In Bane's Voice: Let the game begin!

Oh, and one more thing; I decided to go three parts instead of two.

Part Two

In a vast, open section of the park, Pinkie Pie finished setting up little clusters of multi-colored balloons to mark the end zones as well as the out-of-bounds areas. Where she found so many balloons that seemed to appear out of nowhere... It's Pinkie Pie; everypony gave up trying to understand her a long time ago. Once she finished weighing down the last set of balloons with a rock, she giddily bounded over to her friends, who were gathered in the center of the field.

Rainbow Dash and Applejack had naturally decided to go against each other, being the rivals that they were. And of course there was no way in Tartarus Rarity was going to team up with Rainbow Dash, so she and Fluttershy made up Applejack's team while Twilight and Pinkie were with Dash. An earth pony, a pegasus and a unicorn on each team... seemed fair.

"Alright, here's how we'll do this..." Dash began. "Since the field we're playing on is roughly half the size of a normal Hoofball, we'll forget the whole first down thing and just give you four shots to get into the end zone. If you fail to get in, you turn the ball over to the other team. Now, Fluttershy and I won't use our wings, and Twilight and Rarity aren't allowed to use magic to catch the ball. You can use your hooves to tip the ball if you want, but throwing and catching has to be done entirely with our mouths, just like the pros do."

Twilight raised an eyebrow at that. "Um, I assume we'll be wiping the the ball off after each play, right?"

Dash chuckled a bit. "Well, I kinda had a feeling you'd be worried about that, so I guess I should tell you that I spit in everypony's dandelion sandwiches before the picnic. And now that you know that you all have my loogies inside you, you probably won't be as grossed out by putting your mouths on the same Hoofball."

Everypony's response was just a horrified stare. Even Pinkie Pie seemed grossed out. Dash could only hold for a few seconds before she burst out laughing. "Joking! Joking! I wouldn't do that to you guys!" Nopony seemed particularly amused at that, aside from Pinkie Pie, who managed to crack a small smile. Dash laughed for a little while longer, then abruptly went serious. "Actually, just don't let your tongues touch it and we should be fine. Everypony cool with that?"

They all took a moment to think about it, then nodded simultaneously.

"Well, I suppose this can't get anymore uncouth than it already is," Rarity moaned. She still appeared quite determined to exact revenge on Rainbow Dash, but there was no denying that she was dying a little inside.

"Okay then," Twilight said. "We get four tries to score or else the other team gets the ball and all throwing and catching has to be done with our mouths. What are we playing to?"

Dash thought for a moment. "How about... first team to five touchdowns wins?"

"Sounds fine ta me," Applejack said, and nopony objected.

"First to five touchdowns..." Twilight took a mental note. "Now, I assume we're playing Touch Hoofball, right?"

Dash just stared at her for a moment, then chuckled awkwardly. "Uh, heh heh, No, Twi, we're tackling. Touch Hoofball's for wussies."

"Oh, um..." Fluttershy began to shuffle nervously. "I'm not sure I'm okay with that."

"Yeah, me neither," Applejack said. "You and I might be tough enough to take some hits, but the other's ain't quite got the same build as us. Somepony might get hurt, Dash."

"Oh, come on!" Dash groaned. "We're not like those big bad professionals; nopony's gonna get seriously hurt. Maybe a few bruises and scratches, but nothing serious. AJ and I will hold back on our full strength a little if that makes you feel better."

"Well," Twilight thought for a moment. "I guess I'm okay with that. I'm sure Pinkie doesn't mind either." The pink pony nodded enthusiastically. "And as for Rarity..." The ivory unicorn was still glaring daggers at Rainbow Dash. "...Yeeeeaaaaaaah..." She then turned to Fluttershy, who was visibly trembling now. Twilight frowned sympathetically. "I think we should maybe make Fluttershy the exception, though; I don't want to see her get hurt."

"Yeah, I reckon that's fair 'nough," Applejack agreed.

Rainbow Dash sighed. "Fine, no tackling Fluttershy," she groaned.

"Um, thank you," Fluttershy seemed to calm down a bit. "I appreciate your understanding."

Rarity's expression softened a bit, and she gave the shy pegasus a kind nuzzle. "And if anypony breaks that rule, they'll have me to deal with," she whispered in her ear. "Especially if it's Rainbow Dash."

"So, is that everything?" Dash asked as she pumped herself up.

"Well actually..." Twilight said. "Shouldn't we have a referee or something? Don't they have those in professional games?"

"Twi, it's just backyard Hoofball; who cares if we commit penalties or something? I can pretty much guarantee that every play is going to have some kind of penalty since we're not playing a serious game."

