke up the meeting with a clap.

They faintly heard the call of the announcers over a booming intercom, and knew their time was up. Rainbow Dash led the group out of the mezzanine towards the field, Applejack at her side. From the entrance to the change rooms, where they awaited their introduction, the team could see the stands from behind the blinding field lights. It seemed that there were few spectators, most of which were Canterlot Wondercolt fans; which was not surprising considering it was the first game for the underappreciated Manticores, but it did little to help the morale.

“And now, playing for home in our very own stadium tonight,” The announcer’s voice rang out over the field.

“Don’t let those blue-balled Wondercolts get to you,” Rainbow Dash snickered as she looked out into the stands, noticing the dominance of the Wondercolt blue over the Manticore red. “They probably just didn’t have anything red to put on.”

“The Manehattan Manticores!” boomed out, and like lighting their team broke out onto the field, Rainbow Dash leading them.

The turf beneath their feet submitted to their jogs, their pounding feet smacking the freshly trimmed grass with verve. Some lines painted near the end zones still hissed and hovered in the air with novelty, the grass wetted by pale tones. Waving to what few fans actually did come out, the team made it to their gathering point, by their benches. There was still another few moments before the game officially began, which included the secondary introduction, some statistical mumbo-jumbo and the coin toss.

“And introducing our guests for this, the first game of the season. Last year’s former champions, straight from Canterlot,” the announcer continued as the team awaited their opponents, “The Wondercolts!”

The enemy team trudged out onto the field, their footing and timing impeccable with each trained trot. Each member seemed to know exactly their place, and it was no wonder they had been the champions of the last season, with those impressive uniforms, great support, and more than adequate preparation. As they grew nearer to the Manticores, it became clear that their opponents were actually quite small in stature, though padded up like menacing players. In fact, the nearer they marched, the easier it was to tell that...

“Hah! They’re a bunch of girls!?” Dumbbell guffawed as Applejack and Rainbow Dash twitched to hear such talk, and the two of them glared back at the ignorant linemen.

“You jackasses! Did you forget who your team captain and quarterback are?!” Rainbow Dash snapped in a shout at her teammates, who still played coy and snickered dumbly at the opponents.

“Whatever dude, we’re going to be matching up against a lot of squishy little chicks on the line,” another one of the linemen noted, his laugh only increasing in volume as he came up with the next line. “Hey Rainbow Crash, you wanna switch me spots so you can grab a handful?”

“Don’t make me puke,” Rainbow Dash growled angrily, snatching Applejack’s hand and yanking her closer, wrapping her arm around her waist as their hips met. “I’ve got everything I need right here!”

“Huh?” Applejack gawked at her friend’s confident expression as it shifted into an amourous smirk. Their eyes met from the other side of their visors, but before Applejack could make an argument, Rainbow Dash directed the subject otherwise.

“Remember that, you dumbass dimwit, everything we need to win is right here at our fingertips!” And with that, she reached into Applejack’s arms and took the pigskin from her grip, holding it out to the linemen with a stern expression. “I wouldn’t care if we faced a team of brazilian fucking body-builders! The enemy should not be what you’re focusing on.”

'She really believes that?' Spike thought uncertainly, looking out at the much more adept team of players as they took the field, suddenly feeling much more insecure than normal.

“This is sure gonna be rough on some o’the less athletic players,” Apple Bloom said as she stood between Spike and Pipsqueak, stunted by their size.

“Why’s that?” Spike asked as he looked down at the red headed girl. “Isn’t that what all your training was for?”

“Yea’, but we ain’t had ‘nough of it f’this,” she told him skeptically. “Remember, with s’little players on the team here, we gotta play offense and defense. Why d’you think Rainbow made us do s’many defensive plays? It’s gonna be rough, we ain’t hardly gonna get time t’rest ‘til halftime.”

“Oh, right,” Spike realized as he looked at how small their team was, less than half the amount of players the Wondercolts had.

“Ah ain’t worried ‘bout you two, o’course,” Apple Bloom flashed them a pleasant smile and patted them both on the backs simultaneously.

“‘course,” Spike repeated numbly as his head dropped a bit, looking down at the grass at his feet.

Applejack caught sight of Spike’s uncertainty, and frowned from her position a few yards ahead with Rainbow Dash. She knew just as well as Apple Bloom did how straining this game would be for new players, and the way her linemen were underplaying the issue made it even worse. She leaned closer to Rainbow Dash, placing a hand on her lower back to get her attention.

“Y’got a good feelin’ about this one, sugarcube?” Applejack asked curiously as her eyes trailed to the other players, who were also distracted.

“When you’ve got your hands on me, I always have a good feeling,” Rainbow Dash smirked and peered over at her, her bright pink eyes shining through her visor. “Don’t tell me you’re nervous?”

“Maybe a mite,” Applejack admitted slowly, a bashful smile creeping across her face.

“Well, I can think of a way to help you relax,” the captain murmured quietly under the faint chatter of the distant crowd.

“Uh,” Applejack stammered as the back of Rainbow Dash’s hand touched her stomach and trailed down. “Ah think we gotta start the game now.”

“Sounds good to me.” Rainbow’s eyes narrowed further as her smirk spread across her face.

“The football game,” Applejack reminded her as she grabbed her hand and stopped it.

“Shit, right,” Rainbow Dash got her attention back as the referee came across the field. “Gather the fuck up, you tools!” She snapped at Snips and Snails, who had been busy waving and making faces to the stands, drifting from the rest of the team.

