//------------------------------//
// Chapter 11 
// Story: Perfect Game 
// by Player 4 
//------------------------------//

The day has now flipped to Saturday, and with no stress situations or the like blocking its path, another game is about to be held.

Seeing as how the highest score reached 84 yesterday, just six points removed from perfect, the players are feeling pretty confident that they will achieve their goal today. Somepony will get 90. The trophy will be awarded.

They share their excitement on their way to the stadium.

"If today is the day, it's going to be one of Appleloosa's best days ever!"

"Yes! And if we want it to be the day, well, let's get it done!"

"Oh yeah! We're going to work as hard as we can to get that perfect!"

"I think today is the day, personally!"





It's time. The instantly recognizable horn at Shoe Stadium sounds, beginning the game. Hopefully the game to end this saga.

The crowd hopes for a strong start; if a perfect game was going to happen today, they needed to get some momentum going first. A score of, say, 75, would not look promising for the future.

Contestant #1 walks out into the noise, and does deliver. 82 points. Nopony really expected a perfect there; neither did #1 himself. He considered himself to be there to provide a promising start, which he succeeded in. He doesn't even think he's going to become the champion, nor did he even care about it that much. He was mostly here for fun.

Contestant #2, somepony who is in it to win it but has been lagging behind most of the players, and thus doesn't really have confidence that she'll be the champion, comes up next.

The announcer speaks. "The goal is to keep up the gold. I repeat. Keep up the gold."

The crowd agrees with him and does a louder version of his statement.

"Keep up the gold!", they chant several times.

#2 ends up doing so quite a bit, firing five gold ringers in a row at the start, for 45 points at the halfway point. Halfway to 90! She then hurls a stake hit, bumping her down to a silver horseshoe. However, she then sends out the silver ringer for six points, getting back the gold. Now at 57 points after seven throws, she flings two more gold ringers. Then a gold stake hit at the last frame.

Final score: 81.

A decrease from Contestant #1. The crowd didn't feel that demotivated, seeing as it was still early in the game, but this wasn't a great sign. They were looking for improvement.

But #2 feels good, and leaves the field with a smile.

Now, hopefully Contestant #3 can give the fans that improvement they want. But before heading out to attempt to do so, he makes an observation.

"I think the last thing we're missing here is staying consistent. You see, if you want 10 gold ringers in a row, the error margin in between throws needs to be very small. You have to make each throw nearly identical to the last.", he says.

"We have that mostly locked down, but since we're still missing a few throws, a few very crucial throws at that, there's still a bit of slip-up.", he continues.

The players in the tunnel go into a bit of a thinking session. This is something that surprised them a bit. Their thought process up to this point was that they had all the techniques and style stuff down, and just needed more practice to get perfect. But they take #3's words into account, wondering if consistency had indeed been blocking out a perfect game.

One of the players ends up agreeing.

"Yeah! That's definitely the last loose end we need to tie up! Thinking of it now, I do believe that some of my throws were ever-so-slightly off, and that's why they missed!"

Some of the other players agree as well after hearing this, with a few "yeah"s being heard around the tunnel's interior.

Contestant #3 smiles at his peers and sends himself out. With his opinion spreading around, he hopes to practice what he preaches, and trots out over to the place for that.

His first and second throws appear incredibly similar. Good, good. The third is a little different, but it still gets lucky and manages a ringer.

Then, the fourth throw... the fourth throw looks perfect, but it somehow hits the stake?

Contestant #3 is dumbfounded.

Despite being the one to bring up an idea about why a perfect game wasn't happening, he completely fails to think of a reason why that throw could have possibly missed.

"I could have sworn my head was at the right angle. I also could swear that the shoe didn't slip in my mouth. And that I threw it nearly the exact same way as the last few throws that did get a ringer.", he thinks. "This makes no sense."

Although disappointed by his failure to get perfect, #3 decides to keep going. With scores very close to perfect becoming more common, it will eventually get to the point where the players move on after one miss in order to speed things up, but Contestant #3, because he is only #3, continues on so he can hopefully get a better score than the last two players and provide the fans a sense of progress.

He does so, scoring 84 points. All gold ringers except for the aforementioned one with the stake hit, and the succeeding throw where he threw a silver ringer, which is also a six-point play.

He then heads back into the dark gray players' tunnel, where Contestant #4 is about to rise. She begins walking out towards the light at the end, but then is stopped by #5, who has something to point out.

"Alright, y'all. We're really, really, really close here. Several of us have gotten 84 points. I know 84 seems like it's still a bit of a hump from 90, but it's not. Because throwing a stake hit pushes you back to silver, you can't make a gold stake hit and then a gold ringer immediately afterward. This means that 84 is the second-best possible score. We're one away."

The other players had known they were only one away, but they now think that the numbers did indeed fool them a bit.

#4 responds in agreement. "Hmm, you're right. Thanks for pointing that out; now I feel like we're even closer! And I do agree with Contestant #3 that consistency was the problem, so I'm going to do my best to fix that!

