Tensing his muzzle, Spike glanced out over the field. Wide, grassy on a day with blue skies. White lines slightly faded, a proper jersey on (or, as proper as it could get being a school jersey from three years ago), he spat onto the grass, accidentally spitting out his mouthguard too. He muttered a cuss word at the foolish show, only getting a laugh from Rainbow as a response.

Up ahead, she had her finger on the tip of a football standing vertically atop a small black square on the grass. Eying it, Spike saw it was lined up perfectly with the goal post. Spike tapped his new JIKE cleats against the grass, digging the spikes into the turf as he made sure his grip was absolute. Taking in a deep breath, Spike calmed himself down with basic yoga breathing techniques.

"Yo spiney, before the tourney's end, please," Rainbow shouted out once more.

Spike's calm face was replaced with irritation as he bent his knees, leaning forward before pressing off the ground with his feet. His legs started the usual motions and Spike darted forward, ignoring the seven sets of eyes watching him as he proceeded to direct his anger towards the pigskin as if it would allow him to kick well. Approaching the brown, leathery ellipsis, he stomped his left foot into the ground as he felt his momentum keeping him leaning forward. Bringing his right foot back, Spike grunted as he threw all his leg power into this kick.

Instead of launching the ball, a pair of hands yanked the ball back. Rainbow quickly rolled backwards, snickering as Spike's kick flew into the air, not connecting anything. The momentum caused him to fall forward and Spike panicked. He bent his right leg so his foot would land on the grass. His foot connected as his left foot was stretched far out, still planted firmly. Momentum wasn't on his side though as he immediately found his left foot no longer against a solid ground, finding himself tumbling forward. His head hit the ground, protected by the helmet but he could feel his teeth chattering in his head as he rolled once or twice.

Rolling onto his back, Spike was a bit dazed as he tilted his head up to see the rainbow-haired girl in hysterics. Three boys, jocks Spike expected to see here, laughed at the commotion while Applejack rolled her eyes. Spike didn't see the other two people's reactions.

"Rule #1, spiney, never give it all your strength. Otherwise you'll throw out your leg much too fast," she said. "At least, from what I've seen of past kickers."

Spike muttered another cuss as he failed to realize he blue skied himself. He stared up at the clouds, laying on his back as he felt the suns rays caress his body. Spike shut out the sounds of laughing or chatter or whatever quips the jocks had and watched Rainbow smile down at him. Another figure appeared next to him, his face silhouetted by the sun.

"Need a lift, bub?" the voice said, a distinct accent to it.

A hand was outstretched and Spike squinted his eyes to see who helped him. Blindly, he grabbed the hand and was yanked to his feet. In front of him stood a taller boy with paled skin and hazelnut brown hair. Looking more like a professional athlete rather than a high school football player, Spike muttered a thanks as the boy smiled back at him. He wore a "CANTERLOT FOOTBALL SQUAD" t-shirt that looked over 20 years old; one of the tryouts.

"She's right, might not wanna take 'er too rough, at least for a bit. Give it yer all out on the field when it really matters," the boy said as he patted Spike on the shoulders.

"Pipsqueak," a voice shouted and stunned them both stiff, "get back to stance training!"

Spike glanced over to spot Rainbow barking orders all of a sudden as Applejack watched on silently, nodding in approval. The laugh/lesson was over, now back to doing her job. Several of the other wannabe linemen tensed up, namely those three guys that were just yuking it up with Rainbow. Pipsqueak sheepishly apologized and started a sprint back towards the line of tires. The now-serious girl stood up to full height, though he did not have much of that to talk about, and glared at them.

"Dumbbell, take your dumb friends over to their dumb positions, otherwise take your dumb friends off of my playing field," she shouted as she pointed to one side.

All three put on scowls as they jogged past, muttering cusses that Rainbow either didn't hear or ignored entirely. She turned her attention to Spike as she still clasped the football. Blindly, she threw the football over her shoulder and easily Applejack caught it. Rainbow stepped to the side as Spike shrugged his shoulders, awaiting any orders for him that might come at a deafening decibel.

