IP2012 The Super Sure Shot Sniping Session (OPEN! All FFA players welcome -- come try for an award!)

[Rosewind]

Event: Super Sure Shot Sniping Session (SSSSS, or "Five S")

Location: Sweet Apple Acres

Setting:

Calling all marksponies! The Super Sure Shot Sniping Session is a special event that tests skill, wit, and accuracy together using special sling shots designed for hooves. A special shooting range has been set up by the far side of Sweet Apple Acres barn. Heavy wooden crates lay stacked against a field, with various targets -- big and small -- set up on top of them. Targets include glass bottles, cans, jars of various sizes, wooden cutouts of various mystical creatures (including manticores, cockatrice, and the dreaded hydra), as well as different fruits and vegetables, such as apples, melons, and pumpkins. Several banners with a target mark on them dot the area, and wave proudly in the wind. A line of boxes sit far away from the target crates, each holding several bowls full of different ammo -- small stones, marbles, and metal shot forged from melted horseshoe nails. Each ammo has different properties that might affect a shot:

Small stones: Fast and light, with good range, but have inconsistent accuracy because they vary in shape.

Marble: Round balls of glass that are all-around good shot to use. They have a medium range, weight, and accuracy.

Metal shot: Balls of heavy metal made from melted horseshoe nails, these have a short range and heavy weight, but they are very accurate if used correctly.

Participants may bring their own ammo -- the above three are provided for free by the event!

Marksponies each get ten shots at the target range. Points are scored based on how many -- and what -- targets they hit. The larger the target, the less points it is worth, as it is easier to hit from a distance.

Mystical Creature Cutouts: 1 point. (2 points for a head shot.)

Fruit and veggies: 3 points each.

Jars, cans, and bottles: 4 points each.

The Golden Cupcake: A teensy tiny itty bitty little cupcake set on the farthest box in the target range. Worth 50 points!

After all ponies have made their shots, the three with the highest score win!

The Judge:

The 5S has only one judge - Lana Longfletch. A griffon hailing from the eastern shores, she wears an eyepatch and carries a custom modified ZX9 Woodswallow sling shot. She is also known as the "Mosquito Mauler", able to shave the eyelashes off of one at a hundred yards. Blindfolded. Despite her appearance, she is actually quite friendly, and cares about the safety of the participants of this event. She also has a piercingly annoying laugh.

(( )) Roleplayers -

This RP event will feature your character using a sling shot to hit things in the target range. Be sure to describe what ammo your character picks (they are welcome to try different kinds to see what works for them), how they will adjust for weather, if they are experienced and accurate, or sort of clumsy (a stray shot might do something funny and earn points for creativity), or perhaps a unique method of firing?

How to play:

Roleplay your character taking shots at various targets. At the bottom of your RP post, pick ten numbers from 1 to 99. Each number has a secret point value assigned to it with different tiers:

Easy Tier: 1-33 - Points are scored easy and often in this range, but for smaller amounts.

Medium Tier: 34-66 - Points are harder to score, but picking the right number will earn you more.

Hard Tier: 67-99 - Easy to miss, choose the right number and score BIG.

Players may mix and match their ten number picks from all tiers, as well as pick the same number more than once.

The Golden Cupcake number (worth 50 points) can be hidden in any tier. If a player scores the cupcake, it will be moved to a new, random number! Additional points (up to 20) will be awarded for roleplay post creativity! Good luck!

Example:

Pinkie Pie put all ten of her shots in her slingshot at once, and fired away! They bounced all over the place, splattering fruit, shattering bottles, and thunking into the side of the big wooden Hydra!

31, 3, 7, 2, 84, 32, 1, 6, 86, 2

[Rosewind]

The griffon judge, Lana Longfletch flourished her ZX9 Woodswallow, Grabbing a handful of metal shot forged from horseshoe nails, she set her sights on the various targets set on the firing range of the competition.

"Think any of you have what it takes to be the best markspony?!"

She fired her shot, shattering several jars, splattering a watermelon, and thunking three holes straight through the triple-foreheads of the big Cerberus cutout on the range.

"Prove it!"

[Lux]

Lore Weaver wasn't by any means an athlete. The only thing close to sports he reached was studying it in a book. Even so, he didn't want to miss out on an exciting Iron Pony competition, even if it meant only participating in a few events.

