//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: Perfect Game // by Player 4 //------------------------------// After collecting the fun information, the news reporter didn't want to have to wait until tomorrow morning, when all the ponies would be working again, to deliver it. So he went over to the printing press building and asked them to extend the daily newspaper period for an extra breaking news story, which they agreed to do. After enough newspapers were printed, the reporter, taking the role of a deliverer, trotted all over Appleloosa, handing over late-in-the-day newspapers to the residents, using the phrase "breaking news you must know about now." The Appleloosa ponies who weren't in the game street that Shoeshine and Co. were at had no idea what had been going on over there, and the news reporter felt like they really needed to. After all, if the ponies who were there loved the new rules, why wouldn't these folks? As the news pony hands out papers, the word spreads across this other street, with the Appleloosa residents talking to each other. "So it says that a Ponyville mare has created a new version of horseshoes, and it is rapidly gaining popularity over in this city.", one mare said. "I saw that too!", another mare said. The rules are explained right here in this column, it sounds really cool!" "They also posted which street this is happening on.", a stallion said. "Let's go over there!" As the word spreads further, the ponies in this area disband from their own horseshoe competitions (those of them who were still in a game at the time finished it first), and head over to the street in question to see what the excitement is about. Over in the aforementioned street where the new rules took off, the ponies in already jam-packed area started to notice a crowd of new ponies walking over. "Well! Looks like the news pony wasn't kidding when he said he would spread the word!", Shoeshine exclaimed. Cherry Berry looks over. "Oh no, he really wasn't!", she says. "Look at all these ponies coming to see the game!" Shoeshine gulped. It was her goal to get this game a lot of attention, but she still had a strike of nervousness upon seeing the large crowd. She became even more nervous upon realizing there was a bit of a problem here. With this big of a pack, Shoeshine wasn't sure how to get the word out all at once. It would be exhausting to go around explaining to only a few at a time. But a microphone was nowhere to be seen. Or a stage. The crowd was approaching ever closer, and Shoeshine was getting worried. Luckily, an Appleloosa local came up to give help. "Here, you can stand on this barrel.", the mare says, pushing over a brown barrel. "It might be hard for the ponies in the back of the crowd to hear you, but as long as you stand at a higher elevation, they'll know they must be quiet and listen. I mean, it makes sense, right? If a pony is up on stage, or something resembling a stage, they're going to be listened to." A relieved and grateful Shoeshine hugged the helpful pony. She then got up on top of the barrel and waited for the crowd to stop walking. As they do so, Shoeshine wants to get confirmation first as to whether they'll be able to catch the information. "Can you all hear me?", she shouts. "I don't have a microphone!" Most of the crowd nods and holler yes, but Shoeshine knew she was in for a voice-killer. If she wanted to be heard the whole way through, she would have to keep speaking loudly. And thus she would have to temporarily pass the baton to another one in her group after this. "Alright!", the blue mare begins. "I here, the name is Shoeshine, have just invented a twist to your favorite game where it now features bronze, silver, and gold horseshoes." The crowd sounds interested; a good bit of "huh"s, "oh, wow"s, and the like can be heard, along with smiling. "Yep!", Shoeshine says. "What the horseshoe colors indicate is how many points you can score from them. You see, if you throw a bronze shoe, the score goes 1, 2, 3 like you're used to. But throw a silver shoe and it goes 2, 4, 6. Then throw a gold, and that gives you 3, 6, 9. So if you can get 10 gold-horseshoe ringers in a row, that's a perfect score of 90!" The crowd sounds impressed! Their faces look even happier, some of them are jumping, and even the ones in the front are trying to move closer to Shoeshine. "You're probably wondering how you know which color you're supposed to throw.", the inventor continues. "Well, it's simple. You throw a ringer, you get to pick up a gold horseshoe for your next throw. Throw a stake hit, and you'll be given silver. Throw a ground hit, and you've got bronze. Oh, and you always start with gold." A pony in the crowd speaks. "Do we get to play?" "Of course!" Shoeshine says. "Be respectful, like, don't push around, wait for your turn, but otherwise, go ahead! Jump right in!" The close-together crowd starts to flood to the stakes to experience the new game. "However", Shoeshine adds, stopping the crowd for a bit, "This constant shouting has worn out my voice. So I'm going to pass the guide crown to Applejack right here. She'll walk you through the game and answer any questions you have." The crowd nods and runs onto the street for the excitement. Applejack begins her new role, going from stake to stake and clearing things up, while Shoeshine heads over to a green-and-white striped lawn chair to rest. She is graciously given a fresh bottle of apple cider by another local, and then notices that the crowd has avoided gathering up on her to admire her invention. They're being nice and letting her have a break. The extremely crowded street goes gaming, with the new rules earning more and more admiration by the minute. Little did they know, they wouldn't have to go up to the EHA's office and report about this; the league of leagues had saw the newspaper and was headed down here! Shoeshine looks over at the approaching EHA staff. "Looks like I have succeeded.", she says to herself.