Hey, Applejack! Whatcha doin'?
Well, I was practicin' my distance buckin'?
Uh, distance bucking?
What for?
Because Cousin Braeburn and the rest of the Apple family in Appleloosa
seem to think that their team can beat Ponyville at buckball.
What?! Ha! That's ridiculous! Nopony beats Ponyville!
I mean, I could beat the whole town of Appleloosa at buckball
with one wing tied behind my back!
So I can count on ya
to join the Ponyville buckball team?
Oh, yeah! I am so there!
I've just got one question.
Hmm?
What's buckball?
So, basically, buckball is the coolest game ever.
Offense, defense, teamwork, nonstop action!
It's got it all!
Wow, Rainbow Dash. You sure seem to know a lot about this game.
I've never even heard of...
b-buckball.
Yeah, I'm kind of an expert.
An expert who hadn't heard of the game
either until I told you.
Well, it's a new game.
I probably know more than most ponies,
so that makes me an expert.
I don't know anything about it at all.
But it sounds like there's a ball and bucking,
so I'm betting it's super duper fun!
The point is, my cousin, Braeburn,
somehow convinced a Pegasus and a unicorn
to come play with him on the Appleloosa team,
and he can't stop braggin' about how his team is gonna beat ours!
But, um, we don't have a team.
Well, between Applejack and me,
we've got two-thirds of a team. All we need is a unicorn.
That's where you two come in.
Uh... they know we're not unicorns, right?
Uh, obviously.
You're gonna be on my team and Fluttershy is gonna be on Applejack's team.
We'll play against each other along
with whatever unicorns wanna try out until we find the best one.
Ohh! Phew! That's a relief
because I left my unicorn costume at home!
I know a lot of you are here
because I told you what an amazin' game buckball is.
And even though it's already an Apple family favorite,
most o' you probably don't know anything about it,
so I thought we'd give you a quick demonstration.
The two Earth ponies are on offense.
They meet in the middle of the field for the buckoff.
They both try to be the first one to kick it.
And the Pegasus is on defense.
She tries to keep the ball from going in the goal
and passes it back to the Earth pony on her team.
Just give it a little kick, Pinkie.
Ohh. I get it.
And all the unicorns have to do is float these here baskets
around the outside of the field
and catch as many balls as possible for their team.
You two get the idea?
Absolutely!
Oh, I don't know. That ball moves pretty fast.
All right. Now let's see which of you has what it takes.
Um, what do I do?
When the ball comes towards you, catch it.
Okay, just try your best, Pinkie.
I have been doin' this a lot longer than you.
Nice kick.
Great save, Fluttershy!
Coming your way, Pinkie!
Somersault kick!
Hey, this game is easy!
Oh! It actually is kinda fun!
Where did Pinkie Pie learn to buck like that?
And Fluttershy's spinning tail catch
is pretty amazing.
Um... okay. Well, let's see what the rest of you can do.
Now don't expect to be able to beat me twice in a row.
Well, hello there, Mr. Ball.
Hurry along, butterflies, before that ball comes and hits you.
Nope. Um... okay. Let's see what the rest of you can do.
Nope.
Definitely not.
No.
Not a chance.
No.
Nope.
Aaaand... no.
This didn't go how I thought it would.
It sure didn't
This game is a whole lot more fun than I thought it would be.
It's exactly as much fun as I thought it would be!
A whole bunch!
Carryin' my water
My water, my water
Carryin' my water
On my shoulder pole
Snails! Look out!
Hmm?
Amazing!
You should be more careful with these.
You could lose them.
Hey, Snails, can you float one of those baskets over here?
Hmm? Sure. What do you want me to do with it?
Catch!
Anything else?
Wow, Snails. You're a natural at buckball.
It's a good thing, too.
We were running out of unicorns.
D'you think you'll be ready to play with Applejack and Rainbow Dash
against the Appleloosa team?
I guess I'll find out.