He was intrigued by the Super Sure Shot Sniping Session as it wasn't about physical strength but accuracy. He stepped up to the shooting range and looked at the three types of ammo. He knew from his research in physics that there were two factors in a projectile: speed and accuracy. A marble, while not stellar in any of the two, was at least moderate in both, making it the choice for him.

He then surveyed the course. There were a few cutouts of monsters which would be really easy to hit but have low points. Then there were some produce on boxes which were a little harder. Finally there were cans and bottles which were the hardest. He also heard that there was a cupcake maade of gold in the field somewhere that was to offer a large amount of points, but he was unable to even remotely see it out in the field.

Taking a hoofful of marbles he one by one fired at the targets, preferring to hit the tougher things like the veggies and the bottles. It was hard telling exactly where they went as they were such small marbles. He heard a loud thunk as one landed into a cutout of a random creature, probably the timberwolf one that was a little distance away. He also heard the splattering of a few produce items. Even less of the time, he heard pinging sounds and even a smash indicating that his marbles had hit a can or a bottle.

With each shot scattered liberally throughout the field to guarantee success, Lore set the slingshot down and awaited for the judge to tally the points.

(6, 7, 85, 27, 76, 51, 55, 99, 60, 45)

[MelodyShine]

Cocoa Twist wasn't exactly what you would call or define as 'Olympic fit' She enjoyed sports, but nearly always stepped down because of the taunts from mean ponies. The only kind of sport she enjoyed, well at least tried to, was a good all round game of SSSSS's. Cocoa may be able to fool anypony with her innocence and sweet face, but when it comes to SSSSS's, she was out to win something! Cocoa had always wanted to win something, so considering this was Iron Pony and that she was shy, this would be huge experience for herself. Even though it probably meant she was going to lose because of all the older, tougher and more experienced ponies, she'd give it her best shot at winning.

Cocoa was inspired by Iron Will, as he had built up her confidence and pretty much showed her how to stand up for herself. From previous games she had played with friends, anypony at that, she knew that this game wasn't about technical strength but patience and having a hoof full of aim. Cocoa had one goal for this day, to achieve something special to her, to prove her family wrong and that to show herself that she was good at something. Cocoa heard her name being called through a mega-phone and walked towards the podiums. Along her walk towards the podium she began to stretch her neck to the left and then to the right. Cocoa saw the shooting range and clambered onto the podium with ease. She flexed her hooves and tried not to gather stress in herself. Everything was silent around her apart from the thunderous beat of her heart, which had suddenly decided to go into hyper active mode. Cocoa nearly jumped out of her fur as a griffon, who she recognized to be Lana Longfletch. The griffon stepped up to the stage behind her and bellowed something out. She heard several different ear piercing noises ranged across the field, muffled, but still clear and then it was silent again.

Cocoa shrugged and observed the three different types of pellets she would be aiming with. She recognised the first two from a research book about Iron Will. Stones and marbles. The physics of the stones made them very light weight, varied in sizes and a because of the size, it would give off a nice firm grip. But the stones had many flaws. When aimed, the stones give off a mediocre distance shot and wasn't entirely easu to claim where it landed. She kept in mind that she wasn't a pro and would need a couple to start her off. The marbles were also light weight, but slightly heavier than the stones. When thrown the marble traveled around an average distance and the speed was projected well. Even though they were small, because of the smooth sphere shape, it made it slightly harder to get a grip on them. Either way, she noted down that she would need at least 3. But Cocoa had never seen the third ammo before. The metal shot. They were averagely the size of golf balls. They looked as though they were made of some type of strong metal. They gave off a faint whiff of rusty nails when in close range. From what she could tell and by the knowledge she had gathered from watching Iron Will, they would most likely give off a short distance shot and looked rather heavy. Cocoa nodded to herself and walked over to the ammo box and picked up a hooful out of each crate.

Once back at her podium she observed the arena. In front of her she could see large, medium and small cardboard cutouts of well known villains around Equestria. They looked rather easy to hit, but because of this would probably gather in a low amount of points. Cocoa glanced to her left and then to her right. From what she saw were stack's of crates scattered across the course filled with, what looked like, food produce from Sweet Apple Acre's. They were quite large but would probably be harder to hit because the food was inside the crates causing a barrier to form around them. Finally she scanned the arena once more and picked up on the varied cans and bottles which were rather small and would most likely be the hardest to hit. From what rumors Cocoa had heard about the field was this; in a remote hiding place somewhere on the course stood a minuscule Golden cupcake. Cocoa smacked her lips at the thought of a delicious Sugar Cube Corner golden cupcake. She guessed that if Pinkie had heard about this, she would probably be running through the course at this moment looking for it! From what else she knew was that the cupcake offered the largest amount of points out of all the obstacles in the SSSSS course.

