Later in the day, a couple hours after the game, a few of the players arrange a meeting to hold an analysis session. They meet at the Appleloosa street where the game started, and proceed to try and school themselves.
"Okay, players," one of them says. "We need to figure out what went wrong."
"Yes, we do. Let's do it. But before that; before we try to figure out what went wrong with us, I say we give an inquiry as to what went right for Contestant #2."
"I agree. We need a comparison."
"Okay. Any ideas as to what #2 did right?"
"Well, for starters, I think her unique throwing style helped a lot. Most of us throw straight at the stake, where it could easily take a hit. But #2 makes her shoes fly further upwards into the air, causing them to come down above the top of the stake. As such, they have a better chance to score a ringer."
"Maybe that is true, but the rest of us trying to change our styles would be counterproductive. We're in a race here, after all. Everypony is trying to be the first to get perfect, and trying to learn a new style of play would slow us down.
"Hmm, you're right. It would adversely affect our chances."
"Indeed it would. So I suggest we analyze the playing style we have right now and figure out how to fix it."
"Yes."
"One thing I noticed by looking at the angles in which the shoes landed after hitting the stake is that many of them just barely had their opening parts miss. As in, if they had been angled just a little bit to the other direction, it would have been a ringer."
"If all, or even just most, of such shoes did become ringers, the scores would have been much better."
"Ah."
"Okay, that makes sense. So now, how do you suppose what exactly went into our throwing that caused them to do that, and how do we fix it?"
"Hmm... unfortunately, I can't answer that. We would need a professional game analyzer to tell us that."
"Well, let's go find one then!"
"Okay."
Over on the other side of town, Autumn Apple had gone back to her house with a mixed range of emotions running through her. It wasn't clear to her why, as she had been void of all her worries upon the conclusion of her turn at the game. For some reason, what she felt during the time she got a bad reaction from the crowd, and the complicated feelings that came with being Contestant #1 during Game #1 started creeping back up on her.
Feeling the need to practice for improvement, Autumn does so, but not with much effort. She just throws and throws, unable to shake off her mysterious ill-feels. This causes her to question if she will even be able to continue playing the game. "What if I still feel like this tomorrow?", she thinks to herself. "If I can't play at my best, I'll have to drop out of the competition! But I wouldn't want to!"
Yeah, being #1 isn't always good.
Meanwhile, Shoeshine was also having an internal conflict. She wasn't sure if she wanted to join in on the actual games or continue being the co-announcer. On one hoof, she wanted to play, but on the other hoof, she felt that joining in one some games but not others left her with barely any chance of winning the competition. She could give herself that chance by playing every game from here on out, but she wanted to be the announcer in some games too; not discontinue that.
As if that weren't enough, Shoeshine remembers that one reason she wanted to start playing is that she did indeed want to win the trophy. Be the first to get perfect. One reason she opted out at first was because she thought it would be weird to have the inventor be the winner of a tournament, but she started to question those feelings and wonder if anypony would really care about that. But of course, to have a chance at the trophy, she would need to stop being the co-announcer, which she didn't want to do.
"I mean, I could balance it and play some games but not others; I'd still have fun even if I wasn't competing for the trophy, but... I think I want the trophy."
"But is it appropriate? What would ponies think of the inventor being the winner?"
Oof. This was going to take a while to figure out.
But on the bright side for Shoeshine, she gets some company.
I, having just finished with my work project, come back up to Appleloosa to get a taste of the new game. Because of the project, I had yet to play it once.
"Shoeshine! You've got a first-timer here!"
"Oh, Player 4! I was wondering when you'd be here to try it out!"
"Well, um... I knew the project would be over today, but I forgot to tell you."
"That's alright. All that matters is you're here now."
"Thanks for your patience. I know how the rules work, so there's no need to explain it."
"Good."
As I play, I love the new scheme just as much as the next pony (Well, I'm not a pony, but you know what I mean), and from what I can tell, Shoeshine seems to be doing fine. She's smiling, congratulating me, excitedly talking about the last few days; nothing out of the ordinary here.
