“So, your next game is tomorrow night, right?” Twilight’s voice seemed so chipper and cheery above the monotonous buzzing of the rest of the cafeteria.

Spike raised his head and looked at her, hardly having remembered she was there. He had been invited to have lunch with them again, but this time he had actually opted to accept. Especially since it had been a text from Rarity that had called him over. He glanced down at the elegant girl, sitting on the other side of the table from him and two seats over. Twilight sat across from him and Fluttershy slouched between the two. There was a space between himself and Applejack, as he thought it might be presumptuous to sit right next to her.

“Tha’s right,” Applejack nodded firmly as she placed her fork on her pasta. “An’ with all th’ trainin’ your brother’s been helpin’ out with, Ah think we may be able t’ pull it off.”

“Where is Rainbow Dash, anyway? She’s always right on your heels,” Rarity asked after setting her napkin down.

“Ms. Cheerilee kept ‘er after class for some cheeky comment.” Applejack chuckled lightly, shaking her head. “Her usual shenanigans.”

“What do you think, Spike? Are you ready for the game?” Twilight asked her little brother, tilting her head to gather his attention.

“Maybe,” he responded distantly, chewing on his thoughts. “We are getting better, for sure, but I don’t know anything about who we’re up against.”

“Th’ Appleloosa Buffalo, that’s their team,” Applejack filled in the blank. “Ah got some family out that way; football sure is important t’ that town. They ain’t got much else goin’ for ‘em in th’ off season.”

“You’re playing at the school field again, right?” Rarity asked, but since Applejack had her mouth full by then, she merely nodded, knowing how Rarity hated rude manners. “Then surely I can make an appearance, to cheer for my favourite tight end, yes?”

Spike’s face went red as the words reached him, and he glanced over at her to find her supportive smile. He returned it, though he was so nervous it felt to him like it might have appeared somewhat creepy or unusual looking. Her presence would surely drive him on in the upcoming game, and he had to force himself not to start grinning like an idiot as he remembered her wonderful words from last time. This time, he would win it for her, and make her proud.

“Weird. Rainbow Dash isn’t even here to make a tight end joke,” Pinkie Pie said as she sat down at the table on Twilight’s other side, having caught the end of the conversation.

“We got one more practice b’fore the game,” Applejack reminded them as her fork twirled around in the pasta. “Rainbow an’ Ah have lots’a plays t’ go over. Hope she don’t make a habit of gettin’ in trouble when we need her.”

“Do you want me to hang around and give you a ride home after school, Spike?” Twilight asked, again putting the attention back on the younger boy.

“It’s no big deal Twilight,” Spike shrugged, not wanting to be a burden. “The walk is good for me, anyway.”

“Well, I was going to study in the library for an hour or so for a test I have next week, but if you’re sure,” Twilight suggested, leaving the decision up to him.

Spike felt bad to hear that, for it made him even more uncertain whether he should take her up on the offer or not. It definitely sounded like she was trying to make an excuse to hang out late and give him a ride, so it would be rude to turn her down, and yet he did not want to inconvenience her. Maybe she just wanted to spend more time with him, after all, once he started football he was rarely home with her anymore. He buried his thoughts in a bite of bread, which he chewed until it became almost a paste in his mouth.

Applejack met Twilight’s worried gaze and gave her a slight shrug, knowing exactly what she was trying to do. The others were mostly silent as the mood dropped, no one quite sure what to say. Several of them exchanged uncertain glances, and no one ventured a topic. No one, that is, except the one in the group who really didn’t seem to understand mood ques.

“So Fluttershy tried to sell me drugs the other day,” Pinkie Pie peeped up simply, shoving a chocolate roll all the way into her mouth.

“What?! I did not!” the girl in question argued desperately, her voice squealing.

“She did so!” Pinkie spat a few crumbs out, much to the dismay of most everyone. “I told her about my tummy troubles, and she handed me this bag of suspicious green leaves.”

“It was l-lettuce,” Fluttershy tried to tell her again. “Y-You’re sick because you’ve been on a sweet-eating binge again.”

“Lettuce,” Pinkie Pie repeated narrow-eyed while miming air quotes, and the others rolled their eyes.

The others shook their heads and huffed a few laughs, getting back to their lunches. Fluttershy sank in her seat and pouted though, upset that Pinkie would think something like that about her. Spike realized how much he must have missed from hanging out in their group, everyone seemed to have changed in one way or another. Just as everyone got a little more accustomed to the unusual silence, it was broken.

“Guess who?” Hands slipped over Applejack's eyes, but the voice had already given it away if the childish gesture hadn't.

“Oh, Ah dunno, the Vice Principal?” Applejack teased with a smirk as she heard the girl behind her scoff irritably.

“Boo, AJ, you know who it is.” Rainbow Dash pulled her hands off her friend's eyes and grabbed her tray off the nearly empty table beside them, where she had left it to complete her little jest.

“O'course Ah do, now sit your rear down.” Applejack patted the seat beside her and Rainbow Dash plopped right down where she was told, dropping her tray in front of her noisily. Applejack glanced over at her choice of so-called lunch and frowned. “As Ah thought, nothin' balanced 'bout that. You’re th’ captain of our team, an’ as such y’gotta learn t’ set a good example. Here, eat this.”

Rainbow Dash stopped the projectile fruit from hitting her in the face as Applejack had tossed it. She turned her hand over and held the bright red apple in her open palm, staring at it blankly. It had become something of a duty for Applejack to watch the team's diet, especially Rainbow's, knowing that an athlete needed a balanced appetite to perform best.

“I don't want it. My lunch is fine.” Rainbow Dash was usually too proud to take the advice, of course. She went to tip her hand and let the apple roll out, but she was stopped.

“Rainbow, just eat the apple, okay?” Applejack placed her hand on the apple, holding it in her friend's grip.

Rainbow Dash sighed and nodded, knowing Applejack was stubborn about these things. “Mmm, fine. Only for you, AJ.” And with that, she leaned over and pressed her lips against Applejack's cheek, administering a big, wet kiss.

Spike smiled and stifled a laugh as he remembered the kiss that Applejack had given Rainbow Dash not too long before. It was almost like a little secret between them, something Spike was not used to being in on. He could still see it in his mind's eye: it had been much sweeter, and much more honest than the goofy one Rainbow traded her. And yet, the big-headed jock really had no idea about any of it.

“Yuck, quit slobberin' on me,” Applejack pushed her away and wiped her face, though little saliva actually lingered.

What did linger, however, was the pink tint that glowed in her face whether she liked it or not. Rainbow Dash was quite pleased with the reaction, and hummed as she took the first bite out of the plump, ripe apple. Though most of the group was already well used to their bickering, someone who said very little about it finally spoke up, albeit unintentionally.

“Just screw already, we're all waiting for it,” Fluttershy murmured in a blank tone as she played around with her salad. Noticing that the attention had suddenly shifted to back her, she blushed brightly and swallowed, realizing what she had done. “D-Did I say that out loud?”

“See, Fluttershy's on my side!” Rainbow beamed as she wrapped her arm around Applejack again, who went darker in colour and bit her lips shut.

“Y’better not have got yourself detention after school,” Applejack jumped back onto topic to distract herself from the idea.

“Who, me? No way, the team needs me at practice,” Rainbow Dash grinned as she shook Applejack around a bit. She then noticed the boy who sat on her other side, and looked over at him. “Hey, look who decided to join us! I thought you’d be hanging around with that little brat would-be sister of mine, you stud.”

“What?” Spike gulped as he realized she must have known something about that, but knowing that the brash and uncensored Rainbow Dash would not have hesitated to reveal all the dirty details if she knew them, he figured he was safe. “Um, no, not today.”

“I thought you were all grown up and too good for us?” Rainbow stuck her tongue out teasingly and elbowed him. “Before we know it, Casanova here will be breaking hearts left right and centre!”

“No way, I'm still the same guy,” Spike murmured argumentatively as he blocked her aggressive prods.

“Actually, over approximately ten years your body replaces almost all of its former atoms with brand new ones, making you physically an entirely different person than before,” Twilight told the group matter-of-factly, only to be greeted with an abrupt silence.

“Way to slip a science lesson into lunch, egghead,” Rainbow Dash was the first one to speak up with a sneer.

“Oh, sorry,” Twilight apologized nicely as she forced a smile.

The group heard a stumble and shuffle from behind Spike as someone accidentally tripped over his backpack, which he had leaned up against the seat behind him. With a low growl, whoever it was turned to face him and gripped his shoulder far too roughly. He leaned down and glared at Spike, who went still as he realized just who it was who had kicked his bag.

“Watch where you leave your shit, Iguana. Someone could get hurt,” Felix said through his teeth as his eyes narrowed on the boy before darting between his friends.

He suddenly released the larger boy and took off, avoiding the rest of any confrontation. The girls at the table watched seriously as he walked away, his steps heavy and angry. Besides Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, the girls all seemed to grow more tense as they realized who he was.

“What did he just call you? Is he a friend of yours?” Pinkie asked lightly, cocking her head in confusion.

“Not exactly,” Spike’s head dropped as he slumped over the table.

Twilight had already recognized the boy herself, knowing him by name and everything. Not that she was the type to go ahead without Spike’s permission and try to fight his battles, it was not her place. Rarity and Applejack watched the younger boy carefully, not certain if they should speak up when there were others around. Rainbow Dash, however, scoffed at the insult and decided to take it on.

“Iguana? You should take that as a compliment, iguana's have two penises,” she revealed simply, and everyone’s jaws dropped. Rainbow looked around at their expressions and shrugged. “What? Twilight's not the only one who knows cool facts.”

Applejack cracked a smile as she noticed Spike lift off of the table, amused just the same by her ridiculous proclamation. Wrapping her arm tightly around her best friend, she wondered out loud.

“What on Earth am Ah gonna do with you?” Applejack asked with a chuckle, squeezing her captain closer.

“I can think of a few things,” Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow suggestively, and immediately Applejack released her.

As the lunch bell rang, Spike hurriedly grabbed his things so that he would not have to hang around to discuss what had gone on. This was not the time or place, and besides, he needed to keep in a positive mood to take on the game the next day. He hardly remembered a thing between then and the final bell, which had now conditioned him to change into his football uniform like putting on a second skin.

As it was the last practice before their game, both Big Mac and Shining Armour had shown up. The whole team rushed to the field and stood before them, better organized into a straight line of players. Spike was eager to join them, finally beginning to feel valuable somewhere.

“Hey buddy,” Shining Armour greeted his brother warmly as one of the first to arrive. “Ready for the game tomorrow?”

“Yeah, I’m actually getting kind of excited about it,” Spike admitted, rubbing his hair between his fingers.

“You should be, you’ve been doing great at practice; it’s about time you get to show it off to a lady or two out there, am I right?” the older of the two teased, and Spike blushed nervously.

