"DANM IT!"

As soon I heard someone yell out of rage, I immediately lost my momentum in mid-air, making me miss the ball by just a few inches as gravity pulled me back down.

After I got back to the ground, I looked up and watched the ball fly across the court, dropping directly to Rarity's head afterward.

Ignoring the poor purple-haired teen getting hit for the 7th time in this match, I quickly turned to my right and grabbed Applejack by her shirt.

Rd: "What was that?! Why did you yell?!" I asked her, almost shouting.

At this point, I was really losing my hopes, stamina, and power for this game.

All were sweating, exhausted, and focused on this match. We've been playing for minutes maybe even a full hour without any rest nor planning to stop any soon.

But with the score of 20 for Sunset's team and 17 for us, the gap is only 3 points. We might win this match if we can make a comeback with our freak attack.

When Applejack snapped back to reality, she suddenly looked down and grabbed my hand that was holding her shirt.

Rd: "Argh.." I groaned in slight pain when I noticed her grip began to tighten.

Aj: "S-sorry.." She muttered with obvious guilt in her voice.

I then pulled my hand back and turn around to watch Flash set another point for Sunset's team. And beside him was Rarity who was constantly yelling at Sunset while our teammates hold her back.

R: "7 F*CKING TIME, SUNSET. FOR THE 7TH TIME!" She shouted at Sunset while holding an ice bag on her forehead.

Ss: "The ball really likes hitting on you, Rarity." Sunset teased with a confident look on her face.

F: "I mean, I can't blame the ball." Flash added.

R: "SHUT THE HELL UP!"

Ts: "Okay can we continue the game now before Rarity kills Flash?" Twilight laughed between her pants.

Flash quickly nodded to the question as he grabbed his whistle to ready his command, throwing the ball to Sunset since they won the last set.

Even if my body won't move anymore, as well with my bruised palms and arms from receiving all of Sunset's serves, I still had a little bit of stamina left in my system.

And there we waited for the whistle while watching Sunset walk to the back of her side, bouncing and catching the ball on her way.

After Sunset got to position, Flash blew his whistle which made Sunset do another one of her powerful national-level serves.

Since I was at the back, I had no choice but to dive to the side and receive the ball with my right arm.

Rd: "ACK! so.. P-powerful!" I thought to myself, teasing the aching pain in my arms.

When the ball flew back into the air, I immediately got back to my feet and ran to my right.

Rd: "APPLEJACK!" I called out the cowgirl's name.

Aj: "R-rainbow!" She shouted back before the ball could fully drop to her fingertips.

But when I noticed Twilight and Sunset was following my direction for them to block my attack, I slowly looked down to avoid letting them see my eyes.

And just like that, I immediately changed my course as I ran to the left side of Applejack with my full speed limit.

It only took Twilight a few seconds to figure out where will I strike, but with my speed, she can still determine which way will I go.

Ts: "C-crap, left!" She shouted while running a few inches away from me.

"I need to be ahead of them, faster than them. I don't care if I'm ahead of a second, meter, inch, or time.. All it matters is that I overcome them all!"

The sound of Applejack tossing the ball made a weak smile form in my face. And without hesitation, I quickly jumped vertically and closed my eyes like last time.

I trust her enough with her tosses, I know she can do it..

Without seeing anything but a black vision in front of me, I quickly slammed my hand into the air, connecting the ball with my right hand in the perfect timing.

I then opened my eyes and saw a clear vision at the top of the net. Twilight's hand was just a few inches away from blocking me but she couldn't keep up.

"P O W!"

The sound of a powerful blow scattered around the room as soon I slammed the ball back into their base, hitting the ground before Sunset could dive in to save it.

When I fell back to the ground, I immediately ran up to Applejack and pulled her into a tight hug.

Rd: "Once.. More.." I panted as the irresistible smile was still plastered in my face.

She smirked and hugged back. Gently tucking my hair strand behind my ear.

Aj: "We can win this.. I believe in you." She replied, still panting.

I nodded my head, pulling away from her hug.

Rd: "Were just 3 points behind, keep tossing to me alright, dumbass?"

Aj: "Oh god you're so dumb. You're the only spiker here, who else should I toss the ball to? To Rarity's face again?"

R: "MOTHER F*CKE-" before Rarity could rage out, Wallflower Blush was able to cover her mouth and pull her away out of the gym court.

Now that Rarity was gone, Flash cleared her throat and grabbed the ball from Starlight Glimmer's hands.

F: "Score, 18-21, let's make this quick before Coach Armor comes."

All of us agreed and ready our stance, except for Applejack who was tasked to serve the ball next.

Flash the threw the ball at her, she bounced the ball twice on the ground while waiting for Flash's signal.

Not long after Flash blew his whistle, Applejack threw the ball upwards into the air, doing a 3-step approach before jumping at the right time to spike the ball with such powerful force.

