"Play ball!" yelled the umpire.
Music played over the speakers as a baseball field was shown. Spitfire was shown in the dugout with her team as they were up to bat. The team had started on a solid record, as in the first seven games, they won six. And right now, they were looking to win another game to get them one step closer to the district championship. Pipp and Izzy were shown as part of the cheerleading squad as they shook their pom poms and did a coordinated dance that the stylist created. Sitting in the stands were Sunny and Roll as they cheered their friends on.
"Come on, Hitch!" shouted Zipp as she supported her friend.
Mario was leaning back on the bench, merely playing catch with himself and eyeing his friend. From the way Hitch's body was, he could tell he was a bit nervous. They were tied as Hitch somehow needed to hit a home run to get the winning point. The teen took a deep breath before he stepped to the plate and focused. The pitcher then threw the ball as Hitch swung and made contact with it; it flew through the air as the boy ran. The ball didn't go far, but it landed where the center midfielder bent down to pick it up and throw it. Hitch had just passed second base and was going for third. He touched it and decided to go all the way, just as the third-base player caught it and immediately threw it toward the catcher. Hitch picked up the pace as he began to dive for the base and slide forward. The team's catcher caught the ball just as Hitch touched home base with his fingertips before being touched by the mitt.
"Safe!" called the umpire.
The rest of the team cheered and emerged from the dugout as Hitch stood up. The boy was rushed by the rest of his teammates, who patted him on the back to show their support. Zipp and Mario smiled, proud of their comrade.
The team had arrived back at school, and Spitfire quickly addressed her team.
"Alright, everyone, listen up! Sheriff, great work out there today. Keep it up!" said the woman, praising Hitch, who nervously smiled. "But just because we won today doesn't mean you slackers can lazy off! We need to keep up this momentum to qualify for the championship! Until then, get some rest, and we'll meet on Thursday for our next game. Dismissed!"
The team then disbanded as Zipp, Mario, and Hitch grabbed their bags. Someone tackled the boy as he managed to keep his balance from falling despite someone leaning on him.
"Great job, Hitch!" said Sunny as she hugged her boyfriend tightly.
"It was nothing," said the boy, putting his hands around his girlfriend to return the hug before she pulled back and kissed his cheek.
"Nice one out there, y'all!" said Roll as the rest congratulated the trio.
"Especially you, handsome," flirted Pipp as she got close to Mario, and the boy just rolled his eyes.
"We're gonna be champions!" yelled Izzy.
"Well, not yet, Izzy, but I like the energy!" said Zipp. She didn't want to jinx them, but she so badly wanted them to win.
It was the day of CHS's next game, and Spitfire was in her office reviewing some tape. Principal Celestia was also in her office preparing to read the morning announcements.
"... and as you all know, today is another game for CHS. Oh, and a reminder: We'd love to get new uniforms for our baseball team by the end of the season. So, if anybody is interested in helping to collect sponsors for our school, it would be greatly appreciated. Anyone who wants to help, feel free to stop by my office. That is all."
"Did you hear that?" said Zipp as she turned to look at Mario.
"What are you looking at me for?" responded the boy.
"Duh, new uniforms. I wonder if I can get something that emphasizes my coolness," stated the heiress.
"Assuming we get the money to get new uniforms. Besides, who wants even to try and get sponsors?"
"So, what do you think?" asked Sunny as she presented a clipboard.
"I retract my previous state from earlier," mumbled Mario. He should've expected that someone like Sunny, who wanted to do her part for teamwork and friendship, would be interested in doing something like this.
"You sure about this, Sunny?" asked Hitch.
"Positive. I got the others working on helping me to secure sponsors. Whenever we get a sponsor, I put a sticker on the diamond. One sponsor is a single, two's a double, three's a triple, and four is a home run, " said the girl, using baseball terminology to emphasize her point and make a joke.
"And how many sponsors were you thinking of getting?" asked the boy to his girlfriend.
"Oh, about 25," smiled Sunny as she felt confident.
"25?!" exclaimed Hitch.
"What?" Sunny asked, not seeing what was wrong with getting that many people to sponsor.
"Right… good luck with that," said Mario as he turned to leave to get ready for their game.