After the time she had taken taking in her surroundings she finally plucked up the courage to shoot her first pellet. Cocoa grinned as she pulled her bobble out of her mane. She let her mane fall around her face until it fell to a halt. Cocoa tapped her nose and shook her mane until she was left with a well tousled mane. She reached out her hoof and grabbed her sling shot from the holder. She picked up her first pellet and secured it into the slingshot. Here goes nothing!

Cocoa heard a loud smashing noise from the other side of the arena, startled, she yelped 'Aieeeee!' and covered her face with her hoof, releasing the slingshot with her hoof. She sent the rock flailing across the course into the depths of no return. Cocoa heard a loud thud followed by a ping and removed her hoof from her face. She watched as she saw a still intact apple roll across the field.

By golly I've earned some shape of form of points? M​aybe earned at least one point?She was now determined to not get distracted by anypony. Cocoa retrieved the slingshot from the ground and stood up once more. She brushed her fringe away from her eyes with her free hoof and sent her remaining pellets soaring across the map. One after the other she heard a range of bangs, thuds, smashes and pangs. Cocoa grinned, forming two prominent dimples on each side of her mouth. She glanced around the course, which was in tatters by now. She saw chunks of apples, turnips and watermelons decorating the floor and shards of glass splintering the area in front of the podium. It was hard to tell exactly which of her pellets had hit what as she could see no sighting of her ammo. She saw one noticeable hole through discords head and nightmare moons flank. But not one, from what she could see, had landed into a golden cupcake.

As the timer hit to a zero, Cocoa put the slingshot back into its holder and tied her hair up once more. Cocoa slid off of the podium and took a seat on the sidelines awaiting the approval and tally of Lana Longfletch, the one and only Mosquito Mauler. Cocoa had always put her down as second best to Iron Will. But obviously she had gained her spot of fame as to be a judge for this competition.

(12, 8, 82, 23, 74, 52, 55, 97, 63, 4)

So, this is my first Iron Pony entry and my first ever competition in Canterlot. I hope you like it as i spent a couple of hours fixing, editing and making sure everything was fine and dandy! ^-^,Ciao!

[Mojo]

Sheriff Silverstar

Suddenly, over the horizon walking leisurely towards the SSSSS course is a brown stallion in Western attire. The mustached brony waited patiently for his turn and when his turn came, he trotted over to the course, waving to the gathered crowd as his name was announced.

"Sheriff Silverstar's my name, shootin's my game!" the lawpony proudly shouted to the audience, tipping his hat to the judge and waving to the gathered spectators before opening his saddlebag and preparing to use the slingshot, "I am here to represent the great town of Appleoosa, the GREATEST little town in all of Equestria!"

Removing a canvass pouch from his saddlebag, Sheriff Silverstar sat it down near the slingshot to reveal his 'special' ammo: Ten hoof carved round wooden balls in the shape of apples, right down to the paint and stems on each one.

"The townfolk got together to make these jist fer me to use today, I best not miss!" the mustached stallion muttered as be readied his first shot. Aiming at a tin can sitting on a fence railing, he pulled back on the slingshot and fired. Stunned at the velocity of his shot, the Sheriff's mouth gaped open in amazement as the fast moving wooden apple struck the rail, tipped over the can, and came flying back at him! Before he could react, the painted apple swished into his open mouth and flipped him over, causing him to land on his back.

"WHEW!" he shouted before coughing up the stray wooden apple, "I think I best lower the tension on that thar slingshot before somepony gits hurt, namely ME!"

Making a slight adjustment to the slingshot, the determined brony loaded it and prepared for his next shot.

"Gotta make this'n count. My girl Louise LaMare's in the crowd somewhere's" he said as he took aim at a glass bottle on the end of the table and fired.

"SHOOT!" the Sheriff neighed as the shot missed it's mark then ricocheted off a fence post, then a tree and then struck a Pegasus spectator in the crowd on the head, causing her to fall to the ground. The horrified brony galloped over to discover he had just knocked out the love of his life.

