Disclaimer: All MLP:FiM characters belong to Hasbro and DHX Media. I do not own any of them except my OC.

I was walking out the side of the school once again with Twilight, Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Snails. In case you're confused why, you'll find out in a few seconds. Twilight said "I have to admit, I was a little shocked when Princess Celestia told me when she wanted to start a scholastic Buckball league, but I was even more surprised when she wanted the first game to be between her school and ours!" Yeah, it is kinda weird to have a magic school have a sports league, but it's Celestia. If she wants to do that, that's fine by me. "Apparently, she's a huge sports fan!" I said "Who knew that the ruler of all Equestria would actually be interested in sports? I mean, I thought I was the only royal that loves sports, particularly football. Man, I miss those days. But anyways, I guess because how quickly the popularity of Buckball spread, it must have found it's way to the highest authority." Twilight said "I guess so. Well, it looks like you now have something in common with Celestia." Yay. I'm sooo excited. Yeah, not really. I could care less if I had anything in common with her anyway. We are both very different creatures in many ways.

I won't go into detail, but for the most part, we are polar opposites. How we rule this kingdom though is very similar. No major differences there. But, when it comes to our personalities, it is very different and not a lot of similarities whatsoever. Anyway, moving on. Pinkie said "I always thought Celestia was kind of a jock, just with really wavy hair." Eh, that's kinda faulty logic right there. Celestia is no way shape or form a jock. I've seen a jock before in high school, and believe me, royalty looks NOTHING like one. This isn't meant to be insulting, it's pretty much the truth. Besides, you can be royalty and also be a sports fan. A jock is just someone who plays that said sport. But it's mostly a football term. Not a buckball term. I'm not exactly sure if Buckball is the Equestrian version of football or not. It looks more like soccer to me. I said to Pinkie "Uh Pinkie, the word jock is a football term, not a buckball term. Also, jocks are people or ponies in this case the ones who play the sport." Pinkie just shrugged it off and Twilight said "Anyway, we don't have much time." Why's that? "The game is in two weeks and I want all of you to coach the team!" She doesn't mean me.

I'm not super familiar with the sport, so I have no idea how to even coach the sport whatsoever. If this was football, I'd know what I was doing. But since football is really the only sport I know really well, I wouldn't be very good at coaching any other sport. Fluttershy started hyperventilating and I raised an eyebrow. I know why she is like that, but Twilight has faith in you guys. "I know how you feel." How about being concerned for Fluttershy's mental health over here? Did you ever think about that? No, you didn't. "The young athletes ready to take the field. Oh, you can almost breathe in the excitement!" Maybe for you, Twilight. You're not the one doing it, so you wouldn't understand the pressure. "Saddening, isn't it?" Ugh! What do you want now, Nightmare? "I don't want anything from you. I'm simply giving you my observation of this whole situation." Well, I don't need your stupid observation! I am perfectly aware of what's going on here! I don't need your commentary to tell me that! "I don't care. Anyway, this is the problem I have with Twilight here."

"She never really does understand pressure situations that well as if it's no big deal, but when she gets into a pressure situation, she freaks out about it and is all surprised and everything when no one sympathizes with her. She lacks common sense. She reminds me of our own generation sometimes. You know how bad Twitter and Tik Tok became because of these stupid idiots running around with a lack of a brain and doing stupid stuff. I hate that the creators made your beloved Twilight that way. It drives me nuts." Well, who cares what you think? What if the creators made Twilight that way on purpose? Did your "logical" brain ever think about that? "Yes it did, you dumb asshole. Even though this might be done on purpose in the name of "learning friendship lessons," it still doesn't excuse Twilight's ignorance about certain situations that she comes across." Does it really matter to you or are you just nitpicking at the show because you got nothing else better to do? "I am NOT nitpicking! These are valid concerns! Any fan who had a brain could easily see that!" Any fan would also know that creators made things a certain way for a reason regardless of how they might feel about it. Besides, how do you know what's going on inside their head? You don't know what they're feeling. You can't read their minds. You're not God. So, maybe you should cut them some slack why don't you? "Or how about you stop missing the point and realize what's really going on here?"

I do know what's "really" going on here. I'm not stupid. You are simply trying to use this situation as a ploy to get me to believe your point of view and not even bother listening to the other side. What you're really trying to say is that Twilight is a terrible pony and should be punished for her so-called "crimes" against Equestria and the entire MLP fanbase. "She should be punished! How many times have Twilight's ignorant decisions make her look stupid and someone else always has to come and fix the problem? Remember the Chrysalis incident a while back? Twilight and the rest of the Mane Six never did pick up that Chrysalis obviously made clones and was using them as an evil plan to take control of the Elements of Harmony. It wasn't until you set them straight that they finally got it because you had known it all along. How many times has Twilight not noticed something and then you have to tell her what's going on?" Have you ever heard of the word forgiveness? Sure, Twilight might have done some really annoying things before, but that does not change my opinion about her. That's how modern relationships work.

"Or maybe it's just an excuse to pardon her of all she's done! Doesn't it just get extremely annoying that Twilight constantly fails to notice something so obvious that even the fool can see? Forgiving such ignorance is for the weak! You shouldn't have to forgive her for being so stupid." So, you think forgiveness is for the weak huh? Well, let me tell you something, Nightmare King! The fool thinks that forgiveness is for the weak because they think there's no reason for it whatsoever. The fearless and courageous always forgives no matter what the situation might be. God explicitly tells us in his Word that we are to forgive those who may have hurt us and pray for those who persecute you. Even though revenge might seem like justice, it is not the solution. God says that "vengeance is mine and I will repay." We should never want revenge against someone else. If we did that, we would look no better than the person who wronged us. No matter what someone does against us, we should never seek revenge and instead forgive them for their sins. And if that person doesn't get caught, they will one day. They'll have to answer to God at the end of time. You can't hide anything from God. I know that might seem like an invasion of privacy, but there are sinful hearts out in the world, so God must keep watch over them. So to summarize, forgiveness is not for the weak but is in fact what real strength and wisdom are.