"Well, I wasn't thinking about penalties so much as I was about just having an unbiased spectator to act as a judge for whenever a certain play looks questionable. It'll keep us from spending too much time arguing."

"That's... a pretty good point, I guess," Dash admitted. "Still, who are we gonna find to ref for us? We're like, the only one's in the park today."

"I think I see a suitable candidate," Rarity said in a sing-song voice as she stared off at an area behind Twilight.

They all turned to see the familiar form of Twilight's number one assistant, Spike walking right by the park, happily feasting on a triple scoop strawberry ice cream cone, peppered with tiny glistening gem shards. Twilight had given him the day off as a reward for all the hard work he'd done the past few days, particularly for his heroics at the Crystal Empire. She wondered if making him ref their game would be the same as putting him to work, which she wouldn't feel right about. But then again, he was a big fan of Hoofball, and was also the one who filled her in on some aspects of the game; maybe he'd enjoy doing this for them.

"Hey, Spike!" Twilight called to him, capturing his attention immediately. "Come here for a minute!"

Spike looked a bit confused as he took his time walking over to them. "Sup, Twi?" He greeted his closest friend. "You enjoying the picnic?"

"Listen, Spike," Twilight began. "The girls and I are playing a quick game of Hoofball and we need you to ref for us."

Spike just stared at her in disbelief for a moment. "You're playing Hoofball?" He asked, sounding as if he hadn't heard her right. "You... are gonna play Hoofball?"

"Yeah, we all are!" Twilight said in a chipper tone. "I figured I'd give it a try; it might be fun!"

Spike looked over the whole group. He could definitely see Rainbow Dash and Applejack doing this kind of thing, maybe Pinkie Pie too. But Fluttershy? And Rarity? Especially Rarity! The young dragon couldn't help but crack a delighted smirk. "Oh, this oughta be good!" He said excitedly. But after a few seconds his smile faded a bit. "But, do I really have to be a ref? I mean, I like watching Hoofball, and I wouldn't mind playing it sometime. But being a ref? Nopony like those guys; it's like the most hated job in the world! Didn't you hear about that game in Cloudsdale where the ref made a really bad call and the fans threw beer bottles at him?"

Rainbow Dash gave a small laugh. "Oh yeah, that game..." She said reminiscently. "Cloudsdale fans don't take kindly to getting jipped."

Applejack snorted in disgust. "That was absolutely pathetic behavior on their part."

"You can't really blame them for being upset, though; that stupid call killed their playoff hopes," Dash said a bit defensively.

"Oh, so mindlessly tossing glass bottles around and almost seriously hurtin' somepony is perfectly justifiable behavior?" Applejack asked incredulously.

"Hey, I've said several times, 'don't mess with Cloudsdale fans,' they take that sport very seriously!" Dash began to raise her voice.

"So, Spike!" Twilight interrupted quickly, before an argument could arise. "Think you're up to it? Don't be nervous; it's just us six here, nopony's watching us. We promise we won't get mad at you. Just call the game to the best of your ability, as honestly as possible, and everything will be fine."

"Uhhh..." Spike still looked unsure of this whole thing.

"Do it for me, Spikey-Wikey?" Rarity pleaded with a puppy dog look.

That was all it took. Spike smiled a bit and let out a sigh. "Alright. I'll do it for you, Rarity."

"Ohhhhhh! My hero!" She swooned, causing the dragon to blush.

"Just let me just finish my ice cream and I'll-" Spike halted abruptly as he lifted the cone to his mouth and saw that the ice cream was completely gone. With a horrified expression, he looked next to him to see a widely grinning Pinkie Pie with blots of darker pink and specks of gems surrounding her mouth. "Pinkie, my ice cream!" He cried. "I was looking forward to it all day! Why would you do that?!"

"Sorry," Pinkie said in her usual chipper tone. "I was just so anxious to start playing and I didn't really feel like waiting too long! I hope you're not too mad at me! I'll give you a free cupcake later if that would make you feel better!"

"But I want ice cream!" Spike whined.

"Um, Pinkie? You know there were gem shards on that ice cream, right?" Twilight asked worriedly.

"There were?" Pinkie replied as happily as ever. "Well, that explains why I'm tasting blood right now. Still, I've always wondered what gems tasted like..."

"Pinkie, our bodies can't digest gems the way a dragon's body can," Twilight pointed out.

"So?" Pinkie said as if it was no big deal.

"So?!" Twilight replied incredulously. "So... let's just say we're all going be feeling very sorry for you in a few hours..." Twilight shivered at the thought, then turned to her assistant. "Spike, I'll buy you another one after the game. For now, please go get in position at the the side of the field."