"OH HORSEFEATHERS!" the Sheriff shouted. "She's out colder than an icebox! Sure hope she don't remember that I was the one that clonked her on the noggin!"

As the Sheriff's friend and fellow Appleoosan Doc Holly Day tended to Louise, Sheriff Silverstar returned to the course to finish his remaining eight shots.

"If'n I can't shoot no better than this, I'm gonna lose this game fer sure," the lawpony muttered as he fired off seven more shots, aiming at the other tin cans, jars and bottles further back with mixed results. One shot left, and for this one, the Sheriff decided to go all out. As he loaded the slingshot, he turned his back to the course and held up a mirror in one hoof.

"Time to giv'm my best trick shot," he said, launching his wooden apple towards the last row of more difficult targets. The apple had enough spin on it that it tapped one tall glass bottle with such force that it then nicked the bottom of the empty Mason jar directly beside it.

"TWO IN ONE SHOT! BY THUNDER, I DID IT!" the Sheriff shouted to the roar of the crowd. His excitement quickly vanished as he rushed over to Louise, who was standing up but wearing wrapped bandages around the crown of her head.

"Louise! Darlin', I'm so surry fer beanin' ya like I done. It were an accident, honest it were! Speak to me! Say somethin', anything! PLEASE?"

"I only have two words to say to you," the brown Pegasus mare said softly before her face filled with rage. "START RUNNING!"

"Uh oh..." Sheriff Silverstar grunted as he jumped the fence and tried to escape through the SSSSS course. Grabbing a pile of small stones, the furious mare began shooting off stones rapid fire style from the slingshot aiming at the frantically fleeing lawpony.

"I'm surry! OWWWWW! C'mon sweetie, stop it! YYEEEOOOOWWWW! HAY, that smarts! Honey! I'll make it up to ya! OOUCCCH! That one was too close to my.... " the galloping Sheriff yelled out until Louise's last shot struck his head, making his hat fly off as the mighty stallion fell to the ground. Looking up, he saw tiny blue birds circling his head squawking "KOO KOO!" as they flew by for the next few seconds before fading away.

"Some days it don't pay to git outta bed!" the Sheriff neighed before passing out.

(The Sheriff's shots: 69, 98, 81, 74, 95, 68, 92, 88, 90, 77)

[GreenshotApple]

Greenshot had heard of the iron Pony competition and felt the need to become a part of the event. He wasn't a stranger to competition as he was a archery winner, but no pony from his family had ever won or even participated in the iron Pony and he wanted to be the first to do both. Even though he was a bow & arrow unicorn, he knew the ways of the sling. Trotting over to the Super Sure Shot Sniping area, the green unicorn with yellow and light green streaks and his hair and mane and his bow attached to his side came to participate. Observing his competition with his eyes glancing over at the griffon with the eye patch already shooting at the targets on the field until the competition actually began. Greenshot continued to watch on the competitors sidelines as two ponies made there shots then a Sheriff he had seen before, but forgot what town it had been make his shots with his own ammunition. Looking at the different objects to be shot, making his way over towards a table, Greenshot decided he would use the marbles since they seem more of his thing. "Marbles seem like my best bet for ammo and this sling seems alright. I've got some good competition and need to be ready for a fight." As he was ready to go up to the range, he had been contemplating how he would shoot and decided to go with two at a time since there had been a timer and wanted to take good aim. If he did it one at a time, he would surely run out of time and points that could have been earned wouldn't have been. With sling in hoof and two marbles pushed against the sling and held back, Greenshot waited until the timer went off and began to take aim at the various foods, targets and glass objects on the range but didn't want to risk ammo just for trying to hit the golden apple. Taking aim after every two marbles he shot at once until he had just two remaining. Placing the last two marbles, Greenshot aimed slightly down so that the marbles could maybe ricochet off the ground and hit something and let them go as he stepped backwards and walked away to let the next go on. Sitting next to his fellow competitors that had gone before him and wondered when there scores would be tally'ed up on the big scoreboard. He felt nervous though in the spirit of competition, things would get better as he got used to the pressure and willingness to prevail.

