(Pony) Polo : Sport of …Knaves?  
by SpatialHeather
 
Made this for “Mine’s Got Rocks In It”… Polo is A Pony Sport that Earthies Excel in due to their endurance, stamina, and love of getting needlessly dirty while running around a field for no reason other than for a bit of fun ^^
 
“Polo” the way it’s played in Equestria is made up by me, and only called Pony Polo to designate it from the RL sport.  
Ideally, it’s played on a round, grassy field. The field has goals on opposite end, and is marked with a line from each goal post towards the center, and a center line at mid-field. In the center of the field is an interior circle spanning the diameter of the distance between the goal posts.  
3-9 ponies for each team line up on the interior circle, and the melon ball is placed in the very center. The players for one team are on one side of the mid-field line, and the equal number of players are on the other. When the whistle is blown, the players have to try to get the melon ball through the goalposts on the side of the field they started on.  
Players are not allowed to use their forelimbs to touch the ball. No holding or carrying the ball is allowed. Flying is allowed, but magic(including fire breathing and weather changing) is not. Players may also choose to carry a stick-like object of their choosing-for aid in hitting the ball only-, but if they do, they are not allowed to touch the ball or another player if their stick is on the ground(not being carried by them). Use of sticks/mallets is more common among bipedal players than quadrupeds.  
Often the goalposts are enchanted with unicorn magic to keep score and countdown to the end of the quarter, half, or game, and also to prevent magic use by the players or off-field magicians. The game can be played on the basis of first-to a set number of scores, timed, or the traditional melon break.  
Fouls may be called by a ref or by players depending on the competitiveness level of the game. Fouls can be called for unnecessary roughness, illegal handling, or the ball leaving the playing field. If a foul is called and agreed on, the injured player or team gets control of the ball (at the point of exit for a ball leaving the field).
 
Amateurs often play the game without magic-enchanted goalposts, and on whatever size, shape, and condition of playing field they can find. Boundary, goals, and median lines might be marked with rocks or other found objects, and the melon maybe replaced with a normal ball or anything from a water-balloon to a discarded can.
 
I have the history of the first game of (Pony) Polo somewhere, which explains the history of the field, goals, melon, and sticks…. and the title of this deviation I guess too, lol.
 
None of the characters are specific OCs of mine, just random colors that looked good on the field and with each other. The blue one on the left resembles my earthy Blue Ribbon, but not quite.
 
If anyone has ideas for cutie marks for the ones who’s flanks are showing, shout them at me ^^  
Or if you’d like to adopt any of the ponies besides the blue one