IP2012 Barrel Weave

[SteelEagle]

The Barrel Weave

The field holds no secrets and presents its obstacles plainly. There was no inclement weather that allowed the cowardly to escape the challenge with a convenient excuse. No uneven, hilly territory to foster sudden injury nor some hidden danger to prepare against. Ten barrels of varying colors yet of the same size would be the only competition they would have to face. If only it was that easy, for this was the Iron Pony and easy was not one of the words chosen to describe the event. A single stallion, smaller in stature than others but with stout legs and sharp eyes, hoofs the ground expectantly. Around him, a mixture of long and beaten faces mix with a smattering of fresh and hopeful smiles, all of them looking on eagerly as the stallion prepares to tackle the barrel weave. He snorts and hoofs the ground again as above him, a single pegasus counts down. Just as he becomes aware of anything more than the course bare in front, the Pegasus blows a whistle and a mixture of instinct and training kicks in.

The Barrel Weave has begun. As the ponies ravishly watch his every fevered push forward, other ponies wander up to the sign in. It's simple, asking for only one's name with a reminder of the rules.

- Coming into contact with a barrel will incur a five second penalty. This can be stacked.

- Falling down will incur a five second penalty. This cannot be stacked.

- Knocking a barrel over will result in a DQ.

- Using magic will result in a DQ.

- Flying or the use of wings will result in a DQ.

- Tampering with the playing field will result in a DQ.

As the list ends, an audible gasp as the over-excited stallion trips over himself right in front of the finish line. Many heads shake as he sheepishly pulls himself back up and gallops across.

"Who's next!?"

The Barrel Weave Rules

1- A single timed attempt per participant.

2- A participant gets three posts involved in the attempt. The first sets them up. The second is the full run of it. The third is the immediate post-run.

3- A player may have as many participants as he or she desires, but only one attempt per participant.

4- In order to ensure that as many can play as possible, it is possible to have multiple participants attempting the Barrel Weave at the same time, up to a maximum of three as there will be three courses.

5- After you have finished, you may continue to post in the thread. However, I ask that you refrain from interacting with ponies who are in the middle of their attempt.

Grading

Every attempt will be graded. The following factors will be taken into account when an attempt is graded:

Post Competency- Spelling, grammar, and the overall structure of the posts in the attempt. A post that is almost unreadable becomes an obstacle for all of us- and one that is perhaps too hard to weave around! This is vital and will be treated as such. However, it is listed first as it is perhaps the least important of the three factors being graded.

Post Quality- Length, word usage, and general contribution to the flow of the thread of the posts in the attempt. A post that is too short or too long, that either lacks any flavor in text or seems greatly strained to appear more than it is, will be graded somewhat worse. The flow is vital and helping make this a fun, active, and quality roleplay. This is important, but is still not the most important factor that shall be graded.

Post Creativity- The actual story and character content of the posts in the attempt. There may only be a small handful of ways to tackle this challenge, but that doesn't mean you can't explore them all. How does your character react to the course? What's the strategy? What's the pony thinking? How fun and entertaining, or how exciting and enthralling, is your post? This is the most important part of the grade.

Every post will be graded out of five in each one of these categories, then added together and divided. The end result will be the attempt result. The pony with the best result wins the Barrel Weave!

[Otsdarva]

The day had started nice and calm, it was in all accounts, perfect. Trotting along at a steady pace was a Stallion with a deep red coat and bold blond mane. His muscles flexed with each step of his sturdy frame. A broad smile came to his lips as he looked out over the majesty before him. It was a competition! He had completely forgot about it, only winding up in town by chance of a delivery! He quietly observed what the ponies were doing, it seemed to be a short race. A row of barrels to cross through. There was even a pony currently running it's course.

Douglas Trotter watched in silence as his nerves began to rise! The pony was absolutely flying through the barrels! It seemed like he was an expert! Douglas was on edge, cringing at the close calls and letting out a gasp as the pony tripped right at the end! That's when he realized, he was completely psyched up! This was something he could get in on! Making sure to free himself from his wagon, Douglas made his way to the sign-up booth. The hairs of his coat stood on end as he wanted to take a run at the competition. He waited in line as his legs danced in place. Slowly moving up as the other ponies got their names in. Finally it was his turn, he trotted up to the attendant working the stand and smiled brightly.

