Who's on First? (sfw)

>The air hung heavy over the heads of those who’d gathered on the baseball diamond, their faces sagging as if the weight of what faced them was set on their cheeks.
>Some of them wore confident smiles, others were not so happy.
>They watched as one by one a member of their ranks walked out to the batter’s box, donning a cracked helmet and moldy bat that the janitor had pulled out the day before.
>The coach would toss a couple floaters at them, hoping to at least find somebody who could hit.
>Some swung under it, some looked like they were trying to hit a fly.
>The coach’s scrunched face didn’t change much. So far, the students of Canterlot High had failed to impress.
>He was hoping to gather a winning team to challenge the Manehatten Cloudkickers, but with every swing of the bat it seemed that the tryouts were a waste an hour’s reservation on the diamond.
>The coach focused more on trying to blow the perfect bubble than throwing pitches over the plate.
>He tossed a ball carelessly at the next batter, not bothering to see how was up to bat. They were all talentless hacks.
>He’d just curled the gum around the front of his tongue when suddenly he heard the crack of wood against leather.
>Almost immediately after he felt something whiz right by his ear. He ducked down and covered his head, checking to make sure he still had his ears.
>He looked up to see who’d shot that bullet at him, and standing in the batter’s box was a short beanpole with a smug grin on his face.
>A curtain of messy brown hair poked out from under the helmet, which was much too big for him.
>”Sorry, coach...guess you shoulda kept your eye on the ball,” he laughed.
>The coach stood right up and strutted over to the batter.
“What’s your name, son?”
>”N-Norman, sir…” he stammered. The coach loomed over him like a great, angry bull.
”Norman, where’d you learn to hit like that?”
>”Dunno, been in my blood I guess.”
“Go sit down. You’re the best damn hitter I’ve seen all day. You can wait over there for the fielding portion, but considering the rest of the schmucks I’ve seen today, that spot on the team is yours.”
>Norman jogged over to the dugout, ecstatic with what the coach had said.
>He’d wanted for a long time to be on the Wondercolts baseball team, and only now, when Fleetfoot had broken his leg did he have a shot.
>He leaned back on the bench and closed his eyes, assured of his position on the team.
>But like an alarm clock another loud crack of the bat woke him up.
>He opened his eyes just in time to see the little white ball sail over the center field fence and the coach grinning ear to ear.
>Norman spun on his heel and looked at who’d just hit the bomb. When he saw who was in the batter’s box, his jaw felt ten times heavier.
>Standing at the plate was a thin, delicate girl with pale yellow skin. A bat was slung over her shoulder, wrapped by a silky curtain of hair.
>The helmet slumped a bit on her forehead, shading her bright eyes from the sun.
>She pushed up the lip of the helmet and looked out over the field, trying to find the ball.
“Goodness! Did I hit it too hard?”
>”Fluttershy!?” Norman shouted, stepping out of the dugout, “What are you doing here!? I thought you had to help the animals or something!”
“I was!” she replied, “But Rainbow really wanted me to tryout while she watches the animals. Oh, she knows I’m no good at sports…”
>>”Heads up!”
>Fluttershy spun around to see the coach winding up another pitch. She quickly got in her stance and shut her eyes, cutting a wide swath across the plate with her bat.
>When she opened them again, the ball was curling around the foul pole.
“Oh...shoot!” she tossed the bat on the ground, “I’m sorry I made you lose another ball, Mister. I guess I should just go.”
>>”What the Sam Hill are you talkin’ about? I don’t care about the balls, they’re a dime a dozen. You, on the other hand, are somethin’ special.”
“What do you mean?”
>>”Go sit on the bench with that other kid. We’ll get to fielding after the rest of these schmucks try hitting.”
>Fluttershy took off the helmet and walked cross-armed to the dugout. She took her seat a few feet from where Norman’s jaw sat on the floor.