Plus, after I deliver this water,
I don't really have anything else to do.
Well, Snails. with you on the team,
Ponyville is one step closer to crushing Appleloosa!
Huh. And after today,
it's pretty clear who the other two players should be.
W-What do you mean? I thought you and Dash were gonna play.
Yeah! If you're not crushing Appleloosa, who is?
Uh, you two, obviously!
Um, you want us to play buckball against Appleloosa instead of you?
Mm-hmm.
That's uncredible!
Unbelievable and incredible?
Come on!
I can't explain it, but you two are really good at this game.
And if it means beatin' Appleloosa,
I'll give either one of you a spot on the team
quicker than Granny Smith can core an apple.
Me. too.
I'd normally be so pumped all of Ponyville
was counting on me to win,
I'd run right over the competition,
but you still flew rings around me.
Oh, I'm sorry. I was just having fun.
Well, you can have all the fun you want
as long as it's while you're beatin' the hide off of Braeburn's team.
I do like fun!
Honestly, the game was a little scary at first,
but once I got the hang of it,
I had a pretty good time.
Let's get this party started!
All right. But if we really wanna beat Appleloosa,
we're gonna have to get serious.
Serious?
Serious how?
With serious practice!
Um, wow. This looks pretty intense.
Well, duh! You two are gonna be representing all of Ponyville.
And, more importantly, us!
That's why, before we leave for Appleloosa tomorrow,
you two are gonna practice just as hard as we would.
So let's hop to it! Snails already has a head start on you!
Okay, if you wanna win, you totally gotta get this drill down!
I-I, uh, I do?
It's all about ball control.
Ready? Go!
Come on! Faster!
You don't want Ponyville to lose because you can't get into high gear,
do you?!
All right. Bein' able to buck a ball into a goal from any direction
is the most important thing in the game.
Eh, if you say so.
Keep it up!
Just one miss'll ruin
the Apple family's buckball reputation forever!
Whoa! What?!
Whoops.
Come on! Push! Push! Push!
Come on, now! Every shot is for Sweet Apple Acres! And me! And Dash!
And all of Ponyville!
Faster!
Come on now!
Come on!
Keep it up!
Come on!
What in the apple happened to those two?
I don't know. They mopped the field with us before.
All right! That's it for today, y'all!
I thought practice was s'posed to make us better.
Maybe we just need a little rest.
Or a whole lot of it.
Just be sure to get your heads in the game before tomorrow.
All of Ponyville is countin' on a win.
I really don't want to let Applejack and Rainbow Dash down,
or anypony else, but after that practice,
I'm not feeling very confident.
Maybe we weren't that bad!
I guess I was hoping
you saw something I didn't.
I know our friends want us to win but,
how can the whole town be counting on it
if most ponies have never even heard of buckball?
I know! How can we disappoint a pony
who doesn't even know we have a team?
Or that we're gonna play Appleloosa?
Pfft yeah.
I don't think we need to worry.
I'd be surprised if anypony in this town cares about this game at all.
Go Ponyville! Go Ponyville! Win, win, win! Whoo hoo! Ponyville!
Way to go!
The whole town really seems to care about this game a lot.
Heh, we kinda went around town and talked up the team a little.
Yup!
We wanted to make sure you two knew
that all of Ponyville was behind you!
Greaaaaat...
I hear the whole town's already plannin' a parade
for when you get back after whuppin' Appleloosa!
That should feel pretty good!
It should...?
Totally!
Just spend the whole ride to Appleloosa
thinking about everypony cheering
for the victorious Ponyville buckball team!
I bet Princess Celestia even comes to congratulate you!
If that doesn't get you in "the zone," I don't know what will!
I don't know what zone Rainbow Dash is talking about,
but I'm pretty sure I don't want to be in it.
Do you?
Hey! You two are supposed to be in the zone!
You see... the thing is...
thinking about everypony... thinking about us...!