It had certainly been a long time since Douglas allowed himself to partake in any kind of fun events. So when the attendant asked only two simple questions, his name and his understanding of the rules, Douglas eagerly responded. "Douglas Trotter! And that I do, sir! Now may I ask when I'll get my crack at this course?" he stated, feeling his nerves continue to build! Giving an audible 'ahem' Douglas reined in his excitement and toned down his expression to just a toothy grin. Today, was going to be fun!

[SteelEagle]

Hind hated his horrible name- who wanted to be called Hindquarters, really- but he had parlayed it into a relatively successful galloping career. Attendant to that success was running the Barrel Weave, which apparently demanded more than the common riff-raff in the realm of judging. You had to have the keen eye sight and razor sharp reflexes that only a professional galloper could deliver. It was an opportunity he relished, especially when he got to see such confidence come from the mares and stallions that decided to take the Barrel Weave on. Next up was Douglas Trotter and boy, was Hind more than ready to see him off.

"Ha! You can go now, Douglas. When I blow this whistle, start!" Hind replied to the stallion's question with a healthy slap on the back. He trotted over to his position and turned arounds to face the course.

"On your ready! Get set!"

He blew the whistle.

[Blueblood]

There is nothing like a bad landing to put an acrobat out of sorts, especially off one's signature event. That might explain the vacant look and vague frown of one earth pony mare, which could be seen as she attempted to trot out her discomfiture. It made her look out of place in the sea of smiling excitement that milled around each event, and Flying Brick certainly felt out of place. *These are country games. What's a city pony like you think you're doing here?*

She stopped, trying to shake off the doubt, but it weighed to heavily to be dislodged so easily. It had been a long day of competition, and almost nothing had gone as planned. She'd made a surprisingly good show out of events she hadn't expected to do so well in, but her signature event, the obstacle course, had concluded on a less than stellar note. To top it off, she was now realizing just how far from Stalliongrad she was, and the mare was just plain homesick by now.

*But I can't go back yet. That would be backing down, and to quit is more shameful than to lose.* She had to stick this out, and that meant returning to the field. The excited voice of a stallion brought the brick-red mare to the present, and she looked up to see where she was.

"Barrel Weave?" The words almost made no sense to her, and she had to lean in close to the poster to read the rules, following along with her hoof. Okay, that didn't look too complicated... so why were there so many judges? Style didn't look like it counted for much here, but there was probably a lot of technique involved in the tight turns.

The judge had just blown the whistle to start the first stallion across the line. Nopony else had gathered yet, so it looked like she'd be next. She trotted up to the starting line, steeling herself to represent her home city with a good run as she pawed the earth. *Let's show them what we've got!*

[Snowshoe]

Wind Rider had come to Ponyville with the intention of watching the games. He would never have expected to be gearing up to participate. The one event that had caught his eye was this one: the barrel weave. He'd chosen it over the obstacle course, because this one was all about what he was best at: agility. There'd be no way he'd have the endurance to go through the multiple different tasks of the obstacle course, and he wasn't quite set out for the rest of the events thus far. The pegasus definitely felt up to it...he was definitely in shape, with his job as a forest ranger for the Hoofington area, and he'd done his fair share of weaving through trees. How hard could it be, honestly?

The brown-coated pegasus walked up to the sign up booth, leaving his name and taking a good look at the rules. Simple enough. The no wings part would be difficult though...he was used to using his wings to help tighten his turns. He felt confident he could keep them pinned to his side for the duration of the run. With that done, there was a pony already set to run the course, so Wind Rider took his place off to the side with the rest of the contestants, watching to see how the first pony made it through the course. All in all though, it seemed fairly straightforward: run, and weave through the barrels, of which there were only a few. Still, he knew from experience it was harder that one would think to make tight turns such as this.

The pegasus ran a hoof through his seafoam green mane for a moment, just to scratch the top of his head idly as he watched the first pony get ready. Douglas something or other, given what the coordinator called the stallion before he blew the whistle to mark the beginning of the pony's run.

[Otsdarva]

Douglas was more than ready for this, as the attendant seemed to liven up just from his antsy antics alone. Moving over to the start of the line, he was given a quick slap to the withers which sent a quick shiver down his back, ending with his tail lashing. This was it, now was the time to get ready. Douglas stretched out his legs and made sure he was as loose as could be. If last year's Running of the Leaves taught him anything, it was that the start was crucial! Especially since this event was all about getting down the course as clean and fast as possible!

"On your ready! Get Set!"