And no matter what someone might do against us, they'll be punished one day when they have to answer to God. "I'm not even going to bother commenting on that. You may have won this argument for now Zachary, but I will make you see my way of things and prove to you that it is the correct way of thinking! I'll be back, Zachary! Ha ha ha. HA HA HA!" Clearly, he's being delusional. He's being fed lies from Satan, but that won't stop me from trying to tell him the truth. Satan will always be my biggest enemy and I shall NEVER bow down to him or any other thing in all of creation except God. He is the one I will worship and I will only serve him and him only. No one else. Anyway, let's move on here before this turns into a sermon. Fluttershy eventually passed out and both Snails and Pinkie looked down at her concerned. I touched Twilight and motioned for her to look behind her to see what was going on. Snails said "I don't think you should breathe it in so hard." Yeah, not a good idea. But that's what happens when people hyperventilate. They tend to breathe a lot harder than normal because they're stressed and they don't know what else to do. So they try that as their coping method even though it's not very good for your health.

Pinkie took out a glass of water and poured it on Fluttershy. Fluttershy leaned upward and said "It's just… two weeks doesn't feel like a whole lot of time to train a whole team!" I know it doesn't, but if you put in the effort, it should be no problem. Pinkie lifted Fluttershy off the ground and said "Maybe the School of Magic could play a few other schools first. Like the Mane and Tail Styling College or the Scroll Making Institute." Do those schools even exist? Is that even a thing? Let me know down in the reviews section if it is or not. Twilight said confidently "Relax. You're gonna do just fine." Even though it kinda comes off as cocky, I agree that they'll do a great job at training the team. Fluttershy said "Uh umm, what makes you so sure?" Probably because Twilight has confidence in you since you are her friend. Twilight said "Because I have faith in my friends who also happen to be THE BEST BUCKBALL PLAYERS IN EQUESTRIA!" It is true. Pinkie smiled and said "Oh yeah!" She dashed over to a ball sitting there and kicked it towards Fluttershy. She immediately flew up and grabbed the ball with her tail and then threw it towards the basket that Snails was holding up in the air with his magic. After that brief practice, Fluttershy said "I guess that is sort of true." Definitely so.

I said "If you guys were able to become the first ponies to be inducted into the Buckball Hall of Fame, then you'll definitely be able to know how to properly train a Buckball team." Twilight nodded in agreement and said "I asked Rainbow Dash to help too. But I'm not sure why she-" before Rainbow came flying in hot with a giant sack of stuff in her hooves. She said "Sorry I'm late. But when Twilight said she needed my help with the Buckball team, I figured I'd better grab every piece of coaching equipment I can find!" Oh my. That is a lot of stuff. It consisted of balls, cones, and deadlifts. I'm kinda surprised Rainbow was able to carry that heavy bag without slowing her down. I know she's really fast and all, but weight can easily slow down acceleration time. Believe me. I've seen it plenty of times growing up in the DMV and living in Tampa for a bit. "So, what should I focus on? Offense, defense, trick plays?" They have that in Buckball? Huh. How interesting. Also, what about special teams? Oh wait. They don't have that in soccer. That's only football. Never mind. I'm saying that Buckball is the Equestrian version of soccer. If you can think of a better sport, let me know. But for now, I'm sticking to this. Twilight said "I was thinking of something even more important!" Like what exactly?

Rainbow said "Awesome! Lay it on me! Whatever it is, I'll give it 120 percent!" Alright. She's definitely on board. Twilight said "I knew I could count on your enthusiasm! That's why I want you to coach the cheer squad!" Wow. That's something I wasn't expecting. After hearing that, Rainbow's mood did a quick 180 and she landed on the ground underneath all that equipment. I guess she wasn't happy about it either. I wasn't saying I am not happy about it, but it doesn't exactly sound like a perfect fit for Rainbow. What exactly were you thinking here, Hasbro? I'm a bit confused. "Cheerleading?!" Yeah, that's a new one. Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Snails all went over to coach the Buckball team while Rainbow was still over here with me and Twilight. Both of us started walking away and Rainbow tried defending herself. "I don't mean to sound ungrateful, it's just when you wanted my help with something important, I thought you meant… something important." Cheerleading is important. Sure, it's kinda boring for me, but that's in theory what is supposed to hype up the crowd. However, in the modern NFL, it's the fans that get the energy going, not the cheer squad. But since we don't have large stadiums that can fit over 60,000 people or more, they're the next best option.

I have to remember, this is Equestria, not the United States. Anyway, moving on. Twilight said "The cheer squad is important." Here in Equestria, they might. But back home, they serve no purpose other than hot women to look at on TV. Particularly if you look at the Dallas Cowboys. Good grief. They got some hot looking women as cheerleaders. I'm not trying to hit on them, so don't go there. I already have Twilight, and I'm quite content with that. Anyway, Rainbow thought that was cap and started laughing like that was the stupidest thing she ever heard. Twilight's serious, Rainbow. She's not capping here. I guarantee that. Twilight gave Rainbow a glare and Rainbow quickly realized what she did. She said "Well sure, the cheer squad is totally important to somepony who isn't me, but I'm more about ponies playing in the game, not cheering for it." I see the argument you're making here Rainbow, but you're not changing Twilight's mind. Sorry. She'll be that stubborn against you. "I mean, it's great if some ponies want to cheer, though I don't know why they would." In theory, they would do it so they could be excited and that would definitely hype up the players to try and win the game for the fans.