But Cherry Berry, who was back in Appleloosa and had noticed her bestie's sad-looking expressions prior to my arrival, walked up and started speaking to her.
"Hey Shoeshine", she said, "is there something wrong? You looked a bit down before P4 arrived, and, sorry if I sound harsh, but I don't believe that the sudden change of mood was legit. It's like you just suddenly perked up."
Shoeshine sighs. "Yep, you caught me. I'm not doing well right now."
"Really?", I ask. "Well, are you comfortable telling us what's wrong? We can help."
"Yeah, we're your friends!"
After giving it some thought, Shoeshine decides to spill it. "Okay, I'll tell you."
"So, when my change to the game of horseshoes was officially adopted by the EHA and they started holding a race for being the first to get a perfect game, I decided to not be a player, but instead a co-announcer in the booth. My thought process was that it would be weird for the inventor to compete, much less win! What if I won the title? Would others consider it illegitimate, because I was the inventor and thus had a built-in advantage?"
"But later on, I started to reconsider that position. For one thing, built-in advantages will always happen in sports. Some players have better body figures for what they're playing that gives them a natural advantage over other players, like, on P4's world, in basketball, where taller players have an edge. But we don't penalize them for that."
"So at that point I started leaning towards wanting to be a player, but then I ran into another problem: I had already not played the first game. I'm not sure if we're allowed to join in later. Even if we are, it wouldn't make much sense for a new competitor to join in the middle of the tournament. How could they possibly have a chance at the title? In my case, I don't think that would apply, as it's just one game, but then that leads me to another problem: I don't want to stop being the co-announcer! I enjoy it! Now, I could split it; be a player in some games and the co-announcer in others, but again, I'm not sure if we can do that, and how would I, playing only half the games, have a shot at the title? As if the problems don't keep piling up, I do know I would have fun even without competing for the trophy, but at the same time... I want it..."
Shoeshine begins struggling to articulate her words and lays down on the ground with a sad face. Cherry Berry and I react in kind, going up to pet her, and waiting to respond. We needed time to think, anyway.
Eventually, I come up with something to say, and start speaking.
"So you want to do two things that clash with each other. That's a hard situation to be in. I'm sorry you have to go through this."
"For starters, give it time. You might not feel the same way next week, or even tomorrow, as you do today. You might eventually end up leaning towards one side, and then it will be an easy decision. So hold off on making one now."
"Right", Cherry Berry responds. "It takes time to make a decision. Also, it's harder to make a decision when you're stressed out over it. So yeah, give it some time, and you'll feel better."
"And about the not knowing if new players can join while the competition is in progress, well, ask the EHA about that. As you said, further in might be off limits, but since only one game has passed, I don't see why they wouldn't let you in, should you decide to go that route."
"And even if you can't join in on the playing, remember that you started this new version of the game. That's a title you already hold, and it's an extraordinary thing to hold. Think about how long this game has been ingrained into Appleloosa's culture, and how long the original rules remained in place!"
"Oh, for certain! Did anypony expect the official rules to ever be changed?", I said.
Shoeshine gets hit by our words and stands back up. "No, they definitely didn't.", she said. "Thanks, you two, I really needed to hear that. Help from friends is always great."
"It is a perfect stress reliever," I say, "talking it out to your friends."
"Yes it is. I think I'll go home now, with what you said in mind. Thanks a lot!"
"Bye, Shoeshine!", Cherry Berry says.
Well, this was quite an experience for me. I like comforting others, but never really considered myself to be that great at it. But it does appear I affected Shoeshine quite well. And I'm sure having Cherry Berry, Shoeshine's best friend, by my side, helped a lot. I didn't do it all alone.
With a good and altruistic accomplishment in our day diaries, Cherry and I head off.
Back at the group of players trying to fix their game, they were looking for a pro analyst who can tell them how to improve their throwing. Not as easy to find in Equestria due to the lack of Internet, but there had to be somepony; this was a sports-crazed city, after all.