"Alright, team, here's the plan!" said Roll as she addressed the rest of the sponsor squad. "Sunny is gonna be at the game today to support the team. So today, we're gonna start getting sponsors. Jazz and Pipp, you two handle this part of the neighborhood. Izzy, you're with me. Dahlia and Windy, you tackle this area. Now let's go, girls. Let's make Sunny proud!"
The group raised their fists and gave a cheer as Roll's pep speech rallied them. They soon split up to cover some ground.
Roll knocked on a door as it opened, and a woman stood before the girl and her friend.
"Good afternoon, miss. My name is Roll, and I'm helping to collect sponsors for my brother's baseball team to get new uniforms."
"Oh, I'm so sorry. I already sponsored another team," said the woman as she closed the door.
"Ay," sighed Roll as her first attempt was unsuccessful.
Surprisingly enough, the girl wasn't the only one having trouble.
"Can I think about it for a few weeks? I don't like to rush into anything, " a woman said to Jazz and Pipp as they sighed defeatedly before leaving.
"... And so we're trying to get sponsors to help the team and get new equipment and uniforms," Windy explained when she and Dahlia heard a sound. The two girls looked down, and a kid stood merely waving at the teens.
"Hello, little one. Um, is your mom home?" asked Dahlia as the kid nodded.
Meanwhile, the team arrived as they were preparing to warm up. CHS would be the first to play the field, as all the players took their spots. In the stands was Sunny, who, while she left her team to collect sponsors, felt she needed to be present at the game to showcase her support for her friends. The girl spotted her boyfriend approaching his position as she waved and called to him.
"Hitch!"
The boy turned as he spotted his girlfriend in the crowd. He smiled nervously, waved to her, and took his position as the game was underway. Mario stood on the pitcher's plate, looking at the other team's batter before he threw the first pitch. He swung and missed as Mario smiled before Rocky threw the ball back to him. The boy then threw another pitch; this time, the batter was ready for the boy's fastball when he made contact with his swing. The ball sailed through the air as it approached Hitch, who began to run for it.
"I got it!" shouted Hitch as he dove but missed the ball by a few inches as it bounced on the grass before him.
The runner had just zipped past first base as Sprout looked on before giving a defeated look. Hitch had recovered as he picked up the ball before tossing it toward Zipp, who was playing third base when she caught it. She turned as the runner stopped midway before turning around to make it back toward second base; the heiress threw the ball as Thunder caught it, but the runner made it in time.
"Safe!" called the umpire.
"Hitch, what the hell was that?" called out Mario as he was tossed the ball.
"A little distracted by your girl, sheriff?" Zoom stated as she stood behind the boy, playing center field, and pointed to Sunny.
The boy turned to see his girlfriend as the others began to snicker.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, very funny. The sun must have gotten in my eyes, alright," said Hitch as he tried to downplay it and not let his teammates mock him.
"Yeah, I don't think so," smirked Zipp.
"Just make sure you catch the next one that comes your way!" yelled Mario as he turned to face off against the next batter.
The boy threw his pitch as the batter made contact with it. The ball flew through the air as it approached Hitch's direction. The boy put his mitt up to catch it, but the ball fell faster than he expected and instead rolled underneath his legs as he bent over to grab it but was too slow. He looked through his legs as Zoom quickly picked it up and tossed it to Mario, who quickly tossed it to Rocky, but both runners had made it to home base as they scored.
"Hitch!" shouted Mario as he glared at his buddy.
"Did the sun get in your eyes again?" remarked Zipp.
"No biggie. I was due for a couple of errors, anyway," chuckled the boy sheepishly as he tried to cope with his screwups.
At a later point in the game, Hitch was up to bat as he tapped home base with his bat before resting the object on his shoulder. He tipped his helmet before the pitcher threw the ball, but Hitch missed. The pitcher threw another ball as Hitch swung and missed. A third ball was thrown, and Hitch failed to make contact like before.
"You're out!" called the umpire.
Hitch looked defeated as he walked off the field. The same thing happened to the teen throughout the game when it was Hitch's turn to bat. He would strike out almost every time, and he felt worse and worse each time.
"You're out!" said the umpire as Hitch's latest attempt to bat failed miserably, and he began to head off the field.
"Guess he was due for a couple of strike-outs, too," Zoom commented as they watched the boy struggle.