Spike groaned and pouted his lips in anger, but did as he was told. "I went from saving the Crystal Empire to having my ice cream taken from me and being forced to ref a meaningless backyard Hoofball game," he grumbled as he stomped to the sidelines. "My life sucks..."

So then," Twilight announced to her fiends. "Are we ready to start?"

"One more thing," Rainbow Dash said. "How about we add some stakes to this thing, just to make it a bit more interesting."

Applejack raised an eyebrow at that suggestion. "I'm listenin'." She sounded genuinely intrigued.

"Uh, girls? Friendly game, remember?" Twilight pointed out.

"Quiet, darling," Rarity hushed her. "This may prove to be quite delicious..."

Rainbow Dash thought for little while before a nasty smirk spread across her face. "How about this; the losers have to give the winners a rub down at the end of the game?"

"Whoa, now that there sounds purty harsh," Applejack said, sounding somewhat unsure... until her face broke into a determined grin. "I like it!"

"How utterly humiliating it will be for losers," Rarity said nastily.

Only Fluttershy seemed to be uncomfortable with this new development, though she said absolutely nothing against it.

"Well, I guess if that's what everypony wants..." Twilight said with a sigh. "I guess it's still just a friendly game in the end. And a rub down would probably feel pretty good after such an exhausting physical effort."

"Oh, I wouldn't get your hopes up, dear," Rarity said coolly. "It's doubtful you will be the one's receiving them at the end of the day."

Twilight stared wide-eyed at her usually graceful and elegant friend. "Pretty big words there, Rarity," she said as her eyes narrowed. "But actions speak louder than words..."

"Indeed." Rarity didn't seem at all phased. "Which is why now is the time to act." She turned to glare at Rainbow Dash. "Vengeance shall be mine!" She cried.

"Alright, it's on now!" Dash announced with determination. "Since it's my ball, we get first possession."

"Fine, I love playin' defense!" Applejack bragged. "Give's me the chance ta pummel ya real good!"

"Good luck with that, Applesmack," Dash teased as she picked up the ball and carried it under her wing. "Let's do this!"

With that, the group headed to one of the far sides of the field. Twilight walked between Dash and Pinkie, looking more than a bit apprehensive. "I really don't want to lose now, girls," she said nervously.

"We won't," Dash replied matter of factly. "Applejack's the only one over there who knows Hoofball. Rarity and Fluttershy have pretty much no experience whatsoever. Now with our team, Pinkie and I love Hoofball, and you know a few things about it; they're no match for us!"

"Um, in case you haven't noticed, Rarity really seems to have it in for you... for all of us actually," Twilight said in a tone filled with dread.

"Tch, I'm not afraid of that drama queen," Dash said snarkily. "Just watch; on the very first play she'll chip a hoof and call the whole the whole game off."

"You know, Rarity's not exactly a pushover," Twilight warned. "Remember our battle with the Changelings in Canterlot? I swear that one Changeling was not moving at all after Rarity clocked it. On top of that, I could've sworn I heard a snap..."

"That's because they're probably way more brittle than us though," Dash said. "Plus, she wouldn't use her full strength to hurt us. We're still her friends after all."

"C'mon, girls! Let's just try to have fun!" Pinkie Pie said cheerfully. "That's what the whole point of this game is, right?"

"Of course, Pinkie. You're absolutely right!" Twilight said with a smile. She then added in a quieter tone, "But if we win, the fun will most definitely be doubled."

"Ya got that right, Twi!" Dash said confidently. "There's no way in Tartarus I'm rubbing AJ's gross, sweaty back at the end of the day! Let's kick some flank!" The trio then got into position at about ten yards from their own end zone.

In front of them, Applejack, Rarity and Fluttershy got themselves set up for defense.

"Alright now," Applejack began. "I'll focus on Rainbow Dash while you two cover Twilight and Pinkie. The way this usually works is I hafta count ta three before I can rush her. What you girls need to do is stick to the others as best you can, don't allow them to get too wide open, make sure Dash has no chance of risking a pass that could be blocked or picked off. Ya'll think you can do that?"

"Um, I guess," Fluttershy squeaked.

"I shall do my best," Rarity said a bit more confidently. "Though if I may make a suggestion; if you happen to get to Rainbow Dash... hold nothing back."

"That's the idea," Applejack said with a smirk. "Let's give 'em a good whoop fer, huh?"

"Here here," Rarity said proudly.

"Yay," Fluttershy cheered, barely audible.

Meanwhile, on the offensive side of the ball, Rainbow Dash had her team gathered around her, a safe distance away from Team Applejack.