Douglas had his body low, and his hooves dug into the ground for the perfect launch! Silence settled in as he felt the eyes of ponies on him. The whistle sounded - He was off! His body kicked into high gear the instant his ears heard the whistle and he tore off the line into a grand gallop! The sounds of erupting cheering around him almost seemed to be drowned out as he focused on the first upcoming barrel! It was to his left as he came on approach. It almost seemed to whip past him before he saw the second barrel closing in. Douglas dug his front hooves into the ground as he shifted his weight to his left before regaining his mad dash! The second barrel zoomed past and the third was already bearing down on him! Throwing his weight to his right mid-gallop, Douglas pulled himself past the second barrel at just the right moment!

The third went by almost immediately before opening up some flat ground to the fourth, Douglas growled inwardly as he took himself into full speed. The open space allowed him to easily switch sides without sacrificing speed. As the fourth was almost past, he could already see the fifth and sixth barrels! Douglas jammed his hooves into the ground and danced past the fourth before squeezing through the fifth, just to scrape through the sixth! All that speed almost brought him to an early end, there was certainly more to this course than just speed! Now kicking off with those hind legs, he made for the seventh barrel. It wasn't far from the sixth, but it sure wasn't one as close as the others were. Passing into the right lane, Douglas overtook the seventh barrel and immediately hopped back into the left lane!

Again, a little open room for speed came up and Douglas poured it on with all he could muster! This time though, he was more than ready to scrub that speed for the upcoming barrels! Of course, right ahead were all three of the last barrels! 'Horseapples, this'll be tighter than the last group!' He thought, putting on the brakes to make the tight dive between the eighth and ninth barrels! With hardly anytime to even be sure he cleared both barrels, Douglas had to immediately cut back in to make the tenth! He could feel his weight pulling him wide, but his broad legs flexed their mighty muscles to keep his turn tight! "Geeyahh!" Douglas shouted as he leaped out from the tenth barrel! The finish line was just ahead! Lowering his head as much as possible, Douglas charged onward for the finish!

The finish couldn't have come sooner for Douglas! It had certainly been longer than he thought it was since he last exerted so much energy! Despite the course's length, it was deceptively tiring! Crossing the line in grand style, Douglas finally allowed himself to calm down and take a look at the bleachers. A big toothy grin on his face as he fought to reclaim his breath.

[SteelEagle]

Hind had no place in his heart for those who stood around and did nothing. You had four strong hooves and a back built for burden- use it or lose it. He was happy to see a few were here to use it. The second looked a wee bit tired and you could tell that the poor sap had been in the cloud dive. If Hind had been a different pony, he'd feel some sympathy. Unluckily for Flying Brick, Hind was just Hind and he was not a pony overflowing with sympathy for competitors pushing themselves beyond their limits. Respect, yes.

"Get to the starting line and when I blow my whistle, go," He was blunt and to the point to the mare, head moving slightly towards the start as he kept his eyes on the course. He saw the third canter up and knew it was time to go. The pegasus was silent- maybe that was a source of strength. Maybe it was cowardice. Neither mattered for he was also on the stage, as it were.

"You too. Get in the third lane and when I blow this whistle, go," He did the same for pegasus as he had the earth pony before confidently putting the whistle to his mouth.

"Ready, set-"

He blew the whistle.

[Blueblood]

"Gotcha." Flying Brick might have been more talkative with the judge, but she didn't feel that she had the focus or energy to spare. She did give him her best smile, though; no need to be rude after all.

She trotted over to her lane, and stretched out, ready to launch forward as soon as soon as the whistle sounded. It wasn't until she was right at the starting line that she realized that she'd spent no time studying the course or planning her approach, as in her other events. *How did I get to be so sloppy? I must be getting tired.* No time to think, there was the whistle!

She took off down the left side of her lane, pacing her start as she approached the first red barrel. There was enough room between that and the orange barrel ahead for the earth pony to take the turn at a gentle angle, before kicking off into a sharp turn between the second and third, accelerating down the relatively long stretch until the fourth.

*Not bad, not bad. Just imagine it's like the traffic on the street, and you've got to get across!* The thought encouraged her as she swerved behind the fourth barrel, the yellow color reminding her of one the cabs her cousin pulled for his job. She was starting to get into the rhythm of it now, to lean into her turns, to anticipate the steps needed to bring her around the next barrel. By the time the fifth barrel had approached and the mare had swung an arc around it, she was accelerating again, setting a pace for a strong finish.