Like a bullet, the football left Applejack's hand. Next thing Spike knew, his arms were reacting and he clasped his gloved fingers around the football yet it still hit his solar plexus, knocking the wind out of him. He stumbled back and fell over, watching Applejack's now extended arm fall back over to her side. Spike let out several coughs as he once more was laid out, staring up at the skies. Glancing over, he could spot identical amused smirks on Rainbow and Applejack's faces.

"That was pretty fast. I guess you do have potential to be a receiver, if you can pay attention well enough. Or maybe even our tight end," Rainbow said. She muttered for a few more seconds, walking in a circle, arms folded. Spike clambered to his feet just as she seemed to finish. "Sure, we could give it a shot later if we don't get a tight end, but for now, lets see what that leg of yours can do."

Rainbow outstretched her hand as Spike tossed the pigskin towards her. It was a wobbly throw but she still caught it and didn't bother pick at him about it. Once more, she knelt over and set the ball atop the kicking tee once more. Skeptically, Spike walked backwards as he eyed Rainbow. This was something she seemed to clue in on.

"Don't worry, I won't do that again. I can't prank my friends too often, then they'll expect it," she said, shooting him a big grin to assure him. "Besides, Applejack scolds me if I don't keep focused on the team, you know?"

'Friends? Sure… that sounds nice,' Spike thought.

He grinned as he leaned forward, planting his foot into the ground. He didn't check for grip and nodded to Rainbow. She nodded back.

'Here we go.'

Spike put all his weight forward, pushing off with the tip of his right foot. Unfortunately, he happened to have placed the tip of his shoe on the mouthguard he spat out, which rolled in the grass causing Spike to tumble over. He landed face first into the ground, the wind leaving his lungs once more. Rainbow and Applejack simultaneously let out hearty laughs as Spike rolled over onto his back.

"Goddammit," he muttered.

"All right boys and girls, you know the drill. Run the circuit one at a time, then the usual three laps around the field. Once we're all warmed up, we can play a down or two and show you what a game might actually look like." Rainbow Dash called to the field as she clapped her hands and paced around, directing with her hands as she went, "Quit standing around here listening to me and get to it!"

. . .

Spike panted a bit as he cleared his first lap. He wasn't used to running, along with many others trying out. Clenching his teeth, he continued at his same pace, even through the burning in his legs. Several others, including Applejack ane Rainbow, were practically sprinting the whole way. Of course the farmer and athlete were in first. Of course they were competing regardless of this being a warmup. Spike watched as they shoved each other a bit, passing by him with ease. Once more, Spike reconsidered the team but considering he got on it before first tryout, he sucked back whatever complaint he had and persisted forward.

Up ahead, he found himself gaining on Pipsqueak, who was anything but. Pipsqueak seemed to be having a harder time running, even if he was quite possibly the largest on the team. Spike then remembered Pipsqueak was a foot and a half shorter before high school started; he simply wasn't used to running.

"Pipsqueak, why is this so hard?" Spike asked anyways between hufts.

"Never-" Pant. "Had-" Pant. "This problem-" Pant. "Before."

Spike stared skeptically, frowning. The two took the first turn of the second lap, slowing down a bit to let Pipsqueak catch up a bit. Spike considered the implications before slapping his forehead.

"Right, you just exerted a bunch of strength against other linemen," he muttered.

"Oh." Pant. "Right." Pipsqueak sheepishly grinned as he slowed down to just barely a jog. Spike matched his speed.

"Hey, if you don't mind me asking, why do you seem so familiar?" Spike asked.

Pipsqueak gulped back whatever saliva built up in his mouth and glanced over to the shorter player.

"Ten years ago or so, we met briefly on Nightmare Night. Y'know, the whole fiasco with cancelling the holiday. Principal Luna was… uh, well, I'm pretty sure it was because of all the pranks kids were pulling. I remember it as my child mind imagining a whole lot more in it's candy-hyped state," he said, pursing his lips at the thought.

Spike thought back and remembered the incident in question; indeed, he had met the transfer student around the time Luna had threatened Nightmare Night to the school. Thinking back, it was rather foggy but he knew that both Luna and Pipsqueak were involved. Luna was now Vice Principal at this very school. With that out of the way, Pipsqueak spoke up once more.

