Chapter Text
Zipp Storm, the only girl on the Bridlewood High School Crystals, darted past all of her rivals, and landed the ball into the hoop.
“Another score for the Crystals!” the referee pony shouted as one more score of the Crystals’ appeared on the score count board.
“Over to you, Hitch!” Zipp shouted, tossing the basketball to the Crystals’ team captain, Hitch Trailblazer.
Zipp’s younger sister, Pipp Petals, cheered from the bleachers. “You’ve got this, sis!” she yelled.
Sunny Starscout, Izzy Moonbow, and Sprout Cloverleaf also cheered for Zipp. It had been five months since their big adventure in Wakanda, and it was now January. Ex-villain Whitney Frost also became an Avenger, and got engaged to the archer Clint Barton, best known as Hawkeye.
The Avengers also attended the basketball championship. Hawkeye cheered the loudest of them all, since Zipp was his pony.
“Go Zipp!” the archer with the mohawk cheered. “You’ve got this, baby!”
“You go, girl!” added teenage superhero Ms. Marvel. “Whoo!”
Zipp also had some young fans. The small fillies chanted her name in support of their idol, while their parents rolled their eyes and played along.
Soon, Hitch, Zipp, and the rest of the Crystals won the basketball game. They were given another golden trophy to add to their collection, while the losing team was offered gift cards to spend at Olive Garden.
“The Bridlewood Crystals have won again!” shouted the referee.
“Crystals Unite!” Hitch, Zipp, and the boys said in unison, putting their hooves together and then separating them.
Sunny, Izzy, Pipp, Sprout, and the Avengers got up from the bleachers and cheered for the Crystals. However, most of the cheering was for Zipp, for she was an inspiration for little girls to follow their dreams. Small fillies would always come up to her, and Zipp loved being a positive role model for them.
Zipp gave her friends high-fives and hugs, happy to have contributed to the Crystals winning another championship. She then went to Hawkeye, with whom she shared a special bond.
“You’re a champion!” Hawkeye exclaimed before kissing Zipp on the muzzle.
Zipp blushed at Hawkeye’s kiss. “It’s just a hobby,” she said.
“Well, the Crystals aren’t the same without you!” Hitch told Zipp before giving her a hug.
Afterwards, the ponies flew the Avengers back to the human world, and they then left to go home. Hitch and Zipp felt happy to have given Bridlewood High another win.
When Zipp went home with Pipp, the former collapsed onto her bed, feeling tired. Basketball tired her out, especially when she had to play hard in the championships. Zipp then rolled onto her back and looked at the posters in her room. They all depicted famous heavy metal bands, as Zipp was also a big fan of heavy metal music and had her own band, The Trotting Dead.
Things were great right now, and Zipp wanted nothing to change. She had a sister who loved her, a band she was loyal to, and an archer who had just gotten engaged. She was also part of a basketball team that accepted her for who she was.
The next day, Zipp went with the rest of the students to Phyllis’s classroom for math class. It was the first class of the day, and everypony hated it. Therefore, Phyllis had her fair share of demands for sleep and bad attitudes.
Zipp got in her seat and turned to her right, where Jasper and Toots, her bandmates, sat next to her. Jasper the unicorn was the bass guitarist and lead singer, and Toots was the drummer, while Zipp herself was the electric guitarist.
Toots and Jasper were both very upset about being at math class. Fortunately, Zipp knew how to cheer them up. She told them a bathroom joke, which sent Jasper and Toots into a laughing tizzy.
Zipp soon joined them. The rest of the students were confused and disgusted by the trio’s sense of humor.
The Trotting Dead stopped laughing about Zipp’s joke as soon as Phyllis came into the room. “Good morning, class,” said the math teacher. “What’s going on?”
“Zipp said something inappropriate!” whined Windy, a pink pegasus who was prone to tattling.
“Zipp…” Phyllis said sternly.
“It was a mild one this time!” Zipp protested before letting out a groan. “I’ll be quiet.”
With that, class started as normal. Phyllis showed the class how to solve some basic precalculus equations.
“We’re doing what now?” Sunny asked, getting something wrong on her paper and erasing it.
“We’re on the third step already,” Pipp said. “Let us catch up, Phyllis!”
“Okay then,” Phyllis replied, “take a moment to solve the problem up to the simplification.”
That’s what the students did, and then Phyllis walked them through the rest of it. “And so, that’s how you do precalculus,” Phyllis announced proudly, only for her lesson to be met by the groans of the frustrated, confused, and tired students.
“Class is dismissed,” said Phyllis. “Go rest up before second block.”
“Yes!!!” exclaimed Sprout, who was Phyllis’s son. “Finally, torture hour is over!”
“Will we ever need to use precalculus in our lives?” Izzy groaned.
“No, unless you wanna be an engineer,” scoffed Hitch.
“Please don’t let there be homework…” Sunny prayed.
The six friends left Phyllis’s classroom together, and went to their lockers to prepare for their second class, science class with Alphabittle, who was both the science and history teacher.
Zipp put her math book away and sighed. She was sad about still not knowing where her place in Bridlewood High was. Sure, Zipp was a basketball player and the founder of The Trotting Dead, but she felt ridiculous for having these hobbies, and wished to fit in somewhere.
“Hey Zipp, are you okay?” Jasper asked when he came up to Zipp.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Zipp told her bandmate. “It’s just that… something’s been bugging me lately.”
“Well, you can always talk to me and Toots if something’s wrong,” Jasper assured the white pegasus. “Be happy today.”
“How will that happen?” asked Zipp.
“Just be yourself, even if it annoys the mean ponies. And by the way,” Jasper said before putting a front leg around Zipp and whispering into her ear, “Your sister’s pretty hot.”
Zipp laughed really hard. Jasper’s one-sided romance with Pipp always made her laugh. But little did she know that the school bully, Posey, was watching them.
Posey angrily walked over and chased Jasper away. “Go away!” the mustard yellow earth pony told the unicorn. “Shoo! My word, what is wrong with you?”
“Posey!” Zipp gently scolded Posey. “He was just comforting me!”
“You don’t deserve any friends,” Posey replied, annoyed. “You’re so ungrateful!”
“What’s going on?” Sunny asked, approaching the arguing ponies. “Is everything alright?”
“Yes!” Posey and Zipp angrily said at the same time.
“Okay,” Sunny replied calmly. “I’ll be at Alphabittle’s classroom if you wanna talk.”
After Sunny left, Posey gave Zipp a mean glare. “The next time I catch you acting like that,” she said, pulling Zipp in by her cheek, “I’m going to do something so bad, you’ll regret living.”
Zipp was definitely grateful that Posey wasn’t in the same class as her. So she walked to Alphabittle’s classroom with her science book in her wing, having stood up to Posey, but still fearing what she could do.