Greenshot's..shot's ( 2, 63, 48, 54, 97, 17, 77, 42, 22, 64)

[ONWARDconwardicus]

"Step aside. Large slingshot coming through." Said a unicorn pulling a slingshot as large as a small tree on a cart. The Equestioner had bought the slingshot off of a trader 3 months ago for the sheer sake of having it, but now he had a better idea. He took off the saddlebags he had been wearing. Out of one he pulled a notebook, which had figures and equations scribbled all over it. After going through the notebook, he levitated some dirt out of the ground to make way for the base of the slingshot, which he pushed into the hole until the sling barely touched the ground. He then took out some sturdy rope and stakes to make supports for the slingshot, which he put in place. Nine of the medium sized rocks from the nearby table were taken and levitated into one of his more curious looking bags, and he told everyone to stand back. "I'm about to try gravity!" he exclaimed. Putting the rock filled saddlebag on, he backed himself into the sling and pulled himself back as much as he could. He put a loose string from each side of the bags into his mouth, and flung himself over the course. As he flew (not very far obviously), he tugged the string, making the nine rocks fall onto random targets. Then the tenth target was hit by none other than the tenth object in the air. Himself. Hitting the ground with tremendous force, a cloud of dust rose from the spot he hit. After three seconds, he got back up (slightly wobbly) and looked at the targets he had hit with his non-black eye. Seemingly satisfied, he packed his bags and got a nearby earth pony to help put the sling shot back on the cart,and sat smiling next to the other competitors.

(5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50)

I should become a showpony. He told himself.

[RarityDash]

When Iron Pony had been announced, Rarity hadn't figured her part in it would be anything more than to sit in cheering section for Rainbow and Applejack as they competed in the many events. She would have been delighted to leave it at just that, but a couple events on the list had surprised her. Evidently the organized had decided to not include only physically themed events. They were holding a cupcake contest, which Rarity had the upmost confidence Pinkie Pie was destined to steal by a long shot, and they also had this event, this so called Super Sure Short Sniping Session.

Rarity may have lacked Rainbow's quickness, Applejack's strength or Pinkie's iron stomach, but this event was, in its essence, a simple test of accuracy. This made it a certain curiosity for her. Accuracy was something of a strong suit for the mare. You had to be accurate doing what she did. One tiny misstep could mean a dress ruined after all. Her eyes had been trained well, and she didn't miss details. Now, shooting a sling shot was of course not entirely similar to sewing a dress, but all the same, the fabulous fashionista figured it was worth a shot. Or several shots as it were.

While not quite as quick to get caught up in silly games as some of her friends, Rarity did have a competitive side to her and for the sake of this event, it was on! The competition rules said they could bring their own ammo, and she was gonna take advantage of this and bring some style to the event. In her saddle bag was a small sack of polished gemstones. They were far from her rarest stuff, of course; she wasn't going to squander anything priceless on a game like this. They were however stylish, and more importantly they were larger and heavier than the marbles, yet rounded and kept to a fairly consistent size, all while still being much lighter and easier to work with than the metal shot.

Approaching the line, nodding to the rather tough look lady griffon who was their judge, Rarity produced her slingshot. She smiled as she looked at it. It was a kind of silly toy, but the mechanics of it were wonderfully simple. She had practiced some for this event prior, and getting the thing to behave wasn't so hard with the right amount of pressure from her magic. While perhaps she was no expert marksmare, she did have confidence in her ability to hit the targets she aimed at.

When it came to the targets themselves, Rarity was going to pick her ten shots carefully. Even if the rewards were greater for the more difficult shots, the risk wasn't worth it. At the same time, playing too conservatively wouldn't get her far enough. It seemed smartest to stay in the middle with most of her shots, make a few in the safe range to pad her score a little and maybe try for just one or two of the more difficult; what was life without a little risk, after all?

Steadying the first gemstone in her slingshot, Rarity made her aim. As the first shot sped toward the jars and bottles, she readied another and then another, both aimed at cutouts. Five more shots followed in quick succession, all aimed at various fruits and vegetables. She sent one last gem flying in the direction of the cutouts, this time trying for a headshot, and then with her last polished stone, she took aim at a bottle once more.

Her bag of ten stones emptied, she turned around and gave a classy flip of her mane as she smiled back at the crowd. She wasn't sure how well she did, but it had been a lot of fun, and maybe just maybe it would be enough to win her some lauded Iron Pony gold. As she stepped away from the shooting range she laughed to herself, considering for a moment the possibility of her and Pinkie Pie coming away from these events with gold medals while Rainbow and AJ returned from their events with only silver or bronze. That certainly might prove amusing.