“Come on y’all, let’s get up there.” Applejack gestured for the rest of the team to head on up to the middle of the field for the coin toss, where the other team had nearly assembled by now.

After a few tries to find an order in which to stand, the Manticores managed to spread out along their line parallel to their opponents. Applejack had handed the football over to a referee to put into play once they began, and stood beside Rainbow Dash as she faced the other captain. The Wondercolts seemed to have chosen their quarterback as captain, a level-headed girl with darker skin and midnight hair. However, the air of superiority that surrounded her put Rainbow Dash on edge, though she would not show it.

“Manticore’s team captain, Rainbow Dash,” the referee spoke up, and Rainbow Dash nodded and took a small step forwards. “Wondercolt’s captain, Octavia.”

“Yo,” Rainbow Dash extended a lazy handshake, and the other captain looked at it oddly.

“I didn’t know Manehatten had a football team.” Octavia looked around at the haphazard members who seemed less than attentive. With a snarky smirk, she added, “It seems they still don’t.”

Rainbow Dash shook her head and huffed a laugh at the trash talk, carelessly removing her handshake offer and scoffing with a wave instead. Applejack cautiously watched her captain, knowing how quick she could be to anger if something got to her. This, it seemed, did not bother her one bit. The referee pulled out a simple coin and displayed both sides to either team before speaking directly to a player.

“Visiting team calls once the coin is in the air, Wondercolts?” the referee asked as he balanced it on his thumb, looking over at Octavia. With that, he flicked it.

“Tails,” she called simply, without breaking the eye contact with her rainbow-haired foe.

The coin flipped through the noisy air and fluttered about, catching the field lights from far above. It hit the grass almost silently, landing in front of Rainbow Dash’s right foot. the referee leaned down to examine it, and spoke the side he saw.

“It’s heads.” The referee plucked the coin from between the short blades of grass once it was obvious the call was true, and he looked over at Rainbow Dash. “Manticores, what’s your call?”

Rainbow Dash graciously mimed a courteous bow with her hand, opening her palm upwards as she gave the kickoff away. “Be my guest.”

“It’s a good thing you have luck on your side,” Octavia mused simply as she gestured for her team to remain on their own side. “Because you don’t have much else.”

“Kickoff from the Wondercolts, right side,” the referee announced, and the teams broke apart at last.

They stuck with the sides of the field they emerged from, though it would switch before the second quarter and again after the third. Rainbow Dash finally turned around and walked with her team to the starting line, though Applejack was right on her heels the whole time.

“Y’okay, Rainbow? Looked like she wanted t’pick a fight,” Applejack wondered as she got up close to the captain, who simply smirked.

“I hope her digestive tract can handle a little hot air, because we’re going to make her eat those words,” Rainbow Dash revealed, and Applejack grinned in response, dropping her hand supportively onto Rainbow’s shoulder.

It was only really clear to Applejack how far Rainbow Dash had come over the past few years. It went mostly unnoticed to others due to her playful and perverse nature, especially with regards to her best friend, but Applejack knew her better than that. There was a time that Rainbow Dash might have jumped Octavia, or keyed her luxury car for speaking to her like that. But now, there was restraint and maturity in Rainbow Dash that made Applejack proud.

The teams lined up across from each other, spreading out into formations planned beforehand. For several of the Manticore’s players, this was their first football game, and that made them rather uneasy. Rainbow Dash already told Snails to sit out first, knowing her team would hardly recognize if they had too many players on the field at once. Patiently, the Manticores waited for the Wondercolts to administer the kickoff.

The starting whistle blew loudly, and with that Wondercolts took off towards their opponents, the kick flying out in a matter of seconds. The ball catapulted through the air, twisting and shaking as it made decent distance over the Manticore’s line. Several players fell back to try and snatch it out of the air, while the defensive line hung up front to block the enemy's charge.

'If Rainbow Dash had chosen to start the game, I would be the one doing the kickoff right now', Spike thought uncertainly as the ball cleared over his head, feeling nerves bundling up in his stomach. 'I don’t know if I could handle that.'

The football came down quickly as it passed the peak of its trajectory, sailing almost perfectly into the arms of someone who was not really much for receiving. Snips looked down into his arms and saw the ball tucked right in close, but hardly moved at all.

“Hey, I caught it!” Snips called excitedly, and Rainbow Dash slapped her palm against her face with a groan.

“Run!” was called by nearly every other clear-headed player on their team, and after blinking in surprise once or twice, he took the advice.

Racing across the yard lines back towards the opposing side, he huffed erratic breaths and displayed some look of terror on his face. Applejack hurried to his defense and managed to keep two players from getting close enough to catch him, but once he crossed into their domain he was all but dead. Spike watched from afar, too far to make up the time or distance to give the poor boy a hand as he made it a good few more yards. But before he could even gain an ounce of confidence for his charge, he was tackled by two more surprisingly forceful girls.

Snips’ body impacted the field like an anvil dropping, and he could have sworn he saw his feet fly up over his head while in mid air. While managing to gain a good few yards, he nearly lost his lunch.

“Oo,” Applejack cringed along with the rest of the group, besides Rainbow Dash who had jogged up to the quarterback by then. “Y’think he’ll be al’right?”

“I don’t care, that was fucking hilarious!” Rainbow Dash laughed loudly as the boy sat up groggily, his eyes spinning around in his head. As a couple of the Dumbbells went over and helped him up, Rainbow Dash tugged at Applejack’s sleeve. “Come on babe, it’s our down.”

