//------------------------------// // Chapter 104- Taking The Plunge Pt.6 // Story: Good Morning Equestria // by Quoterific //------------------------------// “Welcome every creature, for your daily coverage of the Equestria Games as they happen. I am the one and only Autumn Blaze, and we have partnered with The Reformed Unicorn Podcast you don’t miss out on any of the action in the big city of Manehattan,” Autumn welcomed every listener back, “Joining us from the R.U.G. is the one, the only, Starlight Glimmer!” “Hello, every listener, and here I am with an actual kirin. Applejack talks a lot about you and hers and Fluttershy’s friendship mission,” Starlight explained. Autumn chuckled and waved a hoof. “We had so much fun and I’m glad that they solved my village’s friendship problem, but we’re getting off-topic here,” Autumn said before moving on to what they were actually meant to be discussing, “We are at Manehattan’s Aquatics and Water Sports Centre to see the ten metre diving events. Starlight, why don’t you explain the rules?” “The divers must complete six dives, with a score given from one to ten,” Starlight explained, “When judging a dive, the judges must not be influenced by any factor other than the technique and execution of the dive. Of course, when scoring, a low splash is key for getting a low score. There are four judges at the table, meaning a total of forty points is up for grabs in order to get that coveted gold medal for their kingdom or city.” “And for that explanation, and now let’s see who will be taking to the diving board,” Autumn said as she levitated her horn and unrolled the scroll containing the list of participants: 1. Magespire 2. Canterlot 3. Griffonstone 4. Trottingham 5. Peaks Of Peril 6. Maretania “We have quite a list of participants from in and out of Equestria as Griffonstone and the Peaks of Peril will be hoping to win a medal,” Starlight looked down at the list of names and turned to Autumn, “I think I know which diver you will be supporting.” “You bet!” Autumn chuckled, “Peaks of Peril all the way. I’m surprised that we have entered the diving event, but I think it will be a nice way to cool off, get it? Because we kirins are known for our heat?” Autumn joked with a large smile. Starlight gave a strain smile and nodded. “Well, I and our fellow listeners will be wishing the Peaks of Peril and every diver the best of luck, as it’s time for the first diver to take his place,” Starlight tried to move on as the commentators, as well as the audience, watched high above as the first diver from Magespire took his place. After readying himself, he takes the leap, doing a flip in the air, falling, prepared for the plunge and entered the water with only a small splash. “And that was a good start for the first diver. Little splash, good height on the jump and a smooth flip in the air. This will be a high score for sure,” Autumn clapped. “As he comes out of the water, the score is in. with a strong start of 35.746, that is a great first dive for Magespire,” Starlight announced the score as the second diver from Canterlot took to the board. “Canterlot is up next will a difficult dive to master. He steps up to the edge of the board now, taking a deep breath as he prepares to take the plunge,” Autumn watched from the booth. “He takes a good jump into a flip and now falls to the water,” Starlight carried on as he hits the water, “The splash is a little too big and he will get penalised for it, and it seems to show as the score is in. with a total of 35.643, he will be hoping to improve from there.” “We are going to the land of griffons as Griffonstone takes to the platform now,” Autumn said as she watched the griffon diver take a handstand on the board, “He will be tempting a very hard routine and if he does it well, it will be a strong scare and start for the hopeful from Griffonstone.” “And he does a beautiful flip and dives straight in, the splash coming in as a small one. This is going to do very well,” Starlight clapped her hooves along with the crowd, “And it is! 37.047 means that he will be hoping to maintain that lead.” “Hoping do to well next is Trottingham. He has decided to do a runup before diving, which requires a lot of skill itself to get the right distance. You don’t want to hit your head too hard on board if you misjudge it. He has now taken the runup, and does a pike flip and now takes to the dive,” Autumn said, but cringed slightly as she saw the dive, “Oh dear, the splash is a little too big which will be severely penalised. It seems to show with just 34.547. he needs to catch up if he wants to improve.” “Okay, Autumn, this is it,” Starlight smiled, “The debut of the Peaks of Peril. He takes to the edge of the board now. Good luck Peaks of Peril.” “He gets a good distance from the board in his jump, a strong flip in the air as he takes the plunge with a strong pike posture,” Autumn watched, tensed in her seat, “He takes the beautiful dive into the water, with as little splash as he can muster. It was amazing! 38.309, is now the new score to beat! He should be very pleased with that on the first dive!” “Finally for the first round of diving is Maretania. He is going to take a runup like Trottingham, but hopefully he will execute this dive better than the one before,” Starlight watched, “He takes a good run up, a good flip in mid-air and takes the dive. It’s going to be a solid score as the splash is little. 36.576, not bad at all.” The divers moved on with the other rounds of diving, each one performing different dives with varying difficulty and execution. The audience watched in full attention as each one climbed up the stairs to the board, readied themselves and took to the water. Some caused very little splash, Griffonstone getting a 38.899 on the fifth round of diving. However, some unfortunately didn’t perform as well, Maretania scoring 35.755 on their fourth dive. As it stands the scores so far were: Magespire with 35.746, 36.566, 34.758, 36.879, 35.486 and 37.042 with a total of 216.477 Canterlot at 35.643, 37.058, 36.53 0, 36.878, 37.204 and 36.537 with a total of 219.85 Griffonstone on 37.047, 35.552, 36.726, 37.462, 38.899 and 36.452 with a total of 222.138 The Peaks Of Peril with 38.309, 36.57, 36.977, 37.458, 38.057and 37.482, giving them a total of 224.853 And Maretania with one more dive to go, with the others being 36.576, 35.983, 36.713, 35.75 and 36.712. “So this is it with the final dive from Maretania,” Starlight was on the edge of her seat, will it be enough to get them into the top three?” “He starts of strong, goes into a flip and lands into the water with a small splash. The distance in the air from the board was his only issue, which will eb scrutinised by the judges,” Autumn watched the dive happen, hoping the Peaks of Peril will get away with the gold. “The scores are in, and… It’s not enough with 37.321, which means the Peaks of Peril win their first medal of the Games!” Starlight announced as the crowd began to cheer and applaud. “Yes! Yes! Yes!” Autumn chanted, bouncing hard that could rival Pinkie Pie, “with a total score of 224.853, the Peaks of Peril take home the gold medal, Griffonstone with 222.138 for the silver and Canterlot with 219.85 for the bronze! Congratulations to my fellow kirins, and of course the diver who made it possible!” “That is all from us right now, but we will be back to bring you more coverage of the games as they happen!” Starlight giggled as she watched Autumn do a small victory dance in her seat.