Twilight: 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 sportsfan.
I always thought Celestia was kind of a jock.
Just with really wavy hair.
Anyway, we don't have much time.
The game's in two weeks!
And I want all of you to coach the team!
[excited chatter]
[gasping]
I know how you feel.
Young athletes ready to take the field...
Ooh! You can almost breathe in the excitement.
[gasp]
[thud]
I don't think you should breathe it in so hard!
[splash]
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.
Um... 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...
[zoom]
Sorry I'm late! But when Twilight said she 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!
[thud]
[bouncing balls]
CHEERLEADING?
♪ My little pony, my little pony ♪
♪ Aaaahhh ♪
♪ My little Pony ♪
♪ I used to wonder what friendship could be. ♪
♪ My Little Pony ♪
♪ Until you all shared its magic with me. ♪
♪ Big adventure! ♪ ♪ Tons of fun ♪
♪ A beautiful heart! ♪ ♪ Faithful and strong! ♪
♪ Sharing kindness ♪ ♪ it's an easy feat ♪
♪ And magic makes it all complete! ♪
♪ To have my little pony ♪
♪ Do you know you're all my very best friends? ♪
♪♪
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.
Bah-ha-ha. Oh.
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.
[male laughter]
I mean, it's great that someponies
only want to cheer, though I don't know why they would.
Hm. 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're the perfect choice.
I'm actually 120 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!
Oh...kay. So why are you here?
What, a pony can't show school spirit?
You don't even go to this school.
Ah OK, 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!
[whistle tweet]
[groan]
[excited chatter]
She's here!
Get the lights!
[lights click on]
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.
[giggle]
Yona want to cheer and make pony pyramid!
[crashing]
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.
Uh, I just came with these two. Guess they think
you can make cheer squad cool or something.
Don't count on it.
OK, 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?
Uh, I dunno.
[disappointed sighs]
I mean, if you guys were an actual buckball team,
I'd have plenty of ideas,
but I don't know anything about cheerleading.
Oh, ha-ha, 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.
Ha-ha. Right. OK, gang.
Let's show Rainbow Dash what we've been working on
and she can take it from there.
Cheer Squad can do that!
[crashing]
Yep! All we need is a little music!
♪♪
Over, and ove-wah, and ove-wah again.
[crashing]
We wanna dance for each other
and for all of our fri-ahhh
♪♪
2, 4, 6, 8.
...Friendship School is really great.
♪♪
[whoosh]
[crashing]
[breaking glass]
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
which cheers we should do first.
Yeah. Because that'll fix everything.
So? I mean there's a few, uh, a lot of problems,
but nothing you can't solve. Right?
Huh? 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!
[slam]
♪♪
Oof! What are you doing?
What are you doing?
You gotta come back and coach the Squad.
I watched some cheer stuff. Looked fine to me.
Well, it's not! Do you know what'll happen
if they do what they just did at the big game?
Uh... nothing?
Uh wrong!
Oooh!
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.
Uh, balls don't have minds.
Exactly.
♪♪
Where's my blindfold?
My turn!
I wanna do that!
Come on! Over here!
Why are you watching Snail's weird practice
when you're supposed to be practicing with us?
Ha, ha, ha. Snail's practice is definitely weird.
Uh, 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.
Uh, 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.
OK. I've got something for you to do.
Just do nothing. Empty your minds. Be the squad.
We are the squad.
Oh, yeah.
At least helping sell my souvenirs was something.
Yona still not understand how this make us better.
Huh! Professor Dash needs to stay and coach!
Ugh. 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.
♪♪
[no audible dialogue]
♪♪
OK, 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.
♪♪
Uh, what are we supposed to do with hay?
Beats me, but Applejack seemed pretty sure about it.
Oh! I almost forgot.
A rhyming dictionary?
Yeah. Zecora's a lot less helpful then you'd think.
That's from the library so you can come up with cheers.
OK! Good practice.
So, you're just leaving again?
UGH! 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 Futtershy and Pinkie want us to show them
everything we've come up with tomorrow!
They want us to get the team all excited
before the big game.
Well, then it's a good thing I got you all this stuff.
You'd better get to work!
[slam]
Don't look at me.
♪♪
Good work, everypony. Let's take a break.
[shrill whistle]
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.
HA, HA, HA. Oh, you're serious.
WOOOO-HOOOO! 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.
Huh?
♪♪
Over, and over, and over again!
[crashing]
We wanna dance for each other
and for all of our friends!
School of Friendship Rah-rah-rah.
Let's win this game and hit the-uh where is... spa?
[crashing]
Yona!
♪ [music intensifies] ♪
♪ [music droops and stops] ♪
I know I said I couldn't wait to see the Cheer Squad,
but maybe I could've waited just a teensy bit longer.
Rainbow: OH yeah! Nice one!
Huh?
♪ [mournful music] ♪
What?
♪♪
I don't know what everypony's so upset about.
So it wasn't great. Cheerleading's never great.
That's why everypony gets up to get a snack during it.
[blubbering]
[door slams]
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!
Huh!
It's not that we were bad.
It's that you didn't even want to 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've shown us!
[crying]
Whoa. 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 twenty 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.
[door opens and closes]
And it looks like my assistant cheer coach
slash souvenir-selling business is a bust.
So, I'm gonna take off,
unless you can think of something else for me to do.
Maybe I can.
[snoring]
[loud whistle tweet]
Yak hate loud noises!
[scream]
Squad meeting. Outside. ASAP!
♪♪
[record scratch]
[tweet]
Dance ponies. Buckball field. Pronto!
[thud]
[snoring]
[tweet]
Hey. Dragon! Get out here and join your squad!
So, what? Is there some new button you wanna sell?
Not a button.
[zooming]
♪ [heroic music] ♪
Ugh 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'll forget they even came to see a game!
Ah! But not so pumped up that they forget to buy
a pennant or a button or a quality souvenir tee shirt!
What?
♪♪
[crashing]
[tweet tweet]
[crashing
♪♪
[tweet]
[no audible dialogue]
♪♪
[coughing]
♪♪
[explosion]
[laughter]
♪♪
[noisy crowd]
[cheers]
Yahoo!
I realize the game of buckball
traditionally requires an earth pony, a 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!
Oh! 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!
Announcer: And that's the end of the first half!
AHH! Sorry! Can't talk right now!
I sure hope Dash being nervous is a good sign.
[murmuring]
♪♪
[stomping in time]
Over, and over, and over again.
We'll cheer for our team till the very end.
[stomping]
[crowd creates stomping beat]
[loud cheering]
♪♪
Everypony in the crowd, if you're feeling hip
When I say "Friend," you say "Ship!"
Friend!
Ship!
Friend!
Ship!
Welcome everypony to the halftime show
We're the Friendship Squad and we're ready to go.
We're here to cheer and get you all excited
If you'd like to join in then you're all invited.
It's a simple cheer, so don't chime in late.
It goes 2, 4, 6, Great!
[cheers]
[whoosh]
[loud cheering]
[chuckle]
Not bad, right?
They. Were. Awesome!
Well, they have a pretty decent coach.
[laughter]
[cheers]
Announcer: And that's the game.
Final score: School of Magic 5, School of Friendship 4!
Nice work everyone. You can't win them all.
Sometimes that's just how the cupcake crumbles.
You guys were amazing!
[groan]
It was flawless!
I can't think of any way that could've been better!
We could have won the game.
Pah! 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.
[groan]
♪♪
Nicely done.
[laughter]