Twilight wasn't budging at all and said "Hmm. Well, maybe this will be a good opportunity for you to find out." Rainbow still wasn't convinced and said "Of course, I've seen cheer squads before, on the sidelines. But, I'm not even 100% sure what they do. I'll probably just mess it up." I'm not so sure about that. Twilight retorted "I think you might be surprised. In fact, I'm more sure than ever that you're the perfect choice." Twilight walked away and Rainbow grumbled. I started walking away, but Rainbow flew in front of me. She pleaded with me "Come on Zachary. Can't you change this at all?" Twilight looked back at me for my answer and I sighed. I said "Rainbow, don't bother trying to come to me when Twilight already said no. If she said no, what makes you think I would be any different? I know this might not be something you like, but you'll just have to deal with it. Twilight's opinion always comes before my own and if she says something is final, then I will concur with her as well. No ifs, ands, or buts. Am I clear?" I gave her a glare while having my eyes glow green for a second and Rainbow nodded. I then caught up to Twilight and both of us walked away. Did Rainbow honestly think she could get me to reverse Twilight's decision? Heck no. That's just pure stupidity right there.

All of the monarchs here in Equestria have the same level of authority. No one monarch is higher than the other. This isn't like absolute monarchies where the King had higher authority than the Queen. No. All of us Celestia, Luna, Cadence, Twilight, and myself all have the same level of authority. If one of us makes a decision, the others will follow along with that and not protest about it or try to reverse it. What Rainbow just did is like when one parent says no and then the kid goes to the other parent to try and get them to say yes. I was having none of that. I could sniff that from a mile away. There's no way I'm falling for that trap. I did hear Snips say "I'm actually 120% sure. And it's a good thing too." Why is that? "The cheer squad really needs you." If you say so. I hope Rainbow doesn't try to avoid it. Rainbow was confused and asked "What do you mean?" Please elaborate, Snips. He said "Well, I've been helping out and let's put it this way: We've got two weeks until the big game and we could use two years." Ouch that probably hurts. "But that's all going to change." Don't hold your breath. From seeing how Rainbow is behaving right now, it doesn't look like it will change whatsoever.

In fact, it might actually get worse now that I think about it. "Because you're here to save the day!" Okay, that's a little bit overenthusiastic if you ask me. But, one can hope. Rainbow said "Okay… So why are you here?" Probably trying to make a quick buck or something. Snips asked "What, a pony can't show school spirit?" Umm, last time I remember, you don't even go to the School of Friendship. So, that's not exactly a valid argument. Rainbow retorted "You don't even go to this school." She isn't wrong. Snips said "Ah, okay. When I went to the Buckball Hall of Fame, I found out Buckball souvenirs are big bits!" Oh brother. There's that money sign. He'll become the next Bill Gates in about 20 years from now. "If Twilight's team does well, I can start selling them full time in Ponyville!" How is a pony this young able to be this smart about economics? I didn't fully understand it all until the 11th grade when they had a class for it that was required for graduation. "So, I have a vested interest, and you have an assistant coach!" He blew the whistle and Rainbow groaned a bit. Yeah, this pony has the word carpetbagger written all over him. If you paid attention in history class during the Reconstruction era, you know what I'm talking about. If not, you'll learn about it soon enough.

That is if critical race theory hasn't reached all public education by then. Like I said many times before, history is meant to be learned from, not to be dwelled on. I find it absolutely stupid that history is being rewritten to make certain groups of people look bad and to fit a political agenda. Mostly liberal in that sense. I'll say this once and you people out there that support critical race theory better listen: Politics is to be kept OUT of the public education system and should not be taught to children. Let them learn about it when they're an adult, not when they are a child. Politics are meant to be talked about outside of school, not to be taught in a curriculum. Sorry for going on this rant, but this issue is extremely stupid and also very foolish as well. And for all you people out there that support this theory, don't be talking about white privilege and blacks being oppressed and blah blah blah. I don't want to hear it. I don't think I'm better than anyone else and blacks are not being oppressed by white people. Racism is anybody's game. Not just white people. Get that in your head or else you'll look like a fool for the rest of your life. Time to move on. Hopefully, those people will get it and just sit down and shut up for once in their life.

I followed Rainbow into the school and she went into her classroom, but I heard noises in there. Hmm. I hope there are no intruders in there because I'll take them out real quick if that is the case. Once the door opened, I heard a voice that said "She's here!" Oh dear. Why are the lights off? I charged up my horn ready to attack, but they looked like regular ponies to me, so I stopped the glow. Since I'm in my shadow form, my scepter turns into a curved horn for some reason. It was straight before, but ever since the defeat of Sombra recently, it changed shape which is really strange, but I think nothing about it. There was another voice that said "Get the lights!" Okay then. The lights turned on and it revealed two ponies in cheerleading outfits. They did some sort of routine and I thought it was cringe. Don't tell them that. Rainbow said with annoyance in her voice "Dancing right. I've seen you two around school, haven't I?" Probably. The orange pony laughed and said "I'm Shimmy Shake and this is Lighthoof." Hmm. How interesting. There's an interesting fact about these two on 's YouTube page, but I can't remember what it was. Hang on. Let me look it up real quick. Oh I see. Oh yeah. This is definitely very interesting right here.

Apparently, Shimmy Shake is voiced by the same character as one of the mothers back in Season 6 Episode 19 "The Fault in Our Cutie Marks" and Lighthoof is voiced by the same person that was Aria Blaze, one of the sirens from Rainbow Rocks. Lighthoof said "And we are your dancers." Yeah, it kinda sounds like Aria in a way. But this character here sounds more like one of those spoiled brats that think they're better than everyone else and the rules don't apply to them. I despise those kinds of people. Rainbow just shrugged and saw Yona, Ocellus, and Smolder come up behind them. She said "I didn't know you three would be here." Surprise, surprise. Great. Now I sound like Tirek. Hmm, I wonder what he's doing right now. SIKE! Yeah, I don't care right now. We have a game to prepare for in two weeks. Yona laughed and said "Yona wanted to cheer and make pony pyramid!" I see. How interesting. Ocellus said "And I thought this could be my chance to make an impression on everypony, you know, for something other than changing shape." Yeah that, and stealing love so you could gain power from it. Everyone knows about that. Good thing Chrysalis isn't ruling the Changeling Hive anymore.