(67, 13, 32, 42, 56, 39, 66, 49, 28, 96)

[DuskBreaze]

As the other contestant left in came a young mare, her coat was a greyish colour similar to one of a rat... unfortunatly that is where her name derived from too. Ratpelt also had dark green eyes that her mates joked could 'glow in the dark' if she could just get a decent place in this competition maybe she could actually gain some respect in ponyville... maybe even a stalion to meet her at the podium? she sighed, like that was ever going to happen. She had a look at the judge, she had never been out much and as such never seen a griffon before, but this one looked so proud and capable of her abilities, Ratpelt had to be brave! she had to at least try!

She stepped up to the designated shooting shooting area, the crowd seemed to stare her down... this was rather scary, she tried to picture the crowd in there pajamas, her mother had always told her that it helped but it only made her laugh hystericaly 'cmon Ratpelt... calm down...' she said in her head as she once again looked out into the crowd. She could see ponies whispering to one another, followed by giggles and laughter, hopefully it was not about her. She took the bright red peice of cloth she had tied round her left hind hoof and placed it on her eyes, tying it around her head. If she couldn't see them, then they didn't exist.

She then picked up three of each round and volleyed one after the other in quick succession, not bothering to really aim, she couldn't with a blindfold and all. She had heard nothing from the crowd since she fired the first shot. Ratpelt didn't know weather to take that as a good thing or a bad thing, hopefully good of course.

she was about to head away when she remembered 'i still have one more shot!' she told the judge to hold on for a sec as she rushed off and retrieved an apple, getting a stern look from Applejack and Big Mac, she could pay for it later. She rushed back to the platform and placed the blindfold back over her eyes. She put the apple into the sling and pulled it back, but it didn't go far. She then sat down and held the slingshot in her back hooves. Pulling on the elastic with both her front hooves and her mouth, just to get it back a decent way. She let fly with the apple which made a "ooh!" come from the crowd 'that was good right?' she asked herself. Not daring to look.

she turned and headed back to the contestant area, giving AJ a couple of bits along the way and apologising for the rash decision. Had she done good?

(44,69,93,40,62,58,54,80,78,44)

[Boss_Hoss1]

The light orange pegasus mare strutted up to the firing line. Candy Catch-em tipped her bush hat back and grinned, doing her level best not to let the judge know Griffons made her nervous.

She reached into her saddlebag and pulled out a hoof-made sling shot, made from a storm-tossed zap-apple tree branch she found in the Everfree forest in her first search for Timber Wolves years before.

While she was an ace with her whirling Bolas to snare animal legs, the slingshot has also saved her hide a few times as well with well-aimed shots stunning or frightening dangerous critters.

Her ammo of choice were smooth, hard river stones picked up from streams across Equestria, all chosen for their size and weight.

The mare holds the weapon in one fetlock and arches her wingtip around to pull on the sling with the might of her wing,

"Something easy to get the range..." and let fly at a cockatrice, aiming for the head. A gust of wind sprung up, sending the shot wide and knocking a can off instead.

"Okay, this is going to get... interesting."

Candy closed one eye and aimed well, sending the stone into the head of the cardboard cut out.

Nodding in satisfaction, she sent stone after stone toward the cans and jars in the middle scoring range, hitting with most and a few flyers from wind gusts zipping into the upper tier to hopefully hit.

In her last shot, she saw a can at a good angle and decided to show off a bit. Candy let fly and watched as the stone bounced off the ground and knocked the can off it's support.

Candy bounced on her hooves, hoping she managed to get a good score, and relieved she made it this far.

.The mare bowed to the judge and trotted over to the sidelines to watch and listen for her score.

(OOC: special thanks to the D&D Dice Roller... 8, 77, 13, 34, 92, 76, 72, 67, 43, 12 )

[Dio]

It had been years since Fletcher had been in a competition that hadn’t been sanctioned or mandated by REA brass. In fact, the last time he had competed for sport was just out of school; the very same competition where he had been “poached” for the army’s pathfinder program. Why he was back on the pitch after having graduated from it so long ago was anypony’s guess. Perhaps it was a break from the monotony of garrison rotation in Canterlot. Perhaps it was a chance to keep his skills sharp with a new weapons system. Or perhaps it was that bygone rush of competition, the roar of the crowd, and the sheer visceral joy of putting rounds downrange.