"Yes! We just need to get a grip on those one or two throws that we miss. Go out there and get it, #4!"

"Words heard!", #4 exclaims as she steps out onto the field.

At the brown stake, her first three throws all hit gold ringers, thanks to good-old consistency. So does her fourth.

...But not the fifth.

If you were watching, though, the throw looked fantastic. And just like the others! What happened to #3 also happened here!

"Um... I know I definitely threw it the same way...", she thinks.

She then makes an observation that sounds exaggerated, but given the nature of this game, may not be.

"Was there some teensy-tiny little mini-fractional variation in that throw that caused it to miss?", she thinks in frustration.

Not feeling that it was worth it to keep playing at this point, she goes back into the tunnel, where she vents to her fellow players.

"Ugh! I almost had it!, #4 says. "I missed that one throw by a teensy-teensy bit!

Not feeling capable of soothing somepony, nor even thinking that was helpful in a "frustrated gamer" situation, at least not with the common techniques, Contestant #6 responds with a statement that, at first, seems like providing help to Contestant #4.

"Well, I think we can confirm now that consistency was the problem. As long as our throws don't miss by a teensy-teensy bit, we'll get perfect!"

"Yeah! You helped us!", another player adds.

But little did these players realize at the time that by "helping" Contestant #4, they were actually helping themselves and weakening her!

"But I want to be the first perfect!", #4 says. "This is a competition! We're competing to be the first to get it!"

The players have their minds refreshed by this. Indeed that was how it was working. They knew about that, but it had been escaping their minds these past few moments. As soon as somepony gets perfect, the competition will immediately stop and they will be declared the champion. They will get that shiny, shiny trophy. It is a competition.

One of the players, after processing this environment-changing info, draws in the technique of using it against Contestant #4.

"You're right, #4! By all-but confirming what our weakness was, you just decreased your chances of winning this thing! Because, now the rest of us know, and there are plenty of us left!"

#4 doesn't respond, not wanting to escalate this beyond friendly competition. She also was still feeling the effects of her failure at the field, so she felt it was too big of a risk. She didn't want to snap at somepony.

And luckily, #5 decides not to do anything either, instead choosing to bring this whole thing out to the field. Which she is about to do right now, as she is up next.

"Alright, y'all! I've just grabbed some important info, and I'm going to put it into action! You might be about to see the perfect!", she confidently says into the microphone, sounding it all over the large stadium.

But ultimately, she ended up missing two gold ringers. She got the gold back immediately after both times; no 4-pointers or below, but still, two missed gold ringers. 78 points.

Contestant #6 then did the same thing.

Contestant #7, feeling very determined, goes out there, stays consistent with the tossing, and, oh, look here! Seven gold ringers in a row! This might be it! He just needs three more!

"Could this be it?", the announcer says, leaning forward and looking closely at the stake.

#7 hears the announcer's words, and hoping to answer his question with "yes", #7 brings all his adrenaline, all his strength, all his gaming power into this throw, throws it, and...

No good. A stake hit.

Frustrated, he doesn't even bother finishing the game. Like #4, he runs back into the players' tunnel. However, this was to be anticipated. With the players being so close to perfect, this time would eventually come.

"We'll let this go. It had to happen eventually.", the announcer says.

"Yes.", Shoeshine responds.

Contestant #8 then steps up.

He hits the stake at throw three. Not even close. He then leaves right afterward, continuing the new practice.

#9 comes up. Four gold ringers, and, now five? ...Nope.

#10, #11, and #12 don't make it past their fourth throws.

Now it's time for Contestant #13, who is the same as before: Autumn Apple. The pony who had been given extra attention throughout this competition, due to her unique reactions and resulting help event that postponed game three.

Because of those hardships, the fans were putting extra fan confidence into Autumn. While a perfect game in general was their goal, they had some heartfelt hope that Autumn would be the one to do it. A pony who's had to go through all that; it would be really nice to see her win it all!

Firing the shoes forward, she seems to be on the brink of it! Four gold ringers in a row. Now five. She has surpassed the last few players. And she keeps going with that! Now she has six in a row! Seven! Eight!

Nopony has made it past eight gold ringer throws yet. Will Autumn be the first one to do that? Make it nine?

She takes the throw, and... yes! That's nine in a row!

Here we are! We only need one more!

"One more! One more!", the crowd chants. 

Indeed! Just one more and we've got perfect!

This was Autumn's moment right here. After all that she's been through; all of the mistakes, all the agony, all the perseverance, this was her moment. Standing in the middle of this loud stadium, filled with fans who were so, so passionate about this game, feeling, just feeling this was going to be the moment, Autumn just had to fulfill their dreams. And fulfill her own as well!

All she had to do was throw this right. Do it the same way as the others, keep it tight, throw it at the right angle, and the championship is hers.

Autumn shivers from the anxiety, but tries to calm herself down, as this obviously would affect this last throw that she so desperately needed to be good.

But this was such a nerve-wracking moment! How could she stop shivering?