Hitch arrived at the bench as he dropped his bat, and sat down in defeat.
"2 errors, three strike-outs. What's going on with me?" asked the boy.
"Relax, sheriff. Tomorrow's another day," said Zipp as she felt things would be better the following day's game.
Safe to say, it didn't. The following day's game was the same for Hitch, as he failed to make any hits. He also failed to make any catches thrown his way as he fell flat on his face. The following games proved the same: the boy would strike out completely without making one hit. When he was out in the field, he either failed to make a catch or crashed into someone who was also trying to catch a ball. At one point, Hitch swung his bat that he lost his grip and sent the thing flying. One of the players ducked as the bat flew offscreen, and glass noises followed by a cat yelp were heard. There was even an instance where Hitch finally hit a ball that when he ran, he failed to realize his laces were untied and tripped before he could even reach first base.
"I got it!" shouted Hitch as he ran to catch a ball that was hit. "Please get it!" The boy mumbled under his breath as he stuck his hand out and closed his eyes. Sure enough, the ball landed in his mutt as he opened his eyes and smiled. "Hey, I got it!"
He threw the ball back and began to walk off the field as he sat on the bench. At that moment, Zipp came running toward him.
"Hitch!"
"Hey, did you see that catch? Maybe things are turning around for me," responded the boy as the girl tried to hold back her anger. "What's wrong?"
"There was only one out!" responded the heiress, pointing out that the other team was still up to bat.
The latest pitch was thrown as the batter hit it. Hitch gasped and stood up as he'd been so focused on not trying to fail that he didn't realize they were still playing.
"Get back out there!" said the heiress.
With no move to cover his position, the boy just sat down and put his head down. Due to his misunderstanding, the other team scored four free points.
"Hitch!" barked Mario as he growled toward his friend.
The boy was in his dorm room as Zipp and Mario entered. Hitch wondered why his friends were here as Zipp spoke.
"Operation what?" repeated Hitch.
"Operation Dump the Slump. Look, things haven't been going well for a while, right?" said Zipp.
"That's the understatement of the year," remarked Mario as she glared at her friend for making that snarky comment when she was trying to uplift Hitch's spirits.
"That just means you're in a slump."
"Yeah, a bad slump," sighed Hitch as he leaned back in his desk's chair.
"We need to start winning again if we hope to qualify for the championships. And because Coach Spitfire will lose it if we lose another game," said the heiress.
"I don't know, guys. What if I never play well again?" asked the boy.
"Don't worry. With Operation Dump the Slump, you'll be back to normal in no time."
"Well, as normal as you'll be," said Mario as Zipp elbowed the boy before pulling out her phone and showing Hitch a video.
The video played as it showed Hitch during their last game. He swung and missed but also let go of the bat and sent it flying, which made him grimace.
"So, did you see what was wrong with that swing?" asked the heiress.
"Um, yeah! I let go of the bat, and it almost decapitated you," said Hitch as he emphasized his point by slashing his finger across his neck.
"Yep, that's one problem," stated Mario.
"But there's another problem- concentration."
"Concentration?"
"Concentración. You lost your concentration," reiterated Mario.
"But don't worry, we'll help you get it back!" said Zipp as she put her arm around Mario and smiled, while Hitch held a grimace expression.
The trio were now outside as Hitch sat on the grass before Zipp pulled out a blindfold and put it around the boy's eyes. Izzy was present, and Zipp asked for help getting Hitch's confidence back. The girl had a ball attached to a string with her.
"Now, I want you to concentrate on the ball swinging back and forth," said Izzy.
"Where is the ball?" asked Hitch as he couldn't see due to the blindfold.
"That's what you need to find out."
Izzy continued to swing the ball in front of Hitch as the boy moved his head about, trying to detect and avoid getting hit by the object.
"Back and forth. Back and forth. Faster! Back and forth!" repeated Izzy as she picked up the speed of swinging the ball as Hitch's head spun about, listening to the girl's cue.
"Izzy!" yelled Mario as the girl ceased her mindless spinning while Hitch's head started to slow down.
"How do you feel?" asked Zipp. "Are you concentrating?"
"Well, I'm concentrating on how dizzy I am," remarked Hitch as he swayed from side to side.
"That's a start," commented Mario.