“Uh, sure,” Spike tried to shrug the topic off, but his brother was no fool.

“You have someone in mind?” Shining Armour grinned, and Spike blushed brighter. “You do! What’s she like? Is she pretty? Is she older? Do I know her?”

“What happened to being all professional about your position here?!” Spike hid his face and slapped his brother away anxiously, getting redder the more accurate his guesses became.

“You’re right, there’ll be time to chat later,” he nodded as he noticed the other players falling around, and Spike getting more and more self conscious.

“Thanks,” Spike sighed in relief as his brother let him off the hook.

“Alright, guys, you’ve been doing great these last few weeks,” Shining Armour raised his voice and smiled at the team as they assembled. “Do a quick few warm ups then meet back to go over a few more plays. Sound good?”

“Yes sir!” The players nodded in unison before they went their separate ways, already knowing well what to do.

As some of the others finished up their training, Applejack jogged over to her brother with the clipboard of plays (and a few stray pick-up lines Rainbow managed to revive) that Rainbow Dash and she had been working on. His dull eyes trailed it over once or twice while Shining Armour praised a few players in the background. Applejack was about to leave to go toss a ball around with the guys while the rest of the team finished up, but Big Mac’s words stopped her.

“Shinin's right,” Big Mac nodded to his sister, who looked over at him instead of at the clipboard in her hand. “It's startin' t'look like we've got a team here.”

“Course it does,” Applejack smiled warmly as she put the clipboard down and stared out at the players, who were finishing up their circuits and training. “Havin' y'all 'round sure helps.”

“Ah can't imagine what would'a happened if we left it t'Dash,” his eyes dropped irritably on the girl in question, who had long since finished her agility training and went over to bother the linemen, from the looks of it.

“She may be lazy and perverse, but she really is a great girl. You'll see,” Applejack told her brother with utmost certainty, pride beaming from her as she watched her friend talking to the linemen with passion and verve.

“You ain't gonna start tearin' up, are ya?” Big Mac smirked teasingly, noticing his sister tense up at the accusation.

“Shut up, Mac!” she shouted defensively and slapped him on the arm. As she settled back down, she looked out at her captain once more and started towards her. “Ah just mean that she ain't half bad, Ah'm proud t'call her m'best friend.”

“Ah'll take your word for it.” Mac huffed a laugh as they approached the team, where Rainbow's words could be clearly heard.

“I'm telling you!” Rainbow Dash continued with her hand over her chest, like she was preaching some truth she adored so greatly. “Applejack's moans are melodic, she could get me off without even touching me!”

“Most o'the time,” Applejack murmured as she realized what the girl was going on about now. As they passed the equipment, Applejack instructed Mac to toss her something. “Al'right, grab me a ball, will you?”

Big Mac leaned down and did as he was told, picking the finest ball from the bag. He heaved his great shoulders back and tossed it effortlessly out to his still retreating sister. Habitually, Applejack touched her tongue to the tips of her fingers and coated them in saliva as a means to provide a sticky grip for the football. The ball sailed into her hands, but she hardly moved as she heard the next line from Rainbow Dash.

“I love it when you lick your fingers, baby,” Rainbow called to Applejack, her eyebrows jumping up and down suggestively as the boys around her snickered. “She does that in bed, too. It's pretty sexy.”

“Rainbow,” Applejack ground her teeth together irritably and murmured her name.

“And you should see the face she makes when she's horny or frustrated!” she kept on incessantly, not even noticing Applejack's temper rising quickly as the captain defied her earlier praise.

“Rainbow...” came out of her throat more deadly and vicious as she squeezed the football and glared at the girl.

“That's it!” Rainbow pointed at her excitedly as she slammed the football to the ground, leaving it to bounce about. “Man, that always gets me going. And when she gets especially horny, she can hardly keep her hands off of me!”

Applejack stormed right up to the disrespectful captain, seething with fury by now. Rainbow Dash continued to grin and brag, until a rough hand grabbed her arm and yanked her away from the group.

“C'mere, y'punk,” Applejack growled as she tugged the thin girl after her.

“See? Case in point!” Rainbow guffawed, but it was cut short as she was smacked in the back of the head and ruthlessly pulled forward, her feet stumbling beneath her to keep up.

“Yeah right, nice knowing you, Crash!” Dumbbell and his friends laughed at her as she rubbed the sore spot on the back of her head and followed the clearly fuming Applejack.

Applejack growled as she dragged the protesting captain after her. Rainbow could see that something had pissed her off, but instead of apologizing or asking what was wrong, she thought it was kind of hot. Rainbow quickened her step and let Applejack hold her arm, slyly inspecting her all the while. Applejack pulled her into the hallway towards the change rooms, which was void of any other traffic.

“Finally, we're all alone,” Rainbow's voice was smooth and sensual, and Applejack responded to it violently.

Shoving her captain roughly into the wall, Applejack gripped her by the jersey and leaned in real close with a firm glare. Rainbow Dash really wanted to say it, how turned on this whole thing made her, how wet she felt as Applejack pressed against her and held her still, but she decided to leave it be for now. She went silent as she let Applejack do the talking, though it took her a moment to get over her will to shout in favour of rational words.

“Why y'always gotta be s'darn sweet on me?!” came out suddenly, though it was not what Applejack really wanted to say.

“Because you're hot, and I like you,” Applejack's mouth dropped wide open as Rainbow said that, and she was lost for words for a second. “Besides, you react really cute to it all.”

“Listen here, you!” Applejack slammed her hand against the wall beside Rainbow. “Ain't nobody gonna take me seriously if you're always makin' them sexual jokes!” she barked, but noticing the way her target merely scratched her ear and pouted her lip, she became more irate and flustered. “A-Are y'even payin' attention?!”

“Your lips are too tempting to resist gawking at, so yeah, I am,” Rainbow Dash spoke easily in a smooth voice, her eyes finally flashing up in all their electric allure. “But I think your protests have very little to do with what people think of you, and have a little more to do with what you think of you, am I right?”

“Beg pardon?” the quarterback furrowed her brow as the girl against the wall stood up straighter and smiled at her. “You tryn'a say somethin'?”

“You're afraid to admit it, but I excite you, don't I?” Rainbow murmured teasingly, reaching up and placing her finger under Applejack's chin, drawing her nearer. Applejack's eyes jumped over her face as Rainbow’s hand trailed down her neck, catching her breath still as she found her way to the farmer's chest. “I get your heart beating fast? Come on, you know it would be really, really good.”

“A-Ah never said that,” Applejack denied, despite the obvious heat in her cheeks and the likely noticeable pounding in her chest. She tensed her jaw and swallowed nervously, staring intently at her best friend who seemingly awaited a better response. “Rainbow Dash, it's not—”

Rainbow's suave smile broke open into a wide grin suddenly. “Got'cha.”

“You,” Applejack flinched to realize she had been duped, and her temper flared once more. “Y'little vixen!”

“You know it.” Her captain winked at her and stuck her tongue out, and again the quarterback felt a tightness in her chest she wanted to pursue.

“Ah dare you t'do that again,” Applejack's voice dropped lower as the challenge was issued.

Rainbow Dash was always a daring person, and too competitive to even let a joke of a challenge slip her by. So, even more obnoxiously than the first time, she stuck her tongue out between her and her quarterback. But before she could pull it back in, Applejack snatched it up between her fingers, holding it there in the grip between her thumb and index finger. For once Rainbow Dash felt somewhat ridiculous, standing there between a wall and her best friend with her tongue hanging out, captured.

She noticed it then, the attentive, compelled expression plaguing Applejack's face. Her gorgeous green eyes were fixed on Rainbow's lips, and it pleased her greatly. However, her tongue was cramping up, and she was growing rather tired of the farmer's lack of action.

“Ahpplethack?” Rainbow Dash spoke against her friend's fingers, saying her name as best as she could muster.

“Oh, sorry.” Applejack's eyes widened as she realized what she had been doing, and she instantly released her hold.

Rainbow Dash slapped her lips together once or twice as she tried to make her tongue feel comfortable in her mouth again. It was cooler than usual, from the air, but tingled and tickled constantly. With a knowing smile, Rainbow Dash pushed off the wall and got even closer to Applejack, who instinctively kept a precise inch or so back. Though their noses almost touched, it was their lips that Applejack was focused on.

“Don't be sorry,” Rainbow Dash told her, touching Applejack's hot cheek temptingly before skilfully slipping around the distracted farmer and passing her, trailing her finger across her chin and turning her head after her. “Just don't stop next time.”

“Don't stop what?” Applejack blinked obliviously as she watched her friend make a few steps of intentionally silent distance between them. Contorting her expression into confusion, she hurriedly followed after and asked again, “Don't stop what?!”

As Applejack just about caught up to her, Rainbow turned around abruptly and took her hand, yanking her another few steps faster. Applejack looked down at their clasped hands, feeling the heat in her fingers and the firm grip tugging her. The pair jogged back out onto the field, Rainbow Dash laughing all the while at Applejack’s frustrated and uncertain expression. By the time they reached the rest of the team, they were gathered up on one side of the field by the bleachers, listening to Mac and Shining.

Pulling a mask of innocence over her head and adjusting it correctly, Rainbow Dash stood up straight beside Big Mac, still holding the girl’s hand tightly in her own. Applejack clumsily managed to slip out of the hold and offered a sheepish smile to her brother, whose stoic expression merely watched silently. He knew Rainbow Dash was a rascal, but he trusted his sister to be able to handle herself.

“The first game since Mac and I started coaching is tomorrow,” Shining Armour continued on anyway. “We’ve made a lot of progress over these last few weeks, and I know it’s only going to get better from here.”

Spike went still as his older brother’s eyes fell on him, and he swallowed slowly. He greatly admired Shining Armour, and in his admiration he felt great shame, shame that he was nothing like the older boy. His fists balled up beside him, determination weaving through the cracks and wrinkles of his palms. If Shining Armour had faith in them, he needed to have faith in himself as well. Or else he would be nothing but more shameful.

“Everyone has already counted you out after what happened against the Wondercolts, no one thinks that you could possibly pull this off. But we know better.” Shining Armour looked around at the faces of his players, who still seemed uncertain. “Tomorrow night, we’re going to give them hell.”

“Right,” the team nodded firmly and expelled a loud affirmation.

“We’ve done great things on this field,” Shining Armour stepped forward, the grass beneath his feet bending and bowing. “These end zones, they belong to you. These goal posts, they mark the edges of your training grounds; they mark the height of your achievements. These painted lines, measurements of progress; frosting the tips of the grass that grows right right alongside us. Don’t forget that, this is your home. And tomorrow night, you defend it.”

