I have to admit I was a little shocked when Princess Celestia told me
she wanted to start a Scholastic Buckball League,
but I was even more surprised that she wanted the first game
to be between her school and ours!
Apparently, she's a huge sports fan.
I always thought Celestia was kind of a jock.
Just with really wavy hair.
Anyway we don't have much time.
The game is in two weeks and I want all of you to coach the team.
I know how you feel: young athletes ready to take the field…
Oh you can almost breathe in the excitement!
I don't think you should breathe it in so hard.
It's just… two weeks doesn't feel like
a whole lot of time to train a whole team.
Maybe the School of Magic could play a few other schools first?
Like the Mane and Tail Styling College or the Scroll-Making Institute?
Relax, you're gonna do just fine.
What makes you so sure?
Because I have faith in my friends, who also happen to be…
the best buckball players in Equestria!
Oh yeah.
I guess that is sort of true.
I asked Rainbow Dash to help too.
But I'm not sure where she…
Sorry I'm late.
But when Twilight said you needed
my help with the buckball team,
I figured I'd better grab every piece
of coaching equipment I could find.
So, what should I focus on?
Offense? Defense? Trick plays?
I was thinking of something even more important.
Awesome! Lay it on me.
Whatever it is, I'll give it a hundred and twenty percent.
I knew I could count on your enthusiasm.
That's why I want you to coach… the cheer squad!
Cheerleading?
I don't mean to sound ungrateful.
It's just, when you said you wanted
my help with something important,
I thought you meant…
something important.
The cheer squad is important.
Well, sure cheer squad is totally important
to somepony who isn't me,
but I'm more about ponies playing in the game, not cheering for it.
I mean it's great that some ponies only want to cheer,
though I don't know why they would.
Well, maybe this will be a good opportunity for you to find out.
Of course I've seen cheer squads before — on the sidelines, but-
I'm not even a hundred percent sure what they do.
I'll probably just mess it up.
I think you might be surprised.
In fact, I'm more sure than ever that you are the perfect choice.
I'm actually a hundred and twenty percent sure.
And it's a good thing too — the cheer squad really needs you.
What do you mean?
Well, I've been helping out, and let's put it this way:
we've got two weeks until the big game,
and we could use two years.
But that's all gonna change,
because you're here to save the day!
Oka-a-ay.
So why are you here?
What, a pony can't show school spirit?
You don't even go to this school.
Okay when I went to the Buckball Hall of Fame,
I found out buckball souvenirs are big bits!
If Twilight's team does well,
I can start selling them full time in Ponyville!
So I have a vested interest and you have an assistant coach.
She's here!
Get the lights!
Over, and over, and over again!
We wanna dance for each other and for all of our friends.
Dancing, right.
I've seen you two around school haven't I?
I'm Shimmy Shake and this is Lighthoof.
And we are your lead dancers.
I didn't know you three would be here.
Yona what to cheer and make pony pyramid!
And I thought this could be my chance
to make an impression on everypony…
you know, for something other than changing shape.
I didn't realize you were into school spirit, Smolder.
I just came with these two.
Guess they think you can make cheer squad cool or something.
Don't count on it.
Okay, now that we're all here, why don't you tell us the plan.
How are you gonna make us
into the most awesome cheer squad ever?
I mean if you guys were an actual buckball team,
I'd have plenty of ideas.
But I don't know anything about cheerleading.
Yes. Good one, coach.
But headmare Twilight picked you for the job,
so I'm pretty sure you know what you're doing.
If you say so.
Right.
Okay, gang, let's show Rainbow Dash
what we've been working on
and she can take it from there.
Cheer can do that!
Yep! All we need is a little music!
Over, and o… ver,
and over…
gain!
We wanna dance…
for each other and for all of our frien…
Two-four-six-eight.
Friendship school is really… great.
Well, that was a disaster.
It's kind of hard to stick to our choreography
when the floor is moving.
Yeah, Yona, your stomps are a little too powerful.