The group then moved on to Izzy's next exercise. She pulled out a bottle before opening the top and pulled out the stick to blow on it to produce bubbles. The bubbles floated around Hitch as he was unaware of what his friends were doing.
"Now, I want you to pop these bubbles," said Izzy.
"What does this have to do with baseball?" asked Hitch, as he didn't see how the two were related.
"Trust me. It's a concentration exercise," stated the girl. "Plus, it's fun to pop them." Izzy then extended a finger as she giggled from popping the bubbles.
Hitch then began doing as instructed, extending his fingers to pop them. The boy made sounds as he poked the air, hoping to pop the things, but missed them completely.
"Did I get them?" asked Hitch with a smile.
The girls looked at each other with looks before smiling.
"Don't worry about it. Those were faulty bubbles," stated Zipp as she downplayed everything. "Anyways, we need to concentrate on Operation: Dump the Slump."
The group then decided to move to the next phase of Zipp's plan as they had their mitts.
"Alright, here's the big test. Batter up!" said Zipp, handing Hitch a baseball bat before she took a position behind Mario as he pitched the ball to his friend.
Izzy was given a spare mitt as she would be the designated catcher. The girl bent down and put her mitt out as Mario began to play with the ball between his fingers, trying to psyche Hitch out with when he would toss the ball. The boy took a deep breath as he focused on his friend.
"Just concentrate on the ball. Concentration. Concentration, " stated Izzy as Hitch turned his head and nodded at her before looking at Mario.
The boy lifted his leg as he was about to throw.
"Just concentrate on the ball. Concentration. Concentration. Just concentrate on the ball."
"Enough already!" said Hitch, turning to Izzy as she kept yapping.
At that moment, Mario threw the ball, which landed square in the mitt of Izzy, who felt it. Hitch then blinked as he realized what happened as he missed his chance to swing.
"You're supposed to swing," stated Izzy with a smile.
"Izzy, shut up!" shouted Mario as the girl tossed the ball back to him. "Focus up, Hitch!"
The boy nodded after hearing that as he renewed his focus. Mario threw another pitch. Hitch swung but miscalculated his momentum. He swung in place for a bit before letting go of the bat as it flew forward. Mario and Zipp ducked as the bat managed to hit the tree before falling to the ground with a thud.
"Sorry," said Hitch as his friends growled at him.
"Alright, let's try this!" said Zipp as she started running out of ideas.
The trio had been at this for hours as everything she proposed to help Hitch escape his slump wasn't working. Her final proposal was to use a beach ball and a giant bat to help build Hitch's confidence.
"What's this?" asked Hitch as he was tossed the beach ball.
"If you practice with this giant bat and this giant ball, then you can't miss!" stated Zipp.
"That's the theory," remarked Mario sarcastically as the heiress shot a look at her friend.
"Look, Hitch, if you do this, you start believing that you're a great hitter again. So you'll start getting your confidence back, get it?" the girl said.
"Uh, y-yeah. I guess that makes sense," said the boy, not fully understanding the girl's point.
"Just hit the damn thing, Hitch. It's not that hard," remarked Mario as he took his position as pitcher.
"Quick question. What happens if I miss?" asked Hitch as he took his position before a bent-down Izzy while holding the bat.
"Then I'm out of ideas!" shouted Zipp as she was at her wit's end. "So, for Celestia's sake, please hit it!"
"Did you just use our Principal's name in a term of expression?" asked Hitch.
"Focus, sheriff!" shouted the heiress.
Mario sighed before he pitched the giant ball to his friend. Hitch swung and not only missed but fell and let go of the bat before hitting the ground with a thud. Zipp facepalmed herself as she couldn't believe it.
"You know, guys, I don't think this is working. Thanks for helping, though," said the boy, who just wanted to go to his room and be alone.
"Are you sure you want to do that?" asked Izzy.
"Yeah, I'm pretty confident," responded Hitch as he dusted himself off before walking off.
"What do we do now?" asked Izzy.
"Lover boy…" said Zipp as she felt he might have a better idea.
"And what a stellar performance by the World Champion!" said the commentator.