There was another stretch before the sixth and seventh barrels, which were placed close in a pair. Flying Brick narrowed her eyes as she approached, charting the course as rapidly as her hooves traced it, *A gentle curve to pass the sixth, then lean in sharp for the seventh, just like the first two.* The movements were almost instinctual now, and she began to trust her training again. Sure, a street acrobat doesn't weave through barrels on a dirt path, but carts and cobblestones were practice enough, right?

The final three were gathered in a trio ahead of the seventh barrel, down a shorter flat stretch. The mare could feel her tired legs start to burn as she pounded down to the eighth barrel, but she pushed through it, just trying to maintain her momentum. *Come on, one more good run. Just these three, and across the line!* Clenching her teeth to summon that last reserve of energy, she pulled herself into the first turn, then swung between the eighth and ninth to swerve herself into the next turn, and-

It happened a little too fast for her mind to catch up until it was over. Having sped a little too fast through that second turn, she'd had to jerk herself back to the right suddenly for the last one, and missed a step. One of her hooves went sideways, and so did she, landing on her side and skidding into the last barrel. The reflexive move had probably saved her from a sprain, but the collision had reawakened the pain from her old bruises. She'd given an involuntary cry with the shock, eyes screwed shut. She didn't spare more than a moment, getting to her hooves with ragged breaths to finish the course-

And then came the second shock. She'd been going too fast when she hit the tenth barrel pretty much straight on, and knocked it over. "No..." She shook her head in disbelief. She was so close, was this disqualification how she would end the Iron Pony? "No! It does not end like this!" She stomped her hoof. She'd come too far not to finish strong, not to show the best she had to offer. *After all, it's not as if they can disqualify me twice!*

The thought was liberating, and gave a kind of lightheaded energy to Flying Brick's next move. She leaped onto the barrel she'd knocked on it's side, dextrously moving it under her hooves towards the finish line. *Just like the trashcans back home. Keep moving, you're almost there.* Three more steps... two... one... and across the line.

With a rather tired hop, she planted herself on all four hooves again, taking great, shuddering breaths and trying not to fall over again. The last bit of lightheaded energy had faded from her, and now she only felt exhausted. She kept her eyes shut, not trusting herself to keep from crying. The bruises still hurt, but that wasn't why she had to stem the tears. "Sorry... I couldn't show better..." She spoke aloud her apology to her far-away home city, hoping she had not shamed it in front of so large an audience.

[Snowshoe]

Wind Rider looked over at Hind, the one organizing the event, and nodded. "Lane three, you got it." he spoke. His voice was quiet, but not in a way that would imply Wind was nervous, or meek. Instead, it rang of quiet confidence, the voice of one who took in situations instead of blabbering about.

The brown pegasus stepped up to his lane and took in the course ahead of him while he waited for the whistle. He no longer was imagining it as a start line, a finish line, and a series of barrels between. Instead, it was now the forest, the barrels being a copse of trees between him and somepony that needed help at the other end. This sense of familiarity helped calm him...Wind Rider hadn't noticed until then how nervous he was. This was just for fun, but it was still nerve wracking to be going up against other ponies, and having others watching the performance, ready to pass judgment once it was over.

Though the pegasus had already stretched beforehand, he took a moment to get ready, stamping at the dirt a bit with his hooves, and even giving his wings a little flutter. That action was mostly unconscious: once they were done fluttering they were pinned tightly to the pegasus' side. The organizer called out, and blew the whistle. As soon as Wind's mind registered the shrill sound, he was off, hooves pounding into the dirt. His pace wasn't exceedingly fast to start, as he paced himself. The first barrel was ahead, and he had to weave around it to the left. He'd decided to take this as close as possible, knowing that he couldn't keep up with the speed of most ponies. The tighter his turns, the more time he shaved off...but of course, the closer Wind came to hitting a barrel. The first passed by without incident, right past his right side as the ranger thundered on, his right hooves digging into the dirt to carry him out around the first barrel and on the approach to the second. As with the first, the second barrel came and went without incident, and Wind Rider was making, in his mind, decent time.

But, then came something unexpected. The barrels were at uneven distances apart. The third barrel came on much faster than he was expecting, and he had to swing wide to avoid it. The action cost him precious seconds as he ran past with distance to spare, but had to turn sharply to get back on course. His body was screaming at him to flare out his left wing, which would have easily tightened the turn. He ignored it though, knowing it would result in a disqualification. Mercifully, there was some distance between barrels 3 and 4, which gave him enough time to straighten back out on the course. And speaking of the fourth barrel, the pegasus dug his right hooves in, taking him just barely out of the way before he shifted his weight to the other side, taking him around the barrel rather deftly.