“Ah know,” Applejack agreed as she followed her captain over to the scrimmage line, as marked by where Snips landed with the ball.

The rest of the Manticores fell into position in front of Applejack, and Rainbow Dash leisurely hung around just behind her, pleased about her view. That is, until Apple Bloom took her position between the two and gave her a funny look, noticing what she had been doing. The centre lineman crouched down in front of the spotted ball at last, though his expression was less than concerned about the line of women in front of him.

“Dude, this is gonna be a snap,” he said with a snort and brief laugh, which was cut short as Applejack dashed his fun.

“Ah hope so, else Ah ain’t got nothin’ t’throw,” Applejack chuckled slyly at the pun as the boy before her grunted irritably.

The ball was hiked back without incident, and Applejack’s hands gripped it tight. Apple Bloom came around her and held the line with the others just long enough for Applejack to let off her throw, which was not particularly long due to Featherweight’s position. Scootaloo had not been able to keep clear and open, so he was her only option for a catch.

Featherweight had a great jump, but he was not used to having to perform while under attack. The ball sailed straight towards him, but as he raised his hands to accept it, he found nothing but empty air. The enemy player in front of him leapt their highest, which still did not match his own height, but was enough to reach up and tip the ball out of his reach. The football hit the ground and bounced wildly as the pass remained incomplete, and the teams set up once more.

Spike realized then that he had not been much help in the scrimmage at all, that their players had anticipated a pass and sent their safeties back immediately. As tight end, he was able to pull of both a catch and a block, so perhaps he was more useful down the field to help Featherweight, who was much smaller than he was. As Applejack set up for another play, Spike looked out and tried to memorize the positions of his enemies, finding the fastest route through and noting any who seemed particularly set on rushing the line.

Once again, the ball was caught in Applejack’s hands, but by then Spike had already taken off to defend the receivers. He was right to do so, considering he was able to both distract the cornerback and get a hold on the safety positioned closer to his side. However, as Spike made real progress for a successful passing play, the linemen did little to block the defender’s charge. The opposite cornerback broke right around the line, which was locked in the scrimmage and otherwise useless.

Before either of her receivers had made it permissible for a safe pass, Applejack found herself right in the path of a sprinting foe. Apple Bloom was already holding off the outside linebacker by then, and couldn’t risk giving in to go back in case she was overpowered and floored. With her arm back for the throw, Applejack could hardly change the play in the split second before the sack, and instead opted to protect the ball for the next down.

She grunted as she hit the less than soft grass with her back, feeling the enormous pressure of weight over her. Despite the tremendously surprising weight, the hit itself was cushioned and easy to take. Half of the pressure was removed almost instantly, that being the cornerback, but she groaned and opened her eyes to notice the other half, who was still laying right on top of her.

“Eh? Rainbow?!” Applejack gawked at the slightly smaller girl between her legs, who was holding her against the ground with her light weight and displaying a great big smile. “What'n the hay are y'doin' on top'a me?!”

“I couldn't stand the thought of anyone else being here.” Rainbow leaned closer and embraced her, rubbing her head between Applejack's breasts much to her embarrassment. “You're my quarterback.”

“G-get off! That don't mean y'gotta tackle me, y'lunatic!” The quarterback struggled and shoved her attacker off of her chest, though she was still pinned under her slender body.

“You were already going to get sacked, I just wanted to make it all the more pleasurable for you.” Rainbow Dash's promiscuous grin spread across her face as she pressed down.

Applejack's eyes widened as she felt Rainbow's leg rub up between hers, and her face went red as a seasoned apple. She could feel something inside her heat up, but doused it immediately with a yelp and hurriedly scampered out of the interchange in a frantic crawl. Rainbow Dash was not far behind as she clung to her quarterback, all the way up until they got up to their feet. Applejack gripped Rainbow's shoulder pads as she narrowed her frustrated expression on her.

“This is why no one takes us seriously!” Applejack told her, though she did not seem to care.

“Jeez, so much for a thank you. I was the one who took the brunt of that hit, you know,” Rainbow Dash grumbled as she rubbed her back, which might match the colours on her stomach if she got hit like that again. “Felt to me like she was driving with her elbow and helmet on that one.”

“Why would she d’that?” Applejack asked as the rest of the team returned to their positions.

“You sure weren’t going anywhere, anyone could see that. She was aiming to maim you,” Rainbow Dash explained with an amused grin. “Looks like they might actually be afraid of us, to try something like that.”

“Ah doubt that,” Applejack denied with a light chuckle, wrapping her arm around Rainbow Dash and directing her back to her position gently.

“Just throw the ball next time,” the team captain snorted as she let Applejack head up near the line for the next down.

“Just tackle an enemy next time,” Applejack retorted teasingly as Rainbow Dash made a face.

Applejack leaned down behind the centre lineman, who was positioned in front of the ball again. As rubbish words came out of her mouth, she scanned the opposing team, looking for holes or weaknesses. Finally, she called for the snap and had it in her hands at once, barely hesitating before finding her target. Again the line seemed to falter, but by then the ball was already flying over their heads. It was Scootaloo’s catch this time, but she would never receive it.