Seeing her do a jump serve really gets on my nerves. She did improve compared to the tournament last year, but I'm not going to be left behind that easily!

Applejack's serve made the ball flew a straight shot into the air, falling into Sunset's arms afterward.

Ss: "Twilight!" Sunset shouted as she passed the ball above her lover's head.

Twilight agreed and jumped high into the air, connecting the ball with a toss to Sunset's lane.

Knowing Sunset's every moves during this match, I figured out her formation every time she's planning to strike an attack.

I know she was gonna strike a straight at the back row.. But why can't I move?

She's just right there, in front of me on the other side of the net..

But Gravity was somehow pulling me down, my legs can no longer move, I had already used all of my remaining stamina.

No, we can't stop here, me and Applejack already used all of our timeouts same as Sunset's team.

I need to act fast.. Come on Dash, MOVE!

But before I could lift my foot, my eyes widened in shock when I saw Applejack ran into my direction, jumping up in front of Sunset and reached out her hands.

At that exact moment, Sunset was forced to spike that ball right in Applejack's palms which made the ball return to their base.

The whistle blew as Flash scored us another point for blocking Sunset's attack.

But when Applejack fell back to the ground, she looked at me and smiled.

Aj: "Don't worry, I have your back.."

Rd: "T-thank you.." I smiled back, offering her a high five. "Come on, let's make a come back."

She chuckled and walked closer to me. But instead of slamming her hand on mine, she unexpectedly pulled me into a quick kiss.

Aj: "Sorry, I don't accept High fives, only kisses from tiny people." She teased after parting away from me.

With the others now cheering and yelling our names, I immediately pushed her away from me and lift up my lower part of my shirt to wipe my face which revealed my body.

Rd: "Pff, whatever." I pouted, looking into Aj's emerald eyes. "Stop staring at my body, pervert. Careful, you might drool."

Aj: "I.." Applejack blushed. "Tsk, I have a way better body than you." She added before walking away.

Rd: "Nice joke." I teased back.

Aj: "Wanna prove it? And it ain't no joke!"

Rd: "Then show me, asshole." I smirked before turning to my back to walk back to my position.

As planned, Applejack took the bait and covered my way, lifting up her shirt to reveal to me her abs which were also visible to the rest of the girls.

Rd: "I.." I muttered, still looking at her body. "Oh god, your so dumb." I looked away.

Aj: "I wasn't joking."

Rd: "Do you realize they can see you, Right?" I held in my laughter from bursting out.

Applejack's eyes widened before looking to the rest of our teammates in the distance, giggling and blushing from what they see.

Aj: "C-crap.." The cowgirl nervously said, lowering her shirt again to cover the lower half of her body.

Rd: "How could you be so dumb? You actually fell for my trick!" I laughed out loud.

Aj: 'You. Are. So. Dead. " she smirked in a sinister way while tilting her head sidewards.

Before Applejack could charge at me, I suddenly heard the whistle blew to signal the game.

I stuck out my tongue and gave her the ball.

Rd: "Make it a nice serve, hot dumb stuff."

Aj: "Screw you."

Rd: "Aww love you too~"

When Aj finally got to the back, she did another one of her jumps serves after Flash blew the whistle.

But this time, her serve messed up, causing it to touch the tip of the net which made it lose its momentum.

Ss: "Twilight cover, the cover!" Sunset shouted after the ball fell to their side.

Ts: "Sunset!" Twilight called as soon she saved the ball by diving down into the floor just to save the ball from touching their base.

When the ball flew up back into the air, I noticed that Sunset was about to spike the ball from the back row.

Once again, I predicted her next move just by looking at her gesture. But the same problem kept pulling me down.

My legs, my arms, and basically my whole body hurt, I can't even move a muscle as the feeling of something pulling you down made my thighs hurt.

I can't just rely on Applejack on saving it again. How can I be the next Ace if I can't save the ball in this state?

It was obvious that Sunset wasn't giving up her title that easily, I just have to do the same and have higher passion than her.

With my instincts spreading through my body, I forced myself to ran after Sunset, jumping at the front to block her attack.

But as soon I jumped, my eyes widened in pure shock when I realized my jump.

I was falling, I didn't jump high enough which made a clear path for Sunset's attack.

At this stage, Sunset wasn't my only enemy, it was also the gravity pulling me down.

And just like that, Sunset spiked the ball and delivered it right in my path.

Rd: "I just need to receive it, RECEIVE IT GODDAMN IT DASH MOVE!" I told myself as I ran to the back to save it.

But before my arms could connect it, I suddenly felt something hard hit my head.

"Rainbow Dash!

Which made my vision go black. And the last thing I saw was Applejack's emerald eyes right in front of me.

"R-rainbow.. Get up!"

Her voice faded as well with the others, I suddenly felt so useless yet so devastated inside.

No, this can't happen.. I have to get back up!