Looking down at the grass beneath his feet, Spike remembered what Applejack had told him when they had shown up at the field uninvited. Several blades stuck out or curled under his shoe at varying lengths, each seeming such a slightly different hue than the last. Those very subtle differences, they became difficult to see again as the night sky wormed between each frayed edge and the anticipated game became present.

Shining Armour’s voice echoed faintly from practice the day before, this was his home. His shadow loomed over the flora now, the lights from above such a stark and heavy brightness it nearly blinded him to look anywhere else but at that familiar ground.

The cheering was deafening, the stands much fuller this time than the last. But again, the visitor’s crowd was larger than their own, having traveled all the way from Appleloosa. Spike slowly raised his head, seeing the many scattered red uniforms around him, each a player he resolved himself to notice. Casting a glance over at those stands he once had all to himself and shared only with two friends and a few beers, he could see her there. Just as she promised, Rarity was watching him.

“Yo, kicker,” Spike heard his position called. “Get over here and kick this fucking ball before I kick yours!”

No doubt it was Rainbow Dash who had called to him, and knowing best he nodded and followed his captain’s orders. It was the first play of the game, and this time it was up to him to kick the ball and start it. More confident in his own ability after his brother’s specific training, Spike broke into a sprint as he approached the line.

The cleated foot impacted the pigskin, launching it into the air. It was powerful, yet the control still lacked. It sailed ahead far and the receiving team’s speedy take off slowed down to accommodate the reach. Spike watched, his run slowing down significantly even though his team was still running full speed. His eyes were glued to the spinning football.

‘No, no, no, please no,’ he thought, biting his lip.

His fears came true as he watched what happened. The curve of the ball had caused it to land just half a foot outside the boundaries. The whistle of the referee helped drive home the one fact that played in his mind.

‘The promised time... and I screwed up.’

Drooping his head, he could hear Rainbow shouting at the top of her lungs random cuss words as her massive sprint slowed and she furiously kicked the turf. Spike could hear the groans of his teammates and when glancing over, he couldn’t even focus on her.

His eyes found Rarity but he could just see Felix a few rows behind her, laughing. What made it even worse was that Rarity was once again leaning as close as she could towards the field and Felix and his buddies were taking photos of her as well as a few others. He grit his teeth, not prepared for what happened next. A hand grabbed his jersey and yanked him over so he was faced with Rainbow Dash. The shorter girl was shouting, spitting as she chewed Spike out, yet he didn’t focus on them.

“What the hell was that!? After our supposed improvement, you go and fucked up our kick-off. I can’t believe I actually thought you were good,” Rainbow said bitterly, shoving Spike back as she released his jersey.

“Rainbow, stop that. You of all people should know that mistakes can be made,” Applejack said as she faced the girl, glancing over to see Spike walking away with a slouch.

“So fucking what? If you make mistakes, you get punished, plain and simple. Now we’re getting a penalty or some shit!” Rainbow stormed off, waiting for the opposing team to make their decisions.

The referee approached the captain as did Appleoosa’s captain. Applejack kept at Rainbow’s side for moral support and restraint if need be.

“Appleoosa’s choice; will you take the ball where it is, take it 25-yards back, or let the Manticores rekick 5-yards further from their last one?” the referee asked, holding the football.

“Well shoot, we’ll jus’ take it where it went out,” the lighter voice spoke, reminiscent of Applejack.

Said farmer stepped forward, her eyes widening as the voice clicked in her mind.

“Braeburn!?” she asked, trying to see through the boy’s guard.

“Hey, cous’,” he said, chipper voice booming as the referee handed him the ball.

Rainbow rolled her eyes, scoffing as she walked away from the would-be reunion. Applejack stepped forward and the two briefly shared a hug before separating, Braeburn walking backwards towards where his team was gathering.

“Heh, jus’ so y’know, this don’t mean we’ll take it easy on ya,” Applejack called, briefly cracking her knuckles.

“Ah hope that means ya won’t be hittin’ us with yer purses, then,” Braeburn replied with an audible chuckle.

With that, the two turned away and ran towards their gathering team with Rainbow already getting them riled up.

“Alright, Spike just now was an example of what not to do. Do the complete opposite and take ‘em down as if you wanna break their shins, got it!?” Rainbow shouted, slapping two of the Dumbbells on the back as they ran by towards their line.

“Right!” several voices cried out.

Spike merely let out a rough sigh as he shook his head, stepping forward as well. Applejack was about to go console him but Rainbow Dash grabbed her sleeve, yanking the farmer over much to her chagrin.

“C’mon, babe, we’ve got bones to break,” Rainbow said, grinning. “Except the one in my pants.” Applejack rolled her eyes as she turned herself towards Rainbow, removing her hand from the jersey. “Which will be in yours later.”

Applejack didn’t fight it, laughing with the rainbow-haired girl as they approached the line, Spike following behind. Rather than dwell on it, Applejack trusted Spike to pick himself up later on; she had seen what he could do in their practises.

Spike, running towards their line, spotted his teammates on all sides of the field. Scootaloo, Pipsqueak, the Dumbbells… all of them weren’t getting down on the kick, even if it wasn’t them who did it. It was merely the first action of the game and certainly not the last. Realizing this, he glanced back towards the bleachers and this time, he could focus.

“It’s only a failure if you don’t pick yourself up!” Rarity shouted, jogging down the sidelines.

Grinning, Spike took his spot on the end of the line as the players bent over, setting themselves up to start. Someone from the Appleoosa line held the ball as Braeburn called out numbers; Spike only realized what they meant after dumbly asking Rainbow one time. The instant the hut was called, Spike started running backwards to keep the wide receiver covered. It was a larger, more lanky boy similar to Featherweight; who was covering the other wide receiver while Rainbow was briefly struggling with the tight end, attempting to get through. As expected, the linemen on the Appleoosa team were struggling against Pipsqueak and the Dumbbells; not just because of the former’s strength, but the techniques they had picked up on. Firmly rooted, their legs were acting as support beams, the enemy team merely pushing their cleats further into the ground… yet there was something missing.

They were slowly crumbling from what Spike could tell; shaky legs and constantly adjusting their grip. Spike attempted to tackle the wide receiver, merely getting shoved back in response. While their offense was powerful, their defense was severely lacking.

Pipsqueak, although rooted and strong, found a hand grab his sleeve and the player he was blocking yank him down. The Dumbbells fell the same time he did, the Appleoosans doing the same tactic. Their defensive wall broke and Rainbow was caught off guard; her attention having been taken away, the tight end she was covering roughly ran in front of her as she turned, a hand shoving her to the ground. Landing on her back with a thud, Rainbow briefly let the pain flash through her before she rolled onto her front and shoved herself to her feet. She saw a blur shoot by and dart down the field and Rainbow briefly felt her competitive instincts kick in.

Pushing herself to her feet, Rainbow kicked off, her legs darting off fast. From where she was, she blasted by Rarity whom was close enough to feel the air move. Her eyes focusing on the target running ahead, she saw the letters and recognized whom she was chasing

“You’re dead, Strongheart!” Rainbow shouted, unable to fight a grin from reaching her face.

Rainbow heard a laugh in response and quickly, the distance closed between the two as they approached the Manticores’ end zone. Leaping into the air, Rainbow threw her arms around, squeezing the girl whom matched Rainbow in size, taking her down. They hit the turf and Rainbow rolled, still holding the girl until they stopped. Standing up, Rainbow saw Strongheart’s arms were still clenched to her chest… without a ball. She saw the grin on Little Strongheart’s face and Rainbow glanced to the left, spotting another player running by with the ball in his arms. He crossed into the end zone before Rainbow could process what occurred and grit her teeth as the horn blared, six-points going up under the “VISITORS” spot on the board.

Scowling briefly, her attention turned down to the girl that panted, staring up at Rainbow. Smiling against her will, Rainbow extended a hand and Strongheart took it. Rather than justify her friendliness, Rainbow violently yanked the girl to her feet much to Strongheart’s surprise. Turning away, Rainbow walked towards her line once more.

“I’d say the Manticores are dead, Dash,” she shouted as she jogged by Rainbow.

“I’d say your virginity is dead, but that implies good things,” Rainbow chortled, waving two middle fingers.

Strongheart let out numerous laughs as she returned to her line, the Buffalo preparing for the kick return. Rainbow’s eyes turned to their kicker, Spike, as he ran back to their line in preparation. Rainbow watched his gaze, following it to see Rarity cheering him on before her eyes widened slightly. She snickered, her attention returning to the enamoured Spike. With a shake of her head, she knew exactly what had got him motivated. It was like that.

Her urge to comment to Spike about the Appleoosan kicker faded, and she merely let him pass by as she briefly hid her grin until her back was turned. Spike took his spot and craned his neck, letting the words Rarity shouted just then sink in.

“Make the uniform proud!”

Adjusting his mouthguard, Spike stood his ground, glancing across to face the Buffalo player staring at him. He scowled at Spike before his expression softened, eyes focusing on Spike’s.

“Woah, cool eyes, man,” he said through the mouth guard.

Spike couldn’t fight the smile as the Buffalo player nodded his head, walking back to his team in preparation for the kickoff. Wasting no more time, the lines took their spots as the Buffalo prepared to kick. The referee blew the whistle and Spike darted forward as the Buffalo ran, their kicker launching the pigskin into the air. Spike knew who was going to try and catch it as did the rest of the team from the subtle signal Rainbow gestured. Running forward, he briefly glanced upward to see the ball fly overhead and as if telepathic, he could feel the excitement coming from the girl. Scootaloo snagged the ball and shot ahead as the two lines collided, but rather than go down, the Manticores’ line practically shattered the other, causing them to crumble as the Appleoosan’s now found themselves slightly overwhelmed. Spike rushed forwards and collided with a cornerback, wrapping his arms around him before tossing the boy to the ground.

Having taken someone down for once, Spike twirled a bit to face ahead and started running once more to take down a safety. Unfortunately, it was too late as the second safety, Little Strongheart, took off after Scootaloo. Spike still lunged forward as the first safety was overwhelmed by the chaos occurring to their team and Spike ran headfirst into one more player. Tumbling down, Spike prayed that Scootaloo made it.

Darting ahead, Scootaloo groaned slightly as she felt pain plague her mind. The ball clutched tightly, she grit her teeth against the mouthguard as she approached the endzone. She winced and looked down at her chest, which felt like it was on fire. She cursed herself for not wearing a bra today of all days.