Isaac was shown on the field as his Dark Magician stood before him. The wizard had his staff aimed forward before retracting, and the fierce and stern look on the World Champion said it all. Isaac walked off the field as he put on an act to wave to the crowd and give passing high fives to the people of the front row. As he walked back up the ramp, music played as he paused, and sure enough, Sunset emerged from behind the curtain. The bacon-haired duelist smirked as she approached her rival and stopped to lock eyes with him.
Isaac's stern gaze intensified while Sunset toyed with the duelist as she flipped her hair in his face. His nostrils caught the scent of sweet cinnamon before he walked down the ramp for her duel. Isaac scoffed as he walked back up the ramp and passed through the curtain into gorilla. Juniper was waiting for him as she guided her client to the backstage area where he was to have a sit-down interview with Gilda, but the two would be separated to avoid any confrontation. The World Champion sat down as the makeup crew got to work on making him camera-ready. In the meantime, Isaac looked through his deck as he scanned all his cards. He then pulled out his phone and began to text his wife.
When the cameras were ready for him and Gilda's segment, Juniper approached him and whispered into his ear. He nodded as he put away his device.
"And we are on in five… four… three…"
The light on the camera turned red, which meant they were live. From Isaac's perspective, he was just looking at the camera, and off to the side, there was a split screen with Isaac and Gilda on the live feed.
"Gilda and Isaac… it has been determined that you two will finally go one-on-one at next month's PLE. Now I want to get your reaction to this duel," said the main commentator from his desk out in the arena.
"Well, first and foremost, I want to tell Gilda I look forward to our match. You've been working to get this opportunity for quite some time. And I have no doubt you'll give me your best, but at the end of the day, nothing's gonna change. I'll still be champion."
"Oh, is that what you think, huh? You think you're gonna run me over like all your past opponents? What? Are you already looking forward to Sunset? When should you be worried about the duelist in front of you right now? News flash, Isaac. It's not gonna be you and Sunset for the title of World Champion… it's gonna be me!" stated Gilda as she leaned back in her chair.
"Well, I have a question for you two. Earlier, we received some complaints about something that went down outside the arena today."
"Oh, I'll tell you what went down. Isaac's creeping by my bus out there, and I don't know what he's up to!"
"I wasn't creeping by your bus!" retorted Isaac. "I was on the phone talking with Twilight."
"Oh, you're talking to your wife, sure, sure!"
The two began to shout over one another as it was slowly getting out of hand.
"Guys, guys, okay. Let's try to move on!" said the commentator.
"Shut up!" mumbled Isaac as the argument ceased.
"Now, Isaac, it seems as though Gilda has been targeting you throughout-"
"Wait, wait, wait!" interrupted the woman as Isaac rolled his eyes. "You got this all wrong. I haven't been targeting Isaac; he's been a thorn in my side ever since Sunset came back, and his eyes are focused all on her when he should be paying attention to me!"
"Oh, what do you want me to do, Gilda? You want me to take you out to dinner, huh? You so badly want my attention, well guess what, you got it! See, let's be real with ourselves. This isn't about Sunset, alright. I'll deal with her one way or another once I'm done with you. The real issue is this… I'm at the very top of the food chain and Gilda's on the come up. So this clash was bound to happen, but there's only one problem: it's my time. It's not Gilda's time, and she ain't on my level, and she never will be."
"All right, Isaac. I think you're just scared of me."
"Oh, right," mocked the World Champion.
"I going to embarrass you just like Sunset embarrassed you when you lost to her last year at Heatwave!" responded Gilda.
"It's not about my embarrassment! It's not about anyone else- but you and me!"
"You're right, it is! Let me let you in on a little secret, all right? Nobody likes you, Isaac. Nobody likes you. They can't stand looking at your stupid face. And so when I finish the job of taking you out, it's not just gonna be for me; it's gonna be for everyone, bro!"
"Look, Gilda. If you're gonna try to get rid of me, it's gonna take a lot more than what you're doing because I'm gonna be here for a long, long time. So get used to it, bro!"
"You better watch what you say."
"Oooh, I'm scared."
"I'm gonna beat you and take your title! And there's not a damn thing you can do about it!"
"So, Isaac, what can we expect from you?" asked the commentator.
"I'm the Prince. I'm gonna do what I always do. Steal the show. I'm gonna beat Gilda and show her, once and for all, who the man around here really is."
