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
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, g*ng.
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
[♪♪]
, , , .
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]
[♪♪]
[expl*si*n]
[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 b*at]
[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 , , , 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 ,
School of Friendship !
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]