"Okay, so here's my plan for now," Dash began. "I've got a few sweet plays up in my mental playbook here," she tapped her forehead, "but we should save them for special occasions. We don't want to get too predictable. For now, I just want you two to focus on getting open as quickly as possible. Applejack has to count to three before she can come after me. Now, I'm more nimble than her, and I can throw pretty well on the run, but I'd rather not be forced to throw under pressure; that's a sure way to throw a pick right there. You both understand well enough?"

Pinkie nodded vigorously. Twilight gave a nervous smile. "I... think so..." she said, failing to sound as confident as she wanted to. She waited a few seconds before asking, "What's a pick?"

Dash facehoofed. "Just do what I asked you to do," she groaned.

Now both teams were ready. They approached the line of scrimmage and got into a crouching position. Rainbow Dash placed the ball down in front of her and bit down on it. She glanced up at Applejack, who was glaring down at her with her toughest war face. Rainbow matched it with her own glare, though she looked a little goofy with the big Hoofball jammed in her mouth.

Twilight found herself face to face with Rarity on Dash's left, while Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy faced each other on the right. Spike, who had for the time let his ice cream mishap go, focused intently on the two teams. "Shouldn't I have a whistle or something?" He said to himself. "Ah, who cares."

Rarity glared at Twilight with an almost animatistic intensity that had never used before. Twilight, now deeply determined not to lose, glared back with the same level of intensity.

Fluttershy, however, looked as meek and humble as ever. It wasn't helping at all that huge grin Pinkie was giving her was more disturbing than relaxing.

'Hiya, Flutters!" Pinkie greeted cheerfully. "Ready to have some fun?"

"Um, I guess..." Fluttershy answered weakly.

"Don't let her psyche ya out, Fluttershy!" Applejack called over to her, her eyes still focused on Rainbow Dash.

"Oh, um... okay." Fluttershy sucked in a deep breath and raised her voice a little. "You don't scare me, you... you... silly filly!"

Pinkie Pie just giggled at that, causing Applejack to roll her eyes. It was a start at least, but she still had quite a ways to go.

"Hrrgh... hrrghgh..." Rainbow Dash's words were muffled by the ball. "Hrrgh... hrrgh... HGUGH!" Dash pulled back into a passing position and Twilight and Pinkie Pie took off with Rarity and Fluttershy right on their tails.

"So it begins..." Spike said ominously.

"One Appleoosa... Two Appleoosa..." Applejack counted out loud.

Dash scanned the field before her. To her great annoyance, Twilight was running the most ridiculous route she had ever seen; cutting left and right, up and down so sporadically that if Dash attempted to pass to her, she would probably zing off in another direction and miss it. On top of that, Rarity was matching her movements flawlessly, never more than a single step behind her.

Dash quickly turned to Pinkie Pie, who had just managed to give her defender the slip by pulling an almost physics defying juke. Poor Fluttershy ended up getting her legs tangled together and went crashing to ground with an "Eep!" Pinkie was wide open.

"Three Appleoosa!" Applejack charged at Rainbow Dash, but not before the pegasus was able to zing the ball out over her head. It was a beautiful spiral, and it was dead on target. Pinkie made a jaw-dropping leaping catch and managed to land on all fours. Dash was able to see that her pass was complete, but nothing after that as Applejack's forward momentum sent her crashing into the pegasus. They both tumbled to the ground with heavy groans.

Pinkie had an open field in front of her. She could've easily gone all the way. But Rarity was at her before she could get too far. The unicorn dove gracefully in front of her, tripping her up and sending her tumbling to the ground.

"Alright, you're down." Spike called out. It was easily a fifteen yard gain.

"Nice catch, Pinkie!" Twilight congratulated. "You almost broke free!"

"Thanks, Twilight," Pinkie replied with a smile. "But ya know, if you had blocked Rarity, I probably would've broke free. Receivers have to block too sometimes. Try to remember that, okay?"

"Oh, um, sure," Twilight said, sounding a bit disappointed.

Meanwhile Rainbow Dash and Applejack had just gotten back to their hooves, the former with a rather nasty scowl on her face. "Hey, Spike!" She called out to the dragon. "How about a fifteen yard roughing the passer penalty?"

Applejack glowered at the pegasus. "Aw horseapples! That weren't no roughin' the passer! 'Sides, I thought we weren't worryin' 'bout penalties."

"That was before the we decided the losing team would pretty much be stripped of their dignity," Dash replied. "And yeah, I know it was my idea, but I don't want the winning team to have played dirty!"

"Well... fair 'nough, I s'pose," Applejack said. "But it still weren't no roughin' the passer!"

"I think that's up to Spike," Dash replied. She turned to Spike with a hopeful look.

"Uh, actually that wasn't really roughing the passer," Spike said with a hint of apprehension. "Applejack had no time to stop herself before hitting you. Plus she didn't go in low or head first. It was a pretty legit play in my opinion."

