The Machine God Series: An Endless Nightmare

Chapter 13- Game on!

Chapter 13:

Hooves pounded the dry dirt, kicking dust up into the air. The rubbery thud of a hoofball echoed off the high stadium walls. Stallions whinnied and snorted. A whirlwind of colors dashed past the stands. Then, a sharp whistle pierced the air.

Yahnhinko watched from the stands as the coach screamed at the players in the arena. Nehna stood by his side. Amongst those players was Conrad. Silver shone on navy blue armor, as his Wild Stallion stood in a shaft of sunlight. He wore the number eleven with pride. A Stallion of a mirror image walked over to him, sporting number twelve, a lucky number. Twelve belonged to Eriona, who along with Conrad were the team's strongest players. But, with Conrad gone on military training, and s surprise surgery putting Eriona out for half the past season, the school's Hoofball team had plummeted in the ranks, seeing a harsh backlash in the process. This year however, would be different.

The ball of Metchi flesh rolled to the wall, escaping an avalanche of metal as Stallion tumbled over Stallion. A sloppy mistake, even for practice.

"Conrad! Pick those hooves up!" the coach yelled from her referee Stallion. "Eriona, you pilot that Stallion like it has four left hooves."

Shamed, the team of navy blue Stallions hauled themselves to their feet, shaking the dust from their mains and tails. The ball was kicked back into play.

"Harsh" Yahnhinko noted from his place in the stands. "That insult didn't even make sense..."

"Yea, our city's very competitive when it comes to Metchi sports. It's no unusual to see some of the athletes come out of practice crying." Nehna responded.

"Really? Now that is too far. It's not even like that in the mountains."

The ball bounced against the wall once more, one of the Stallions overextending it's leg before crashing into the dirt.

"Too far? You should see their parents. There are some pretty crazy scenes on game day, and I'm not even talking about the game. There's a reason I never got into Metchi sports. Or any sport for that matter."

Twelve and eleven collided, while the coach continued to scream at them.

"And Leaf plays a sport too?"

"That's right. She does sharp shooting. She's one mean bitch with a sniper rifle. And she's one to never piss off."

That's important to know. Yahnhinko thought to himself. But I'm not really surprised. It's always the quiet ones with a creepy smile... Wait a minute... He let his thoughts trail off, casting s sideways glance at his own shadow.

Suddenly, there was a ruckus on the field. One of the Stallions bucked and flailed, then stamped it's hooves on the ground.

"Even the Metchi are getting stressed out." He said, watching as it nipped at it's fellow Stallions.

"Yea..."Nehna replied slowly. "It's throwing quite the fit, isn't it?"

It stormed up to the coaches Stallion, screaming and screeching at it, it's vocal noises becoming less and less horse like, and more mechanical. The Referee's Stallion simply stood tall and looked down upon it, before walking away. That signaled the end of practice.

Nehna and Yahnhinko waited for Conrad outside the locker rooms. He walked out with a few of his fellow team mates, talking in hushed but unmistakably upset voices. However when he saw the two sitting beside a tree, a smile soon replaced the frown.

"Watchin me dominate the field there, huh?" he gave a playful smirk.

"I think the one who was really dominating was the Stallion who threw a fit." Yahnhinko chuckled. "I don't think it was very happy being yelled at by your coach."