Four down, six more to go. Barrel number five was just as average as the one before it, when it came to what was needed, and thus the same technique was used: just enough weight on one side to get him out of the way, then throw his weight to the other side to get him around. Wind Rider was noticing he was getting tired though...only halfway through, and his legs were a little achy. Each time he dug his hooves in and shifted his weight, this discomfort made itself known even more. It proved to be a liability at barrel six, where he swung out well enough, but as he shifted his weight back over to get around the barrel, his left foreleg gave out a bit, causing him to stumble. In an effort to stop himself from falling over, or hitting the barrel, Wind Rider had to kick off with his left hindleg and shift his weight to the right, stumbling a bit as he attempted to get upright again. The seventh barrel was still coming quickly, but unfortunately, the pegasus hadn't recovered. His stumble had meant that when he got back on track, he was off by a ways. Without seeing it until the last minute, he had cut too close to barrel seven, and it bumped off his side. Had he not been panting to catch enough air, he would have said something about his mis-step. Instead he soldiered on, knowing that the bump would cost him a time penalty.

Three more barrels to go. He used the space between barrels seven and eight to realign himself, and came up to the eight barrel. This time, he spotted the same trick used with the third barrel, with barrels eight, nine, and ten placed very tight. It would have to be a tough slalom to get through. Out and around Wind went, his mind focused solely on the finish line now. If he thought of anything else, well, he knew he'd stumble again. His hooves felt like lead as they thundered through the dirt, taking him around the eight, then ninth barrel. The tiredness caught up to him again, right before the end in a cruel twist of fate. As he came around the ninth and prepped himself to turn for the tenth, his right hindleg suddenly froze up, causing him to stumble, this time away from the barrel, instead of toward it. Still, the time it took for him to get back on course cost him, and despite his hard charge to the finish, Wind Rider figured he'd lost too much time with the mis-steps and the bumping of the barrel. Still, it was possible that his mostly clean run made up for it...after all, he'd only swung too far out twice.

Still, the race had been fun. The adrenaline pumping through him was amazing, and though he took a moment to rest after the course, slumped on his hindquarters and breathing heavily, the pegasus felt great, his face stuck in a grin. Who cares if he didn't win? He'd come to compete, and compete he did, having given it his very best..

[SteelEagle]

(OOC: Nice runs. Commit your final graded posts and then your times will be revealed.)

Hind had rarely found such confidence in a pony equaled so splendidly by action on the field. Douglas moved with purpose and ferocity, chewing up the course with the fury that was seemingly his birthright. It was a bold charge through the course and it was certainly worthy of the stallion behind it, almost error free. Almost. Hind nodded his head to himself as he wrote down the time.

-----

It was a depressing thing, really. Such a well-done run full of excellent turns and use of proper bursts of speed. The hoof work was good and the focus commendable, and this all resulted in a time that was nothing short of impressive. Then she had to go ahead and knock a barrel over- instant disqualification. Hind shook his head and marked it all down- final time included, seeing as with a fair amount of guts she had pulled himself across with gusto. Admirable. Hind nodded at her in appreciation and clapped his hooves for a second before going back to his clipboard. Flying Brick may not have won, but she had finished with honor.

-----

Pegasi were at a natural disadvantage, a fact of nature if there ever was one, in this competition. They had been taught from the earliest of ages to use their wings and consequently were wired to think of using them. In a situation where that was a disallowed option, they were already down. Watching Wind Rider tackle the course with the grace and power she could muster was therefore doubly impressive, even if there were hiccups to be found. A few times she nearly fell but by the hair on her mane was saved from having her time seriously hurt. She banged against a barrel but all in all, a good run. He smiled and wrote the time down as the three were ushered out of the course.

[Otsdarva]

Douglas looked back over the course as he regained his breath. He seemed to do pretty, well. Nothing too fancy, but it was certainly every ounce of power he could give. Perhaps if he had been aware of this competition ahead of time he could have rekindled his competitive spirit. As it stood now though, it seemed like he would incur a minor penalty. "Darn, guess ah must've tapped a barrel and didn't notice." Douglas admitted. Still, that wasn't the point of the event. He had come to have fun and try his luck at the course and that was more than enough for him!

Feeling his heart rate start to settle he turned to the stands and waved to all the ponies watching! He enjoyed the occasional bout for attention, but he hoped they also enjoyed his performance in the race! He also hoped a few of them would come down and take a spin at the course as well. Either way, his run was done. It was time to see what place he'd be. There was a part of Douglas that wished he won though, obviously everypony did. So he began his trot around the course and back to the attendant to get his results.