Rainbow Dash sent a scathing look at the baby dragon. "You better not be going easy on them because Rarity's on their team!"

Rarity gave a deeply offended scoff. "How dare you?!" She chided. "My little Spikey would never lower himself to such levels of unfairness! Not even for moi!" She then turned to Spike and gave him a cunning smile and wink, and the baby dragon honestly had no idea what to make of it.

Fluttershy finally managed to untangle her legs and stand up again. She slowly trotted over to her teammates, her head hanging low in shame.

"Are you alright, dear?" Rarity asked with concern.

"Yes, I'm okay," Fluttershy answered quietly. "That was an excellent stop you made, Rarity. I'm sorry I nearly blew it for us. I'm so useless..."

"Hey now, don't you fret none," Applejack chided gently. "Ya didn't blow nothin' yet. They didn't score, we can still stop 'em. Just try ta keep yer balance a little better an' you'll do fine. I know you'll git the hang o' this sooner 'r later. Jus' don't give up!"

"Oh- okay," Fluttershy answered, lifting her head a bit. "I'll keep trying."

A few feet away, Rainbow Dash gathered her team together. "Awesome job, Pinkie! The first play and we're already half-way there! Keep doing what your doing!"

"Will do, Dashie!" Pinkie said with a snappy salute.

Then Dash turned to Twilight, a less enthusiastic look on her face. "Look, Twi, I know I said to just try your best to get open, but you were all over the freakin' field! There was no way I could've hit you with how often you were cutting off in different directions."

"I know, and I'm sorry," Twilight apologized. "It's just that Rarity was all over me! Nothing I could do was helping me get away from her! I didn't think she'd be that good!"

Dash sighed and nodded understandably. "Yeah, no kidding. She says she's never played or even liked Hoofball, and right now she's playing like a flippin' professional! But whatever. We won't let her intimidate us! There are routes you can run that easy enough for me to follow and still keep you one step ahead of her. Like a curl route; run straight ahead a good few yards then jerk back towards me. That might throw her off a bit. Or maybe a slant route, like what Pinkie did on the last play; just run diagonally in front of me. As long as you stay in front of Rarity, I should be able to hit you."

Twilight took that all in and nodded. "Alright, I'll try those!"

"Awesome. Let's do this!"

The two teams assumed their positions, Fluttershy and Twilight looking a bit more confident this time around.

"HGUGH!" Dash hiked the ball, and Applejack began counting.

Dash scanned the field again. Though Fluttershy was doing a better job of staying on her hooves, Pinkie was still way out of her reach. She was currently right in front of the end zone, just a few yards shy of scoring. With how far she was from Fluttershy, Dash could've easily rocketed the ball to her and Pinkie would just waltz right in. But it was at that time she noticed Twilight attempting a slant route in front of her. Rarity was hot on her heels, but there was just enough of a window to squeeze a pass in. Pinkie may have been a sure touchdown, but felt she really should give Twilight a chance. The adorkable egghead was clearly playing her heart out, she deserved a shot.

Dash got the pass off a little faster this time. Applejack barely finished saying "Three" by the time it was out. It was another beautiful pass, thrown just ahead of Twilight. It was also a short pass, probably good for about eight yards, unless Twilight managed to break the tackle.

Twilight saw that the pass was going to be right on the money; she opened her mouth wide and felt it wedge right between her teeth. It was barely secure for a second when she felt Rarity come barreling into her backside with such force that the ball was instantly jarred loose, dropping to the ground along with the two unicorns.

Spike waved his arms in front of him. "Incomplete!" He called out.

Rainbow Dash groaned and stomped the ground in frustration. So much for giving her a shot.

Applejack stared wide-eyed at Rarity as she and Fluttershy returned to her. "Dang, Rare! You sure you ain't never played b'fore?"

"Never once," Rarity answered in an upbeat tone. "I suppose it just comes naturally to me, like dress making. Although I also suppose it helps that I'm being driven by a burning desire for revenge." She gave a quiet yet rather demented chuckle.

"Heh heh, sure," Applejack muttered nervously. She added quietly, "Crazy prima donna..."

On the offensive side of the ball, Rainbow Dash gave Twilight a stern, but not entirely angry glare.

"I'm sorry," Twilight said sadly. "I almost had it, I just-"

"Don't trip, Twi," Dash said calmly. "It was an improvement, at least. I'm not giving up on you yet." She took a moment to think about the next play. "Alright, I know we still have two shots left, but I think I'm gonna just drop the bomb on this one; they shouldn't be expecting that. Both of you just bolt right for the end zone, and I'll hit whoever's more open. No offense, Twi, but it's most likely gonna be Pinkie Pie, considering she's been leaving Fluttershy in the dust so far."