"Well, Isaac, I'm going to prove to you that there's only one man in your marriage… and that's Twilight, bro!"
Isaac's face got a bit sterner after hearing his wife being mentioned.
"Guys, unfortunately, we're out of time. Myself, and the entire Duel Monsters universe, cannot wait to watch you two settle this."
"And clear!" said the cameraman as he stopped the live feed.
"We good?" asked Isaac.
"Yeah," responded the camera operator as the World Champ sighed.
"Yo, Isaac, you still there?" said Gilda, speaking into the microphone hooked up on her shirt.
"Yeah, I'm still here," responded the man as he spoke into the mic on his shirt. "What, you trying to talk more shit on me?"
"Honestly, I'd rather not talk to you at all! But I am wondering something. How are your kids doing?" stated Gilda as Isaac tried not to let her comment about his family get to him.
"You wanna bring up my family because you're a little bitch, that's fine. Because don't worry, they're gonna watch me beat the fuck out of you during our duel! And why the separate rooms, huh? We're done! We're not on the air anymore. Why don't you come face me!"
"This is for your own protection, Isaac. So I don't beat the piss out of you ahead of our duel! This is the last thing I want to say to you, so shut the fuck up and listen, bitch! Just make sure Twilight doesn't watch our duel!"
"What… did you say?" growled Isaac as he began to lose it. "What the fuck did you just say!?"
"You heard me, bitch!" smirked Gilda.
"Nah… keep my wife's name and my kids out of your fucking mouth!" yelled Isaac.
"Twilight, Twilight, Twilight," repeated Gilda as she pushed Isaac's buttons some more. He had lost it and began to get up.
"Run it!"
"Run it!"
"Run it!" yelled Isaac as he took off his mic and went to go find Gilda.
"I'm in the CIO right now, bitch! Come find me!" said Gilda as Isaac was long gone and Juniper chased after her client, who was on a warpath.
"Come at me, pff. Punk ass," mumbled Gilda as Isaac tossed over some chairs on his way to where Gilda was as the staff and backstage crew got out of the way of the World Champion. Gilda then turned to the camera operator as he told her something. "He left? Yeah. Oh, he coming here? Like now? Like right now? Oh, say less!"
Gilda got up, removed the mic from her shirt, and got up again. She pushed open the doors of her room as she shouted.
"Yo, where he at!"
"I'm right here, bitch!"
Isaac burst through the doors, spotted Gilda, and charged at her. The World Champi tossed his cap off and began to throw hands with Gilda. Security came and immediately pulled Isaac apart from Gilda as he was overcome with fury.
"Come on, Isaac! Come on!"
"Don't you ever mention my family again! I will fuck you up! You hear me!" yelled Isaac.
"I'm surprised Twilight hasn't divorced you and took the kids because clearly you enjoy this more, and they don't want to deal with your bitchass anymore!"
Isaac then began to grab the security guards, and one by one, he began to toss them around. The World Champ was fighting out of the hold of the security guards as he threw the final one into a table full of equipment. Juniper flinched as she knew this would be a hefty fine to pay. Isaac would have no problem paying it, but he focused more on getting to Gilda. At that moment, Shining Armor appeared to put his arms around Isaac as he pulled him back.
"I love my kids! I love my kids, you hear me!"
"Yeah, why don't you call up your son right now? He's the one who doesn't want anything to do with you! You deadbeat of a father!"
"Isaac, let it go! Come on!" said Shining Armor as he tried to calm down his brother-in-law.
"Let me go!" yelled Isaac.
"Come on. Save it for the duel. That's enough." said Shining Armor as he pulled Isaac away while still shouting.
Juniper followed the pair as she would be putting in overtime for this. It was one thing to put some realism in feuds to give the audience and viewers this suspense of disbelief and kayfabe, but there was also a point where things could cross over the line and result in some serious brawls to happen. Gilda stood there with her arms out as she waited for Isaac to do something but scoffed after seeing his brother-in-law hold him back. She turned before facing Sunset as she'd seen the whole thing and smiled.
"Impressive. Good job," smirked the bacon-haired woman as she enjoyed what she saw before walking away.
"Guys, just forget it. I'm not going to play," said Hitch, who was in the classroom with his head on his desk.
"You can't quit, Hitch!" said the girl.