Just as she made to grab it and make a run for it, the ball was snatched out of the air in front of her. Besides that, she was held off from making chase as a second opponent came between her and who had finalized the catch. The blue-shirted player took off back towards the line, avoiding Featherweight’s flimsy attempt to stop her. The receiver was like lightning, escaping the few players who made it in time to even close in on her. Before most of the Manticores could even get out of the scrimmage, the ball had been run all the way back to their side of the field.

Within seconds, the Manticores were left gaping as a touchdown was scored almost unopposed. Rainbow Dash fumed at their lack of pursuit, and looked up on the scoreboard to see that hardly a few minutes had passed since the game even begun. It was humiliating, and the once confident linemen gulped nervously.

“I take it back,” a voice caused Rainbow Dash to turn and see Octavia strolling past her with a smug look on her face. “Maybe fortune isn’t on your side.”

She didn’t dare to refute it, in fact she couldn’t. The antagonistic enemy captain had been right.

“This is not looking good.”

Spike sighed as he glanced over to the stands, eyeing his classmates that had come only to watch them fail. His eyes locked on the familiar faces of his sister, parents, other friends and her. He never got to finish his thought as someone else roughly bumped into him.

“Woah there bright-eyes, I thought you were the Manticores, not the Dragons,” a shrill voice spoke, dripping with snark as she walked towards the opposing team quarterback.

Spike turned to see that she had whiter skin than he was used to seeing, pinkish eyes and blue hair. She was far shorter than he was but also well built for a girl her size. Spike grit his teeth as he let it sink in that they were being ousted by girls. As she turned around, Spike saw her name on the back of her shirt: Vinyl.

The team retook their places and Spike made it his personal mission to take down Vinyl, if not to assign himself an important role. The teams reformed on their respective sides as the Wondercolts prepared to take yet another kick. Spike wondered if it was going to be possible at all for him to show off his kicking power.

The whistle sounded and once more the teams charged each other, the ball being launched forward… yet it wasn’t far. The kick was awful and it spiralled forward, hitting the ground in the centre field and bouncing forward erratically. Rainbow panicked and Spike found himself unable to think properly.

“Retrieve the ball, it’s an onside kick!” Rainbow shouted as she grit her teeth. “Bitch is just playing with us now!”

Expectedly, two players on the Wondercolts darted forward, clearly their fastest runners. Rainbow and Scootaloo raced forward to meet the challenge. Even now, though, the opposing team knew that they weren’t gonna get the ball. Even if the ball wasn’t kicked that far, it was little secret to pretty much all other high school football teams that Rainbow Dash was almost unrivalled when it came to speed.

Rainbow scooped up the ball as it rolled to a halt and sprinted forward, expecting a pincer attack from the two running backs. Rather than suffer the attack, they separated giving Rainbow a clear path towards the other team. Her speed flattered for a half-second before Rainbow growled, realizing that they were just letting her get closer to the linemen. Unlike the chumps she managed to outmaneuver days ago, these linemen were seasoned and knew what to do. Her biggest threat was their centre… but yet again, the team separated giving Rainbow Dash a clear line to the endzone save for two.

Yet Octavia stepped aside leaving only one in front of Rainbow; Vinyl Scratch. Gritting her teeth, Rainbow clutched the football in her arms as she prepared to go around the girl. Instead, Vinyl lunged forward, surprising Rainbow as the distance was closed before Rainbow could attempt to swerve. Two hands roughly impacted Rainbow right in her already wounded abdomen. Her feet swung out from under her as she fell backwards, landing flat on the ground. Her back stung a bit from hitting the ground yet she never let go of the ball. The referee whistled and as she sat up, Rainbow realized she was not even five yards from the endzone.

“Tavi, I don’t think this is fair,” Vinyl said with a chuckle.

Rainbow laid on the ground for a moment before a hand grabbed onto her facemask and yanked her to her feet. She must have been laying down for a few more seconds than she thought because it was Applejack that did it. Rainbow tossed the ball over to Apple Bloom as her and Applejack exchanged glances. Applejack only saw a reddened face on a pissed off Rainbow Dash, who immediately averted her eyes, taking her place behind the area where Applejack would go.

Spike watched their downtrodden team sulk as they took their places, glancing to his left to spot Hoops scathingly glaring at a female lineman who only smugly grinned in response. Turning his gaze forward, Spike met eyes with a girl that had minty green hair and an excited, grinning face that seemed wholly innocent. The girl closed her eyes as her smile grew even more.

“Hi, my name’s Lyra!” she beamed, nodding her head.

“Spike,” the boy muttered in response.

“No offense, but are you gonna do anything this play?” she asked, maintaining her grin.

Spike felt a weight atop his shoulders and averted his gaze, glancing down at the grass between them. As they were crouching forward, he could see his and Lyra’s hands, and watched the girl… grope the Earth as if her fingers would fall off if they weren’t moved enough. The words had sunk in deep, so resigning himself to show this girl what he could do, any chance of distracting him would fail.

Applejack was calling out random numbers, Spike couldn’t remember why but as those three letters were shouted out, Spike made sure to let himself cut loose for a second.

“Hut!”

Spike pushed off the ground and swung his hands up from below, latching his fingers onto Lyra’s shoulders. She let out a yelp as Spike used his superior strength against her. Spike lifted her off the ground, pushing off as Lyra tumbled backwards. Stumbling briefly, Spike darted in an curving motion towards Vinyl Scratch as she glanced around for one of the receivers. In the corner of his eye, Spike could see the rage being used against the female team as the linemen, save for Apple Bloom, used their male aggression. Pipsqueak was especially obvious in his outlet choice as he wrapped his arms around one linemen and the Wondercolts’ centre, and, with a rough grunt, he tackled the two to the ground. The other three Dumbbells merely fell to the skill of the other three linemen while still managing to slow them down.