"I understand," Twilight said softly. And with that, the team returned to the line.

"HGUGH!"

Dash dropped back further this time, shifting her gaze back and forth between her receivers. As expected, Rarity was right on top of Twilight, and Fluttershy was miles behind Pinkie Pie.

Rainbow Dash didn't waste a second; she flung the ball with all her might and watched it sail. It was an absolutely perfect rainbow pass, and it was once again right on the money.

Even Applejack knew there was no preventing this one. "Aw shoot!"

Pinkie pinpointed exactly where the ball was going to wind up and set her galloping speed to put her right where she wanted to be. Fluttershy watched with tears in her eyes as Pinkie made another spectacular leaping catch and tumbled right into the end zone.

Spike raised his clawed hands above his head. "Touchdown!"

"WHOOOO!" Rainbow Dash and Twilight both cheered as they galloped up to Pinkie and joined her in celebrating in the end zone.

Applejack sighed sadly and shook her head. "Consarnit, Fluttershy," she muttered. She was soon approached by her two teammates. Rarity looked more frustrated than dejected, but Fluttershy looked absolutely distraught. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying. For a second, Applejack was afraid she might've heard what she said a moment ago.

"I-I'm so sorry, everypony," Fluttershy whimpered. "M-maybe I should j-just quit; I'm q-quite clearly holding you back. You'll never win with me."

"Hey now, don't be talkin' like that," Applejack said encouragingly. "We ain't finished yet, not by a long shot! So what? They're up a touchdown; they still got a ways ta go. We'll stop 'em next time. But fer now... it's our turn ta try an' score. An' ya know what? It took 'em three shots to get in... I betchya it'll take us only two!"

"You can't give up now, dear!" Rarity added. "Rainbow Dash must pay for what she did to me! And without your help, we might as well forfeit the game! That cannot happen!"

"Darn right!" Applejack whooped. "And there ain't no way, no way, I'm spendin' the end of the day bein' Rainbow Dash's personal masseuse!" She gently wrapped a foreleg around Fluttershy and gave her a squeeze. "Yer gonna get better as the day goes on, I know it! Jus' don't get discouraged!"

Fluttershy's crying subsided a bit, and she even managed a small smile. "Okay," she said with a sniffle. "I'll keep playing... for now."

With that, Team Applejack took their positions on offense, ten yards in front of their end zone. Team Rainbow Dash lined up opposite them, bursting with confidence from their early lead. Twilight seemed particularly anxious to have a chance to give Rarity the same trouble the fashionista had been giving her.

"HGUHG!" Applejack made a similar noise to Rainbow Dash as she set up to pass.

"One Appleoosa... Two Appleoosa..." Dash counted.

Applejack pivoted sporadically, checking her two possible targets. Much to her disappointment, Fluttershy was being completely dwarfed by Pinkie Pie, who was practically bounding circles around her. As badly as she wanted to give Fluttershy a chance, there was just no way she could complete a pass to her with that kind of coverage. When she turned to Rarity, she saw a much more manageable passing attempt. Twilight was fairly close, but Rarity was keeping ahead of her as she slanted towards center field.

"Three Appleoosa!" Rainbow Dash charged.

In a panic, Applejack it fly, and the second it left her mouth, she knew she'd under-thrown it. It was going to end up skimming into the grass at Rarity's hooves. But before she could curse herself, she saw Dash leap into the air and raise her hooves to block the pass. She had mis-timed her jump, however, and instead ended up pushing the ball upwards.

Applejack watched in awe as the ball continued to travel forward at virtually the same momentum. It had a chance now. Rarity seemed to know this as she positioned herself where she was sure the ball would land.

Twilight was briefly distracted by the bizarre flight pattern of the ball. She had seen Applejack toss it, in the brief second she looked away to check on Rarity she missed Rainbow Dash's attempted block, and now was trying to piece together how it was scientifically possible for the ball to travel that way. But when she suddenly remembered what it was she was supposed to be doing, it was too late; Rarity had gracefully caught the ball and was off to the races.

With a look of pure horror on her face, Twilight took off after her fellow unicorn. Rarity was fast, but trying to keep control of the ball while running was slowing her down a bit. Twilight managed to catch up to her when she was about fifteen yards from scoring. She wrapped her fore legs around Rarity's backside and was certain she would successful in dragging her down. It took Twilight a few seconds to realize that Rarity had, in fact, not gone down, and was dragging her along as she trudged towards the end zone.

"I- I-" Twilight stammered, unable to believe what was happening. "I can't bring her down!"