Rainbow said "I didn't realize you were into school spirit Smolder." She's probably just there for support or something. Smolder said "Eh, I just came with these two." Well, look at that. I was mostly right. "Guess they think you can make cheer squad cool or something." We'll see about that. Rainbow said with a lack of enthusiasm "Don't count on it." After she said that, I noticed my horn started to glow randomly again. I don't know what's going on with this horn lately, but every time one of my friends isn't happy about something, it starts to glow on its own. This is weird. Snips said "Okay, now that we're all here, why don't you tell us the plan?" Probably doesn't even have one. "How are you going to make us into the most awesome cheer squad ever?" She probably has no clue. I can't blame her for that, but she could at least ask for some examples and then try to figure out what to do from there. That's at least what I would do. But, I'm more logical than Rainbow here, so what do you expect? Rainbow just shrugged and the entire team sighed. She said "I mean, if you guys were an actual Buckball team, I'd have plenty of ideas." Well, this is what Twilight assigned you to, and if you're not going to do it, you'll have to answer to her on why you failed to actually do anything. Believe me, in front of Celestia, Twilight does not want to be embarrassed.

If you do nothing, Twilight will be ticked off with you and probably punish you in some sort of way. And if that happens, don't bother coming to me for help because you didn't even bother trying anything. I understand the situation because this is the behavior of a typical teenager, but there is still no excuse for simply not caring just because you don't know anything about it. "But I don't know anything about cheerleading." Well, that's why you do RESEARCH! That's how you solve problems by doing research. Sure, you ponies might not have computers since the time setting is similar to the United States in the 1800's, but there are other resources besides technology that you could use to find out how cheerleading works. Snips laughed a bit and said "Good one coach, but Headmare Twilight picked you for the job." I still don't get the reasoning behind why Hasbro did that, but whatever. "So I'm pretty sure you know what you're doing." Uh, I'm not so sure about that. Rainbow turned around and said "If you say so." After she said that, my horn started glowing again. What is going on here?! This horn has been acting so weird today! It seems like almost every word that comes out of Rainbow's mouth, my horn just wants to glow which doesn't make any sense whatsoever.

Snips laughed some more and said "Right. Okay gang. Let's show Rainbow Dash what we've been working on and she can take it from there." Do you really have that much trust in her, Snips? I'm not saying that she isn't right for the job, I'm just saying that she's not in the right mood to do this properly. There needs to be an attitude change first before we do anything else. Yona said "Cheer squad can do that." Will you please stop stomping? Not everything here in Equestria is considered stomping grounds for you to smash stuff on. Lighthoof said "Yep, all we need is a little music." Well then, let's get going, shall we? Snips started playing the music and both Shimmy Shake and Lighthoof went into their formation. However, when they started trying to do their routine, they fell constantly and messed up because of Yona stomping on the ground way too hard. Smolder read something off a scroll with annoyance in her voice, and you couldn't even hear Ocellus. Of course, I could hear most of it, but then it got extremely quiet to where even I couldn't hear her. Smolder just shrugged and blew out steam which engulfed Yona and then she crashed into something because she couldn't see through that steam. Smolder said "Well, that was a disaster."

Yeah, and it doesn't look like you give a heck if it was a disaster or not. Shimmy said "It's kinda hard sticking to the cryptography when the floor is moving." Yeah, pretty much. The ground was shaking like an Earthquake and it's extremely hard to maintain balance whatsoever. Lighthoof said "Yeah Yona. Your stomps are a little too powerful." That's a Yak for ya. Yona asked, "Can we make pony pyramid instead?" I don't think anyone would be able to hold you up, Yona. I'm just saying. Yaks are extremely heavy and are very hard to lift into the air. Some of them literally weigh as much as a car. Yeah, it's nuts to even think about that, but it's true. Ocellus said "Maybe we should figure out what cheers we should do first." There's a lot of things that need to get fixed first before we figure out the proper routine. Smolder scoffed and said "Yeah, because that'll fix everything." Even though that comes off as rude, she does have a point. Snips went to face Rainbow and said "So, there's a few… uh a lot of problems, but nothing you can't solve, right?" Have a better attitude first and then maybe she'll be able to help you guys.

Rainbow turned around as if she didn't notice anything and said "Huh? Oh yeah. Listen. You guys don't have anything to worry about." Are you okay? Are you on crack here? Do you need help? Do you need to go see a doctor? Clearly, this pony is delusional. That looked terrible. No offense to the cheer squad though. Smolder asked with confusion "We don't?" She's lying. You do have something to worry about. Your entire routine needs fixing like really bad. If you go out there like that, you'll get humiliated and Twilight will have a stern talking to with Rainbow Dash. "In fact, I think what you all just did is totally fine." Yeah, right. Clearly, you're not seeing things properly. "You guys have got this." They won't be able to unless you coach them. "So uh, I'm just gonna head down to the field. Great practice everypony!" Oh no you're not! You get your flank back here right now! She flew out and the doors closed. Snips quickly followed after her and he tugged on her tail. Rainbow winced in pain and turned around. "What are you doing?" What do you think he's doing? He's stopping you from going outside. You have a job to do and you can't just avoid it by sitting out there on the field watching the team practice. Snips retorted "What are you doing?" Okay, I think that might be a bit too hard, Snips. That's going to really hurt after a bit if you continue to pull on it. "You gotta come back and coach the squad!" Exactly! I'm with him on this.