Spike stepped forward, Vinyl seemingly oblivious to his presence as she stepped back. He could feel his blood boiling and his body becoming tense with anticipation, his eyes narrowing on her, focusing so closely he could see every thread of her jersey, every contraction of muscle. Though he prepared to topple her with his force, he found himself surprised when two objects roughly slammed into him, taking him down… or maybe it was the other way around. Rolling briefly, Spike saw Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo had collided with him as Featherweight and Snips failed to break through the defensive line of the Wondercolts. With that, Vinyl had an easy interception of the small throw. Applejack cussed as she realized Rainbow, Scootaloo and Spike had collided.

Before she could respond, Applejack spotted the other three linemen run forward towards her and she could only brace herself. Several sets of arms wrapped around her arm, leg and torso. Gravity did its thing and she felt herself go down roughly, clenching her eyes shut as she slammed into the turf. When she managed to knock the linemen off of her, it was far too late for her to do much else for the play. Opening her eyes, she saw Vinyl Scratch darting down the field with nobody pursuing her and she, along with the rest of the team, heard the whistle blow, the crowd cheer, and the Wondercolts rejoicing as another touchdown was scored.

Though he noticed that the actually hit of the tackle was pretty weak, Spike had not been anticipating to be pushed over. As Rainbow and Scootaloo cursed and groaned in pain and embarrassment, Spike merely quietly calmed himself down, feeling little discomfort even after such a tackle. Spike felt himself yanked to his feet by the same minty-haired girl who had mocked him before. Her face no longer had the grin from before, replaced with what seemed like admiration. His wonder was confirmed.

“Well, that was rather impressive. I wasn’t trying to motivate you, but looks like I have to be careful who I tease,” she admitted in a chuckle. Lyra slapped her hand atop Spike’s shoulder as he adjusted his helmet. “You’re alright with me.” With that, Lyra followed her team as they practically skipped to their side in preparation for the kick.

Spike and the rest of his team dragged themselves to their endzone for the next play silently. And, of course, it went the same as the last two. The game seemed to lull on for hours as the Manticores lost more morale every down, even the usually determined and competitive captain seemingly lost in disappointment. The entire lot of them were watching the clock, until it was brought down to only five minutes left in the game.

The score was 0-43 in the Wondercolts’ favour. None of the Manehatten Manticores were trying anymore and although Rainbow talked tough, she was visibly faltering and putting forth less effort than earlier.

Spike took his position and glanced back towards the stands, where he saw that the majority of the Manticores’ supporters had vanished. He thought back to each time he was sacked by a woman, each time he accidentally ruined a play, each time he was chastised for it. Tears threatened to spill over his eyes as he let it sink in.

'It’s not fair. It’s not fucking fair. I wanted to be important and awesome. I’ve completely ruined my shot. I’ve disgraced this stupid uniform and now my team hates me. Every play I’ve fumbled, and—' Spike’s thoughts were interrupted by a calming voice.

His ear twitched as he tried to listen to it, drowning out all other noise as he heard the one voice above all others. It was elegant, it was soothing, it was angelic to his ears. Turning his head, Spike’s eyes locked onto a fashionista standing as close to the field as she could manage, just teetering on the edge of the white line.

“Spike, don’t give up! Don’t let your first game end in despair! Give them a reason to fear you in the finals!” Rarity’s voice called out.

The angst and rage subsided in Spike and he simply found himself grinning, feeling a warmth in his chest replace the anger. He wiped his eyes before any of the moisture drizzled down his cheek and he shot her a toothy grin to the best of his ability, which must have looked sloppy due to the mouthguard. He gave Rarity a thumbs-up and he calmly strode back behind the line to speak up.

“Rainbow Dash!” Spike shouted out, waving at his captain.

“Whaaat?” she responded dully, dragging the word out in a grouchy voice.

“We’ve obviously lost, so let’s just leave our mark, all right?”

That one sentence resonated with the rest of the team and the melancholy atmosphere all but vanished, replaced with an urge to score at least one touchdown against the seemingly invincible Canterlot Wondercolts. None of the opposing members could hear them from that side of the field. The ball was set on the tee and the Wondercolts once more prepared to kick the ball.

Rainbow was once again thinking about what their move could be, but guessed that the Wondercolts weren’t going to bother with an onside kick given that they’d already won. Then again, now that it was so close to the end, surely the Wondercolts wanted to take up as much time as possible just screwing with them, as if they hadn’t been doing that already. A smile spread across Rainbow’s lips; she could always try to force a lousy kick.

As the kicker advanced towards the ball, Rainbow Dash took in a quick and powerful breath, waiting until but two steps from the kick to release it. And when she did, everyone heard it; whether they wanted to or not.

“Cock-jizz!” was shouted at substantial volume, and the kicker, who was utterly dumbfounded by such an odd burst of energy from the seemingly defeatist team, stumbled in her kick and sent it right to them.

“Are you kidding me?!” Octavia screamed as she watched the ball tumble through the air, straight towards the Manticores.