Scootaloo glanced behind her only to see one of the safeties quickly catching up. While not faster than Rainbow Dash, Little Strongheart was still a match for Scootaloo, especially since she had not adorned all her protective equipment. Panicking, Scootaloo attempted to ignore the pain, hoping for the movie cliche of a sudden burst of energy to enable her to take off. Instead, she felt a hand slide over her hip and latch onto her abdomen. The body armour slid slightly yet Scootaloo felt her speed come to a sudden halt and she clutched the ball as tightly as she could while gravity did its work. Slamming into the ground, Scootaloo rolled onto her back and glanced up as Little Strongheart stumbled by, almost falling over along with Scootaloo. Scootaloo watched Strongheart round back towards her and smiled as the referee’s whistle went off. Extending a hand, Little Strongheart lifted Scootaloo up. much to her confusion.

“Let me give you a hand there,” Strongheart told her as the two clasped grips.

“Wait… Aren’t you supposed to hate me?” Scootaloo asked, still clutching the ball.

“No, no, just the team in general I guess. I can play favourites… plus, I’ve got plans for ‘motivating’ that girl Rainbow Dash to provide a real challenge for once,” Little Strongheart said as she glanced past Scootaloo, spotting the rainbow-haired girl in question as their eyes met across the field.

“Rainbow’s gonna win, no doubt,” Scootaloo said, turning and tossing the ball towards Dumbbell.

The awful throw sailed towards the left, hitting Pipsqueak in the head as the line approached where Scootaloo went down. After an apology, Scootaloo took her spot just between Pipsqueak and Spike as the players got set. Spike was faced with the boy who complimented his eyes as well as the boy he took down… or, Scootaloo was; Spike merely made him his personal target to let Scootaloo get by. Applejack was calling out plays, ones Spike could recognized. Eying the defense, Spike noticed a rather large boy, looking more like a 30-year-old man, stood amidst it all… and he looked similar to Pipsqueak in size.

The defense was different than the offense, Appleoosa having a big enough team to replace most players. Spike took in, finally, the size of the defense; all of the boys were far larger and all obviously of a different ethnic background compared to the relatively Caucasian offense. Each boy was pressing six and a half feet in height and were large, be it muscle or fat. Gulping, Spike took his spot and prepared to cover Scootaloo.

Applejack called the snap and the two lines collided. Scootaloo darted in one direction, avoiding her block and Spike lunged forward, latching the back of the boy’s shirt as he yanked, allowing Scootaloo to get a good distance ahead… only for one of the other players, Braeburn, to blindside her. Scootaloo couldn’t get a grunt out as she tumbled, rolling in the turf. Spike saw Braeburn turn towards him and he accidentally let the jersey of the boy he held go. He and Braeburn collided with the latter managing to catch Spike off guard, the two of them tumbling into the grass.

The linemen were having difficulty, the larger force of the Appleoosan’s not allowing for an opening. Gritting her teeth, Applejack was pondering whether or not she should let Rainbow carry it off before the line fumbled; Pipsqueak once more felt himself being grabbed by the sleeve yet he was ready, his hand latching onto the wrist. Instead, the Appleoosan defense used his shorter stature, leaning forward and setting a hand on Pipsqueak’s chest. Pushing up, the Buffalo lineman lifted Pipsqueak off the ground just enough for his cleats to lose their hold, and that was all it took.

Stumbling, Pipsqueak’s heals caught the turf and he tumbled over, keeping his grip on the Appleoosan as they tumbled down. The Appleoosan defense boy’s legs bumped into Dumbbell, distracting him enough for the rest of the line to crumble with Pipsqueak. Featherweight, unfortunately, got paired up with the largest of the Appleoosan defense and found himself being helplessly tossed aside and Applejack saw the boy darting towards her. Grunting and finding no opening, she opted to let Rainbow carry it off… but she was too far, and Apple Bloom couldn’t get through. Scoffing, Applejack spiked the football into the ground.

“Incomplete pass!” the referee shouted, blowing his whistle.

The boy charging her slowed to a halt as the Buffalo climbed off the Manticores offense and the Buffalo praised the opposing team, much to their confusion. Applejack watched as the defense helped her team to standing and apologized profusely for any injury. Shaking her head and huffing a laugh, Applejack looked over to Braeburn as he waved at her. Picking up the ball, Applejack gave the field a once over before tossing it to Dumbbell as he stretched his limbs.

“Al’right, y’all, they ain’t playin’ t’ crush us, but that doesn’t mean we have t’ let this get t’ us. We know one thing; our defense isn’t so hot and theirs is, meanin’ we’re at a disadvantage,” Applejack said as the group were setting up their line again.

“Meaning, you guys gotta go for their necks,” Rainbow shouted, cracking her back as she stood behind Applejack and Apple Bloom. “We’re at war, pussies. Sack up and crack skulls.”

“That ain’t—” Applejack tried to speak again, but the rest of the team cut her off.

“Yes ma’am!” They loudly agreed and clapped, going back to their positions.

Applejack grumbled in the back of her throat as she watched the others taking off. Picking her target, she reached out and slipped one finger into the rear collar of Rainbow Dash’s jersey, causing her to nearly choke herself as she kept walking. Whipping around with an irritable glare, Rainbow touched her hand to her tender throat and waited for Applejack’s explanation.

“‘scuse me, cap’in,” Applejack started as she leaned down to reach Rainbow’s height and stared blankly into her narrowed eyes. “But since when’re we th’ kinda team who plays t’ kill?”

“Since that Little Strongheart bitch pissed me off,” Rainbow argued sternly, not minding if the other team saw the feud. “Besides, their defence is as tight as your pussy, we have to be willing to step it up and take on the challenge.”

“Y’ever stop t’ think she’s just tryna get t’ you?” Applejack smirked as Rainbow Dash paused to consider it. “You’re a darn fine halfback, sugarcube, start actin’ like it. An’ try not t’ get carried away, will ya?”

“They’re making us look like weaklings out there, AJ, I for one am not going to stand for that.” Rainbow Dash pulled her quarterback to the line and lazily swung her own legs back to her place.

“That Dash girl has real potential,” Little Strongheart said to Braeburn, who made a concerned expression.

“‘tential f’ what?” he asked nervously, knowing what she probably meant by that.

“To actually give me a challenge,” she replied with a grin. “All she needs is a little motivation, just keep pounding on their team like I told you. That outta get her fired up.”

“Ah dunno, Strongheart, not everyone’s as c’mpetative as y’are, y’gotta be careful not t’ make enemies,” Braeburn tried to tell her gently.

“Come on, cowboy,” she roughly shoved him in the shoulder with a playful grin. “Don’t you want to give your cousin a run for her money?”

“Jus’ don’t hurt anybody this time,” he chuckled lightly and let the topic slip, getting back to his position.

Applejack peered over the backs of her linemen, almost jealous of the enemy’s intimidating defence. She was about to open her mouth and begin calling the count, but she heard a familiar, flirtatious whistle from behind her. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Apple Bloom put her hands up defensively and innocently, pointing to the halfback instead. She was not surprised by the usual quirkiness of her captain, but turning her attention to the rainbow-headed girl, her irritation turned to a blank stare. There was Rainbow Dash, winking at her and making a subtle spanking motion just a few feet behind Applejack.

“Try distractin’ th’ other team,” Applejack muttered in a grouchy tone.

“I am!” Rainbow beamed and continued the degrading motion.

Looking back in front of her, she noticed that menacing line of men all had their eyes on the thin, obnoxious girl. Applejack rolled her eyes at their lack of focus and proceeded to get on to calling the snap.

Rainbow Dash noticed the curious stare from Little Strongheart just past the line, who too was wondering what on Earth she was doing behind her quarterback. Rainbow Dash just kept at it as Applejack called the snap, and that gave Little Strongheart an idea.

“Hut,” was called at last, and just like that, Rainbow Dash took off.

Without a moment of hesitation, the brash captain ran right towards the scrimmage line, heedless of the dangers. Applejack gaped at her actions in shock, hoping for her sake she was not about to throw herself in there. The eyes of the defensive line were still caught on her, and she used that to her advantage. Taking off in a powerful leap, Rainbow Dash used one of her teammates as a springboard, putting her hands on his shoulders and pushing off to gain the additional height.

The entire field gawked at her in disbelief as she soared right over the line, landing hard on the turf behind the defence. The crowd was nearly silent in awe as Rainbow Dash looked over at Little Strongheart from under her shining visor, a daring grin crossed her face. However, using her team to propel her had softened their line, and they had to push harder to try and keep upright. That didn’t bother her of course, she knew Applejack could throw the ball before the line would crumble, and if she could keep Little Strongheart off the receivers it would be a clear shot.

“What th’ heck was that?! Are y’freakin’ crazy?!” Applejack’s voice called after Rainbow Dash and caught her attention. It also, however, caught Little Strongheart’s.

Sticking to her original plan, Little Strongheart took off towards the line at once, and Rainbow Dash immediately went to intercept her. Though surprised the safety did not choose to take off after the unguarded receivers, Rainbow Dash went after her anyway. She closed in to the safety, but just as she was about to get her hands on her, Little Strongheart ducked under the assault and evaded it entirely. Rainbow Dash fumed, but she hardly got the chance to try again, as the line fell apart in front of her and disrupted her.

As Little Strongheart closed in, Applejack caught sight of her before she could even get the chance to make the pass to the entirely open Featherweight. With her team tumbling towards her toes, she had no choice but to take the sack and move on. Little Strongheart was more than willing to oblige.

Applejack’s ears rang loudly as her helmet hit the ground, and her back stung and went stiff due to the shock. She hissed as she felt the football press hard against her chest, winding her. By the time she managed to find her breath, Little Strongheart had gotten back to her feet and was looking down at her almost worriedly. She was shoved suddenly out of the way and had to stumble to keep herself upright, noticing the now furious Rainbow Dash approach the quarterback. With a victorious smirk, Little Strongheart jogged back to her line once more.

“Hey cous’, y’okay?” Braeburns voice called over the sounds of groaning players getting to their feet.

Rainbow Dash leaned down and took Applejack by the arm, helping her up. From such close quarters, Applejack could easily see the frustration and regret that Rainbow hid behind a vengeful scowl. Applejack cleared her throat and groaned as she put her arm around her captain and met cleat to turf.

“Yea’, don’ worry ‘bout it,” Applejack waved over to him, though she could hardly face the boy.

“Sorry ‘bout that, Strongheart tends t’ get a mite c’mpetitive,” Braeburn nervously forced a laugh and shot a glare to the girl in question.

“Ah know th’ type,” Applejack said quieter, peeling the football off her as she finally stood up straight. Trying to lighten the mood, Applejack looked down at her chest. “Heavens t’ Betsy, Ah’munna have a bruise shaped like pigskin stitches.”

“That fucking does it,” Rainbow Dash glowered maniacally, her voice low. “Nobody touches my AJ.”

“Rainbow,” Applejack nearly whispered as her eyes softened on the clearly livid girl who still gripped her.