"I'll save you, Twilight!" Pinkie cried as she sped to the rescue. She reached Rarity just as she crossed was about ten yards away and grabbed the other side of her. Rarity slowed significantly, moving at about the speed of a tortoise... but she still refused to go down. Pinkie and Twilight could feel themselves being dragged along, and were simply too stunned for words. They were putting every ounce of their weight into pulling her down and Rarity didn't even seem to be struggling all that hard!

On the other side of the field, Rainbow Dash and Applejack watched with their jaws on the ground. Never in a million years would they have expected this of Rarity. Rarity of all ponies!

"You gotta be kiddin' me!" Dash gaped.

"Land sakes!" Applejack said in an awed tone.

Rainbow Dash suddenly snapped out of her stupor; she had to get down there and help. There was still time! She zipped past Applejack, who cursed herself for missing the block.

"Go, Rarity! Go!" Applejack cheered; it was all she could do now.

Fluttershy, who had been watching with the same level of amazement as the others, saw Rainbow Dash speeding towards the scene, and an instinct to attempt to hold off her fellow pegasus came to her. She took off at full speed to meet Rainbow Dash, and was mere inches away from getting in front of her. But Dash proved to be too fast; Fluttershy ended up getting a face full of her multi-colored tail as she tumbled to the ground. She wasn't hurt, but the disappointment at failing once again caused her to sigh sadly and hang her head in shame. That was painful enough.

Rarity was less than five yards from evening the score when Dash threw herself on the last part of the unicorn's hind-side that wasn't covered by Twilight and Pinkie. This time, Rarity came to a complete stop... but she remained standing. A whole minute passed, and Rarity remained motionless. All Applejack and Fluttershy could do now was watch; they feared any attempt they made to help Rarity get in would cause too much weight for her.

Rainbow Dash, Twilight and Pinkie Pie were holding on for dear life. Their eye's were squeezed tightly shut with the effort they were putting into stopping her. They could feel her hind legs shaking violently with the effort of staying up. On the sideline, Spike watched intently, utterly floored by what his lovely Rarity was doing. Part of him knew he should've called the play dead a while ago, but he so desperately wanted this play end on it's own instead of him ending it anticlimactically.

It felt like it had been hour when the three defensive mares felt themselves being dragged again, and Rainbow Dash just about lost her mind. "GO! DOWN! ALREADY!" She cried, attempting to yank her down at the end of each word.

"NEFERRRRRRRR!" Rarity roared, her words muffled by the Hoofball. The ivory unicorn then stretched out her neck as far as it would go and fell forward... the ball had clearly crossed the invisible plane.

Spike once again raised his claws over his head, and this time they were trembling with excitement. "T-Touchdown!"

"YEEEEEEEEHAAAAWWWW!" Applejack cheered. She pulled her hat off and slapped it on the knees of her hind legs.

"Woohoo!" Fluttershy actually managed to cheer a bit louder that time.

Rarity pulled herself out of the grasps of her friends/current rivals, spat the ball onto the ground, placed her hoof over it and held her head up high and proud. "I claim this end zone in the name of Fashion!" She announced in a thunderous voice. Though she couldn't be entirely sure, she could've sworn she heard an accupelo chorus sounding off in the distance.

Applejack and Fluttershy joined her in the end zone and the three mares jumped for joy and celebrated.

"How do ya like them apples!" Applejack said jovially. "One play, one play and we're right back in this!" She turned to Rarity. "Honestly, Rare, what ain't you been tellin' us about yerself? I've spent most of my life buckin' apple trees and haulin' heavy carts around, and even I probably couldn't have pulled off what you just did!"

"Well, as I mentioned earlier, I believe my morning aerobics have played a key roll in keeping me in peak physical condition," Rarity explained, her voice returning to it's usual elegance. "Just because I'm a lady doesn't mean I would pass up a good opportunity to stay in shape."

"Huh..." was all Applejack could say in response.

Fluttershy stepped up next and gave Rarity a gentle nuzzle. "You were amazing, Rarity!" She praised her friend. Her smile faltered a bit as she pulled back. "I'm... sorry I couldn't have been more helpful."

Applejack gave the pegasus a gentle nudge with her hoof. "Ya had the right idea though, sugarcube. Goin' after Dash like that... I think yer startin' ta get the hang of this. I'll bet by the end of the day, you'll be playin' just as well as Pinkie Pie and Rarity!"

Fluttershy smiled a bit at that. "I hope so..."

"Well then," Rarity said. "Let us continue with the game, shall we? I daresay I think I'm starting to enjoy myself!"