"Yeah, plus, I came up with a great idea!" stated Izzy as she strapped on a fake beard on Hitch's face. "I hear growing facial hair is a super good luck charm."
"It's no use! I just don't think I can help the team."
"But you're still part of it!"
"I'm sorry," sighed the boy.
"Come on, rich girl. Let's leave him be for now," instructed Mario as he and Zipp left.
A while later, Hitch excited the classroom as he ran into Sunny in the hallway.
"Oh, hi there. I'm Sunny Starscout."
"Sunny… it's me."
"Hitch?" said the girl, shocked to see that the person wearing the fake beard was her boyfriend. "What are you wearing?"
"It's just something that Izzy came up with. How's it going with you?" asked the boy about his best friend getting sponsors.
"Well, ok. The girls and I managed to collect some sponsors. But we still need to get 15 more by tomorrow's game, but I know I can figure out a way."
"I don't know how you do it."
"You don't know how I do what?" asked the girl to her boyfriend.
"How you stay so positive. If I were you, I might given up by now."
"Come on, Hitch. You can't think like that. You have to keep trying and trying, even when things get tough."
"I know, Sunny, but you only have ten sponsors, and you and the girls have been trying all week. It's impossible," said Hitch, waving his arms about.
At that moment, an idea popped into the girl's head.
"That's it!" exclaimed Sunny. "I just figured out how to get the sponsors. Hold that pose."
"Huh?" said Hitch as he had his hands on the side of his head.
Sunny pulled out her phone and quickly began taking photos of her boyfriend in his current appearance, as Hitch had embarrassed looks on his face.
"That should do it. Thanks, Hitch. You're the best boyfriend ever!" said Sunny, wrapping her arms around her friend and kissed him before dashing away.
"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" stated the boy.
Sunny's plan was in full swing as she managed to print out the photos she took of Hitch with the beard he wore and made copies of them. She then gathered her team and instructed them to hand out the photos of her boyfriend with a sad face to everybody they passed.
"Turn this boy's hairy frown into a hairy smile! Sponsor today!" shouted Jazz as she handed a flyer to an old woman who stopped to look at the photo.
"Oh, my! What's wrong with this poor boy?" asked an old lady as she saw the picture of Hitch in the getup beard Izzy put on him.
"Well, you see, he's a little sad because his team needs new equipment and uniforms," said Pipp, putting on her dramatic voice and trying to act sad.
"I think he needs some shaving cream, too, dear," said the old lady, looking at the photo again, thinking the fake beard Hitch had on was real.
"Absolutely! Can we count on your sponsorship?" said Pipp, immediately dropping the fake act and smiling.
"I'll take two!" said the old lady.
"Perfect," smiled Jazz to her friend.
At that moment, more people approached the two stylists, and they began collecting more sponsorships. The same effect was happening with the others; collectively, they got 25 sponsors and far more than expected. In the end, Sunny's group managed to collect nearly triple their intended goal, and she was glad her boyfriend was able to help with her cause.
The day of the game arrived, and with all the money Sunny and her group had collected, Spitfire and Principal Celestia could purchase new uniforms and equipment for the team. And it couldn't come at a better time as the team had arrived and stood in their brand new threads.
"Spiffy new uniforms," said Zipp as she admired the look of her jersey.
"Yeah!" responded Zoom as she also was impressed.
Hitch was sitting in the stand closest to the dugout. Despite not participating, the boy still wanted to support his teammates. Spitfire approached the teen as he saw her.
"So, Sheriff? You joining or what?" asked the woman.
"Thanks, coach, but I think I can help the team more from the stands," said the boy.
"Well, suit yourself," said Spitfire as she turned to leave.
The game soon started as CHS took the field. It was a close game, to say the least, as CHS was currently up to bat. The pitcher threw the ball, but he misjudged where he threw the ball as it made contact with the batter's hand as he dropped the bat and clutched his hand. Spitfire quickly came on the field to look at her player's hand as she knew it was bad.
"Now, who's gonna play shortstop?" asked Rocky.
Mario and Zipp exchanged looks before turning their heads to where Hitch was. The boy saw his friends looking at him as they approached the stand.
"Hitch, you've got to play!" said the heiress.
"I am not playing!" stated the boy.
"Hitch, you're the only other shortstop we got," responded Mario.