Rainbow Dash suddenly released Applejack and hung her head, heading back to her position for the next down. Spike was just gathering himself back up off the ground, but all the while his eyes were set on Applejack. He felt bad for her, just standing there all alone as Rainbow Dash got focused on the game rather than the way Applejack bent forward and bit back a wince. Applejack’s eyes shifted to him suddenly, and for a second they just looked at each other. Subtly, Applejack handed the ball back to Dumbbell and lightly balled up her fist, tapping it against her other palm. Spike’s eyes widened as he saw it, and immediately she turned back to the line without another movement.

Spike knew what that gesture meant, it meant she wanted him to catch. This was exactly what he had been training for, it was his moment to be the hero, and he did not want to let it go. But still, there was an uncertain feeling in his stomach, and his palms grew sweaty.

Applejack leaned back down behind the line and breathed slowly as her pain began to subside. She looked back at Rainbow Dash then, and said girl froze under the attention. She expected some kind of scorn, some stern talking to or something, but that did not come. With a warm smile, Applejack spoke quietly to her captain.

“Honey, take him up there, will ya?” she asked pleasantly, and as anticipated, both Rainbow Dash and Apple Bloom heard this, and knew exactly what she meant by it.

“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash nodded understandingly, feeling all fuzzy as Applejack’s smile was crafted solely for her. “Anything you need, baby.”

Rainbow cast a wink back at her quarterback, who chuckled to see her usual carefree nature return. Turning back to the game, Applejack brought her fingers to her lips and licked them lightly, blushing as she remembered Rainbow Dash’s comment about it. Clearing her throat once more, she called for the snap.

She easily stopped the ball in her hands and backed up for the throw, waiting for her target while watching her own peripherals for another sack. As he heard the snap go out, Spike darted forwards, surprising the boy who had been covering him. Before said boy could man up and stop Spike, somebody else knocked him right to the ground with little effort. As Spike took off down the field, he looked back to see Apple Bloom prying herself off the boy, flashing Spike a thumbs-up.

As he peered back, he noticed Rainbow Dash following him up the side of the field. With the decrease in number of players to block for her, Applejack hardly had the time to let Spike take a good lead. Thus, her throw rocketed out of the mess of players and soared towards him right as the line fell apart around her. Spike had to hasten his step to catch up to the throw, but he managed to get under it just in time and snag it successfully.

The crowd roared as he tucked the ball under his arm, and the burst of motivation and adrenaline had his feet moving faster than he could feel. He noticed an enemy player, Strongheart, gaining on him from the side and cast her a look or two, measuring the distance between them and the incredible speed she possessed, knowing he could not outrun her in time. Though the sound of running initially scared him, he realized that Rainbow Dash was still close behind him and she easily pulled ahead.

“Watch your feet, kid,” Rainbow Dash told him as Little Strongheart came up against them.

Before Spike could ask her intentions, Rainbow Dash snatched Little Strongheart by the shoulders and easily shoved her out of the way, using her own speedy momentum against her. She was right to warn him, as using her forward momentum put the downed Strongheart right in Spike’s path. Without thinking, he skillfully leapt clean over her body, landing clumsily on the other side before finding his step and taking it down the field.

Spike blinked in surprise at his own action but kept moving towards the end zone, only looking back to make certain Little Strongheart was not getting back up. It had hardly taken him a second to judge and anticipate the best maneuver of his own feet to make the jump, and his body listened well to the keen observations of his astounding eyes. Amazed at his own agility, which must have come from all that training, he kept going until his eager feet stepped across the final line.

He turned around to face him team, who were all celebrating and hooting about it. An astounded and open-mouthed smile crossed his lips despite his heavy breathing and the pounding in his chest. He pulled the ball out from under his arm and stared at it, in all its simple glory. Overwhelmed with a sense of victory, he thrust the ball up into the air and held it for all the crowd to see, whose cheering roared louder.

‘I did it, I actually did it,’ Spike thought as his smile melted wider under the glow of the overhead lights.

He glanced back out at the stands, and everyone’s eyes were on him. He could see Twilight, Shining Armour, his parents, Felix (who looked less than enthusiastic), his friends, and her. Sharing the proud smile, Rarity stood up, clapping her hands for him. Everybody out there in the stands, everybody who stood with him on the field, they could all see him; for once in his life... they looked.

Rainbow Dash grinned to see Spike’s victory march, which was much tamer than hers usually were. She snickered a bit as Little Strongheart rolled onto her front and got to her hands and knees, shaking her head about. Rainbow might have opted to help her up, but after seeing the hit she gave Applejack, she was less than inclined to do so. Besides, her rival was already getting herself back up and didn’t need the help.

“There’s a lot more where that came from,” Rainbow Dash smugly smirked and turned away, leaving the girl with that.

And that was the truth. With such an early score, the Manticores began to feel like they were not entirely outmatched, that they could hold their own against these foes. Spike’s kick was much better than his first one, and he got to pound fists with almost everyone on his team as another point was scored with it.

Despite their lack of particularly adequate defence, the Manticores managed to keep neck-and-neck with the Buffalo on the scoreboard. Braeburn and Applejack had their work cut out for them in trying to keep Little Strongheart and Rainbow Dash from killing each other, while Spike was exhausting himself keeping up with the linemen when they had to hold off the impressive enemy defence.

By the beginning of the third quarter, the Buffalo were in the lead with 20 to 14. After a short break for halftime, the teams were once again joining each other on the field. Spike was more than ready to get back out there, especially after having received glowing praise from his older brother on the sidelines. Even from the field, he could hear Pinkie Pie squealing in excitement and probably deafening the girls around her, one of which was his much more reserved sister and another, the girl of his dreams. He couldn’t keep from looking out there to fuel up on confidence, which came from seeing their smiling and proud faces accompanying zealous waves.

Spike flinched as he felt a hand on his shoulder, and turned to see the warm smile of Applejack. He hadn’t gotten much of a chance to talk to her as she was kept rather busy with Rainbow Dash, but her supportive looks seemed to usually be enough. He turned to face her, expecting some commands about plays or positions.

“Keep up th’ good work, Spike, an’ we might jus’ win this one,” she told him in a pleasant tone, something that came off as very different than the way she usually spoke on the field.

“Uh, right,” Spike nodded firmly like it was a direct command, and Applejack merely laughed lightly at the prospect.

“We sure were lucky y’signed up this year,” she went on, looking out at the other players. “Last year we didn’t do s’darn dandy, didn’t even have ‘nough players t’ qualify for th’ tournament ‘til it was too late.”

“Really?” Spike asked curiously.

“Yea’, RD scared ‘em all away an’ spent the rest o’ the year writin’ up plays an’ makin’ me toss footballs ‘til m’ arm went sour,” she chuckled and patted Spike twice more. “Ah’ll admit, this sure is more fun.”

“I’m having a pretty good time,” Spike agreed, sharing a smile of his own.

“Ah’m glad, an’ it ain’t over yet, s’keep givin’ it your all, y’hear?” Applejack playfully shoved him and started walking off.

“Yes ma’am,” Spike replied formally.

Spike watched her leave out of the corner of his eye, accepting the little chat as something of praise. It seemed so sudden to him, joining the football team, getting actually pretty good at the game, earning friends and now, confidence. He smiled to think of it, looking back over at the scoreboard.

“Heya, cous’!” Spike moved out of the way as Braeburn jogged past him to go over to Applejack.

“Oh, Braeburn, how y’all doin?” Applejack turned around and greeted him again.

“Well, it’s lookin’ pretty good from m’ side o’ the field,” he grinned, nodding to the scoreboard.

“Don’ you go gettin’ all cocky on me too, Ah got ‘nough’a that t’ handle,” Applejack gestured behind her at Rainbow Dash, who was talking to a few of the players sternly and having a drink.

“Ah sure hear ya, cous’,” Braeburn sighed loudly, looking back at his own teammate, who seemed more than eager to get back to the carnage. “When Ah first joined th’ team, Strongheart made m’ race ‘er ‘round the track five times, an’ even wrestled me t’ th’ ground.”

“Yea’,” Applejack chuckled and dropped her voice into a murmur that she wasn’t sure she wanted Braeburn to hear. “When Ah joined, Dash wanted t’ see just how good Ah was with m’ hands, and tried t’ put ‘em down her pants.”

“Pardon?” Braeburn furrowed his brow questioningly, and Applejack just nervously coughed and forced the subject away.

“Never you mind, y’best be gettin’ back t’ your side, else it ain’t gonna be a challenge when we run another few touchdowns past ya,” Applejack grinned and started back to her team.

“Now who’s cocky?” Braeburn laughed and let her be.

It was the Buffalo’s ball, and the Manticores set up for defence. Rainbow Dash stood at the far side of the line, casually cracking her neck and back like she was bored. In front of her, Little Strongheart took her place as tight end. Applejack watched the two carefully from her position as strong safety, moving a few steps closer in case Rainbow needed assistance. Even from the second farthest position from the line, the farthest being Scootaloo due to the speed and lack of size akin to being anywhere near the line, Applejack could hear her cousin calling numbers to distract from the snap.

The lines collided once more as Braeburn took the ball from his centre, holding it back for a throw. The Buffalo’s fullback had taken to hitting the same side of the line as Rainbow, and with the added resistance, she had a hard time covering it. Her protective instincts setting in, Applejack quickly glanced at Scootaloo to be sure she was ready to take on the receivers, and finding her already eying one that closed in on her, Applejack went to Rainbow’s aid.

Spike noticed the lack of support behind the line immediately, and over the shoulder of the tackle he noticed Featherweight struggle to guard the receiver on his side. The defensive end beside him pushed hard on the tackle and grit her teeth, casting a strained glare at Spike.

“Get gone, partner,” it was Apple Bloom who spoke to him as she firmly held the man before her. “Ah’ll hold.”

Spike didn’t even get the chance to nod as Featherweight lost control of the receiver, who took off. Turning on a dime, Spike went after the enemy as fast as his now more toned legs could carry him. Even over the sound of the whistling wind screeching between his helmet and his ears, Spike could hear her cheering for him, and it drove him on.

He caught up easily to the receiver, who had not anticipated him to break after him. Scootaloo was just behind him, keeping a close distance and a careful eye on the rest of the line. As the enemy turned around to catch the toss, which Spike had been too distracted to even watch for, Spike glanced above and leapt off the ground. His height provided him with just enough advantage to tip the ball out of the receiver’s hands, knocking it through the air. But before it twisted and tumbled to the ground, Scootaloo snatched it clean out of the arc and broke into a sprint in the opposite direction.

Spike hit the ground again and turned at once to knock the potential receiver flat onto their rear. By the time he turned around to look, Scootaloo was well on her way back to the line with the ball held tight in her arms. Squeezing the pigskin against her chest to lessen the pain she felt while running unprotected, she managed to increase her speed.