Eventually they find a paper advertisement hanging on a pole for an analyst.
"Hey! I found a jackpot!", one of the ponies says.
The word "jackpot" ringing what it will, the other ponies run up. "Where? What did you find?"
"Here on this pole. It's an advertisement for a pro analyst."
"Oh yeah, that is a jackpot! Let's head on over!"
"Here we go!"
They head off to the provided address, open the door, where the analyst is laying back in a chair, eyes closed.
He then quickly emerges. "Hello there. You looking for some sports study?", the stallion says.
"Oh yes!", one of the players says.
"Full explanation: We are part of the horsehoes new-rules perfect game competition. We are players, who a couple hours ago finished the first game. You see, at first, it appeared that we were on track for a perfect score within the first few games. When the new scheme was still in the trial stage, no score of 50 or higher was attained. But then the first pro player managed to get 56. And then her successor got 70. But after that, nopony else was able to match or surpass that latter score."
"What she said. It feels like we were taking off, up up high in the sky, then suddenly flattened out."
"Hmm. Well, do you ponies currently have any analysis for yourselves on why that happened?", the analyst said.
"Yes, in fact. We discovered from slowing down the game footage that many of the horsehoes just barely had their opening areas miss the stake. Like, a ringer failed by virtue of it being off 10 centimeters too far to one side."
"But we haven't been able to figure out exactly why they were doing that. And that is why we have come to you."
"Okay. I can help."
The sports analyst, who seems to also be a scientist based on his knowledge of body physics, uncovers the unexpected truth; many of the ponies had already been putting ever-so-slightly too much spin on the horseshoes while releasing them.
"So you see, the shoes were often slipping around in your mouths while you were making the throw, causing the trajectory to get messed up. Like, see right here: this horseshoe was on the verge of being straight, but it slid to the right just before it got released."
"The best solution to this is to learn how to keep the grip steady."
"But... how are we going to do that? I can only guess it's our saliva that makes the shoes slide around."
"It is partially that, but also because you're rapidly turning your head from one side to another, something that will always have fluctuations, while trying to keep the shoe going out at the same slant every time. It's not easy to do that, much less get it exactly right ten times in a row."
"So, how do you suggest we improve?"
"I would start by gripping the shoes tighter. Press your mouths down on them harder. Then to fix the angles, maybe try throwing a little later, like when your head is straightened out. That would help curb the curve."
"Got it. Thank you so much."
"Any time, players. My office is open many hours."
"I'm sure you will see plenty more customers during this race! See you later!", one of the players says, giving the analyst a hoof-bump.
The players head out of the building, and return to the streets to practice with the analyst's tips. They headed their own advice of not making a big change to their style of play, as that would push their perfect game back, but they are using the analyst's techniques of gripping tighter and throwing later, as they were just little changes. And they're not caring about score right now; just trying to get used to the new throws.
Later on in the day, at about the evening-night transition, Shoeshine and Autumn Apple started to have racing minds again. Shoeshine, who had gone back to Ponyville, began anxiously wondering how she would feel by tomorrow and beyond. While Cherry Berry and myself had cleared some things out for her, Shoeshine started to worry about a new thing she discovered: the possibility that she would be left without a decision until much later. "There's no way I'm going to decide which way to go tomorrow. Think about a week", she thought, "and, by then, it will be too late for a new player to join."
At the same time, Autumn couldn't stop thinking that her stage freight wouldn't let up. That she'll have to drop out. "I don't like being number 1. Too much pressure. I wish I had been later on, then I'd be playing well. Blame the order for why I can't play this tournament anymore."
So yeah, there are some things going on here. It really makes you wonder what the next game will be like.
But more importantly, how Shoeshine and Autumn are feeling. They clearly needed help; Shoeshine had already gotten some, but she needed more. And Autumn hadn't gotten any. But who would help them?
Oof, this is a headache. But keep going. We will pull through this.