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Rising for Sunset [Part 3 - Wednesday]
By StarswirlCreated: 2021-07-16 21:31:33
Updated: 2021-02-04 04:23:45
Expiry: Never
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                                            1.
                                            >Wake up.
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                                            2.
                                            >Grab things.
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                                            3.
                                            >Quick breakfast this time.
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                                            4.
                                            >Feeling pretty good about things today.
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                                            5.
                                            >Head for school.
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                                            6.
                                            >You happen to meet up with Flash on the walk over.
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                                            7.
                                            >"Well, well. Someone's looking confident today."
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                                            8.
                                            "After all of the crap that I've gone through over the last couple of days, I think I'm feeling good."
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                                            9.
                                            >"Good for you, man."
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                                            10.
                                            >You talk to chat with Flash for a bit about music during your trip.
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                                            11.
                                            >Eventually you reach Canterlot High and step inside.
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                                            12.
                                            "Look, I understand why you like Rush. Nobody will disagree with it. But why is Xanadu your favorite track of theirs?"
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                                            13.
                                            >"You just don't get the artistic value of it, Anon."
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                                            14.
                                            >As you're about to give your rebuttal as to why that argument is bullshit, Fluttershy comes up.
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                                            15.
                                            "Good morning, Anonymous."
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                                            16.
                                            >Damnit, she's so cute.
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                                            17.
                                            "Hey there, Fluttershy. What's up?"
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                                            18.
                                            >"It's nothing really. I was just wondering what you thought of the English assignment that we have due for today."
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                                            19.
                                            >You were in such a hurry to leave the class on Monday that you forgot to write it down.
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                                            20.
                                            "Oh... Well... What was it again?"
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                                            21.
                                            >"Anon, you really shouldn't put off your homework like that."
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                                            22.
                                            "Yeah, I know..."
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                                            23.
                                            >Fluttershy writes down the pages that you were supposed to read for today.
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                                            24.
                                            >Just about then, you hear a voice call your name.
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                                            25.
                                            
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                                            26.
                                            >Rainbow Dash approaches you.
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                                            27.
                                            >"I heard about your little 'competition' with Applejack yesterday."
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                                            28.
                                            "Yes. And?"
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                                            29.
                                            >"You may be good in her book, but you haven't proven yourself to me yet."
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                                            30.
                                            >Fluttershy speaks up.
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                                            31.
                                            >"Rainbow Dash, I'm surprised at you. Haven't we given Anonymous enough trouble this week?"
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                                            32.
                                            >Another voice pipes up behind Rainbow Dash.
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                                            33.
                                            >"Yeah, Rainbow. Anon's a decent feller."
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                                            34.
                                            >You never would have thought before this week that anyone from the Main Six would really care about what happens to you.
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                                            35.
                                            >Now Fluttershy AND Applejack have come to your defense.
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                                            36.
                                            >You put your hands out to your sides.
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                                            37.
                                            "It's fine, you guys. Really."
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                                            38.
                                            >They seem a bit surprised to hear this response.
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                                            39.
                                            >The only person that isn't phased by this is Rainbow.
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                                            40.
                                            "What's it going to be, Rainbow Dash?"
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                                            41.
                                            >"Half an hour after school lets out. Meet me out at the soccer field. And you better not chicken out."
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                                            42.
                                            "Don't worry. I won't."
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                                            43.
                                            >She turns and leaves without saying another thing.
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                                            44.
                                            >Everyone else is looking at you like you're out of your mind.
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                                            45.
                                            
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                                            46.
                                            >Flash is the first to speak up.
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                                            47.
                                            >"Anon, you know she's the star of the soccer team, right?"
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                                            48.
                                            "Is she?"
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                                            49.
                                            >Fluttershy looks worried for you, because you seem to be unprepared for everything today.
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                                            50.
                                            >Applejack starts to lay on the skepticism.
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                                            51.
                                            >"You know that this isn't like yesterday, right? You can't just learn to get good at a sport in less than a day."
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                                            52.
                                            "Sure."
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                                            53.
                                            >They all look less sure.
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                                            54.
                                            "Look, I'm telling you guys, I'll be fine."
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                                            55.
                                            >You turn towards the hall that leads to your next class and start walking.
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                                            56.
                                            "Really. You don't have to worry about me today. I've got this."
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                                            57.
                                            >At that moment, you see Pinkie Pie walking by.
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                                            58.
                                            >She turns and calls out to you, without stopping.
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                                            59.
                                            >"Nonny, I told you that you should get some new shoes!"
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                                            60.
                                            >What is she talking abou-
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                                            61.
                                            >It's happening again.
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                                            62.
                                            >You feel the world fall out from under you.
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                                            63.
                                            >IS THIS GOING TO HAPPEN EVERY DAY?
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                                            64.
                                            >Just before you faceplant, you come to a realization.
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                                            65.
                                            >You forgot your new shoes at home.
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                                            66.
                                            >You're wearing the old, shitty ones.
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                                            67.
                                            