Apple Bloom glanced over her shoulder when she heard the cheering and caught sight of her childhood friend. The tackle she was holding made to shake her loose, but more than willing to protect her smaller friend, she threw both arms around him and tripped him over her leg. Scootaloo had no trouble avoiding the line since they were all otherwise occupied, but by then the Buffalo’s quarterback, namely Braeburn, had noticed the approach and was on his way to intercept.

Noticing Braeburn’s path easily, Apple Bloom took off to take him out and defend the much smaller girl just on her heels. Braeburn was surprised at her sudden attack, and tried to dodge out of the way, but could not escape Apple Bloom’s iron grip once she got a hold on him. As Scootaloo skimmed their interchange, narrowly escaping the tackle, Apple Bloom dropped her cousin to the ground in one heavy, rough motion. The two fell together onto the turf with groans and thuds.

“Shoot, you’re playin’ too, little cous’?” Braeburn asked incredulously as he crawled out from under her. “When’d you get s’darn scary, Apple Bloom? Ah ‘member when y’all had t’ sit on AJ’s shoulders t’ reach th’ soup stock.”

“Ah ain’t no little girl no more. First th’ soup stock, then th’ world!” she giggled as Scootaloo made it across the final line.

Another horn blew out as the touchdown was scored for the Manticores, and Scootaloo threw the ball lazily over her shoulder and gestured for the crowd to shout louder for her. The teams broke apart to celebrate or brood amongst themselves, while Scootaloo made her way back to the field goal line to wait for Spike’s kick. As she came up to the rest of the team, she was greeted with hard slaps and compliments, which she gladly accepted.

“Looks like I’m not the only one you have to look out for!” Rainbow Dash shouted across the field to Little Strongheart, who glared a bit but ultimately looked more determined than upset about it. “Sweet rush, squirt, you’re like a little me in the making.”

“Thanks!” Scootaloo grinned as Rainbow Dash roughly knocked on her helmet, passing her on the way to her place.

“Nice catch,” Spike smiled as he came up beside her, and she casually crossed her arms behind her head.

“I really am, aren’t I?” Scootaloo winked through her visor and made a playful face, causing Spike to chortle a bit before he was up to kick.

Another successful kick put the Manticores in the lead with 21 to 20. By now, Spike had begun to feel invincible, having scored three kicks and a touchdown to himself.

The Buffalo hardly got a chance to hold the ball at all, as after a quick four downs they had not even come close to making it ten yards. Pipsqueak had much to do with that, almost single-handedly holding the line so that the outside linebackers could focus their attention elsewhere. Besides, the last snatched pass that turned into a touchdown had dissuaded Braeburn from going for long throws for a while.

Most of the third quarter was distinguished by the ball constantly switching hands and making it most of the way down either end of the field before swapping back. There were few penalties and fewer attempts to punt the ball to relinquish control, all in all, it was a safely-played quarter. As the fourth rolled around and the game remained neck in neck, the teams were getting antsy. Needless to say, that did not sit well with players like Rainbow Dash.

A quick huddle marked the beginning of the Manticore’s possession of the ball, and Applejack peered over the heads of her team mates to size up the enemies. While she was distracted, Rainbow Dash slipped right up beside her and began talking to the players herself.

“Alright bitches, we’ve still just got one, single damn point on these fuckers, that is not good enough for me,” she spat aggressively. “If we want to blow them out of the freaking kiddy pool, we gotta bring out the big guns.”

“Don’t even think ‘bout mentionin’ somethin’ ‘bout th’ one in your pants,” Applejack muttered absently as she got back into the huddle.

“Seems like you’re thinking about it enough for the both of us,” A grin crept across Rainbow’s face. “‘kay, where’s mini Dash?” Rainbow looked around for Scootaloo, trying to think up a better name for the kid, “Half Dash? Oh, what’s that thingy called…? Hymen?”

“Hyphen,” Applejack hurriedly corrected her.

“Whatever, like there’s a difference,” Rainbow brushed it off even when Applejack covered her face in embarrassment for her oblivious best friend. “Anyway, squirt, you think you can play receiver?”

“I already play receiver,” Scootaloo responded promptly, just as completely obliviously.

“No, I said play receiver, as in pretend, as in make believe, as in, you know, that play we practised?” Rainbow tried to make gestures so she might understand, but Scootaloo nodded over and over like it might have gotten through to her.

“Oh, right! Yeah, I remember!” Scootaloo agreed eagerly while bouncing up and down, but Rainbow Dash shushed her.

“Jeez, so much for a poker face,” Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Just do it like we practised and don’t let on that anything’s amiss. We’ll screw those pussies in one down. Speaking of which...” She turned with a suggestive smirk towards Applejack.

“Dream on.” Applejack pushed her away dully, knowing exactly where she was going with that, as the huddle broke and the players returned to the line. “Heya, Dash?”

“Giving my offer a second thought?” Rainbow Dash asked breezily.

“Y’think this play’a yours’ll work?” Applejack wondered as she glanced over at the shorter girl.

“Course baby, I wouldn’t let you down,” Rainbow patted Applejack on the lower back as she let her go up ahead. “And you never answered me about that second thought!”

Applejack shook her head with a laugh as she got to the line and set up behind the centre, leaving Rainbow Dash hanging. Scootaloo breathed a long and heavy breath as she readied herself for a good performance, teetering her weight from one foot to the other. The field got quiet once again, but over the buzzing crowd, Applejack called for the snap.

The ball hit her hands and she hardly hesitated to fall into her familiar passing stance. Applejack leaned back, holding her throwing arm behind her head and aiming the throw towards her now sprinting receiver, Scootaloo. Braeburn caught sight of her setting up and immediately took off after the small girl, knowing he would need a good start to catch up to her. Little Strongheart saw this out of the corner of her eye and quickly glanced at the Manticore's quarterback, catching the same tell as Braeburn. Knowing she was much faster than the boy, Little Strongheart went after, noticing the lead Scootaloo was gaining.

Applejack readied to throw as she saw Scootaloo's advantage. However, at the last second, she pulled her arm farther back and dropped the ball behind her back: right into Rainbow Dash's expectant hands. Taking off like a bullet, Rainbow Dash rushed around the opposite side of the line from where Scootaloo had taken the attention. Kicking up some grass from the turf with the power of her cleats, she rounded the line and charged down the field almost completely unopposed.

Checking the skies above her for the supposed incoming projectile, Scootaloo proceeded to turn her body like she was anticipating a catch. Little Strongheart was right on her tail, and Braeburn was not too far behind, though losing ground. He checked over his shoulder to try and see the ball, but noticed too late that the air was free of any pass. His eyes darted around to try and find what happened, squinting to see the line still holding tight. He froze stiff as wind raced past him, blowing his jersey and hair about from under his helmet. Slowly, he turned around with an incredulous stare, flabbergasted at the sheer speed that the runningback had passed him with.

Little Strongheart grew uncertain as the pass never came in, and as she was about to turn and look for it, Scootaloo nearly stopped dead in her tracks. Catching the safety off guard, she proceeded to close the distance entirely and latch her arms around Little Strongheart. However, Little Strongheart was no pushover, and managed to wriggle out of the hold. Hearing the fast, pounding footsteps approaching her, Little Strongheart immediately set her sights on Rainbow Dash.

The two rivals hit breakneck speeds as the distance between them and the end zone neared, but since Little Strongheart was already ahead of Rainbow Dash, it seemed nearly impossible to get past her. But Rainbow Dash was never the type to give up or back down, so just as daring as ever, she sprinted right for the end zone regardless of the obstacle. Little Strongheart fell into step at the same yard line as Rainbow and pushed herself to make it before they reached the end.

With a hopeful leap, Little Strongheart got her hands around Rainbow Dash and tried to push her down. Rainbow slammed her foot into the hard ground to keep herself upright and managed another few steps before she was thrown down in a tumbling mess. She kept the ball inside both of her arms, even as her body hit the ground and her helmet fell off in the tackle. Little Strongheart, using so much force, fell to the grass in the opposite direction of Rainbow Dash, their rolling bodies gaping distance between them.

Vaguely hearing a loud horn blow, Rainbow Dash rolled her head to the side and noticed the end zone several yards away from her, and slammed her eyes shut in disappointment and frustration. Feeling the grass in her hair, Rainbow Dash glared dully at the stupid sky above her, angry at everything. As she pulled herself up, she looked around for her helmet. She saw it several feet away, in the opposite direction of the line marking the end zone. As she groaned and got herself to her feet, she noticed that beyond that was the goal post, and the fence.

She wasn't several yards away from the end zone, she was several yards past it.

The cheering crowd finally hit her, and she looked over to see them all waving their hands and holding up her colours. She glanced up at the scoreboard just in time to see the 'HOME' score flip over, providing the Manticores with a greater lead. Feeling pride swelling up inside her, she bit back a loud laugh and a beaming grin.

Rainbow bent down and scooped her helmet up off the turf with a swing of her arm, letting her freed hair blow about as she stood up to her usual humble height. Before she got a chance to put the protective equipment back on, Applejack came right on up to her with a great big smile. Though her breath was shallow after the short jog, she spoke to her rainbow-headed captain admiringly.

“You're amazin',” Applejack said in a heavy breath as she shook her head back and forth.

“Damn right I am,” Rainbow Dash flipped her hair out of her face, but was caught off guard as Applejack came even closer and her smile spread into a wide grin.

“Oh, Ah could jus' kiss you right now,” Applejack took hold of Rainbow Dash by the shoulders and squeezed, her bright and excited eyes darting between the captain's.

“I'm not stopping you,” Rainbow eagerly stepped closer and mixed the crimsons of their uniforms, her daring eyes flashing up at the freckled girl.

Applejack's mouth hung barely open as she tried to think up some excuse or retort, but nothing came. Rainbow Dash waited patiently, for once, as her friend nervously forced a laugh and avoided eye contact. Still pleased by the captain's play, Applejack decided not to just shove her off for once. She wrapped her hand behind Rainbow's head, feeling the cool wind in her hair, and pulled her forward. Her helmet tapped Rainbow's forehead lightly above the visor just once before Applejack released her, and a couple playful nudges were exchanged.

“You're off the hook, for now.” Rainbow Dash winked at the farmer and blew her a kiss. “But I won't let you go so easy next time.”

“Ah like it better hard, any who,” Applejack muttered with a smirk, while Rainbow grinned, nodded and shook her finger approvingly.

“See? You're just as perverted as me, only you hide it well,” Rainbow walked backwards as Applejack followed her, but as she neared, Rainbow got an idea and reached out. Feeding the tips of her fingers into the bars of the mask, she pulled the farmer close again. “I just have to dig a little bit deeper.”

