"Only a robot could do."
"Only a robot could do."
This sentence that had been uttered by Shoeshine, at the end of the crushing-defeat game that was, rings around in the players' and fans' heads like a telephone that's constantly being activated by random numbers. Except for them, the ringing won't go away. It just stays there, long enough that they begin to believe what it's saying.
"You know what, she's right. There's just no way a living creature could ever achieve such ultra-consistent accuracy for so many throws in a row. It's hopeless. Let's just end the competition here before it gets any worse.", one player says while in his medium-brown home and trying to practice.
"I think it's true! Living creatures have too much variation in their throws. And we can't fix that; it's just our nature. We are simply not capable of throwing something exactly the same way every time, let alone ten times! Screw this whole thing!", another player says as she chucks a horseshoe at the wall in frustration.
The ponies who were thinking this way weren't being hyperbolic. While the negative feelings will probably wane soon, and most of them know that, at this point, they really did think the competition should be given up. Convinced by their buzzing minds that a perfect game was simply not possible for an actual being to achieve, something, as Shoeshine said, only a robot could do, they get drowned in the sea of no-confidence.
Having fallen down there, they also start to feel sad. They begin grieving, if you will, for the great moment that they now don't think will ever come.
"We won't experience it. We'll never experience that moment of golden glory; the moment that magical 10th gold ringer hits, the confetti goes off, we make that thunderous, roaring cheer; it's not going to happen! We won't be able to make that cheer. We'll never see what the trophy looks like. We'll never get the ultimate, amazing satisfaction of seeing a perfect game.", one of the players thinks as she sadly lays her head down on a pillow.
It surely would be a massive hole to be left with, especially with how close it was last game. Autumn had nine in a row, all she needed was one more, and it just barely missed, agh!
"The Great Miss" stopped the filling of a deep hole. The deep hole of dissatisfaction that can only be filled up by seeing that awesome, amazing success that is a perfect game. Or, would be.
"This is like having a jelly doughnut with no jelly in the middle. And knowing that the jelly will never appear.", one player thinks.
Admittedly, these players are not ready to play again. They'd like to go the EHA building and ask if the game can be postponed, but they're feeling so... broken, if you will, that they don't feel like leaving their homes. They still feel unable to fully process what had happened.
However, not everypony is feeling this way. Some are keeping their heads up and telling themselves and others that it had to happen eventually. That a miss at the end should have been expected.
"This happens in sports, my friends.", one of the players says to the ponies beside him as they practice, which is something most of the players were not doing.
"Plenty of times, he continues, "I have seen players right there, on the brink of a grandmaster achievement, who fell short at the end. Rugby players miss the game-winning try. Buckball players miss the game-winning bucket. And sometimes they do it at the end of the championship game! Remember when Trottingham lost the Equestria Series to Fillydelphia on a last-second missed buck of the ball that would probably have scored? And it happened in Game 7?
The other ponies listen to this, and agree.
"You're right. I was fully expecting a miss after nine in a row, at some point."
"Yes. This is normal, and it's also normal for whoever failed to succeed afterward. That Equestria Series I was talking about, well, in the next series, Trottingham didn't just win it, they also got their revenge on Fillydelphia, and the series ended in a sweep! 4-0 Trottingham!", the very confident pony says.
"We're going to get it! We just are!"
"That's the spirit!", one of the other players responds.
Indeed, these ones are quite resilient.
Then, there are some ponies really aren't feeling anything at all, including Autumn Apple, who is the one that threw "The Great Miss." The one who failed to make that one last throw.
Autumn never really felt sad. She just felt numb, because of how shocking it was. Her mind could not process it. She had been repeatedly thinking "Did I really miss the clincher?". And even when it had fully cemented in her that yes, she did miss it, her only thought was "Well, better try again."
Autumn was in her light blue practice room, just throwing. Not thinking about what happened, just throwing the shoes. Her results do not seem to have downgraded at all. Many ringers, including some long streaks, can be seen.
Meanwhile, Applejack and Rainbow Dash, who had been instrumental in starting this competition in the first place, were experiencing doubt as well. But not because of their game performance; neither of them have yet surpassed 81 points, and thus are probably not going to win the championship. Rather, because they're thinking about the things they sacrificed in order to fully participate in the game. They begin to feel that, because it's taking so long for this whole thing to finally finish, that they should have stayed home, where their hearts are.
"I missed a Wonderbolt show because of this. Really, I missed a show! I wasn't there for the team and the fans! And I was absent for a competition that I'm definitely not going to win, and it seems nopony will! Why didn't I stay loyal? Loyalty is my element!", Rainbow Dash says to herself while in her Appleloosa vacation house.
And then Applejack, laying on the hotel bed she's growing tired of sleeping on, questioned if being away from her beloved home for so long was worth it.
"Ah miss Ponyville. Ah miss Sweet Apple Acres. Ah miss my family! Ah didn't think this tournament would take so long, and now, it seems like it's gonna take a lot longer! When can ah go home?", she says with a drop of tears.
The game really should be postponed. Today is an emotions day.
Luckily, it seems to be working out that way. Some members of the EHA staff take notice that the streets are mostly empty. Only a handful ponies are practicing. It's so quiet that you can hear the ultra-light winds. A tumbleweed even rolls by in the background.
That was definitely strange, as there was supposed to be another game in just a few hours from now. You'd think the players would be preparing like mad.
But they're not, really at all.
The staff members walk up to one of the players who is practicing, hoping to get information from him. Information that should help them decide whether to postpone game four.
"Excuse us sir, do you have word on what a lot of the other players are doing right now? We can't help but notice most of the practice stakes here are not in use, and we'd like to know if there's something large going on that's major enough to necessitate delaying the next game."
"Yes, I do have word.", the player responds. "Most of them are in their houses feeling their feelings about what happened last game. That huge miss. They're taking the time to heal from it."
"I know this because one of my buddies is experiencing it; he said to me that getting a perfect game is impossible and that if we keep trying to get it, the competition will go on forever. Then he sprang onto his bed, said 'I'm not leaving my house today', and hung up."
"Oof. That's definitely feeling feelings!", one of the staff members says.
"It is. And we have heard this loud and clear.", one of the other ones says. "Do you agree that they should get time before playing again?"
"Oh yes, for sure. I'm feeling okay, but it's clear most of the competitors are not, and we want every game to be played with the highest level of preparedness and passion from every player. So yes, please postpone it."
"There we go. Thank you, sir."
"My pleasure."
The extra newspaper protocol in Appleloosa was activated for the second time in this saga; the initial newspaper route of the day was done, as it was well into the afternoon right now, but since the next game was originally due to have been held today, and now is being held tomorrow, the news couldn't be waited on. The residents of Appleloosa received a late-in-the-day paper delivery that announced the EHA's decision.
"It's been postponed! Yes!", a stallion says. Now we get the time we need to recover and play at our best!"
Indeed. They get their much-needed break.
Even with the break, though, this will definitely affect things. Of course, these are professional sports players; they've been through this kind of thing before and they do know that the right way to succeed is to believe in yourself. But believing in yourself can be hard to do, especially in this situation. Most of the players are struggling to believe in themselves, and yes, they probably will feel better tomorrow, but full recovery usually takes longer than one day, so it's possible that the effects could still be lingering a bit in these players tomorrow, which might give them a disadvantage.
Because, in sports, capturing a title isn't just about playing great. It's also about what you feel in your heart. Whoever has the heart of a champion becomes a champion. And who has the strongest heart of a champion right now?