She tries to remedy it by looking at the fans and taking in what they're feeling. This seems counter-productive based on Autumn's past experiences. But the crowd has now quieted down, and they are closely looking at her, showing that they believe in her, and putting their trust in her to get this perfect game. Autumn, using this as fuel, starts to stabilize.

She picks up the should-be championship-clinching shoe in her mouth, turns her head to the left side, and gives it a throw.

The angle seems good.

It's flying closer, and seems good.

It's getting closer and closer...

Here it comes. Here it comes. A perfect game. A perfect game. Here it comes.

Oh, wait... um, it might be turning a bit too much now?

Shoot. This doesn't look good now...

No, no, this last gold shoe, the one that was going to do it, it's not going to. It's not going to ring it!

Nope, it's definitely not going to. It hits the stake...

No good.

The stadium drops into a near-complete silence.





What's this environment here right now?

It's surely nothing but shock and numbness. What else are you supposed to feel when the last throw fails? The last throw! You had it there! You had it! Nine in a row; you needed one more! How could you not get that one more?

The stadium is dead silent. Nopony was able to process this.

Still in the silence, and wanting to do so before it ended, Autumn quietly walked back into the players' tunnel.

Which was also quiet.

The other players knew Autumn was vulnerable, and they didn't want to take the chance of upsetting her, so they just sent out Contestant #14 to play his game and basically act like nothing happened.

The announcer tries to initiate that too. "Folks, we still have a while to go. That was... um, probably going to happen, so, let's see what the other players can do.", he says, trying to push away the emotions.

The crowd agrees, and they cheer for #14, trying to get back to normal.

But it's clear that they're forcing it. Attempting to shove away emotions that aren't going to go away until you let them flush out. The cheer sounds artificial, and it's not as loud as usual.

#14, also trying to power through, doesn't even make it to his third throw. He hit the stake after one ringer.

He goes back into the tunnel, but #15 doesn't emerge, and the crowd doesn't sound normal. They were still feeling that big miss at the end from Autumn. The great miss, as it might as well be called.

"Alright folks. I will acknowledge it now. No use bottling up our emotions. It must be said: That was awful to see. We've all been really, really wanting to see a perfect game. We've been waiting and waiting for it. And it seemed like we were going to see it there. Just one more ringer. One more. And it didn't happen."

Shoeshine nods. "Yes. This really sucks.", she adds. "I was feeling so confident that Autumn would get that 10th gold ringer. Confident that the big moment, the moment were we'd let out a thunderous, roaring cheer, sound the champion's horn, set off the confetti, all that great stuff, was imminent. I was ready for it, my mates."

"Yeah. I was too.", the announcer responds.

"But we can't let this game go to waste.", he says, trying to pick up his emotions. "We're only halfway through. We'll take time to process this, and we'll let Contestant #15 come out when she wants to. But this game will be continuing. We still could see perfect."

That is true; there are still plenty more chances.

Eventually, #15 does emerge to start those new chances. But she doesn't come close to the goal. She manages four gold ringers in a row, but misses the fifth.

#16, #17, #18, reach three, four, and five in a row respectively.

#19 reaches six; that's more progress, but... misses the seventh.

#20, #21, and #22 reach their sixth, seventh, and sixth in a row respectively.

#23 reaches his eighth, but misses the ninth.

After a lot of players, things are pretty much back to normal now. The crowd's cheering volume has turned up back to normal, and the scores have been falling down. The suspense that comes with the potential perfect-clinching throw isn't coming up.

But in terms of the game, that's a bad thing, of course. And the frustration that is normal, but doesn't seem to have appeared in the announcer yet, shows up in him.

"I swear! There's always just that one miss!", he barks.

"I know!", Shoeshine responds. "We keep thinking 'we're gonna get perfect, we're gonna get perfect!' Because it seems like we will! We're so close; why wouldn't it happen? But it isn't happening!"

"Well," the announcer says, trying to calm down, "it still could happen. There's five more players left."

"There are.", Shoeshine says. "Let's hope. Let's hope."

The first of these last five players, Contestant #24, shows up and builds excitement by reaching his eighth gold ringer in a row. Can he be the second to make it nine?

He throws it, aaannndd it's... no good.

"Dang it!", #24 says, running back into the player tunnel.

Contestants #25 and #26 are unable to capitalize, not making it to the halfway point.

Contestant #27 makes it to seven in a row, but not eight.

Now there's just one more left. One more player left to try and deliver on the player's promise to get a perfect game on this day.

#28 gets four in a row. Five in a row. Six in a row. Okay, maybe this is it!

...or not. Seventh throw missed.

The crowd lets out a loud "aww" in disappointment. Last chance gone.





They thought today was going to be the day.

But it wasn't.

The announcer feels it as well.

"Well folks," he says to a sadness-filled stadium, "sports are full of disappointment. We have to reckon with this. It's really hard to get a perfect game here. You have to be incredibly consistent in a way that doesn't sound living-creaturely possible."

"Now that you say it, yes. The margin of error you can have is so small that it sounds like something only a robot could do.", Shoeshine says.

The crowd really hears this, and keeps it in their heads as they make their way out of the gates.