Rainbow's voice was an alluring hush as she leaned in. Applejack's wide eyes focused on the fingers mere inches from her face, the index and middle fingers specifically, as Rainbow spread them apart on the bars into something reminiscent of a 'V' shape. With a tauntingly slow move, she dragged her tongue between her fingers, slipping it into the wide space between the protective bars of Applejack's mask. The lick left thin, invisible lines of saliva along her own fingers, and left Applejack completely dumbstruck.

She grinned deviously as she released the gripping hold she had on her friend and turned off, going back to the rest of the team and leaving the quarterback standing utterly still with shock. Swallowing the odd curiosity that arose within her, Applejack shook the incessant imagery out of her head and jogged back to her place.

It would not have mattered if Spike had missed the last kick, though he didn’t, considering the Buffalo could not get close enough to imagine another touchdown until the clock ran right out. While their defence was intimidating, the Buffalos’ offence was manageable, and their morale had dropped enough to be completely overcome by the Manticore’s newfound confidence.

The score settled at 28-20 in the Manticore’s favour, sealing their first victory into the books.

Expectedly, the group ran together, hugging each other for their first victory. Rainbow Dash leapt into the air and landed practically on top of the huddle, unable to control the grin on her face as she let out a holler, celebrating their victory. Spike didn’t partake in the group hug, idly walking towards the sidelines. The attention was enough for him and he looked over to go see his friends and her. Pinkie Pie was frantically tugging at the back of her shirt while pointing right behind Spike. Raising an eyebrow, Spike slowly turned, only to feel a hand grab the back of his jersey and yank him back.

“Hey, asshole, you’re one of the reasons we won today. Get in the fuckin’ group hug, bub,” Rainbow shouted, giving him a hard enough tug that he stumbled back only for Rainbow to wrap an arm around his head as she dragged him back.

“Wowie, Dashie sure is brash and mean and rough, but at least Spikey’s getting involved,” Pinkie said, giggling.

Twilight rolled her eyes, holding a video recorder as she caught Spike on film. She had gotten the entire game and, with persuasion from Rarity, focused mostly on Spike. Rarity resisted the urge to go out onto the field to congratulate Spike, her eyes on him most of the game. Instead, she stood there, smiling as he revelled in his victory.

“I thought he was just joining for the sake of joining. I didn’t know our boy was this good,” Spike and Twilight’s mother said.

“Wait, you didn’t believe me?” Shining asked with a scrunched up face.

“It’s not that, but Spike has always been a bit—” Their father paused, drawing the attention of the others in the group. Twilight knew what he was implying, as did the rest, yet their father had never said anything before. “Disinterested in sports,” Twilight’s father finished, attempting to keep face.

“Yeah, I understand, dad,” Twilight said, making sure her thumb was over the camera mic. Looking down at the screen, it was still facing a smiling Spike, and whatever sadness she felt was replaced with happiness. Smiling as well, she looked up to see him look naturally a part of the group. “But he’s changing for the better, so don’t get left behind thinking about who he was.”

On the field, the hug finally dissolved and Spike strode to the sidelines, keeping an eye out for her. As he left the field, he stopped to scan the bleachers, having forgotten where Rarity was in the heat of the moment. A gentle tug on his sleeve caused him to turn to the right, only for his heart to stop.

“Congratulations, Spikey-wikey,” Rarity told him, stepping forward and giving him a hug. “I knew you had it in you.”

Spike was still facing down at where Rarity was and his arms robotically moved before wrapping around Rarity. His face heated up and once more, he allowed himself to sniff the perfume she wore as he closed his eyes, enjoying the brief moment.

“Angel Liqueur de Parfum, if I’m not mistaken,” Spike said, recognizing the pricey perfume Rarity had put on.

“W-what? Oh my, how did you guess that?” Rarity asked, leaning back and stared up at Spike.

“Just a hunch,” Spike responded as his hug loosened and the two parted, only their hands resting on the other.

He let his mouthguard fall out, dangling from the face mask as he loosened the strap before removing it entirely, setting it on the Manticores’ bench. He faced Rarity once more as the rest of his friends pooled onto the sidelines, the team just preparing for the handshakes. A quick glance up, he saw his parents smiling and, to his amusement, Felix attempting to toss an empty can into a nearby trashbin only for it to bounce off and have residue liquids hit his eye. Looking back to Rarity, she removed her hands from his sides and their eyes met. Spike took a gulp, eyes unable to focus on anyone else… so it came as a huge surprise to him yet again when their team captain yanked him out onto the field, Spike’s cleats catching the ground causing him to skip rather than slide against the grass.

“Fuck later, we’ve gotta go rub in our victory,” Rainbow shouted as Spike was haplessly tossed into the lineup.

“We ain’t rubbin’ in nothin’, Rainbow,” Applejack chastised, lightly scowling over her shoulder at Rainbow.

“I’ll be rubbing something into my face later, babe,” Rainbow retorted, grinning as she stepped closer to Applejack, her hands motioning towards the farmer’s lower region.

“Mhmm, sure,” Applejack didn’t bother looking at her, rolling her eyes sarcastically as she kept on walking.

Unfortunately for the captain, Apple Bloom stepped between Rainbow and Applejack obliviously, Scootaloo right behind her. Grunting, Rainbow folded her arms and growled lightly.

“Stupid kids, cockblocking Rainbow Dash,” she muttered, averting her eyes from Applejack’s now grinning face.

Spike started walking, Pipsqueak right behind him acting as the back of the line. Glancing up, he saw the Buffalo taking their loss well, smiling and complementing the Manticores. Of course, Rainbow wasn’t conventionally complimenting them as she fist-bumped each member.

“Close but you can’t handle me. Sorry, you’re the ones that challenged Rainbow Dash. Maybe next time, Buffabros.” Rainbow merely got another eyeroll from Applejack as they finished the handshakes.

Spike was initially nervous about the handshakes, yet confident after their victory, aided by his efforts. He was even more surprised to hear genuine praise from his enemy. For once in his life, he was hearing a plethora of compliments swarming in, and they weren’t forced like ones you’d hear from a teacher or counsellor.

“Great game out there.”

“Nice tackle back then.”

“Woah, wicked eyes, bro.”

"Fuckin' love dragons."

Spike couldn’t even respond as he felt himself at a loss for words, grinning uncontrollably as he high-fived the last of the Buffalo. Even after they were done, Rainbow and Little Strongheart still had words to say; Spike ignored it entirely in favour of what would most likely be a more civil chat between Applejack and Braeburn.

“That was pretty fun, cous’,” Braeburn admitted graciously. “If it wasn’t f’ that fluke your tight end had an’ yer captain, we would have had this in th’ end.”

“Believe me when Ah say we almost lost it halfway in there,” Applejack humbly agreed, patting her cousin on the shoulder.

They both turned along with Spike as a shout got their attention.

“Bullshit, there is no alternate scenario, no universe where you would have beaten us, Strongheart!” Rainbow shouted, being held back easily by Pipsqueak.

“There is where I beat your stupid face in, Dash!” the loud-mouth for the Appleoosan Buffalo shouted.

Little Strongheart was held back easily by what one could call the Appleoosan equivalent to Pipsqueak. Both larger boys looked away from the scene, embarrassed as each of the two most aggressive players threw off their helmets, swatting at each other.

“Well, Ah should prob’ly break this up b’fore we wind up disqualified… ‘gain,” Applejack spoke in a sigh, glancing down as she hid her reddening face.

“True that, cousin,” Braeburn said, chuckling.

With that, the two cousins shared a hug yet again, congratulating each other on the hard-fought game before they waltzed off to stop what would be a brutal double homicide from occurring. Spike walked back to the Manticores bench, fetching his helmet as he sauntered off, holding his head high as he made his way towards the showers to clean himself off.

Light footsteps sounded behind him; high heels clacking against the pavement. Spike recognized the sound of that anywhere and spun around to see Rarity following him with a small grin on her face.

“Rarity, aren’t you gonna stay with the others?” Spike asked, feeling his heartbeat quicken once more.

“And let you run off all by your lonesome? Puh-leeze, Spikey, you forget who I am,” she mused, slowly approaching Spike. “You don’t have to go to the showers right now. Stay and bask in the glory. The victory was well-earned.”

Spike shrugged, turning away as he faced the ground, finding a crack to gaze at. “It’s not about glory for me. I just don’t wanna be a loser anymore… and you and my other friends, you all graduate this year. So I’ll be alone.”

Rarity approached him and gently placed her hand on his cheek, making Spike’s eyes meet her own. She had a stern face and lightly patted his cheek, causing him to blink once.

“You will never be alone, Spikey-wikey,” Rarity spoke softly, her thumb gently caressing his cheek. “And even when we leave, you’ll have the friends you made now. And even when we do leave—” Once more, she looked up and her blue eyes locked onto Spike’s. “You’ll have me. I’ll always be here.”

Spike’s heartbeat was threatening to jump out of his chest once again, and after riding a wave of confidence, his right hand leaned up and he let his fingers softly press against the back of her head, soliciting a shiver from Rarity as her eyes briefly closed. Gently, Spike pulled Rarity’s head closer as he leaned forward. Closing his eyes, he allowed himself to fantasize briefly for one moment what it’d feel like as well as a chance to wonder if that moment was truly happening.

As their lips met, all of his fantasies faded from existence, not even coming close to how it felt. His heartbeat seemed to stop and his mind went blank as his lips pressed against ruby softness. The scent of her perfume was clear to his nose; the taste of her lips was clear to his mouth. She stepped forward, arching her back so she could be closer. Spike dropped his helmet, letting it roll onto the grass as his now-free hand wrapped around her waist, holding onto her tightly.

After several seconds, he parted briefly and she simply stared up at Spike’s face, cheeks flushed and panting lightly. Spike’s eyes widened as he realized what happened, yet he was too surprised stiff by his own actions to move from his position. Rarity giggled as she stared in wonder.

“You do have impressive eyes… I’d say you aren’t an iguana. You’re a dragon,” Rarity told him, giggling as she continued to caress his cheek.

Spike gulped as he stepped back and continued to stare at her, smiling as he realized what just occurred.

“Thi-this isn’t just because I’m a star, is it?” Spike asked, giggling as he rejected the thought immediately.

“This is because of a promise made by a sweet little boy years ago… a boy who always promised to protect me, no matter what,” Rarity whispered softly.

“Wait, you actually remember that?” Spike inquired in shock, chuckling in disbelief.

“And stay out!” the boy shouted, his voice cracking as he sniffled back a bit of snot and blood, eyes watering. He turned to face the girl as she laid on the ground, crying and holding her wrist. “Are you okay?” the boy asked, sniffling.

“M-my w-wrist h-h-hurts,” she cried out, rubbing the red area.

“I should have ran faster. Those bullies are morons,” the boy said, helping the girl to her feet.

“I-it’s o-okay, m-my wrist i-is only s-swollen,” the girl said, sniffling yet again as she tried to work her words out.