Rainbow yanked her tail away from Snips and continued walking. She said "I watched them cheer stuff. Looked fine to me." That's not how you coach a team though. If you coach like that, the front office will most likely terminate you by the next season. Snips came running up in front of Rainbow and said "Well, it's not!" He is right. "Do you know what'll happen if they do what they just did at the big game?!" Humiliation, embarrassment, and a whole lot of yelling, that's for sure. Rainbow flew away and said "Uh, nothing?" Are you flipping kidding me right now?! Nothing? NOTHING?! ARE YOU fill in the blank STUPID?! OF COURSE SOMETHING WILL HAPPEN, YOU STUPID SCUMBAG! Snips got up and said "Uh, wrong." Tell her, Snips. She needs to see the truth here. He lit up his horn and used his magic to stop Rainbow from getting away. "A good cheer squad gets the fans excited, which gets the team excited, but if nopony's excited, then nopony buys any souvenirs!" Okay, the profit part of this doesn't matter. But you can see the argument Snips is trying to make here.

Leaving out the money part, the cheer squad would hype up the fans, which would hype up the players which can then lead to a victory for the home team here. Hey, this is our home opener for the season. We need to show Celestia that our Buckball team is better than hers is. But that's beside the point. The key takeaway here is that if Rainbow doesn't do her job, that can get her into a lot of trouble and throw out very good friendships with other creatures. I don't think Rainbow would want that, but right now, she doesn't see that. However, she'll learn the truth eventually. Rainbow said "I think you're blowing this a little bit out of proportion." The money part, yes, that's rather unnecessary, however, the rest of it is very much true. The point still stands regardless of whether or not Snips makes a profit. Snips said "Point is, if I'm going to make any bits at these games, that squad has to get better and to do that, they need a coach." This is where the child logic is a bit messed up here. But you get my point here. Rainbow needs to properly coach this team and can't just dodge it as an excuse to go watch practice out on the field. If she doesn't coach this properly, she can potentially embarrass the cheer squad, get yelled at and punished by Twilight, no longer have any good relationships with any of the students, and potentially be alone for a bit because of her own selfishness. That isn't a very good feeling. I've been there before.

Believe me. It's not a very good spot to be in. Rainbow said "Oh, you know what? You're right." Where are you going with this? "Why don't you do it?" ARE YOU NUTS?! If you've seen the Lion King, you know what scene I'm referencing to here. "I mean, you're the one with a vested interest." True, but Twilight assigned YOU to the job. Not Snips. Not me. Not the rest of the Mane Six or even the Student Six. YOU were assigned to do it and YOU are going to do it whether you like it or not. I saw Rainbow just chilling outside with popcorn and I grew mad. She should be coaching the cheer squad instead of just watching practice. This is considered stupid. Thankfully, Smolder was having none of it and confronted Rainbow. She said "Why are you watching Snails' weird practice when you're supposed to be practicing with us?!" Because she doesn't want to do this and wants to do what she wants instead of what's expected of her. Once again, because of Rainbow's bad attitude, my horn glowed. This scepter is acting weird today. I hope the Spirit of Harmony knows what it's doing because I sure heck don't.

Rainbow simply laughed like Smolder was being ridiculous and said "Snails' practice is definitely weird." Yeah, it is, but that's not important right now. Smolder still had the same glare and Rainbow quickly realized that she wasn't playing around whatsoever. Good for Smolder. She makes me proud by doing that. Taking no crap from anybody. Rainbow said "Uh, I thought Snips was practicing with you." With that carpetbagger of a pony? Please. I don't need him coaching a cheer squad with a profit making mindset. No thank you. Smolder flew down and said "He was." She pointed towards the rest of the group and they didn't look that great. Shimmy asked "Do you have any idea how hard it is to dance with this stuff?" I might have an idea, but that's not my place to say anything about. Ocellus said "Plus all these buttons jingle so much you can't hear my cheers." That's because we can barely hear you. If you spoke up and talked with confidence, you wouldn't have that issue. Smolder said "Speaking up might help a little." Definitely so. No doubt about it. Rainbow said "So, don't dance and cheer." Are you really that dumb and stupid? That's the whole point of cheerleading, you dimwit! Yona asked, "Uh, then what cheer squad do?" My point exactly. Rainbow simply shrugged it off and said "I don't know." This pony is driving me nuts. Someone needs to smack some sense into her.

Smolder finally had enough and said "WELL, MAYBE YOU SHOULD or whatever. YOU'RE THE COACH! You're supposed to come up with stuff for us to do!" She has a point. Right now, I'm speaking through Smolder to voice my frustration against Rainbow and prove my point that not everyone is going to care about how she feels about cheerleading and also not everyone's opinion is the same. Rainbow started to get a bit nervous and said with hesitation "Okay… I've got something for you to do." Oh really? What would that be? We went back to Rainbow's classroom and then for some reason, Snails was floating in the air doing some sort of meditation with a blindfold on and said "Just do nothing." How is this supposed to help, Rainbow? "Empty your minds. Be the squad." Yep, this definitely sounds like meditation in my opinion. Smolder said with annoyance "We are the squad." I think you might misunderstand the purpose of meditation Smolder, but that's not the point right now. Snails lifted up his blindfold and said "Oh yeah." Then why did you say it? Oi vey. Snips said "At least helping my souvenirs was something." I guess. It doesn't matter to me. He closed the box and turned around to face the group.

He put blindfolds on the entire group and Yona said "Yona still not understand how this make us better." It doesn't. Believe me. I know this kind of trick. I quickly saw Rainbow trying to leave and I altered Yona's mind to make her realize what was going on. She lifted up her blindfold and saw Rainbow leaving quietly. Yona gasped in confusion and quickly dashed to the door before Rainbow could leave. "Professor Dash needs to stay and coach." Rainbow got pressed and said "You guys asked me to come up with something and I did." Nothing does not count, you stupid scumbag. Smolder said "I don't think nothing counts." My point exactly. Speaking through Smolder really does help voice my opinions without it being obvious. Rainbow said "Then I'm out of ideas." How? You never even bothered trying in the first place. That right there is lazy and foolish behavior. Snails came floating down and said to Rainbow "This is the School of Friendship. If you need ideas, you should ask your friends for help." Good idea Snails. Sometimes, this pony is a lot smarter than most adults which is mind blowing if you think about it. Rainbow said with annoyance "Fine!" and left to ask for ideas. I watched her go to different places and she seemed like she was hiding her aggression for a bit there.

