A couple of weeks ago before I started writing this book here, the good folks at ‘Mare Inc. Publishing Company’ over in Canterlot approached me about a book deal. They wanted a book deal with me about my buckball career and my personal life. They also told me a bunch of other things about the deal I don’t think I need to get into right now regarding money and whatnot.
Now I have several friends, most of them fellow celebrities, that would give these publishers a flat no. Some ponies here in Equestria like to keep their lives private from the newspapers and the publishers. A famous example is the Princess of Friendship herself, who likes to keep to her privacy in that backwater town of Ponyville. Well, except for those ‘friendship meets’ of course. Not that there’s anything wrong with that type of lifestyle. Just because I was a prominent figure in the media back when I was in my heyday doesn’t mean I don’t value privacy. Now that I’m old, I usually like to keep to myself in this here nursing home.
This book should be evidence enough that I said yes. Some of you might be wondering why I would bother myself with a book. After all, I am 64 years old with broken legs. Why would I need to write a book when I could just relax and enjoy my retirement?
Now, I never concerned myself with the money part of this book deal. I always wanted to write something about my life, but I was always worried that the publishers would never give me the time of day. Now I find it a good time as any to start finishing this book I wanted to work on for the last 10 or so years.
I want to write this book for two reasons. For one, I have made a lot of mistakes in my past as a professional buckball player, and even before I made it to the big leagues. Being an Equestria-wide celebrity will do that to a pony I guess. Perhaps these pages will help face these mistakes head-on except for just running from them or pretending they never even happened. I’ll also enjoy reminiscing about the glory days of my past lifestyle, including the good parts about my marriages, my friendships with the teammates, and of course my dearly departed family. Celestia rest their souls.
The second reason why I’m writing this book is for the reason why 'Mare Inc.' wants me to write the book in the first place; my famed buckball career. Buckball will always remain dear to me. I played it at an early age, and I was there during the early days of the MLB. I constantly practiced my bucking skills and strategizing over every exhibition and playoff. I miss that competitive edge I had when I was young and felt that I could take on the world. Even with my broken legs, I’m still passionate about the sport. I practically demand the nurses to change the channel to the Hoofington games every day, and I try my darn hardest to keep up to date with the standings. Not to mention I’m a sort of advisor to the head coach of Hoofington, Honey Suckle, so I have to follow the teams and players.
Nothing will give me greater joy than telling all the devoted Buckball and Silver Metal fans out there about my famous matches, plays, and the secret behind my famous curve. So please, sit down and relax as I tell you about my experience with the game of Buckball.
One important thing to note before we truly get started. Just a bit of exposition about Buckball. You see, the general consensus it seems is that Buckball originated in the south. They say it started as a backyard type game played after a farm filly's or colt’s hard day at work. Buckball only truly got serious around 2 A.L, when a friendly match between Appleloosa and Ponyville caught the eye of Princess Celestia, who then commissioned the MLB. That’s where most ponies are wrong, however.
It is true that ponies only began to take Buckball seriously after that Ponyville- Appaloosa game. What most ponies don’t know is that in the east, the game already had a huge, loyal fanbase.
I’m from Hoofington, which is a small city in the east. There the game was huge and featured many passionate players devoted to spreading the word about Buckball. The major problem with the game was that nobody wanted to fund any leagues. The business ponies throughout Equestria seemed most keen on keeping their profits in Hoofball and Wing Hockey. They didn’t want to risk their bits on a new sport when they could just profit off of the already popular ones.
Due to this business decision, Buckball took a long time finding a foothold in the public eye. Most leagues were small and family-run, and were simply just for fun. The really good players usually quit those leagues after a while to go to college and find a job that could support them financially for many years.
Now ever since I could remember, I was practicing on a Buckball field. I was passionate, and I didn’t care how impractical of a job it seemed to be. I was determined to make a living out of the sport no matter what anypony else said.
Every day I envisioned myself in front of a huge crowd on a Buckball field, in the championships against our team’s rival, called on to be the clutch player. And every time I envisioned that I would come in the clutch and win our team the championship. Then I would say to myself, “You know Silver Metal? You truly are the best Buckball player to ever play the game. Don’t let anypony tell you otherwise.” Even as a little filly, I convinced myself I would be the best. You know, I think I may have kept that promise all those years later.