She glanced up to face the boy and seemed amazed by how he looked. Her sniffling and crying stopped as she mouthed a “woah”.

“W-what is it?” the boy asked.

“Your e-eyes are… cool, and y-you’re bl-bleeding! You’re bleeding, b-but you aren’t crying,” she praised in her high voice, the focus on her wrist vanishing.

“I c-can’t cry, I’m a boy.” Glancing over to where the three boys ran off, Spike briefly turned back to the girl and sniffled once before attempting to smile. “They won’t bother you again, and if they do, I will protect you.”

“W-why?”

“You said it yourself: I have special eyes. I’m an iguana or something, and you noticed them in a way unlike all the others,” the boy said, grinning as he felt proud in his childish line.

“Iguana? What’s that? I thought you were a cat or… a dragon, or something,” the girl wondered, tilting her head.

“Dragon… I like the sound of that.”

“I always remembered that, and that’s why I want to be there for you now.” Rarity leaned in closer, planting a kiss on Spike’s cheek, causing the boy to shiver. “Because you were there for me.”

Spike’s lips trembled as he smiled once more. “I always looked for you, and I always felt the urge to keep going when I saw you cheering for me.” This time, he planted a kiss on her forehead. Pulling back, their eyes met again. “I just… this is like so many fantasies and wishes coming true, it’s almost surreal, like a dream.”

“Please don’t say something cliche, this is nothing like your fantasies,” Rarity said, giggling as she gently ran her hands up and down Spike’s back.

“I don’t think I have any fantasies anymore.” Spike let out a laugh, his heartbeat calming down slowly. “Thank you for cheering me on. It really helped.”

“Don’t thank me, Spikey-wikey. It was all you in the end. You just needed a little motivation, that’s all.”

Spike’s eyes were glued to her lips, and her eyes, and her hair as she spoke. He had memorized each curve, each curl, each lipstick colour she wore and the type of makeup she applied. He had learned, through years of watching, what she had worn and yet… all that he knew was gone from his head as if this was his first time meeting the girl he loved. As if he was meeting and seeing the beauty for the first time, and Spike simply chuckled in response.

“I’ll thank you this one time, alright?” he asked with a playful tilt of his head.

“Deal,” was all she said.

Once more, their lips met and Spike felt like it was their first kiss yet again. First contact, first time smelling her perfume, first time holding her, first time seeing her face… he almost didn’t want to let go... but incoming voices broke their kiss as they separated, standing several feet from each other and looking surprised towards the other.

“Hey, stop pushing, I think they heard us,” Rainbow’s voice grumbled in a hush.

“Goddammit, Rainbow, ya can’t just leave anythin’ alone, can ya?” Applejack’s voice practically shouted as the duo stepped out from under the bleachers, completely shadowed.

“Well, Rarity, thanks for the tips and, uh, example of how to pretend you’re kissing,” Spike spat out, feeling his face growing red.

“Spikey, there really is no hiding it,” Rarity admitted, averting her eyes as one hand rubbed her other arm, biting her bottom lip.

“Fuck, I thought you two would never get together,” Rainbow praised, jumping forward and wrapping both arms around Spike and Rarity’s heads. “It only took you about 600 years.”

“Agh, not the hair! Rainbow Dash, release me!” Rarity squeaked, frantically clawing at Rainbow’s gloved hand.

“Don’t worry, Rares, I’ll give you the $6.43 I have on me. That should be good enough for a new weave, right!?” Rainbow asked, releasing Spike’s head to give the fashionista a noogie.

“Nooo, Rainbow Dash, stoooop!” Rarity wailed once more, fighting the smaller girl.

“Ah wouldn’t blame her if she killed ya, RD,” Applejack muttered, helping Rarity to pry Rainbow’s grip off of her.

“My beautiful hair,” Rarity pleaded as she examined the tangled knots Rainbow created.

Spike could only watch, feeling embarrassed for the girl as Applejack practically choked Rainbow, dragging the team captain to the showers. As his teammates’ distant arguing and teasing grew quieter, Spike and Rarity were once again alone. Stepping forward, Spike gently wrapped his fingers around Rarity’s wrists and her eyes locked on his.

“You look beautiful even with a ragged hairdo, don’t worry,” Spike told her, his voice almost cracking.

“Oh, Spike,” she cooed, her body losing the tension.

They stepped forward and briefly pressed their lips together once more, separating as they heard more footsteps. This time, the recognizable voices of Spike’s family and other friends could be heard along with the Manticores and rest of the viewers. Spike immediately knelt down to pick up his helmet, holding it to his side.

“So, what does this mean for the rest of the team?” Spike brought up suddenly.

“Hmm?” Rarity asked, fixing her hair as Twilight and the others approached the two.

“You cheer me on, so I’m taken care of… but what about the rest of the team? Maybe… maybe we can get a cheer squad for them, too?” Spike asked, inspecting his helmet for any cracks.

“Well—” Rarity glanced over to one the torrent of people exiting the field area. “I have just the girl in mind to help start that up.” Rarity said knowingly as she darted past Twilight and the others after spotting someone exiting the area.

Spike watched her run off as Twilight lightly elbowed him in the side, giggling as she did.

“Hey there, superstar. What were you doing back here?” Twilight led on, winking at Spike teasingly.

“Was it drugs? Is our boy shooting up?” their father wondered with a grin.

Silence rang out from the group as all eyes turned to him, Shining slapping himself on the forehead. Twilight’s father shrugged his shoulders, coughing once.

“What, I thought you kids were into that sort of thing,” he said as Twilight’s mother shoved him away.

“No, definitely not… but, whatever I was doing, it was certainly euphoric,” Spike admitted, remembering the kiss.

“S… so you were masturbating!?” his mother asked incredulously.

“Oh my god, why would you ask that!?” Twilight nearly shouted in embarrassment, now being the one to shove her mother away in the direction of their father.

Spike groaned, turning away from the group to face a brick wall behind him. Pinkie Pie was the first one to break the silence, bursting into her usual flamboyant laughter, which significantly lightened the mood.

“Oh my, I’m sorry, Spike,” Fluttershy apologized meekly, clearly akin to shyness and embarrassment herself, so she knew how he must have felt.

“Why are you apologizing, Miss ‘Shy?” Big Macintosh asked, having witnessed the whole thing as Scootaloo and Apple Bloom followed behind him.

“I… don’t know?” she responded, her face reddening, obviously thinking too much.

“Are all y’all masturbatin’ over here?” Apple Bloom asked loudly.

“Why didn’t you invite us!?” Scootaloo shouted, scowling as she folded her arms.

“Wowie, we should have a party for this since everybody’s so interested!” Pinkie Pie squealed excitedly.

“No, Pinkie! Ugh, everybody, just stop and drop this topic!” Twilight called out, yanking out several hairs as she tried to forget what had been said and get the images out of her head.

Turning over, Spike let himself laugh once more, glad for once that he was in such an awkward situation. The group interactions got to him and soon, he found himself almost on the verge of tears of joy. Breaking the situation was none other than Rarity, dragging a familiar face.

“Oh, heya, Sweetie Belle,” Apple Bloom addressed her, grinning. “Ah didn’t know ya were here.”

“I came with Rarity, but lost her in the crowd. By the time I found her, the game started and I was already cheering for the Buffalo team, and I didn’t wanna break the groove I had the crowd in,” Sweetie Belle pleasantly explained.

“Da fuck? You were cheering for the Buffalo? Bitch, cheer for us next time,” Scootaloo barked, not hiding the wide grin on her face.

“Actually, Rarity just came to me with the idea which she got from Spike. Apparently, he thought the Manticores should have a cheer team,” Sweetie Belle said, causing all eyes to turn to Spike.

“Woah, Spike, way to go, man. We’re gonna get some babes,” Score praised with a laugh, high-fiving Hoops.

Big Macintosh spun around, glaring at the two boys causing them to stop and gulp.

“Ain’t none of y’all ‘re even thinkin’ ‘bout touchin’ my sis’ friend,” he threatened in a low voice, low enough that nobody else heard him over the chatter.

Sweetie Belle approached Spike and eyed him up briefly. Spike had to do the same, having not seen her this close in several years. She was beginning to look a good deal more like her sister, and her voice didn’t squeak all the time anymore. He even noticed brushes of make-up lining her eyes.

“Hi, Spike. It’s been a while,” she started simply.

“Um, hi, Sweetie Belle,” Spike responded, finding himself nervous once more. His eyes glanced up to see that yes, Rarity was watching him with a smile on her face. “S-so, you wanna cheer for the Manticores?”

“Sure! I was gonna do it today, since I figured you needed it after what happened last game, but I’d need others to join to get it approved,” Sweetie Belle said, pondering her options.

“Ooh, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy can do it!” Pinkie Pie beamed, squeezing Fluttershy in a tight hug as the latter’s eyes widened.

“W-what!? Me!? Cheer in front of a crowd!? I can’t cheer!” she protested, struggling to escape Pinkie’s grasp.

“Silly willy, you can too. Just take a deep breath and shout! Lots of passion, screaming and hollering! Let your voice be heard! C’mon, Flutters, I’ll coach you!” Pinkie cheered, hopping up and down.

“O-okay, I mean, if you're sure,” the shy girl murmured, poking her fingers together.

“Well, that’d be three,” Sweetie Belle counted. She stood there, tapping her chin as she stared skyward before shrugging. “Oh well, we’ll think of a few by next game. But if I’m gonna be helping the team—” Sweetie Belle pulled out her phone, entering her contacts. “We’re gonna have to exchange numbers.”

“O-oh, alright,” Spike stammered but agreed, pulling his phone out.

Once more, Spike had exchanged his number with another, as Sweetie Belle filled her contacts up with the others on the football team. Glancing down at the contacts list, he grinned as he saw it was significantly larger than it was at the start of the year; fifteen numbers now. If he had looked up, he would have seen the several faces smiling at his happiness.

Unexpectedly, his phone started to vibrate and his ringtone, a song from Les Miserablés, started to play. Curiously, he saw the caller ID and sighed heavily.

“Who is it?” Twilight asked, leaning over with widened eyes.

Spike tapped the wiggling green telephone on his screen and spoke.

“Hi, Rainbow,” Spike muttered into the phone. Over the sounds of running water and distant protests, a voice came in clear, raised to an intentionally high and feminine tone.

“Oh, oh, Spike, you make me—Rarity—so happy! Yes, Spikey-wikey, I’ve seen how you look at me, oh, yes, keep touching me like that, Spikey-wikey, I lo—”

“Aaand enough of that,” Spike said, tapping the red phone icon.

Glancing up, he saw the confused faces of the rest of the group, except for Rarity whom merely hid behind her flowing purple hair.

“Prank call?” Spike tested the excuse, and it worked well enough.