>”YOU can play ball?”
“No! No I can’t!” she cried, “Dash can play, I just got lucky, that’s all.”
>”HItting back to back homers isn’t ‘lucky’, Flutters!”
“Yes it is! Just you wait, I’m going to make a big fat fool of myself, you’re gonna get your spot on the team and I’ll go back to the shelter where I belong.”
>Fluttershy buried her face in her hands and wept. Norman went to say something but decided against it.
>Now he really felt like a dick. He stared forward in silence as the last few kids went up to bat.
>He didn’t even notice the coach sauntering up to the dugout, a broad smile on his face.

>>”Good news, you two. You were the only ones who hit well enough to say here. All we gotta do is some fielding drills and see which of you gets the spot.”
>”Sweet! Let’s go!”
“What are we doing now? I won’t lose any more balls, will I?”
>Norman laughed under his breath as he slipped on his glove. Fluttershy was his friend, sure, but right now, it was war.
>He needed that spot on the team, no matter who he had to trample to get it.
>Fluttershy managed to stuff her hand in a glove that was hardly bigger than her face. She walked a while behind Norman, who was hustling out to the infield.
>She took her place beside him, waiting for the coach to tell her what to do next.
>>”Alright kiddos, we’re just gonna do some fielding. I’m gonna hit you some grounders and you’re gonna scoop ‘em up. Ready?”
“Wait, you’re not gonna hit it hard, are y---EEEP!”
>Fluttershy put the glove up to her fast as a ball screamed at her. She fell back on her rump.
>She brought her shivering limbs to her side, and took deep breaths. At the plate the coach was waving his arm frantically.
>>”Wow! Nice stop, kid!”
“Wh-what?” Fluttershy lifted her gloved hand and noticed it felt a little heavier. She opened it to find a tiny white ball resting in the leather, a spot of dirt on the top.
>>”That thing nearly took your head off! I’ve never seen reactions like that.”
“Goodness,” she blushed, “What’s wrong, Norman?”
>He stood there with his mouth hanging open. She didn’t even know the ball was coming and she’d snagged it like a mantis catches a fly.
>”How is she so good at baseball?” he thought, “She spends all day watching cats and dogs!”
>He brushed off the dust from his shoulder and turned towards the plate.
>”Nothing, Flutters...nice catch.”
“I don’t know what was so nice about it…”
>He smiled and struck his glove, crouching low over the ground.
>”Come on, coach,” he said with a smirk, “I’m ready for ya!”
>The coach tossed a ball in the air and struck it with a light swing. The ball trickled slowly towards Norman’s feet. He almost laughed from how easy it was.
>He shot Fluttershy a look (Watch this!) and lowered his glove only to see the ball creep right past him.
>>”Oh come on, Norman! How’d you miss that!? You tryin’ to pull a Buckner here?”
>”Shit! Hit me another one! That was just a fluke!”
>>”Sorry kid, but the school can only afford five balls, and you two jacked three of them.”
>This time the look Norman gave Fluttershy wasn’t a confident one.
>>”On top of that, it’s gonna be dark in a few minutes. We gotta get a move on or else my head’ll be on a platter.”
>He motioned his hand, telling them to back up onto the outfield. Fluttershy walked with her head down and Norman mirrored her, although his reasons for doing so were much more heated.
>The grass of the field ground under his angry heels as he stormed into position.
>He turned to face the plate and got in the ready position. He turned to look at his competition and couldn’t believe his eyes.

>There was Fluttershy, staring intently on a blade of grass between her crossed legs.
>She brought her finger down to the ground, and Norman saw a little ladybug clamber up her nail.
>She wore a broad smile as she watched the beetle dance across her knuckles. Norman couldn’t help but smile back.
>He watched her hypnotized until he heard a loud crack of the bat.
>>”Heads up!”