"If… you don't mind me asking, at the time, I thought it was just your costume. Y'know, you being a dragon and all, but—" Pipsqueak glanced back at Spike as they started the next straight. Spike returned the glance. "Your eyes are slitted. Is there any story to that?"

Spike gulped as Pipsqueak mentioned his eyes. He faced forward and his face darkened as memories flushed through his mind. Bitter thoughts best left forgotten yet one found it's way to his brain.

The sounds of schoolchildren's laughter was deafening, but so common it went almost unheard. Spike watched his own two feet as he jumped down the few steps on the stoop of the old elementary school house, a place that had at first seemed so bright. Everyone around him was laughing and piling out of the front doors, the time spent indoors for that day finally coming to an end.

Spike was in a rush, a rush to get back home to his older sister. She had told him to come straight back, she had taken the time out of her own schedule to teach him advance science, several years about his current education's level. Spike thought it was so cool, and Twilight was his best friend, the person he looked up to most at the time.

He was so hurried that he didn't even notice bumping and nudging another young boy from his place standing in the middle of the crowd, taking up the whole sidewalk. The other boy frowned and turned around, watching Spike, who was much smaller than himself, try to hurry off without so much as an apology.

"Wait right there," the larger boy spoke as Spike was yanked backwards by the handle grip on the top of his backpack. Spike found himself turned around to meet the gaze of that same taller boy, one he recognized from his class. "You're not even going t'pologize for that?" his words were not pronounced correctly, as his education had not taught him all of that yet.

"Oh, sorry. I'm just in a bit of a hurry." Spike nervously tried to pull away, scratching his shaggy green hair as he held the eye contact. This was before he had become so cautious about them, about those eyes that the taller boy seemed more than interested in.

"What's with your eyes, kid?" the boy scoffed and snorted a laugh, finding it amusing. "You're like, you're like an iguana or something!"

"An iguana?" Spike repeated questioningly. Right, they had been studying reptiles in school, so it was no wonder he knew such a word. Still, Spike was not pleased to hear this, and his dissatisfaction appeared on his face, "No. That's not very nice."

"Nice? Who said I was nice?" The taller boy shoved him into a stumble and glared hard at Spike, now more irritated than ever. "Listen you little jerk, you made a big mistake running into me, and talking to me like that."

"I don't even know who you are, but I really have to go, okay? My sister is expecting me home." Spike tried to reason with him, but the taller boy shoved him again, following close as Spike retreated a few steps back.

"Let me introduce myself, then." He grabbed Spike by the shirt and roughly shoved him against the red brick wall, lifting him onto the tips of his toes with force, "My name's Felix. And you're going to be a bit late today."

"Spike?" Pipsqueak's voice chimed in, and Spike flinched to realize he had not been paying attention, "Thought I lost you for a minute there."

"Hah! Pick up the pace, kids, unless you really like the taste of dust!" Rainbow Dash shoved from in between them as she raced past, knocking them for a loop.

"Rainbow," Applejack muttered as she ran around the two boys, nudging Rainbow in the side and gesturing back at them.

"Oh, right," Rainbow cleared her voice as she turned back around, running backwards, "Quit your yapping and move your feet! Don't make me come back there!"

Applejack chuckled a bit as Rainbow turned back around, and the two continued to finish their warm-up jog before heading to the middle of the field. After a few more moments, the rest of the team came around, and though Spike was still huffing and heaving with mild exhaustion, there was little time to rest.

Rainbow Dash yawned loudly and obnoxiously as she stretched, leaning back towards Applejack and opening one lazy eye towards her, "Right, so, how do we do this?"

"You're hopeless." Applejack shook her head and laughed before speaking to the rest of the team, "All right, those o' y'all who are better at defence, stand on my left. Offence, my right. Those o' you who dunno yet, stay in the middle and I'll put'cha somewhere."

Applejack and Rainbow Dash conversed a bit while the team split up to either side. The halfs were uneven and small, but the two girls did their bests to make it even. They directed the stragglers to either side and handed the defence a set of yellow pinnies to differentiate them from the offence.

"All right you scrawny little brats," Rainbow Dash clapped as the teams were settled, and she looked around at them, "In case you didn't figure it out yet, whatever Applejack says, you listen. Is that clear? I may be our captain, but on the field, most of the plays will be called by Applejack. And yes, that does mean exactly what it sounds like. Applejack, she's our quarterback."