Douglas gave a look toward his wagon, just off to the side of the sign-in booth. Lugging that thing around had certainly given Douglas the stamina he needed for this event, but he was certainly lacking in finesse. It's too be expected from his job. If there was any payoff to being a delivery pony, it was the endurance he built up. In hindsight, the barrel weave was probably better suited to somepony a little more agile, but that didn't stop him from at least giving it a go! 'Gotta say I'm lucky my occupation plays into my fitness. Not sure I would've lasted otherwise.' Douglas thought as he finally reached the attendant back at the start of the course.

"So pal, how did ah do?! Hope my little slip up didn't hurt me too bad!" Douglas said, flashing the pony his toothy grin.

[SteelEagle]

Hind places the final score for Douglas Trotter on the leaderboard, currently first place:

1- Douglas Trotter, 28.34 seconds.

"Ya nudged a barrel, just barely though. Good run, even with that penalty."

[Snowshoe]

[Last post of the three.]

Wind Rider managed, somehow, to stand up and look back at the course. Maybe he'd actually train for an event next year, instead of signing up on a whim like this. Still, natural skill had done quite well, as did imagining the course as something familiar to him...though he told himself that, had that been an actual rescue, he would have been delayed in getting there. Though granted, he would be able to use his wings.

Speaking of his wings, adrenaline, mixed with the emotions of relief and accomplishment, plus the fact they were pinned against their will to his side, caused the pegasus' wings to flare out as he shook out his hooves to try and get some feeling back into them.

He turned to the crowd that was watching, and as he just noticed, cheering. He grinned happily and gave a little bow, happy that his performance had entertained the crowd enough for them to cheer. As he turned around to make his way back to the organizer, he noticed the pony in the land next to him. He couldn't recall if she was ahead or behind him during the face, having been focused solely on his lane, his barrels, and the end. But when he looked back, he noticed one of the barrels in the dirt. He winced a bit, knowing that was a disqualification. She appeared to be crying, which tugged at him a bit. The poor mare had probably run her hooves off just like everypony, but one mistake had cost her the entire run. And it had been later on, which hurt even more. Never good with words, he decided to give her a wide berth for now, and would talk to her later, if he did at all.

With that, Wind Rider trotted back to Hind at the sign-up booth, wearing a smile as he approached. "Now that was fun." he said, his wings now back at his side. "How'd I do? You know, despite the bump and all that."

[SteelEagle]

Hind gave the Pegasus a once over, then smiles as he put the time up:

1- Douglas Trotter, 28.34 seconds.

2- Wind Runner, 29.01 seconds.

"If it wasn't for your stumblin', you'd have won easy!"

[Blueblood]

[Third Post for grading]

"Darn, guess ah must've tapped a barrel and didn't notice."

It wasn't Douglas' fault; the stallion was probably quite unaware of how much his words stung Flying Brick. He hadn't been paying attention to her run, being busy with his own; he hadn't been looking in her direction when he said it, and so did not see her wince when she heard them. Still, they did hurt, enough to bring tears to her shut eyes.

She immediately brought up a hoof to wipe them off. She hated crying in public, even more than any kind of slip-up or failure in sport. *No, you don't let them know how much it hurt. You have nothing to be ashamed of, and neither has Stalliongrad.* It took a minute to convince herself of that, and another minute of deep breathing to regain her composure. Opening her eyes and throwing her head back, she bowed once to the crowd, and began trotting back to the starting line.

The earth pony could feel her muscles twinging with each step; she would have to do some cooldown stretches if she didn't want them to sieze up later. At least she had nothing to lose in time or energy by talking to the judge at the beginning now, she reflected. She stopped in front of Hind once she'd reached the line, stretching out her hind legs with a slight grimace of pain. "Well, that could have gone better, I suppose." She remarked ruefully to the older stallion.

[SteelEagle]

Hind sighed as the final one came up for grading. They all knew the outcome, and it was sad seeing it happen.

1- Douglas Trotter, 28.34 seconds

2- Wind Runner, 29.01 seconds

3- Flying Brick, 31.90 seconds- Disqualified

"If you don't fall down and knock over that barrel, you probably win this going away."

[Lux]

(First Prep Post)

Guiding Light walked to the field where the Barrel Weaver was taking place. He had done ok with the Cloud Diving, better than he expected. Now he was ready for at least one more competition for the Iron Pony.