After that whole crap, Rainbow came back and said "Okay. Since you guys have been nagging me nonstop for this cheer stuff about ever…" before Smolder said with annoyance "It has literally been one day!" Exactly. Rainbow can honestly be so egotistical sometimes that she acts just as bad as any villain in the show here. An example would be Sombra. I'm not going to go into details about it, but you can see the connection I'm making here. Anyway, Rainbow said "I went around and got everything you need." Are you sure about that? Rainbow pulled back the cover and out came the stuff she collected. Smolder asked "Uh, what are we supposed to do with hay?" I honestly have no idea. I'm a bit confused, Applejack. You'll have to give me some context here. Rainbow said "Beats me. But Applejack seemed pretty sure about it. Oh, I almost forgot." What is that? She tossed a green book to Ocellus and I raised an eyebrow. How is a rhyming book going to help? Ocellus asked "A rhyming dictionary?" Yeah, I'm just as confused as you are, Ocellus. Rainbow said "Yeah, Zecora is a lot less helpful than you think." Excuse me? I beg to differ on that one.

Sure, she never gives a straight answer and can be kinda confusing to understand sometimes, but I wouldn't say she isn't helpful. I've watched the entire series and she has seemed very helpful in almost if not all the situations she was in when the cameras were rolling. "That's from the library, so you can just come up with cheers. Okay, good practice." Not this again. Smolder asked with annoyance "So, you're just leaving again?" It seems like it. I think Smolder is the biggest thorn in Rainbow's side and I don't care whatsoever. With Rainbow's attitude right now, she deserves it. Rainbow just growled in annoyance and said "Look, I talked to my friends and they said this is the stuff you need! Wouldn't a true cheer squad be able to figure out what to do with it?" I've had about enough with this pony. If something doesn't change soon, I'm taking action against her and will get Twilight involved as well to have a serious talk with her. You better watch it Rainbow, because once you get me mad, there is no point of return. NONE! Not even Godzilla himself could make me regret that decision. Lighthoof said "But Fluttershy and Pinkie want us to show them everything we come up with tomorrow." Yeah, Rainbow. How do you combat that hmm? Shimmy said "They want us to get the team excited before the big game!" We need to win our home opener tomorrow or else I'll have very serious choice words with Celestia.

I'm not kidding about that either. I mean it. Rainbow said "Well then it's a good thing I got you all this stuff. You better get to work." This pony is clearly missing the point and is just being downright lazy. I need to smack some sense into her. Rainbow just went out the door and the group was left in silence. They all turned to Snips and he said "Don't look at me." Yeah, believe me. He's not going to help. I quickly followed Rainbow and she went off to the Buckball field to watch more of the practice going on. The team seemed to be doing pretty well, so I'm confident that we'll win this game coming up. I know anything is possible, but I can't lose hope. Fluttershy said "Good work everypony." Indeed. "Let's take a break." Good idea. I got out my newspaper and sat on a cloud with my sunglasses on just so I could observe what was going on but not be suspicious. Rainbow was loving it and voiced her thoughts about it while I rolled my eyes. She had something more important to do and I was having none of it. She said "Wow. This team is really shaping up! Nice job!" Yeah well, we aren't going to win this game if you keep trying to avoid coaching the cheer squad.

Fluttershy said "Thanks. I'm excited to see what you've been up to." Very mischievous plots that's for sure. Pinkie said "Yeah! I can't wait to see the cheer squad!" I think you might be quite disappointed by the result. Rainbow just laughed at that like it was the stupidest thing she's ever heard and both Fluttershy and Pinkie were left confused on why Rainbow would do that. She stopped laughing and said "Oh, you're serious." Did you really think they were joking? HECK NO BOI! You are such an idiot sometimes. You're just as bad as my own generation back home. The cheer squad came out onto the field and Pinkie yelled "Go cheer team! This is so exciting!" From the looks on their faces, I think it says otherwise. Fluttershy said "Well, I'm sure you've put in a lot of hard work." HA! She didn't put in any work. It was everything but hard work. Rainbow said with cockiness "How much work does cheer squad need?" A lot more than you think you dimwit. Fluttershy raised a brow and Snips asked "Anypony want to buy an official School of Friendship cheer squad headband?" No thanks. I'm good. "Now I personally would buy them before the performance." Uhhh…. Okay then. Fluttershy and Pinkie were confused as heck and the music began playing. I watched the performance and it was quite terrible.

Eventually, the music stopped abruptly because of Yona's stomping, and to top it all off, the party cannon went off and blew up in their faces without them knowing. Pinkie said "I know I said I couldn't wait to see the cheer squad, but maybe I should have waited a teensy bit longer." That's putting it nicely. The reality of it is a lot worse. Rainbow obviously didn't notice and was confused when everything stopped. She turned around and saw what happened. I was beyond mad and decided to make a presence. Rainbow just asked "What?" annoyingly and that's when I loomed a giant shadow over everyone facing Rainbow with my solid green eyes with purple mist and my curved horn to make sure I was making my point on how mad I was. Everyone did notice and they know I saw what happened and I was ticked off. I teleported all of them back into the School of Friendship and I observed in my shadow form. Rainbow said "I don't know what everypony's so upset about." UH, ARE YOU STUPID?! CLEARLY, YOU HAVE NOT BEEN PAYING ATTENTION TO WHAT'S GOING ON AROUND YOU! I'VE BEEN TRYING TO TELL YOU, BUT YOU CONTINUED TO FOLLOW IN YOUR SELFISH AND ARROGANT WAYS AND NOW YOU'RE ALL SURPRISED PIKACHU BECAUSE EVERYONE IS MAD AT YOU!