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                                            68.
                                            >Nothing saves your ass this time.
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                                            69.
                                            >You eat shit.
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                                            70.
                                            >You can hear your comrades behind you.
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                                            71.
                                            >A sharp breath in.
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                                            72.
                                            >An "oooh..."
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                                            73.
                                            >An "eep"
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                                            74.
                                            >Before any of them can ask if you're okay, you stick out your hand and gives them a thumbs up before peeling yourself off the floor and dusting yourself off.
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                                            75.
                                            >The rest of your morning passes without anything else going wrong.
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                                            76.
                                            >Well, almost.
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                                            77.
                                            >A power outage happened while you were typing a paper and you lost half of it.
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                                            78.
                                            >You came pretty close to having that solution blow up in your face during chemistry.
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                                            79.
                                            >But you made it to lunch just fine.
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                                            80.
                                            >You get your tray filled up and have a seat with Flash.
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                                            81.
                                            >After a little while, you hear your phone go off.
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                                            82.
                                            >Looks like you've got a text.
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                                            83.
                                            
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                                            84.
                                            >You don't recognize the number, but you check it anyway.
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                                            85.
                                            >"I hope you don't mind, but I got your number from Pinkie Pie."
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                                            86.
                                            >Okay, so that explains that much.
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                                            87.
                                            >It still doesn't explain how PINKIE has your number, but you know it's better not to ask.
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                                            88.
                                            >"I'm really sorry about all of this. Would you be willing to meet with me before school tomorrow so we can talk about it?"
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                                            89.
                                            >It's from Sunset Shimmer.
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                                            90.
                                            >She wants to clear all of this up.
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                                            91.
                                            >Maybe today is as good as you thought it would be after all.
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                                            92.
                                            >As the bell rings for classes to resume, you send her a text back saying that you will.
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                                            93.
                                            >Your next class period passes uneventfully.
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                                            94.
                                            >That leads you up to... English again.
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                                            95.
                                            >"Today I'd like you to fill out these worksheets on the reading."
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                                            96.
                                            >That can't be good.
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                                            97.
                                            >You only skimmed the reading after Fluttershy gave you the page numbers-
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                                            98.
                                            >"I will allow you to partner up for this.
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                                            99.
                                            >The room is instantly a massive shift of people trying to sit by their best friends so that they can chat.
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                                            100.
                                            >After the room settles, you're sitting next to Fluttershy.
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                                            101.
                                            >She didn't notice you for a moment and nearly jumps out of her seat.
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                                            102.
                                            "So... partners?"
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                                            103.
                                            
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                                            104.
                                            >"O-okay. Sure, Anon."
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                                            105.
                                            >You both work on the worksheet packet.
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                                            106.
                                            >But mostly Fluttershy.
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                                            107.
                                            >You help out where you can, but it requires a lot of reading the text thoroughly for the first time.
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                                            108.
                                            >It's going well, but it seems like there's something else on her mind.
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                                            109.
                                            "Fluttershy?"
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                                            110.
                                            >"Yes, Anonymous?"
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                                            111.
                                            "Are you still worried about how I'm going to deal with Rainbow Dash later?"
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                                            112.
                                            >"N-no, of course not..."
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                                            113.
                                            >That doesn't sound convincing.
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                                            114.
                                            "Really? Because you sound nervous."
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                                            115.
                                            >"Well.. maybe a little bit. Rainbow Dash is a really good athlete, and I just don't want you to feel bad if you can't win."
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                                            116.
                                            "It's really okay, Fluttershy. Thank you for being concerned about me, but I promise you that I know what I'm getting myself into. So don't worry about it anymore, okay?"
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                                            117.
                                            >"O-okay. If you say so."
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                                            118.
                                            >She gives you a small smile after you reassure her.
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                                            119.
                                            >You two wrap up the assignment and write your name on it.
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                                            120.
                                            >She has beautiful, cursive handwriting.
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                                            121.
                                            >Damnit, everything about her is adorable.
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                                            122.
                                            >The bell rings and you split off from Fluttershy to go wait for your challenge against Rainbow Dash.
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                                            123.
                                            