There's just no way to...
There's no way that we can get in the zone,
because the zone sounds like a horrible place!
Since we are terrible at buckball, and we are going to lose,
and let everypony down, and we don't want to play anymore!
I'm still okay with playing in case you were worried.
I don't get it. They're naturals!
Why wouldn't they want to play anymore?
Maybe us telling them
how much everypony was countin' on them
messed them up somehow.
What?! That's crazy talk!
Having ponies depend on you
is exactly what you need to focus! And-
Get serious and play hard, and-
Get ready to seriously smash the competition, and- and...
none of that sounds like Pinkie or Fluttershy, does it?
Guess not. We got so wrapped up
in what's important to us,
we went and ruined what was fun about the game for them.
What do we do now?
Pinkie? Fluttershy?
We know you're in here!
We've looked in every other car on the train!
Maybe you need to look again!
Yeah! Because... we're totally not in here!
And, we're definitely not in here,
because you're gonna try to make us play against Appleloosa!
Or anypony else!
Oh... we're sorry to let you down.
But it's better to do it now
than in the game against Appleloosa.
You don't have to play against Appleloosa.
We don't?
Nope! We're gonna take your place!
So you don't have to worry about that at all.
Why didn't you say so?
But... We can't take on Braeburn and his team without any practice.
So we need you to play just one more time.
Against us.
Now I know we mixed up the teams before,
but since Dash and I really need the practice,
we'll play against the two of you.
Oh, I don't know how much practice you'll get against us,
we've been playing just awful.
Don't worry about it.
Applejack and I just need a little workout.
Yup! You two just do your best.
I can do that!
Looks like you two really do need practice!
If you need more practice, we can keep going.
Yeah! I could do this all day!
No thanks! Playing against you two is just as humiliating now
as it was when we weren't trying
to show you how awesome you are.
Wait... what?
Finally!
You musta noticed how you aren't bad anymore.
Oh yeah! Weird!
But, um, why were we so terrible before?
I guess some ponies thrive on pressure,
and some ponies don't.
And even though we weren't playing,
we were treating you like us, which totally stressed you out.
And that just sucked the fun right out of the game for you.
And having fun is what makes you really, really, really good!
But being good doesn't matter
if we're too afraid of letting ponies down.
Yeah! What about all those ponies back
in Ponyville counting on us to win?
I'm sure folks want you to win,
but not if worrying about it makes you miserable!
Winning's never worth that.
But how do we keep from worrying about it?
You could do what I do and not think about it. Seriously.
I don't think about anything.
Ever.
Hm. Works for me!
And with another bouncing goal from Pinkie Pie, the score is tied!
You guys are amazing!
Braeburn is really good!
So is that Pegasus. Oh, I don't know if we can win.
You know what I would do?
Not think about it?
Not think a- Oh, yeah.
That.
Ha, and as long as you're havin' fun, it doesn't matter if you win or not.
I think it's more fun this way!
And Pinkie wins the buck-off! But her shot's rejected!
Back to Braeburn,
whose kick stopped by another Fluttershy save!
Next point wins. Lots of tense back and forth here.
Fluttershy unleashes the rapid spin move,
but Braeburn's there to- no!
It's Pinkie with a somersault kick! What a move! And that's the game!
Ponyville wins!
Ponyville! Ponyville! Ponyville! Ponyville! Ponyville!
Ponyville!
Huh, looks like you three made quite an impression!
Well, cousin, I have to admit,
your Ponyville team played a pretty good game.
Hah, good game? We bucked the hooves right off of you!
Yup, you sure as shootin' did.
I'm gonna have to get real serious about a strategy
for our rematch.
Oh, I wouldn't get too serious.
Yeah! Everypony knows the secret to good buckball
is just having fun!
Subtitles: MLPSubtitles
http://mlpsubtitles.com/
Transcript: Nicoz, Psycho
Sync: OmegaBowser