After a brief air of disbelief faded from both teams, the Manticores caught on to Rainbow Dash’s rather less than professional plan, and made the most of it. Spike had his eye on the ball the whole time, even when he felt like covering his face in embarrassment for Rainbow’s outburst. He saw Scootaloo take the lead to catch it, and hurriedly set to defending her, rushing between her and the enemy while anticipating which direction she would take based on the resistance.

He was right of course, as to which direction she chose. Spike sent the first potential tackler spinning to the side, leaving the player on the grass and forcing himself into a run again. As Scootaloo closed the distance between herself and the entire enemy team, she expected nothing less than a brutal hit, or several. Which eventually she got, but not until after she had made up another five or ten yards back towards the enemy’s endzone.

Scootaloo got to her hands and feet and shook her head, feeling her ears ringing after the hit she took. She had hardly even noticed that they tackled her so far that she had made it out of bounds, though the ball was still tucked under her arm. As the referee took the ball from her shaking hands, Spike made it to her side and sighed in relief to find that she was all right.

“That was a nice catch, back there,” Spike said between huffs, leaning over a bit.

“Thanks.” She blushed a bit in embarrassment as she pulled some blades of grass out of the bars on her helmet. “Your blocking wasn’t too bad either.”

“Now that’s what I’m talking about!” came a shout, and Spike and Scootaloo almost fell forward and collided helmets as Rainbow Dash threw her arms around them with a great big grin. “You kids aren’t half bad.”

Before Scootaloo or Spike had any chance to respond, Rainbow Dash was yanked off of them by the back of her jersey. After stumbling backwards a few quick steps, she was turned around to face Applejack, whose blank expression held her still.

“Ah ain’t even gonna say anything.” Applejack just shook her head a bit, but an amused smile eventually cracked out of her expression.

“What, the shouting? Oh don’t be sore, you know that dicks do nothing for me; they don’t have anything on you, baby,” Rainbow Dash broke into laughs as Applejack’s expression turned to confusion, wondering why the choice of distracting taunts was what Rainbow decided to focus on.

The group got back to the rest of their team at last as the referee set them up with the ball on the line. Applejack brought them into a huddle a few yards back and glanced over at the clock, knowing they had maybe enough time for two or three plays. The two minute warning had been given to stop the clock, and they were cutting it rather close. Feeling Rainbow Dash’s hand grip her back, she turned back into the huddle and put her attention where it needed to be.

“Y’all heard what Spike said earlier, there ain’t no way we’re gonna win. So how’s this,” Applejack smirked a bit as she got the idea. “We give ’em one last run f’their money, an’, uh, as Rainbow might say,” their eyes met, though parted by visors. “We shove that football past their endzone an’ right up their asses.”

“Hell yeah!” Rainbow Dash shouted in agreement, and everyone else voiced their cheers and hollers.

“Spike,” Applejack called his name, and he immediately listened closely. “You’ve only showed ‘em y’blockin’ so far, how’s about y’give ‘em a catch t’ watch?”

“Right,” Spike agreed with a firm nod, though he was still uncertain about his ball handling abilities.

'She thinks I can do it', Spike thought as he saw the trusting smile on Applejack’s face, 'I can’t let her down.'

“Jus’ get us a little closer t’ the endzone, that’s all Ah ask,” the quarterback took some weight off his shoulders. “Y’all think y’can hold ‘em back long enough for me to throw?”

“Yeah!” the linemen barked, more than ready to show the girls on the other team how tough they were.

“On... uh,” Applejack smirked as she took a page from Rainbow Dash’s book, “On sixty-nine! Break!”

They all clapped as they broke apart, snickering at the easy number to remember. Rainbow Dash punched Applejack’s shoulder lightly, loving this side to her. Knowing exactly where to go by now, the team set up along the line and narrowed their eyes at the foes who stood before them. Applejack knelt down behind the line and recited anything that came to mind: words, numbers, anything. She noticed the way the group shuffled to her left, trying to get past Spike’s formidable blocking. Perfect.

“Sixty-nine—hut!” The ball sailed into Applejack’s hands almost before she even said hut, and her team had nearly jumped their foes with the precision of their timing.

Applejack hurriedly stepped backwards to get a good distance and grip, and could see Spike heading out by the safeties. They caught sight of him only as he passed them, and gained a few good feet on them. With one side of the line falling in due to the increased push, Applejack launched the ball and took the hit, watching it sail from her hands. Spike was right in its line the whole time, seeing it clearly with his keen eyes despite the roar of the crowd and the mass of clashing bodies, and while the safeties were too concerned with making up the distance to catch him, he had almost a free catch.

Spike took the inevitable tackle another yard or two down by the time they caught him, but he grinned up from the ground to see the end zone in sight a mere twenty or thirty yards away, and still felt the ball still tucked in his arms. He almost jumped up quickly enough to make his head spin, his body still humming with adrenaline, as he was more than excited to get back into the game. As the rest of the team caught up, they fell into a close group to hear the next call from Applejack. Once she was certain none of the enemy team could hear, she told them.

“No snap count,” she warned them, and they weren’t sure how they felt about that. “Soon as all o’our hands touch turf, I’m callin’ it. Tell Spike t’ hold back with th’ line on this one.”

“You got a plan?” Rainbow Dash whispered as she got closer to her friend, picking up her pace.

“Yea’, you.” Applejack smiled to her captain, who nodded in understanding.

The team hurried to the line, and the first to reach Spike, Scootaloo as it was, told him the news. He resigned himself to Applejack’s command and stood firmly at the line. The enemy team hardly managed to get into position and catch a breath before the Manticores had set up, and just as she had warned, Applejack called it.