Though the competition’s weapon of choice, the slingshot, was similar in operating principle to a bow, the numbers, the materials, the handling-- the feel-- were all different. Fletcher had spent hours at the workbench tuning his particular slingshot to work with his shooting style. Hardwood handle, hoof-carved from teak grown in the Gallopocus and etched with miniature depictions of the spires of Canterlot. Billet steel fork frame, milled from a single block of tool steel, reforged in a private smithy in the crater of Mount Fieryfoal and oil-tempered for maximum strength and resilience. Furniture and running gear made of the finest synthetics from Aquellia and Stalliongrad: high-tension braided fiber cords, rubberized hoof brace frame, and a reinforced canvas cradle shaped specifically for its hoof-made match-grade ammunition. All bore the fitment and finish of a professional marksman’s custom-made mosquito-swatting, hydra-blasting, jar-breaking, bottle-smashing implement... of competition!

Removing his baseball cap emblazoned with the rearing alicorn emblem of the Royal Equestrian Army, Fletcher faced Lana Longfletch and snapped off a wave of acknowledgement. The captain did a quick about-face and gave the gathered crowd the same courtesy before seating his cap upon his head once again. Fletcher stepped up to the shooting line and took careful stock of his available targets. There would be no easy shots today. The captain was hunting bigger game-- all high-tier targets!

Holding his left hoof out to brace his slingshot, Fletcher floated a single match-grade sling bullet from its pouch on his combat harness into his slingshot. Like its launcher, each bullet was painstakingly crafted for maximum performance. At its core was a lead slug rolled into a rough teardrop shape before being coated in a layer of copper and polished to mirror sheen. Heavier than river stones, more aerodynamic than glass marbles, and made to much tighter tolerances than the stock metal pellets offered at the competition, the match bullets were a heavy, if extremely accurate alternative to the basic gear that the griffon judge had laid out.

The bullet nestled itself into the canvas cradle as unicorn drew back with his magic, carefully feeling out the tension on the cords. As the slingshot hit its longest draw, Fletcher’s mind went into overdrive. The world around him faded, desaturated hues and indistinct shapes replacing the bright and vibrant crowds gathered around the greenery of the shooting pitch, megaphone-amplified announcements and the crowd’s cheers and applause blurring together into a dull murmur. The extraneous had faded out and Fletcher’s hyper-aware senses gathered every possible bit of data about the shot he was going to make.

Fletcher could feel the wind on his skin, a light breeze blowing northwest; not enough to force major corrections, but enough to throw off a shot if not adjusted for. His first target, a green glass bottle, stood no more than 25 meters before him, slightly elevated to place it above the level of the targets in front and the creature cutouts in the middle. The unicorn adjusted the angle of his slingshot, reworking the numbers until they looked right in his head. Satisfied that his calculations were sound, Fletcher slowly exhaled, zeroing in on the target and counting his heartbeats as he hit his respiratory pause. One beat. Two beats. Three beats.

Break.

Fletcher released the tension on his sling, sending his first round hurtling downrange. Fletcher quickly drew another bullet, loading, aiming, and firing his slingshot with practiced precision. Two rounds. Three rounds. Four rounds. The steps played out the same with each shot: load, sight, calculate, aim, fire. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine.

Fletcher drew his last round and sighted his slingshot. There, amid a cluster of bottles, cans, and one particularly cheeky-looking hydra head cutout, was a golden glimmer. Whether the golden trick of the eye was accomplished by clever confection, excellent enchantment, or molded metals mattered not. This was the true prize: THE GOLDEN CUPCAKE! The captain smiled as he took aim.

Break.

Fletcher paused for a moment as the world gradually brightened to its normal vibrant self. The captain breathed deeply and stowed his slingshot in its holster, giving the cheering crowd a wave and removing his hat again as a show of respect for the competition judge. It had been a bit of a risk, selecting only high-tier targets; an even greater one given that he had been shooting an unfamiliar weapons system with only a few hours of training. But at the moment, Fletcher couldn’t care less. The roar of the crowd, the feel of the slingshot fresh on his hooves, and the sheer satisfaction of getting the lead out was enough.

This was sport.

(67, 69, 73, 76, 77, 83, 85, 88, 91, 99)

[BaconofChaos]

Stepping up to the range, Lyra stared at the slingshot in front of her. It was designed with earth ponies in mind, with attachments for ease of use with hooves. But then she looked to the judge. Lana was a griffon, and she would use her talons for such a task.