>Norman looked up to see the ball cresting at the top of its arc, high above the field, and start to come back down...straight towards the oblivious girl.
>He had no time to think; Fluttershy had no idea what was hurtling towards her. He dove towards her and tackled her to the ground.
>The pair moved out of the way just before the ball landed about five feet from them, right where Norman was standing.
>>”Oh come on, kid! I hit it right at you! Can you catch the damn ball for once?”
>”Sorry coach!” He turned down to face Flutters, “You alright, Flutters.”
“Yeah...I’m fine. Not sure about Mrs. Ladybug, though. I didn’t want her to get hurt before she made it home to her kids.”
>”Uh, how many does she have?”
“Probably about 1000 if I had to guess. Can you please...um...get off me?”
>”Oh, uh, sorry about that.”
>Norman scrambled to his feet and brushed off the dust from his shirt. Fluttershy did the same, but straightened her skirt as well.
>>”Are you lovebirds done yet? Jesus, I only have time for one more hit. Make it count!”
>He ranted something about the school not giving him enough money when he popped the final ball into the bright orange sky.
>Norman and Fluttershy both went for the ball, each one clumsily running to the spot where it would land.
>The ball was coming down fast, and Norman had to catch this one. If he missed this ball, his chance of getting on the team was up a creek.
>He got under the ball, he stuck his glove in the air, and watched as the fiery red sky turned into a blanket of pink.
>Hair spilled into his mouth as he flailed wildly. The wind shifted, blasting Fluttershy’s hair right at him.
>He managed to throw the suffocating silk off of him just in time to see the ball fumble into Fluttershy’s limp glove.
>>”Nice catch, kid! You didn’t even look like you were trying!”
>Norman steamed under his ballcap and had to bite his tongue to keep from shouting something inappropriate.
“Thanks...I guess…I really wasn’t trying…”
>>”Well whether you were or not, I think I’ve made my decision. Fluttershy, welcome to the team.”
>She gasped and covered her mouth while Norman collapsed to his knees.
>He stared off into the distance, unsure of how to react. By complete luck, Fluttershy had taken his spot. The spot he’d worked so hard for.
>He felt his eyes start to burn but he managed to hold back the tears. He simply rose to his feet, put his glove and hat under one arm, and turned towards her.
>”Good job, Flutters,” he said, “I hope you like playing on the team.”
>Without another word he started the slow walk back to the parking lot. He only went a few steps before something made him stop in his tracks.
“Norman! Wait!”
>Fluttershy walked over to the coach, whose smile was ten miles wide.
“Um, coach? Thank you so much for offering me to be on the team, but I just can’t take that offer.”
>>”Huh? What do you mean? You played wonderfully out there!”
“I know...but I don’t deserve it! There was someone out here who wanted it more than I did, and he’s standing right over there. Why don’t you go have a talk with him?”
>>”Is this really what you want, Fluttershy?” the coach sighed.
“I’m sure. Playing baseball sounds fun, but my place is with the animals.”
>>”If you say so...Hey! Normo!”
>”My name’s Norman…” he thought.
>>”Come over here, looks like you got a spot on the team after all.”
>Norman’s eyes brightened and his shoulders perked up. He wanted to jump up and scream in joy, but he had to remain professional in front of the coach.
>”Thanks, coach! I won’t let you d---”
>>”It’s not me you should be thanking, kiddo,” he pointed a fat finger at the yellow girl walking towards the parking lot.
>”Yeah…” Norman said.
>>”But you’ll have time for that later, right now we need to discuss practices and uniforms…”

>The next morning Norman arrived early to school, but not too early that he couldn’t get in the building.
>He walked over to a certain locker, the one with dog pictures and flowers taped all along its face.
>He pulled a small piece of paper out of his pocket and took a deep breath.
>The packet dropped through the tiny slit in the top and fell with a light thunk against the top shelf.
>What was that saying? “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer?”
>Then why had a simple act of giving up her spot made her even closer?
>He walked away from the door, hoping that the four simple words he’d written would be enough to express how happy he really felt.

[spoiler]”Thanks, Fluttershy. Sincerely, Norman.”[/spoiler]