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                                            124.
                                            >It's almost time.
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                                            125.
                                            >You're ready.
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                                            126.
                                            >You KNOW that you're ready.
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                                            127.
                                            >You throw open the door and step out onto the field.
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                                            128.
                                            >"Looks like you didn't chicken out after all."
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                                            129.
                                            >Rainbow Dash is standing at midfield with a soccer ball trapped under her foot.
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                                            130.
                                            >Scanning the field, you can see Fluttershy and Applejack are both sitting in the stands to watch this.
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                                            131.
                                            >No Flash this time though.
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                                            132.
                                            >Your eyes settle on Dash again.
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                                            133.
                                            "Nope."
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                                            134.
                                            >"That's fine with me. I'll beat you anyway."
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                                            135.
                                            >She kicks up the ball and catches it.
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                                            136.
                                            >"First to score ten goals wins.
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                                            137.
                                            >You nod and take your position on one side of the line.
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                                            138.
                                            >Dash places the ball.
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                                            139.
                                            >Fluttershy lines up at the center from off-field.
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                                            140.
                                            >"Ready?"
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                                            141.
                                            >There's a long hesitation before she finally blurts out:
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                                            142.
                                            >"Go!"
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                                            143.
                                            
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                                            144.
                                            >Before you can even move, the ball shoots past you with Rainbow Dash in hot pursuit.
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                                            145.
                                            >You try to maneuver around her to get it back, but she is FAST.
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                                            146.
                                            >She shoots...
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                                            147.
                                            >She scores.
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                                            148.
                                            >The game just started she's already ahead of you by a point.
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                                            149.
                                            >She turns to look at you and the look on her face is SO SMUG.
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                                            150.
                                            >"You sure you don't wanna just give up now?"
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                                            151.
                                            >You put on your game face.
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                                            152.
                                            "Never."
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                                            153.
                                            >You reset for the next one...
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                                            154.
                                            >Ready to go this time, you manage to get the first kick in and start dribbling the ball down the field.
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                                            155.
                                            >She hasn't caught up to you after a couple of seconds, and this is starting to feel good.
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                                            156.
                                            >Even if your soccer technique is awful.
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                                            157.
                                            >Just then, it happens again.
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                                            158.
                                            >You slip in the grass and Rainbow dashes by, stealing the ball.
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                                            159.
                                            >By the time you right yourself again, it's already too late to stop her.
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                                            160.
                                            >She scores again.
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                                            161.
                                            >And again.
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                                            162.
                                            >And again.
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                                            163.
                                            >And again.
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                                            164.
                                            >It keeps happening until she has nine goals to your zero.
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                                            165.
                                            >Then it happens.
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                                            166.
                                            >"ANON! CATCH!"
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                                            167.
                                            >You turn to see something sailing through the air towards you.
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                                            168.
                                            >You catch it.
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                                            169.
                                            >It's the new tennis shoes you bought yesterday.
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                                            170.
                                            >Flash is here.
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                                            171.
                                            
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                                            172.
                                            >You grin.
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                                            173.
                                            "Flash, you son of a bitch! You broke into my house for a pair of shoes?"
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                                            174.
                                            >"Just lookin' out for you, man!"
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                                            175.
                                            >You look to Rainbow Dash and call a time out.
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                                            176.
                                            >You kneel down and start untying the shoes that have been causing a lot of shit the past few days.
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                                            177.
                                            >"What difference is a pair of shoes going to make? I only need one more point to win!"
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                                            178.
                                            >You block her out.
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                                            179.
                                            >Flash is amping up the mood the only way he knows how to:
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                                            180.
                                            >By playing his guitar.
 - 181.
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                                            182.
                                            >You slip your feet into the new shoes and tie the old ones together by the laces.
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                                            183.
                                            >You turn and throw them hard.
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                                            184.
                                            >They land in a nearby dumpster with a satisfying thud.
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                                            185.
                                            >You turn to Rainbow Dash.
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                                            186.
                                            "It. Is. ON."
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                                            187.
                                            >You walk up to the starting position again, ready and raring to go.
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                                            188.
                                            