Can we make pony pyramid instead?
Maybe we should figure out what cheers we should do first?
Yeah, because that'll fix everything.
So, I mean there's a few…
a lot of problems, but nothing you can't solve, right?
Oh, yeah, listen, you guys don't have anything to worry about.
We don't?
Nope. In fact, I think what you all just did is totally fine.
You guys have got this!
So, I'm just gonna head down to the field.
Great practice, everypony!
What are you doing?
You've got to come back and coach the squad!
I watched them cheer stuff. Look fine to me.
Well, it's not.
Do you know what will happen
if they do what they just did at the big game?
Nothing?
Wrong!
A good cheer squad gets the fans excited,
which gets the team excited.
But if nopony's excited, then nopony buys any souvenirs!
I think you're blowing this a little out of proportion.
Point is, if I'm going to make any bits at these games,
that squad has to get better.
And to do that, they need a coach.
You know what? You're right!
Why don't you do it?
I mean, you're the one with a vested interest.
The trick to being a good buckball keeper is to do nothing.
Just empty your mind.
Be the ball!
Balls don't have minds.
Exactly!
Where's my—
My turn!
I want it, come on!
Did you see it?
Hey, over here!
Why are you watching Snails weird practice
when you're supposed to be practicing with us?
Snails practice is definitely weird.
I thought Snips was practicing with you.
He was.
Do you have any idea how hard it is to dance in this stuff?
Plus, all these buttons jingle so much you can't hear my cheers.
Speaking up might help a little.
So, don't dance and cheer.
Then what cheer squad do?
I don't know.
Maybe you should!
Or, whatever.
You're the coach.
You're supposed to come up with stuff for us to do.
Okay.
I've got something for you to do.
Just do nothing.
Empty your minds.
Be the squad.
We are the squad.
Huh, yeah.
At least helping sell my souvenirs was something.
Yona still not understand how this make us better.
Professor Dash needs to stay and coach!
You guys asked me to come up with something, and I did.
I don't think "nothing" counts.
Then I'm out of ideas.
This is the School of Friendship.
If you need ideas, you should ask your friends for help.
Fine!
Okay.
Since you guys have been nagging me non-stop
about this cheer stuff for, like, ever…
It has literally been one day.
I went around and got everything you need.
What are we supposed to do with hay?
Beats me, but Applejack seemed pretty sure about it.
I almost forgot.
A rhyming dictionary?
Yeah, Zecora is a lot less helpful than you'd think.
That's from the library, so you can come up with cheers!
Okay, good practice!
So you're just leaving again?
Look, I talked to my friends
and they said this is the stuff you need.
Wouldn't a true cheer squad be able
to figure out what to do with it?
But Fluttershy and Pinkie wanted us
to show them everything we come up with tomorrow!
They want to get the team all excited before the big game!
Well then it's a good thing I got you all this stuff!
You better get to work.
Don't look at me.
Good work everybody!
Let's take a break.
Yeah!
Wow, this team is really shaping up.
Nice job!
Thanks. I'm excited to see what you've been up to.
Yeah, I can't wait to see the cheer squad!
Oh, you're serious
Go, team!
This is so exciting!
Well, I'm sure you've put in a lot of hard work.
How much work does cheer squad need.
Anypony wanna buy an official
School of Friendship cheer squad headband?
Now, I personally would buy them before the performance!
Over… and over, and over again!
We wanna dance for each other and for all of our friends!
School of Friendship, ra-ra-ra!
Let's win this game and hit the…
What rhymes with "ra"..?
Spa..!
Yona!
I know I said I couldn't wait to see the cheer squad, but…
maybe I could've waited just a teensy bit longer.
Oh yeah! Nice one!
What?
I don't know what everypony is so upset about.
So it wasn't great.
Cheerleading's never great.
That's why everypony gets up to get a snack during it.
What is the big deal?
If you don't know,
there's no point in us trying to explain it to you.
Lead dancers out!