SPOILER ALERT! THE WORLD DOESN'T REVOLVE AROUND YOU, RAINBOW DASH! YOU NEED TO STOP ACTING ALL SELF-CENTERED AND START ACTUALLY TAKING THIS SERIOUSLY! IF YOU CAN'T DO YOUR JOB PROPERLY, THEN WE WON'T BE ABLE TO WIN THAT GAME COMING UP AND MY RIVALRY WITH CELESTIA WILL NEVER BE THE SAME! THE WORST PART ABOUT IT IS YOU DIDN'T EVEN CARE! My gosh. Sorry for going on that rant, but this is so annoying all the way around. "So it wasn't great. Cheerleading's never great." That's what you think. Someone else might think differently about that. "That's why everypony gets up to get a snack during it." If this was the NFL, yes they would. But this is Buckball. Ponies don't do that. Obviously, that's very hurtful to say to your own group. Speaking of which, Yona burst into tears and ran out the door. Good job Rainbow. You crushed Yona's dreams simply because you couldn't keep your stupid mouth shut. "What is the big deal?" Uh, the big deal is you never put in any effort to try and help out this group and instead did things with anger because you were told to. And everytime you did that, you would always try to find an excuse to watch freaking BUCKBALL PRACTICE! That kind of pony is the foolish one.

That's not what a good coach does. That's what a bad coach who doesn't care about their team does. Shimmy said "If you don't know, then there's no point in us trying to explain it to you!" She has a good point. Lighthoof said "Lead dancers out!" Both of them huffed away and walked out the door. Smolder said "It's not that we were bad, it's that you didn't try to help us get better!" She's got a point. Rainbow suddenly got offended at the accusation and said "I didn't try? What are you talking about?" You know exactly what I'm talking about! Don't be like the corrupt democratic party that I've had to put up with for years. "I got you a party cannon! It's not my fault you couldn't figure out how to use it right." It doesn't matter if it was your fault or not! You could have put in the effort and shown them how to do it properly, you fill in the blank d bag. Ocellus yelled "Well, you could've shown us!" Exactly. You never even bothered trying. Ocellus then started crying and ran out the door. Rainbow said "Woah, ponies might actually care about cheer squad if she cheered like that all the time." That's not the point here.

Smolder asked, "Why would you say ponies don't care about cheer squad?" Rainbow got defensive and said "Because they don't." That is faulty logic. Smolder kicked the ball and said "No. You don't. But they do!" Exactly. Tell Rainbow how you feel, Smolder! "I bet Headmare Twilight does, and probably Prince Zachary as well!" Eh, not really. But, I want us to win this game and I'll gladly support the team anytime. "And you know what? I do too! I actually got excited when I found you were going to be our coach! I figured if anypony can make cheer squad awesome, it's you!" I really do feel bad for Smolder. Rainbow was surprised and said "Me? Why?" Why do you think, you stupid scumbag? Smolder said "Because everything is always awesome with you!" She has a point. "Or 20% cooler. Or whatever! You're the most enthusiastic pony in Equestria when it's something YOU care about. I just wish we were one of those things." Great. Now you've broken Smolder's heart as well. She went out the door and Snips said "And it looks like my assistant cheer coach/souvenir business is a bust. So, I'm going to take off unless you can think of something else for me to do." Probably nothing. Rainbow thought for a second and said "Maybe I can." Oh dear. Where is this headed now? It's already been bad enough. It turns out Rainbow had Snips go round everyone up the next morning and had them meet on the field.

I'm not sure what it is for, but whatever. Once everyone was there, Smolder asked Snips "So what? Is there some new button you want to sell?" I don't think so. Snips replied "Not a button." Everyone turned around and saw Rainbow cme flying in while making jet noises. HEY! That's my thing, not hers! Anyway, the cheer squad didn't want part of it and left. However, Rainbow said "Wait! Look. I know I haven't been a great coach because I don't care about cheerleading, but all of you do." Yeah, and the rest of the players and the fans. "And I care about you. So maybe I care about cheer squad." I would hope so. "And a good friend reminded me that anything I care about totally awesome!" That was in large parts thanks to me. You're welcome. "So, from now on, I'm going to give this thing a hundred twenty percent and I expect the same from you." Finally. It's about time you got it right. "We are gonna dance. We are gonna cheer. We're gonna make the biggest pony pyramid Equestria's ever seen!" Okay then. Quite the enthusiasm. "And when we're done, we're gonna make sure everypony on that field is so pumped up that they'll forget they even came to see a game!" Good luck trying to do that to me.

Snips said "Ah, but not so pumped up that they forget to buy a patent or butkin or a quality souvenir t-shirt." Nobody cares about that. Sorry to break that to you, but that's the harsh reality of it. Rainbow helped the cheer squad practice by adding little fixes that would help a lot and once they were done, they were all ready to go for the game. I hope they actually perform well during halftime. The day of the game finally came and everyone was in the stands. Of course, I was reading my newspaper with my sunglasses on not even paying attention to the game because this is my method of support. Technically being here still counts. So, chillax. Just like you would expect, Twilight was quite upset with me, but she couldn't do anything about it even if she wanted to. Those wings did look beautiful though. Celestia probably knew how to do it. After a bit, our team finally scored a point and Twilight cheered quite loud. Celestia said "I realize that the game of Buckball traditionally requires an Earth Pony, a pegasus, and a unicorn. But I appreciate you allowing my students to compete." That's only because I'm nice and not completely heartless, but I shall spare no mercy here. Twilight said "Of course. And the wings and the magical dampening ring you made seem to be working really well." Yeah, it appears that way.

