//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 // Story: Perfect Game // by Player 4 //------------------------------// One of the ponies on the street brings up the possibility of suspending work tomorrow in order to focus on the game. "Well, couldn't we like, maybe, take an extra day off? I mean, this is really big and all... and not every work task needs to be done immediately", the mare says nervously. She was right to be nervous. On a surface level, that seems blasphemous to the city's culture. Appleloosa is a city built off of work. Taking unscheduled time off doesn't make sense, let alone having the whole place do it. But the significance of this event could change that, at least for this one day. After all, the game of horseshoes was iconic to the city, and it had just become even more iconic, with the new rules gaining uncharted enthusiasm in a game that already seemed to have garnered maximum enthusiasm. The Appleloosa ponies never thought they could have even more fun with the horseshoes game. Plus, it has been officially adopted by the EHA. That is big, and definitely not something they thought would happen either. A change to a game whose basic rules had remained static for centuries. Oh, and didn't all this happen on the same day? Yep, it did. This was a massive historical event for Appleloosa; why wait a whole another week to take it to the next level? This suggestion of taking tomorrow off was met with confusion from the crowd at first, unsurprisingly. But after further thinking, they agree with the mare. "I suppose we could do it. You're right, not every work task is super urgent. Some of us are able to put it off a bit; I sure am." "Yeah! Why wait to do more of this? The rules of horseshoes have been changed! That's not something any of us have seen in our lifetimes!" "I agree. But, not everypony can take tomorrow off work. There is urgent work happening; some things just can't be postponed." The crowd takes this into account, seemingly about to backpedal. But one pony quickly comes up with a balanced solution. "How about we split up; some of us go back to work tomorrow, while others get time to play the game.", she says. "I mean, we do live in Appleloosa; plenty of ponies would be willing to wait for more gaming." This idea generates a good response from the crowd, with a mix of "Yeah"s, "I like that"s, and such being heard. "Good idea! We can go with that!", Shoeshine says. "But, how exactly do we decide who goes to work and who doesn't?", another mare asks. "I have an idea!", Shoeshine says. She draws a line through the ground, giving ponies a hint of what she's up to. "We'll split ourselves up into two groups.", she says. "If you would like to continue playing tomorrow, head over this side.", she says, pointing to the right from her view, and left from the crowd's view. "If you would like to return to work, head to this side.", she says, pointing in the opposite direction. The crowd follows the instructions, and wow, they have almost a complete half-and-half! Perfect! "Okay, there we go!", Shoeshine exclaims. "Tomorrow, those of you who chose this side, head back to this street, and we'll play the first day of the new rules being official!" The crowd cheers in excitement. It's the next day, and such half of the gathering is back. The half-and-half split also occurred with the inaugural group; Applejack and Rainbow Dash had to head back to Ponyville for their jobs, but Shoeshine and Autumn Apple took the day off for some more horseshoes. They meet up on the same street they were at yesterday. "Good morning, Autumn!", Shoeshine says. "You ready?" "You bet, Shoeshine! Looks like they are too!", Autumn says, pointing to the crowd. "Alright, everypony! Game on!", Shoeshine shouts. The playing starts, for more shining-horseshoe fun. Over at the EHA offices, their plan was to begin the new era with a knockout tournament. Starting with a qualifying round, anypony who signed up would get to play, and when it was determined who the qualifiers were, the tournament would start. Beginning with 64 players, then going to the round of 32 players, then 16, then 8, then 4, then 2. That was what the EHA wanted to do. But upon some of the staff's arrival at the street, they saw a different environment. "Oh, not quite! I had five gold in a row, but alas, I have to throw silver now. I didn't get a ringer there." "I had 35 points; I mean, that's halfway there, right? Maybe I'll get it soon!" "Is it even possible to get a perfect game?" It seemed to the EHA members that the players' top priority at this moment was to get a perfect game. 10 gold 9-point ringers in a row for the magic score of 90. That was what they were focusing on; what they were trying to do. Not playing a tournament. They walk up to the inventor for an opinion about this. "Excuse us, Miss Shoeshine, it appears to us that most of the horseshoe players here are focusing on getting a perfect game. Is that the top priority for y'all right now?" "Well", Shoeshine says, "I didn't decide on or command for that, but yeah, it does seem correct, looking around here. They're all trying to get that 90." The stallions look at each other, feeling they have the means to decide something big. "So then", one of the staff members says, "Here at the EHA we always set a top priority for the game of horseshoes at any moment. An agenda for what we would most like to accomplish first. Do you think getting a perfect game is good for that status right now?" "Sure! I can roll with that!" "Good. We will officially announce that in the next newspaper. Thank you, Miss Shoeshine." "No problem! Let's get that agenda down, and go for perfect!" Back at the offices, the EHA's writing team has finished penning down a newspaper article that will be published tomorrow. By observation of what ponies' most popular efforts currently are down at horseshoe-playing streets, we at the EHA have declared getting a perfect game to be the top priority for horseshoes at this moment. On this day at 1:00 PM, we will gather together at Shoe Stadium to see if one of us can get 10 consecutive gold ringers for that perfect 90 score. And if none of us do, well, we take on it another day. We will keep going with this project until somepony gets a perfect game. The first to do so will receive a big trophy. We look forward to seeing you there! So... can anypony do it?