"Yes ma'am." The team agreed, though their words were not synchronized and rung about in different volumes.

"And trust me when I say, my girl here's got one hell of an arm and some awesome accuracy," Rainbow Dash warned readily, shaking her finger at some of the less than invested players. "So don't even think about ignoring what she says or disrespecting her, because she'll snipe your giggleberries without a second thought." A few of the men on the field shuffled uneasily and thought of their privates.

"Ah ain't gonna do that," Applejack muttered blankly, and Rainbow Dash shot her a shut-up glare.

"All right, as our star player, I'll shoulder the gold. As always." Rainbow Dash snatched up a pinnie for herself and adorned it, posing a bit as Applejack rolled her eyes. "You take the offence, Applejack. And do try to make it fun."

Rainbow Dash punched Applejack's shoulder roughly as she administered the challenge. Applejack returned the daring smile as Rainbow Dash jogged over to her half of the team to coach. Applejack did the same and went over to her own team, gesturing for them to move a little ways away from the line. She looked them over once or twice before she decided to speak.

"'kay, those of you who are linemen, Ah need y'to line up right here." She gestured at an area, and a few of the players did as they were told. She frowned at the numbers and went to rectify the situation. "Spike, we ain't gonna need a kicker in this drill, so be a linemen, will you?"

"Uh, okay," Spike anxiously agreed, falling into line behind Pipsqueak, who patten him on the back to show his support.

"You two, think you can catch well enough t'be my receivers for the day?" she spoke to a few more players, who nodded and agreed to the terms. "Good, the rest a'you, just try and hold off them defence. Now, huddle up."

Applejack directed the team a few yards farther away and nodded them in closer. The players still just sort of ambled about sheepishly and unsurely. Applejack groaned in an exasperated sigh and grabbed the padded shoulders of the two players closest to her, yanking them into a tight huddle. The others followed suit, concerned about their giggleberries if they didn't.

"Alright, so somethin' tells me Rainbow's gonna be tellin' her team to push hard. But see, I ain't exactly in the mood to get sacked today." Applejack's eyes ran around the group, determination ringing true in them. "Think y'all can keep 'em off o'me for a spell? Ah want my receivers to go long and keep a good watch for my toss. Easy 'nough?"

"Yeah." Some of the team nodded and agreed.

"Right, break." Applejack clapped and pushed them away guiding them back to the line where Rainbow's half of the team already waited.

"You ready yet? I'm falling asleep over here!" Rainbow Dash faked another yawn, and broke into a loud laugh as Applejack playfully flipped her the finger.

Spike nervously settled in beside Pipsqueak; he had never been this close to the action before. Applejack went and grabbed a football, spinning it around in her hand as she returned to the field, making certain her team was correctly positioned against her friend's defence. She got one of her teammates to provide the snap, and passed him the ball.

Spike was afraid as it all went rather quiet around him, the only sound being the monstrous breathing of the larger men beside and before him. He heard Applejack shouting some words, but nothing that seemed to hold any value. That is, until the one word he recognized rang out.

"Hike!" And just like that all of the bodies around him and in front of him ran into each other, shoulders, arms and helmets locking. His knees buckled a bit as he held the others off, leaning on Pipsqueak for something of help, knowing the larger boy had it easier than he did.

Applejack leaned back and looked over the clashing bodies before her, hoping her linesmen were enough to hold the other half of their team at bay. She could vaguely see her target receiver, but she hardly got much of a chance to get into the throw as someone burst out of the tussle in front of her.

Applejack's eyes widened as she avoided the initial tackle, stepping a few paces backwards as her aggressor regained her footing for another assault. Despite the way the helmet covered her bright, multi-coloured hair, Applejack named her opponent as Rainbow Dash. The grinning Rainbow Dash's feet moved quickly and made chase, and Applejack instinctively ran from her, holding the ball securely in her arms as to keep it out of her enemy's hands.

"What the hay happened to my defence?!" Applejack yelled to her half of the team as she ran forward around their lines, angered by their lack of skill in keeping the others off of her.

"You'd better quit talking and keep running, AJ!" Rainbow Dash laughed maniacally as she kept at Applejack's heels, forcing her down the field in a full sprint.