"Heh heh, I knew you'd start to feel that 'fore long," Applejack chuckled. "Maybe what Rainbow Dash did ta ya weren't so bad after all, huh? If it got ya ta try somethin' new that ya ended up likin'..."

"Mmhmm," was Rarity's only response. Her expression was rather blank, making it hard to tell what she was really feeling.

The three mares trotted off to go get into their defensive positions. Applejack stopped briefly to look down at Team Rainbow Dash; they were still sprawled out at the edge of the end zone the disbelief at what had just happened still apparent in their eyes.

"Ya'll ain't gettin' tired already, are ya?" She teased. "We're jus' gettin' started! Hoo hoo!" She galloped off after the others.

"One play..." Rainbow Dash uttered after a long silence. "We gave up a touchdown in one play... THAT DOES NOT HAPPEN! NOT TO ME!"

"Rainbow Dash," Twilight attempted to calm her down. "It was my fault; I lost track of Rarity too easily. I was... distracted by something really stupid. That's no excuse."

Rainbow Dash sighed and shook her head. "Nah, Twi, it was my fault. I knew Applejack had underthrown that pass. All I had to do was step out of the way and let it fall incomplete. But I just had to get all hot-headed and try to bat it back in her face, just to knock her down a peg. But instead I ended up giving it the boost it needed to get to Rarity."

"Oh, that was what happened..." Twilight said thoughtfully.

"And on top of that, I should've been faster at helping you guys bring her down," Dash continued. "You guy's did an awesome job trying to stop her. This screw up's on me, guys, and me alone."

"Aw, Dashie," Pinkie gave her friend a kind nuzzle. "We're a team! We're all in this together! We share the pride and we share the shame! Stop being so hard on yourself you mopey-dopey."

"She's right, Dash; it was all our blunder, not just your's," Twilight said soothingly.

Rainbow Dash finally managed to smile a bit. "Ah, if that's what you guy's wanna believe..." another moment of silence passed. Then Rainbow Dash shook her head again. "Jeez, freakin' Rarity, man!"

"I told you she was no pushover," Twilight chided.

"Well yeah, I always knew she could take care of herself, but... that was just... Dang! Am I the only one who's starting to think that her boutique is just a front or something, and she's got like Dojo in there or a training facility of some kind? I mean, you were all holding onto her, right? Those rear legs of her's were hard as rocks! You all noticed that, didn't you?" All Rainbow Dash received were a couple of awkward looks. She facehoofed. "Hey, don't go getting the wrong idea! I didn't mean it like that! I'm just pointing out that she's doing is working for her because she's in incredibly good shape! There's nothing wrong with admiring how physically fit another pony is, especially if she's a friend."

"Oh, of course, Dash! It's perfectly fine to feel that way about another and still keep a relationship strictly platonic," Twilight said, though her tone made it hard to tell if she was serious or joking.

Dash decided to just abruptly change the subject before the situation got anymore awkward. "Seriously though, if this were a professional game, she'd probably win the Player of the Game Award for that one play alone! I'm not even kidding around right now, that girl is scaring me!"

"Well then," Pinkie said as she jumped to her hooves. "We just need to find a way to keep her from doing that again."

"Exactly!" Twilight said grandly as she got up as well. "There's always a solution to any problem! We just have to experiment around a bit until we find the proper one."

Dash smiled as she rose to her hooves. "Well, here's a good new strategy right off the bat: Don't let Rarity catch the ball... period."

"Hey, that just might work!" Pinkie said optimistically as she bounded off. Dash smiled and shook her head once again. Never a dull moment with Pinkie Pie.

"Come on, Dash! We're on offense again," Twilight said encouragingly. "We beat their defense before, we can do it again! And this time we can do it better, because this time I'm gonna do better! I know you think I'm an egghead, but I'm going to prove to you and everypony out there that eggheads can kick just as much flank at this game as anypony else! Excelsior!" She charged after Pinkie Pie.

Rainbow Dash watched her go, smiling even wider now, and then took off after her team. She couldn't stifle some chuckles as she approached them. She didn't think she'd ever heard something so dorky, and yet so badass at the same time.

One thing I want to say real quick; this is NOT going to turn into a shipping (I personally like shipping, but I'd be terrible at writing it). Just thought I'd point that out in case any of you got the wrong idea about the Rainbow Dash noticing Rarity's legs part.

Well, once again a story ends up being longer than I thought, and I'm forced to break it down a bit to make it easier to read. I seriously need to plan this stuff out better. Ah well... Part three will definitely be the ending, I promise.

Please tell me what you think of this so far. I don't care if it's just one sentence or an entire review, just anything to encourage me to keep going is greatly appreciated. But I hope you're all liking it so far, and I hope I don't disappoint you with the ending. Thanks for reading!