“Hut!” The defensive line was caught almost entirely off guard.

Taking the speed of the snap into her hands and directing it around, Applejack pressed the handoff into Rainbow’s waiting arms. Never leaving a step to waste, the pair took off to the right side behind Spike. He did as he was told and held off Lyra, using his size to block any view of the play from her and some of the other linemen. Applejack placed herself between Rainbow Dash and the other team, tucking her outside arm in close to make it appear that either of the two could be holding the ball.

While Pipsqueak held off most of the line almost single-handedly, even letting his own men lean on him for support, Scootaloo took off on the other side of the field, pulling some attention her way as if she was actually going to receive. Spike tossed Lyra to the side and moved up, noticing one of the players from the other side of the line sneaking up to go after the ball. He raced forwards and, with little regard for his own safety, jumped her clean out of her sprint and took her to the ground. Losing Rainbow Dash and Applejack to distance, Spike could only watch anxiously as several more blue-jerseyed players took off after them.

As they grew nearer to the end zone, the quarterback and the captain realized that neither Octavia nor Vinyl had been stalled for long by the desperate play, and were closing in on them. Rainbow Dash glanced over at them, her face growing red again as she remembered the way Vinyl had knocked her the first time she had run the ball up. The only thing she wanted to do right then was take that smug bitch out, and Applejack noticed that malice. Reaching over with a balled up first and knocking it against her runningback's shoulder, Applejack smirked confidently.

“Ah got this, Rainbow,” Applejack told her captain surely, relishing in the opportunity to take revenge for all the rudeness displayed earlier.

Rainbow Dash glanced at her personal guard, trusting her well enough to know she meant what she said. Nodding agreeably, Rainbow Dash kicked up her pace and hurried towards her goal. Applejack, however, turned her attention to the obstacles around her. Vinyl was nearer to her, but Octavia was not far behind, and the two had admirable speed nonetheless. But that would be exactly what Applejack used against them.

Like a bulldozer, Applejack rammed the oncoming Vinyl and shook her to the core, sending her flying back in a tumble. In fact, she had aimed her tackle so well that the falling body of Vinyl actually slammed right into Octavia as she too approached, taking her out by the legs and dropping them both to the turf. Applejack looked back towards the end zone in time to see Rainbow Dash leave any other pursuers entirely in the dust, easily stepping over the line and scoring a touchdown.

The small victory had the rest of the team in jubilant cheers, throwing their arms up and pumping fists. Rainbow Dash, however, merely looked over to the scoreboard and watched it turn from a zero to a six. She huffed a bit of a laugh, but though she would have usually strummed up some victory dance, she didn’t have the energy or nerve to conjure one after a game like that. She glanced at her best friend to see her standing over the downed Octavia, reaching down and grabbing her by the arm as sportsmanly as always. With an admiring smile, Rainbow Dash set to chuck the ball back her way.

“Up y'go,” Applejack groaned as she pulled the enemy team captain to her feet, reaching out to brush the dirt and grass from her shoulder.

“You know one touchdown is not going to count for anything.” Octavia yanked herself away from the quarterback, glaring at her all the while.

“Oh Ah know, but like y'said, our team ain't got much else, right?” Applejack smiled as Rainbow Dash's lobbed ball rocketed towards them, and she hardly had to glance at it to catch it, stopping it by the nose. Spinning it in her hand until her fingers stopped on the seams, Applejack placed the football right into Octavia's less than expectant hands. “Ah s'pose y'earned this.”

Applejack smiled again and bowed her head just a little bit, turning around with a wave over her shoulder as she walked towards the enemy's endzone. By then, Rainbow Dash was well on her way back, and moved her already exhausted step that much faster once she noticed Applejack coming to meet her. Meanwhile, Vinyl Scratch pulled herself up off the ground with a hiss, looking over at Octavia and wondering what had just gone on between her and Applejack that had her standing still and watching the farmer walk away.

“What just happened?” Vinyl asked simply as she looked out to where Octavia was staring.

“That quarterback just flattened us,” Octavia responded monotonously, like she was trying to figure it out herself. “And then handed me the ball, just like that.”

Vinyl nodded slowly as a smile crossed her face, watching Rainbow Dash meet her quarterback most of the way down the field and greet her with a jumping hug. Not surprised by Rainbow's physical attack, Applejack easily halted her momentum and returned the hug, releasing her at once. Rainbow Dash started talking excitedly with her hands, which onlookers might have construed as her acting like some sneaky secret agent passing by the enemy team. Applejack just laughed and shook her head.

“They're a pretty funny team. But I kind of like goofy, you know?” Vinyl found herself telling her captain, who didn't look away from down the field. “I bet if we hadn't been such bitches, this could have been a pretty interesting game.”

Even from so many yards away, the Wondercolts could see the ridiculous antics play out between them and their end zone. Rainbow Dash spun around behind Applejack, making fighting poses and putting their backs together like she was miming it was them against the world, though Applejack protested and tried to break from the weird interaction. The Manticore's quarterback, who had just taken out two of Canterlot's best players, nearly fell over as her captain jumped onto her back, forcing her to give her a piggyback ride.

“You totally had my back, AJ, now I've got yours!” could be heard shouted across the field, and Octavia merely scoffed to hear such babble.

“We won, didn't we?” Octavia said simply to her teammate, tossing the ball to the referee for the Manticores' kick.