The unicorn grinned and focused her magic, forming a ghostly glowing shape with her golden mana: what appeared to be a hand. She stood there for a moment, testing her control of it. One finger flexed, then another, then another. She briefly conjured another hand and used it to crack the knuckles of the first. Yes, this would be perfect. Using the hand to grab the slingshot and her regular telekinesis to snatch up some marbles, she took aim at the range.

*pling!* *pling!* *pling!*

Her first three shots were wild and poorly aimed. zooming into the distance. She couldn't quite she if they'd hit any of the further away targets, but this wasn't the time to worry. She adjusted her aim, steadying her "hand".

*pling!* *pling!* *pling!* *pling!*

Four more shots, this time of better accuracy, aiming well towards the close and mid-range targets. Lyra took this time to take a quick break. Putting the slingshot down, she shook out her hand. For some reason her horn was feeling sore, and giving the hand a rest helped to alleviate the pain. She picked up the slingshot again and took aim.

*pling!* *pling!*

Two good shots, she was fairly confident those fruits would earn her some good points, but there was one more marble left and she needed to use it wisely. Should she try for the golden cupcake, or try for one of the easier targets? She quickly made up her mind. Taking her time and aiming down the "sights" of her slingshot, she pulled back for a powerful strike.

*pling!*

Well, that was that. She felt she'd done well for a beginner, though she probably hadn't won the competition. It was still a fun little game to play.

Dispelling her magic hand and turning away, she trotted off to go find her friends and see what they were up to.

10d100 (71, 51, 54, 1, 89, 19, 41, 15, 48, 56)

[QueenChrysalis747]

[i will make an rp post later just wanna get my uumbers in!]

(7, 13, 66, 87, 75, 50, 25, 33, 92, 37)

[Starburst]

Starburst let loose a salvo and fired at all of the targets in the farthest rows back, aiming for only the cupcake.

( 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 89, 88, 89 )

[Motion Paradox]

Motion Paradox picked up the provided sling shot, this was her one shot, she had been so disappointed to find out that she would probably miss all the other events (even if she knew that she was not the most athletic, a number of the other competitors didn't let that stop them) so it had been a happy surprise to find out that this even was still open, and on top of that she could even use her magic! Most of the other events didn't allow it at all, which made sense given it was an athletics competition, but she knew her ability to manipulate her hooves paled in comparison to her fine magic skills, after all she used it all the time. She didn't even open her own bedroom door without it!

She then levitated her a smaller bag out of her saddle bags, she had chosen to bring her own ammunition: Marbles that were smaller than the ones provided, her hope was that they would had the consistant shape of the provided marbles, but their smaller size would give them the greater range that the stones did. After loading her first shot she used her magic to lift a program to shield her eyes from any bright light and took aim and a deep breath "Alright then Motion Paradox, you can do this. You have good magic control, you have good eye sight and hopefully you're still far sighted like when you were a little Filly".

She fired three shots into the closest tier, as she heard her projectiles land, hopefully in the various targets she felt a bit more confident in her aim. She fired her next four shots into the second tier, again she heard her shots land and decided to send the remaining shots into the third tier as she heard them land "Nee-hee" she squealed as she finally allowed herself to view her work. She could see where her shots had impacted with the assorted produce, containers and cut outs and hopefully, with the all important cupcake.(12, 21, 30, 44, 46, 52, 60, 72, 80, 82)

[Hippo]

Applejack was known for her brute strength. She had speed, and she had the ability to compete in almost every event in the Iron Pony Competition. Skill, while not necessarily her strongest suit, still was an event Applejack was competitive in, and she was determined to remind everypony that she always had a chance at success. She was, by far, the most athletic pony in Ponyville, and according to her sister, in all of Equestria. However, this competition faced her with a tough task. She had never used a slingshot before. In shooting a target, she always used soft crushable apples and kicked them with her hind legs in the direction of her choosing. But Applejack was ready to learn.

She drew back her first shot. She decided to use all marbles. They seemed to have the perfect aerodynamic shape to them and were easy enough for Applejack to control with her hooves. She began her shooting, attempting to take out all kinds of targets, both big and small. She knew in financing for the farm that it was best to diversify your investments. So she drew her shots towards big targets, little targets, targets close to her, and targets she could barely see. She just hoped no pony was out in the range while she was shooting. "So, Lana, how'd I do?"

4 - 8 - 15 - 16 - 23 - 42 - 49 - 55 - 69 - 97