What happened next was something I was not expecting at all. Celestia said "Indeed. Though not as well as your team. *shifts to Royal Canterlot Voice* COME ON SCHOOL OF MAGIC!" Good grief. Her voice literally shook the whole Earth and left me completely surprised. Once I realized what happened, I was quite annoyed at Celestia and shot her a quick glare to let her know how I was feeling before turning back to my newspaper. Fluttershy and Pinkie were extremely nervous, but I paid no mind to them. As long as we win this game, that's all that matters. Nothing to worry about. Finally, halftime came and the music began playing. Everyone was confused, but I put down my newspaper and looked at the field. When Yona started stomping, the rest of the stands soon started beating their hooves as well. I only tapped my paw a bit because I didn't want to get too crazy. Have to be the bigger creature here in my rivalry with Celestia, so I have to make sacrifices sometimes so I can one up her. After the stomping began, Smolder came flying up and was holding a bag of confetti.

Rainbow had flags out to signal which direction Smolder was supposed to go and the smoke that came out of her mouth was perfect. Plus, there was also a bunch of confetti coming down as well. Ocellus came walking out of the smoke and began speaking loudly to the crowd with her megaphone. The crowds did a chant and Ocellus basically welcomed everyone to the halftime show. After they did the pony pyramid, the party cannon went off followed by Smolder breathing out fire which was the perfect way to end it. It wasn't exactly the greatest halftime show I've seen, but it was definitely executed pretty well. I'm impressed, Rainbow. She flew over to Fluttershy and Pinkie and said "Not bad, right?" Yeah, I would agree. Both of them were completely surprised and said "They were awesome!" I definitely agree with them. Rainbow said, "Well, they have a pretty decent coach." Yeah, it took you until the last minute to actually put effort into this. Better late than never. During the second half, the score increased and then at the very end, Celestia's school scored the final point just as time expired and won the game. I'll get you for that one, Celestia. The home team was disappointed and Fluttershy said "Nice work everyone. You can't win them all." That is true, but this was our home opener, so we had to win. Instead, the road team got the victory. Sad, but it happens.

Seems quite similar to how a Washington Redskins home opener would go throughout most of my childhood. I'm used to it at this point. Pinkie said "Sometimes, that's just how the cupcakes crumble." I think you mean that's how the ball bounces. No pun intended. Rainbow went over to the cheer squad and said "You guys were amazing!" The actual players thought Rainbow was talking to them, but when she walked past them, they groaned in sadness. "It was flawless! I couldn't think of any way it could have been better!" How about winning the flipping game for crying out loud? I spoke through Smolder and she said "We could've won the game." Rainbow just shrugged that off and said "The game was just a sideshow." Excuse me? I take sports very seriously and if my team loses, I'm going to be pretty ticked off about it. Clearly, you don't know me very well, Rainbow Dash. "You guys were the main event!" Eh, I wouldn't say that, but they did do pretty well, so I'll give them that. The cheer squad smiled and Celestia said "I'm glad to see such good sportsponyship on display." Just wait, Celestia. I'll give you something. "Your cheer squad was an inspiration, Rainbow Dash." It kinda does in a way.

"I'll have to start one at my school as well." That's not exactly a bad idea when I think about it. Anyway, I appeared in my lion form and said bitterly "You may have won this one Celestia, but believe me, when this school comes to your home turf, we'll make sure to kick your flanks so hard you shall NEVER SEE THE SUN AGAIN!" I was just joking, but it was considered trash talk. Everyone else was horrified at what I just said, but Celestia had a smirk on her face. She said "Bring it on, Prince Zachary. I look forward to it." I put my scepter up against her horn and gave her a growl telling her that I wasn't playing around. After a few seconds, I backed away and turned to face the rest of the group here. I just want to be clear that this is just a sports rivalry and me and Celestia do NOT hate each other whatsoever. We're both very passionate about sports and we always trash talk one another and also try to one up one another to see who is the better creature. I know this sounds like a mini version of a Cold War, but that's just how it is between two royals who are very passionate about sports. Anywho, Twilight said "Wow, Rainbow Dash. It's almost like you were the perfect pony to coach cheer squad after all." I hate that kind of voice, but it's a nice punch to the gut for Rainbow's ego. I said "Yeah, after like a week of not even bothering to try and put effort into it."

Rainbow gave me a glare, but I countered hers with my death glare and she backed off. Works every time. Rainbow said to Twilight "Wait a second. Was this one of those things where you knew the lesson I needed to learn before I learnt it?" Pretty much. Twilight countered "You mean like how you don't care about a thing other ponies like as long as you care about the ponies who like it? Nope. Sounds like something Zach would do, not me." To give you some context, I told Twilight everything and she played Rainbow so dang well. Rainbow just groaned and Celestia said "Nicely done." All of them except for Rainbow Dash laughed and I had an evil grin on my face as this what a pure taste of victory looks like. Well, even though it took Rainbow forever to put in some effort coaching the cheer squad, she was able to get them to have an outstanding performance. I'll make sure that our Buckball team gets back for Celestia's team on that loss. When we come to town, we'll definitely kick their flanks. Yes, both teams are in the same division, so we'll play each other twice a year just like division rivals do in the NFL. This ain't over, Celestia.

AN: Well, we've reached the end of another chapter. At the time of this chapter going up, we have reached the one year mark of this story being up on the fanfiction website. It's amazing how far we have gotten over the last year. Starting from the end of Season 6 to now a little over halfway through Season 9. But this isn't over quite yet. There is still more to come and I hope you guys will enjoy it because I will. Also, if you have any questions about the fanfiction, feel free to private message me and we can discuss the issue more in depth so you can understand better. If you don't want to do that, it's fine. I'm just leaving that offer out there. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Next Chapter: Trivia Trot! When Twilight tries to become the first pony to win Trivia Trot three times in a row, fate gets in the way. Pinkie joins on the list of players and gets teamed up with Twilight which would mess up her plans. Twilight eventually loses her mind and forgets what's actually important. Will Twilight be able to snap out of her stress, or will her insanity be her downfall?

Until then, my fellow readers