He looked at the rules area before entering. There were many, as many as the rules placed in his school that he attended. It was pretty straight forward though for him: don't hit a barrel, don't fall, and don't use magic. The last part he really had to watch as that would be the end for his race.

He approached the field, surveying the ten barrels that were put into place. He gasped as they were as big as him! He knew that he was going to have an interesting time weaving around them unlike a stallion or mare who had their strength to do so.

"Um... hello," Light said to the pony who was in charge, "I'd like to try this event."

[RarityDash]

Another day, another event. Gilda remained entirely confident she was still going to emerge victorious from it all and claim her rightful place as the Iron Griffon. Next up was the barrel weave, and Gilda had to say she felt pretty good about the event. It was simple, straightforward. It was a pure display of speed, agility and athletic prowess. Best of all, there was no vapid, unthinking unicorn judge ready to deprive her brand of perfection a full ten points for not including some lame, pointless sparkly magic show during what was supposed to be an athletic event.

Gilda's bitterness over the cloud diving event just left her even more hungry for victory here. She was going to take the bottomless seething rage she felt for that clueless, vacant unicorn and turn it toward something positive. This was her chance to take it back and come out on top, possibly make back some of the lost ground from falling short to Dash and Pathfinder at the dive. All she had to do was run through some barrels without knocking them down. Staring down the line, it seemed like the easiest thing in the world.

She watched a few of the contestants have their go at it, and her opinion didn't change much. Seemed simple, even if that Flying Brick pony, who had gotten her attention both at the dive and at that lemonade tent ended up disqualified for knocking over a barrel. Gilda just needed to avoid doing that. How hard could it really be?

"Hey, pony, I'm doing this!" Gilda shouted as she made her way toward the start, shouting in the direction of the pony running the event. A smirk crossed her face. She was ready for whatever this event had to offer.

[Blueblood]

The mare couldn't deny the truth, but it was still hard hearing it. "Thank you anyway. Ooh!" She'd felt a series of sharp pricks in that last stretch, possibly splinters from when she hit the barrel. Still grimacing, she walked over to where the other finished contestants were.

Actually, it seemed that only one was sticking around, Douglas had apparently already seen himself off. That left the pegasus who'd been in lane three. She nodded to him, asking "So, I didn't get a chance to see your run. How did it go? Mine..." She sighed, not quite willing to speak of it yet.

Her head jerked around when she heard a familiar voice. It was the griffon, from the lemonade tent! Of all creatures, this was the one she dreaded owning her failure to the most. Gilda had made her opinion of defeat quite clear before, and the mare was in no mood to hear it now.

On the other hand, her run might be worth sticking around to see, even if she made herself scarce afterwards. So, Flying Brick stayed put for now.

[Snowshoe]

So he would have won, despite the stumbles. Wind Rider wasn't exactly beaten up about it. Instead he smiled, nodding. "Well, I did my best, that's all I can do." he said. He looked over as the mare who'd been upset with her run trotted over and clocked in a time that wasn't half bad, had she not stumbled herself and knocked over a barrel, resulting in a disqualification. She made a comment about her run, and then spoke to him. Wind Rider shrugged. "Not half bad. In hindsight I shouldn't have cut as close as I did...it shaved a few seconds off, but I lost it all stumbling twice and hitting a barrel." he said. He grinned a little at her trailing off, not out of any mean spirit, but more to try and lift hers.

"Aw, you didn't do that bad. Not everypony can run a course like this." he said. It was true: though it looked easy, the rapid changes in direction took a toll on the muscles, and you had to make sure you had just the right line through your turns, or you'd lose time getting back on course, or worse, crash into a barrel. Besides, while for some it was all about winning, others it was the spirit of competition, and that was what Wind was there for: the spirit of the games.

"Not the end of the world. You did your best, that's all anypony can ask of. There's other events that I'm sure you'll do better at." he said with a smile.

[Chocoswirl]

Electric Vibe took a look as she viewed the other contestants. She had partaken in one Iron Pony Event already, and she felt ready to do another. Surely, this one wouldn't be too easy, but it didn't seem as hard as the previous event. Seeing the other ponies partake in the event made her a bit nervous, but she took a deep breath and relaxed. What mattered right now was that she had confidence in herself. If she wasn't confident and didn't think she could do it, it definitely wouldn't help at all. It would probably hinder her spirits and make her do as bad as she would predict. Keeping an upbeat and positive attitude was key to the Iron Pony events.