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                                            189.
                                            >Rainbow Dash is surprised this time when you actually slip past her with the ball.
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                                            190.
                                            >You can feel the fire within.
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                                            191.
                                            >Dash is quickly catching up to you.
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                                            192.
                                            >Pushing yourself, you can see that you're approaching the goal.
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                                            193.
                                            >You're NOT going to slip this time.
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                                            194.
                                            >She's outpacing you.
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                                            195.
                                            >This is all you.
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                                            196.
                                            >She's ahead of you now, but you see an opening.
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                                            197.
                                            >You shoot!
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                                            198.
                                            >Everything happens in slow motion.
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                                            199.
                                            >Your foot makes contact with the ball.
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                                            200.
                                            >It streaks through the air.
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                                            201.
                                            >Rainbow Dash whips around and throws a kick.
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                                            202.
                                            >It connects with the ball.
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                                            203.
                                            >Everything suddenly speeds up again as a black and white shape blurs over your head.
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                                            204.
                                            >You turn around to pursue it.
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                                            205.
                                            >It looks like a rainbow just shoots right past your face.
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                                            206.
                                            >She kicks the ball...
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                                            207.
                                            >And it's over.
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                                            208.
                                            
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                                            209.
                                            >Rainbow Dash scores her tenth goal.
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                                            210.
                                            >Flash stops playing instantly.
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                                            211.
                                            >Everyone in the stands generally just looks down.
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                                            212.
                                            >Rainbow Dash immediately starts gloating.
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                                            213.
                                            >"AW, YEAH! Who's awesome? I'm awesome!"
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                                            214.
                                            >She turns to you.
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                                            215.
                                            >"So, what do you have to say NOW, Anon?"
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                                            216.
                                            >You stand your ground.
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                                            217.
                                            "Re-match. Right here. Right now."
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                                            218.
                                            >"Wha? I just THRASHED you ten to nothing and you want to go again?"
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                                            219.
                                            "That's right."
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                                            220.
                                            >There's a moment where she doesn't know how to respond.
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                                            221.
                                            >"F-Fine then. Have it your way. But don't start crying if you lose again!"
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                                            222.
                                            
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                                            223.
                                            >You won't go out like this.
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                                            224.
                                            >You refuse to go out like this.
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                                            225.
                                            >The game starts again.
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                                            226.
                                            >You keep putting your all into it.
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                                            227.
                                            >Rainbow Dash keeps walking all over you.
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                                            228.
                                            >It's a total blow-out.
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                                            229.
                                            >Again.
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                                            230.
                                            "Again."
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                                            231.
                                            >"Ugh, are you kidding?"
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                                            232.
                                            >You play her again.
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                                            233.
                                            >You get stomped again.
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                                            234.
                                            >You're both starting to get tired, you more than her.
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                                            235.
                                            "Again."
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                                            236.
                                            
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                                            237.
                                            >"What is your DEAL Anon? It doesn't matter how many times we do this, you're not going to win!"
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                                            238.
                                            >You look at her with a fierce look in your eyes.
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                                            239.
                                            "Because I won't back down. Not anymore."
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                                            240.
                                            >She looks surprised to hear this.
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                                            241.
                                            >You think back to your encounter with Sunset on Monday.
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                                            242.
                                            "I already made the mistake of getting in my own way, and I'm sure as hell not going to let anyone, even you, stop me either."
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                                            243.
                                            >There's a long silence as you stare her down.
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                                            244.
                                            >The air is still, no one says a thing.
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                                            245.
                                            >Rainbow Dash walks over to you...
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                                            246.
                                            >"You just stood up for what you believe in. You have guts dude. A lot of guts."
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                                            247.
                                            >She extends a hand to you with a smile.
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                                            248.
                                            >"You know... you're alright by me, Anon."
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                                            249.
                                            
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                                            250.
                                            >You shake Rainbow's hand, which quickly turns into a fist bump that you almost don't manage to reciprocate.
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                                            251.
                                            >Fluttershy, Applejack, and Flash are cheering from the stands.
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                                            252.
                                            >You smile.
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                                            253.
                                            "Thanks Rainbow Dash. You're probably not so bad either."
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                                            254.
                                            >She rolls her eyes.
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                                            255.
                                            >"Yeah, well, I AM pretty awesome. But you're cooler than I thought you were. Good luck working things out with Sunset."
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                                            256.
                                            >You nod to Rainbow Dash before departing from the field.
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                                            257.
                                            >You spend the walk home talking to Flash, laughing about the whole thing as he recalls just how bad you got wrecked.
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                                            258.
                                            >When you get home, you go straight to your room and lie down on the bed.
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                                            259.
                                            >You're exhausted from going three rounds with Rainbow Dash.
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                                            260.
                                            >But that's not surprising.
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                                            261.
                                            >Not giving up had been your plan all along.
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                                            262.
                                            >And tomorrow morning, you're going to meet with Sunset Shimmer and settle this whole mess.
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                                            263.
                                            
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                                            264.
                                            END OF WEDNESDAY.
 
                         by Starswirl
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