"Fine, but I'm not hitting. I don't want to make us lose," said Hitch as he reluctantly agreed.
The boy changed into his outfit and continued to play the rest of the game. It was soon the final inning, and CHS was up to bat. They were down by three points with all the bases loaded. If they could score a homerun, then not only would they tie the game, but they would also win it. And so the one to bat was someone who was against it.
"I said I'm not hitting!" stated Hitch as Mario and Zipp tried to get him up.
"But you're up next!" shouted the girl as she pulled on his shirt.
"But what if I blow it? What if I end the game?" responded Hitch.
"Well, what if you do? If you don't try, how will you know?" stated Mario.
"Ay!" groaned Hitch.
The boy was warming up as he practiced some swings. He dreaded that everyone was counting on him as he knew, based on his record, he'd probably fail.
"Come on, Hitch!" shouted Sunny as the boy turned to see his girlfriend approach him. "Ooh, nice uniform. Makes you look even more handsome."
"Yeah, thanks to you. Hey, how many sponsors did you and the girls end up getting anyway?" asked the boy, continuing to practice his swings.
"Oh, let me think… about 72," smirked Sunny.
"What?" exclaimed Hitch as he couldn't believe his best friend. "But… how? You hardly had any? How'd you do it?"
"I just never gave up hope," smiled the girl. "Now, go for it!" Sunny kissed her boyfriend for good luck as she left to take her seat.
Hitch watched his girlfriend as he just shook his head with a smile. He then looked at his bat and recalled what Sunny said about not giving up.
"I can do this. I can do this," muttered the boy as he stepped to the plate.
The tension was in the air as Rocky, Thunder, and Sprout were on each base. They were looking to Hitch to get them the win. The boy took a deep breath as he entered his stance and looked at the pitcher. He had a focused and determined look as he squinted his eyes. The boy's friends and girlfriend bit their bottom lip in suspense in the stands. Sunny put her hands together, praying that Hitch would hit the ball. The pitcher then hiked his leg up before throwing his arm out; the ball traveled through the air and approached Hitch had sweat rolling down his face. He then swung as the bat made contact with the ball to send it flying. It soared through the air before going over the gate as the stands erupted.
"Yes! He did it!" shouted Zipp as Hitch scored them the win.
Mario gave his friend a thumbs-up when he saw it while running the bases and smiled. Hitch reached home base and was greeted with warm applause and support from his teammates. The boy looked to the stands and saw his girlfriend cheering her heart out along with the rest of their friends. He looked over at Mario and Zipp and was grateful for them helping him get rid of his slump.
"Excellent work, sheriff!" said Spitfire, patting Hitch on the shoulder.
Author's Note: It seems Hitch was able to overcome his confidence issue and the tension between Isaac and Gilda has reached an all time high. No doubt, this is only going to add more fuel to the fire when it comes to their duel. Now... onto a more serious matter.
I'm sure many are aware and for those that don't, today was not only the final episode for G5, but as of today, G5 is official over. Moreso canceled but in short, it's over. Which is sad because G5 is now the shortest of the generations for MLP, having only lasted just a shy three years since the movie came out that started all of this. So, with G5 reaching its untimely cancellation, what does that mean for this story? Well, for starters, in regards to this story, I plan to continue it. I'm already knee deep that it would be a crime not to see this story play out. I have so much more that I haven't shown that I would feel bad to cut it. In short, I have to finish the story! So to the fans that enjoy this, you have nothing to worry about. As is my obligation as the author, I plan to see this to the very end. But... in regards to G5 content itself. Will I ever make another G5 story?...
The answer to that is:... Hell Yeah! Just like with Equestria Girls, it'll be up to us, the fans to keep G5 alive and well. While it sucks we'll never get an official ending, that doesn't mean we should let the memory of G5 die out. While it wasn't the best for some people, it did have its moments and charm that it brought to the table. So from the bottom of my heart, I want to say: "Thank you, G5. Thank you to Sunny and the gang for giving us some moments these past three years. Even though our time was short and we should've cherished it more, we're glad for the memories it did create and give us." Your future and legacy is in good hands with us as the fans. Anyways, I think I've rambled on long enough. I'll see you all in the next chapter.
Once again, thank you, G5!