She then recalled the rules in her head. Electric had read the rules over and over before she considered entering in the event. All she had to do was weave through the barrels without bumping into them, using her wings, falling, or just coming into contact with the barrels at all. Some of these could be penalties, while others could lead to her completely blowing the competition for her. Electric need to make sure she had all of these rules in her head, as she couldn't afford to lose this competition. She also feared that she would make a fool of herself for doing so, but then she soon realized that one of the contestants, Flying Brick had failed as well, but took it much better than Electric expected. Maybe if she lost, she wouldn't look like a fool, as long as she didn't let it get to her.

The pegasus sighed as she thought over her decision to enter the competition. It wouldn't hurt at all to give it a go, and with that, she nodded to herself, as she stepped up. "I'd like to participate in this event," she spoke with confidence.

[SteelEagle]

Just like pegasi, Hind considered the unicorns to be at a royal disadvantage. And that counted double for little colts. Still, he had seen the squirt partake in the cloud diving event and he wasn't going to deny him his chance at glory.

"Head to the starting line, squirt."

---------

As much as he liked confidence, Hind had a soft spot for the entirely arrogant and cocky. Gilda surely struck a nerve in him, all the right nerves, a bundle of nerves pleasantly. Griffons were a large bunch and even this slightly smaller example would have a hard time, but she lacked nothing in confidence. Hind smiled.

"Well, well, well, you sound confident. Line up and when I blow the whistle, go."

---------

The second pegasus of the event made her way up. She didn't have the confidence of the griffon but Hind had no doubt that seeing the previous one pull through despite the disqualification gave her some backbone. He hoped this was true- she had competition, no doubt.

"Get up there," Hind stated, waiting for all three to be in position. He nodded- excellent.

"Get ready! Get set!"

He blew the whistle.

[Blueblood]

Flying Brick tried to muster a smile to match Wind Rider's own, but it came out a little tight-lipped. "I've been to the other events already; that's why I stumbled. Fatigue." She gingerly sat down; it wouldn't be good to just collapse. That would only hit the bruises and drive the splinters in deeper. *I'll have to stop by the infirmary after the griffon finishes her run.*

"It's been kind of a strange day." She sighed, running a hoof through her short mane. "I've done better at events that I'm not usually good at, but worse at the ones I should be best at. This should have been like crossing the street for me! Instead, I do better at diving, and you wouldn't touch the river where I grew up, not if you didn't want to turn green." She chuckled a bit at that memory of home.

She turned to watch the race, but still carried out the conversation. "So, where are you from?"

[Otsdarva]

Douglas sat off to the side as he watched the other contestants report for their times. It seemed like they all had an error or two, unfortunately one pony was even DQ'ed. It was a shame it happened, both seemed to be far faster than he was. In the end though, it left Douglas on the top spot for the time being. 'Well, I'll be surprised if my time holds up.' Douglas thought, noticing the next three contestants step up, there was even a Griffon among them. 'I feel like I've seen her somewhere before... very faintly though...'

He finally seemed to take note that the other ponies he ran with were talking amongst themselves while the next group was preparing for their race. Making sure his wagon was safe before he did anything else, Douglas decided to go over and be friendly about it. He cleared his throat as he approached. "Good Afternoon." he said, giving them a nice smile. "That was certainly a fun little event, wasn't it?" He glanced over at the board before continuing. "Seems you both woulda had me right-licked without the errors. *Ahem* Sorry about the DQ, ma'am."Douglas finished, giving a soft nod.

[Snowshoe]

"Shoulda given it a bit of time then. Still, if that was your run with fatigue I can only imagine how it'd be without being tired." Wind Rider said. After all, she'd come in just under a second behind him, and he'd been running flat out.

The pegasus sat down as well, chuckling. "Just luck of the draw I guess." he said. This being his first and only event so far, he didn't know how his performance was going to be like in others. "Me? I'm from Hoofington. I don't usually leave the area...my job, I'm the forest ranger there, usually means I have to stick around a lot. But I got someone to take over for me for a few days so I could come up here to compete, and enjoy a bit of time off." he explained. "What about you? I've never heard of a river that bad as to not want to go swimming in it."

The other pony to have run the course with them trotted over and sat down. Wind laughed a bit and shook his head. "You hit a barrel too, didn't you? Without that you'd have come in just a hair faster than me." he pointed out. "But yeah, it wasn't that bad of an event." he agreed.