It's not that we were bad,
it's that you didn't even wanna try to help us get better.
Didn't try?
What are you talking about?
I got you a party cannon.
It's not my fault you couldn't figure out how to use it right.
Well you could have shown us!
Wow, ponies might actually care
about cheer squad if she cheered like that all the time.
Why would you say ponies don't care about cheer squad?
Because they don't.
No, you don't.
But they do.
I bet headmare Twilight does, and you know what?
I do too!
I actually got excited when I found out
you were gonna be our coach.
I figured, if anypony can make cheer squad awesome it's you!
Me? Why?
Because everything's always awesome with you!
Or 20 percent cooler.
Or whatever!
You're the most enthusiastic pony in Equestria
when it's something you care about.
I just wish we were one of those things.
And it looks like my assistant cheer coach slash
souvenir-selling business is a bust.
So I'm gonna take off,
unless you could think of something else for me to do.
Maybe I can.
Yak's hear loud noises!
Squad meeting! Outside! ASAP!
Dance ponies buckball fields! Pronto!
Hey, dragon!
Get out here and join your squad!
So what?
Is there some new button you want to sell?
Not a button.
Not this again.
Sorry, we're not buying.
Wait!
Look, I know I haven't been a great coach
because I don't care about cheerleading.
But… all of you do,
and I care about you.
So I guess maybe I care about cheer squad.
And a good friend reminded me that
I can make anything I care about totally awesome.
So, from now on I'm gonna give
this thing a hundred and twenty percent.
And I expect the same from you.
We are gonna dance!
We are gonna cheer!
We're gonna make the biggest pony
pyramid Equestria's ever seen!
And when we're done,
we're gonna make sure everypony
on that field is so pumped up
they forget they even came to see a game!
But not so pumped up that they forget to buy a pennant
or a button, or a quality souvenir t-shirt.
What?
I realize the game of buckball traditionally requires an earth pony,
pegasus and a unicorn,
but I appreciate you allowing my students to compete.
Of course! And the wings and magical dampening ring
you made seem to be working really well.
Indeed, though not as well as your team.
COME ON, SCHOOL OF MAGIC!
This suspense is horrible!
I'm the most nervous I've ever been, and that's saying something.
I know how you feel.
Don't worry. Celestia's team might be tough,
but we can still win this thing.
What? Oh yeah, totally.
But I wasn't talking about the game.
Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on!
And that's the end of the first half!
Sorry, can't talk right now.
I sure hope Dash being nervous is a good sign.
Over, and over, and over again!
We'll cheer for our team till the very end!
Everypony in the crowd, if you are feeling hip,
When I say Friend",
you say "ship"!"
Friend!
Ship!
Friend!
Ship!
Welcome everypony to the half-time show.
We are the Friendhip Squad, and we are ready to go!
We're here to cheer and get you all excited!
If you want to join in, then you are all invited!
It's a simple cheer, so don't time it late.
It goes: Two! Four! Six! Great!
Not bad, right?
They. Were. Awesome!
Well, they have a pretty decent coach.
And that's the game.
Final score: School of Magic — five,
School of Friendship — four!
Nice work, everyone.
You can't win them all.
Sometimes that's just how the cupcake crumbles.
You guys were amazing!
It was flawless.
I can't think of any way that could have been better.
We could have won the game.
The game was just a sideshow.
You guys were the main event!
I'm glad to see such good sportsponyship on display.
Your cheer squad was an inspiration, Rainbow Dash.
I'll have to start one at my school as well.
Wow, Rainbow Dash.
It's almost like you were the perfect pony to coach cheer squad after all.
Wait a second.
Was this one of those things where you knew
the lesson I needed to learn before I learned it?
You mean like how you don't have
to care about a thing other ponies
like as long as you care about the ponies who like it?
Nope, don't know what you're talking about!
Nicely done.
Subtitles: MLPSubtitles
http://mlpsubtitles.org/
Transcript: OmegaBowser
Sync: Sunnysubs, OmegaBowser