"Rainbow, quit chasin' me, this is just a drill!" Applejack called over her shoulder as she realized how near Rainbow Dash actually was to catching her.

She turned to evade one attempt at a grab from Rainbow, but found herself yelping and hitting the ground as Rainbow leapt through the air and grabbed her around the legs. The pair hit the grass with a hard collision and were silent as they reeled from the hit. Rainbow lifted her head up, her arms still around Applejack's legs. Applejack merely groaned and shifted a bit, glaring back at her friend over her padded shoulder.

"I totally got you, Applejack!" Rainbow Dash cheered as she pushed herself up a bit, proud of herself for stopping such a force.

"Yeah, yeah, get off'a me, will ya?" Applejack grumbled as she wiggled her feet from under Rainbow Dash's prone body, which only served to give her a nasty idea.

"Mmm." Rainbow grinned this devilish grin and regained control of her hands, sliding them up Applejack's thighs, "Make me." She grabbed at her friend's ass, squeezing rudely and raising her eyebrows suggestively.

"Rainbow!" Applejack shouted as she tried to knock the girl off of her, squirming a bit. Rainbow Dash responded my lifting herself up and wrapping her arms around each of her friend's legs, getting to her own feet and dragging Applejack across the grass.

"What are they doing?" Spike asked while the rest of the team relaxed, stretching out and watching the antics of their supposed leaders several yards away.

"You'll get used to it," Pipsqueak told him absently, checking the strap on his helmet as the rest of the men leisurely strolled about. "Tried out last year, found 'em always screwing 'round like that. If Rainbow Dash wasn't around, I swear Applejack would work us to the bone and back."

"I thought Rainbow Dash was the captain though, isn't she?" Spike inquired with curious eyes.

"She is, but Applejack's the one who's got i' out fer us with all these intense trainings and such, she gives Rainbow lots o' ideas about that sort of thing. Keeps her on track, well, most o' the time." Pipsqueak's expression rotated between several before he settled on rolling his eyes.

"Oh. I knew that they liked to roughhouse, but nothing like that." Spike nodded as he watched his friends bicker before his very eyes.

"What's wrong, quarterback?" Rainbow Dash dragged her across the ground, though it took great effort to do, and Applejack scowled with a very displeased expression. "Thought you were all about keeping your feet on the ground?"

"Ah'm too busy keepin' your crazy head outta the clouds." Applejack murmured as she turned over, holding the football still in her palm. With a quick and forceful toss, she hit Rainbow Dash squarely in the helmet, knocking it a bit crooked.

Rainbow Dash stopped towing the girl and blinked in surprise, dropping one of Applejack's legs to adjust the helmet. Her eyes narrowed suddenly as she pouted a bit. "Oh, that does it!" Applejack scrambled to her feet and evaded Rainbow's initial tackle.

"Watch that temper, partner!" Applejack reminded her friend as she expertly manoeuvred the assault and turned Rainbow's momentum back on herself, grabbing her tightly in a headlock.

"AJ! AJ, quit it!" Rainbow Dash whined loudly as she struggled against the superior force, wriggling to try and get free or pry her friend's arm off of her. She settled instead for shouting something she thought might get her to back off willingly. "You're suffocating me with your damn boobs!"

"C'mere, you." Applejack dragged the protesting young athlete back to the group, only releasing her once they were in front of the team again. "All right, now this here knucklehead's got a point," she told the team in a loud and commanding voice, watching as rainbow Dash scowled and rubbed her neck grouchily. "It don't matter if we're in a drill, we gotta give it our all, right? Ah wanna see one-hundred percent in every drill, every practise, every game. Got that?"

"Yes ma'am!"

After the practise game, Spike looked out over the field briefly, watching everyone pack up. He never truly got to kick and they didn't resemble a football team at all at the moment. They ran out, played a game and ended. Just to see where they all were. Spike glanced over at his phone, noting the time of 5:48PM. Second day of school had been successful and he wiped his face.

Rainbow had thrown out a ball that got deflated after a lineman pileup occurred to the beaten, battered ball. Applejack sat several feet away, sipping back a sports drink with her eyes seemingly trailing the rainbow haired team captain, a dull grin on her face as she had a laid back atmosphere. It even made Spike relax.