“If that's enough for you.” Vinyl shrugged as she turned back around to return to the rest of the team.

The teams reunited around the line where the ball was placed for the kick. There were only a few more seconds on the clock, but as it stopped at the touchdown, that was plenty of time for the kick. Rainbow Dash and Applejack made it to the line last of course, still bickering most of the way. That is, until they came up next to Spike.

“Sweet moves out there, buddy, you were a fucking force,” Rainbow Dash praised as she struck him on the chest, and he grunted at the roughness of it.

“Last play’s yours,” Applejack reminded him as they watched the ball get teed up. “Ah know it don’t matter much, but it’s a good time t’ show off, y’know, t’ someone in the stands?”

Spike blushed at the suggestion as Applejack’s hand landed on his shoulder, and he pretended not to know what she was talking about. He could see her out there in the stands though, and she was smiling. Even better, she was smiling at him. He couldn’t keep the grin off his own face when he noticed her, and he felt his own energy returning.

“I’ll do my best,” Spike replied vaguely as Rainbow Dash went off to brag to the team, leaving Applejack there beside him alone.

“Nah, we ain’t seen your best yet. When Ah see those crazy eyes o’ yours, Ah just know you’re something special, Spike. You’ve still got plenty ’o surprises left, Ah can tell.” She smiled warmly, patting him again before looking out to the enemy team. “But n’ matter what the score up there says, y’played one heck of a game, we all did. Ah mean, look at us? Hardly enough players t’fill a field, and yet we kept on truckin’ an’ managed a solid score ‘gainst last year's champs. It ain’t much, Ah know. But we got time t’ get better.”

Spike just nodded as he seemed to understand. To everyone else, it was kind of a horrible defeat, but at least they didn’t fall apart. And hell, at the end there they actually started playing like a real team. Still, it did very little for morale or self esteem. Despite the humiliated weight in his stomach, he swallowed his pride and raced towards that ball at last. The time started once more as his foot made contact, and without a hitch, it soared through the air and well-past cleared the goal posts. Granted it was sloped a bit farther to the right than he intended, but the strength in the kick was enough.

The final whistle blew at long last, holding the score at 7-43 in the Wondercolts’ favour.

Though the small sense of pride gained from their touchdown faded quickly, the Manticores lined up against the Wondercolts and walked opposite each other, shaking their hands. Rainbow Dash didn’t dare look much into the eyes of her enemies, too ashamed of the loss. She was never very good with losing, and her temper was set to flare up if even another rude word was uttered against her. It helped, however, when Applejack looked back at her from the position just before her and smiled admiringly, proud of her captain’s growth.

The rest of the linemen shook their heads begrudgingly as they watched several of the Wondercolt’s players handing slips of paper over to Pipsqueak, which likely had their numbers written on them. Spike was too ashamed of himself to hang around much after the game, and as he got changed, he texted his sister to get the car ready. He couldn’t face Rarity after a performance like that, even if she had been the one to help him turn it around.

He was the first one into the change room, hurriedly pulling his uniform up over his head and not bothering to fold it up. But as he looked at the mound of wrinkled fabric, he felt too bad not to hang it up right. After all, she had made it for him, even if he was not fit to wear it.

“Are you leaving already?” a voice called to him from the doorway to the change room, and he peered back to see a pale, lanky boy standing there nearly out of breath. “I was looking for you, I wanted to ask you something.”

“Featherweight, right?” Spike asked as he finished pulling his regular shirt over his head, recognizing the boy from his team.

“Yeah, you got it.” He nodded shyly as he approached Spike. “It’s just that, I mean I’m an okay receiver, I guess, but I’m nothing like you. Maybe you could teach me a few things sometime, I don’t know, about holding my ground or something. I’m not really all that menacing or anything, but we’re almost the same height so, maybe we’re similar...”

“Why me? I’m no good myself.” Spike’s head dropped a bit as he smiled sadly to remember his sorry performance.

“Out there, we all looked like chumps,” Featherweight admitted. “But your catch, it was way better than mine, and that’s supposed to be my position! Just, think about it, okay?”

“Yeah, maybe,” Spike mumbled as he got his stuff together, checking his phone for Twilight’s text message telling him when she was ready.

“Let me give you my number, just in case,” Featherweight offered, and though Spike hesitated at first, he handed his phone over to the boy. “Call or text me anytime, I’ll know it’s you because I really don’t have that many contacts in my phone.”

“I can relate,” Spike murmured with a forced laugh, taking his phone back.

“Hey, you’re getting tips from the green-haired kid?” another voice called from the door, though it was lower and slower. “I wanted to do that!”

“Yeah, me too, me too!” a higher pitched tone chimed in as the two other boys rushed into the locker room, snatching Spike’s phone from his hand and programming in their numbers.

Spike recognized them as the two most recent additions to the team, Snips and Snails, and was found to be right as those were the names they wrote into his phone. Spike stared down at the little piece of technology that had created a bridge between him and his new teammates and smiled faintly.

'One lost game, and three new numbers?' Spike pondered as he slipped his phone into his jacket and waved them off, going to find his sister, 'I guess it wasn’t all so bad.'

Author's Notes:

So a few more numbers than usual being obtained in this one, and another long-ass chapter.
NOTE: I, Ezrienel, was the one who wrote most of this chapter, so if there are any errors in rules and such... please do tell me. I am no expert on football, I simply try and study and such. That said.... I hope you enjoyed it.