Pipsqueak sat down between Applejack and Spike on the bench, letting out several huffs as he didn't bother waiting for the locker room. He removed his shirt as well as his cheap underarmour. It was dirty, not seeing much use and his muscular build showed itself. Applejack glanced over, seemingly approving of the build with a nod before turning back to the team captain as she collected the footballs that were used. Most others had left the field already, going to the showers while the last four players basked in the setting sun.

"I wasn't the best but I sure do think I could be a righty lineman," Pipsqueak said as he took the bottle of sports drink Applejack offered, squirting a bit into his mouth before handing it back. "I recently had a growth spurt and attempted to build muscle to match my height. I'm still getting exhausted and tired due to the suddenness as well as aches. Football… it's a good way to build character."

Spike pondered the words before quickly responding.

"I don't know, sports are just games, after all. Real stuff seems to do a better job of that, hard times. I think it's suffering that builds more character, in my eyes. Anyone who's had a perfect life, everything handed to them, wouldn't know the fruits of a hard day's effort or that life can just… be awful for no reason." Spike leaned forward, resting his elbows on his legs as he looked at the ground between his feet. Pipsqueak and Applejack's eyes, as well as an incoming Rainbow, looked to him. "Making friends can be tough."

Not wasting a second, Pipsqueak gave him several hard pats on the back, not knowing his own strength. "Well, righty-o, then. Consider us mates. No difficulties involved." Recovering from almost being knocked off the edge of the bench, Spike glanced back up at the larger boy incredulously.

"R-really? Okay," Spike said, sitting upright. He checked his phone once more, seeing only two minutes had passed. Pipsqueak outstretched his hand in the direction of the phone, drawing Spike's eyes to it instead of the screen. "Huh?"

"Lemmie give you my number, no foolin'. I figured if we're gonna be mates as well as teammates, it'd make sense, right?" he said as Spike slowly handed the phone over.

"Woah woah woah, what makes you think you're on the team in the first place?" Rainbow asked as she dropped the ball bag next to the bench and leaned her elbow atop Applejack's head, causing the farmer to grunt.

Pipsqueak punched in his information into Spike's contact list and he grinned awkwardly at Rainbow. He checked the details and gave the phone back to Spike and clicked his tongue before setting his eyes on Rainbow once more. He flexed his arms which perfectly showed off his physique.

"Cap'n, look at me. You honestly think you can afford to let me get stiffed with the basketball team?" he asked, attempting to put an edge to his voice.

Rainbow stood up straight, setting her hands on her hips as she hummed in thought, squinting her eyes at the muscular boy. Her lips twisted as she hummed in thought before rolling her eyes and shrugging.

"Meh, got no witty retort for that. Good job, Pipsqueak, you're our first official lineman," she stated.

Rainbow immediately retrieved Pipsqueak's phone from his bag next to the bench without waiting for approval. She unlocked the phone and punched in hers, Applejack's and Spike's information.

"There, teammates are in… or, the official ones, at least. Applejack and I are guaranteed in this year, I mean no one can debate me being the captain, and no one throws like Applejack."

"No questions asked," Spike said, glancing down at his phone.

Two days and two more contacts; he couldn't stop a grin from being painted on his face as his body warmed up to the prospect. The face of another girl popped into his mind once more; one he speaks to not that often, but enough that his heart was completely dead set on her. She hadn't dated for her entire high school life, at least from what he could see, yet he couldn't help but feel he didn't compare to her standards. The mention of her name broke him out of a trance.

"—and she's creating our uniforms this year once more. We have to try and ask for quality, but cheap quality," Rainbow said, pounding a fist into her palm as she talked to Applejack.

"Rainbow, there ain't so such thing as 'cheap quality'. Ya either have one or th' other," Applejack argued back.

"I'm sorry, who, again? I missed the name, no offense. I was just a bit dazed there, I was," Pipsqueak said, giving Rainbow and Applejack a sheepish grin.

Spike watched intently as images of the girl flashed in his mind.

"Who? C'mon, kid, are you like, 12? She designs the uniforms for all teams in the school," Rainbow said, slapping her palm against her forehead.

"Her name's Rarity."