//------------------------------// // #ABOUTTHEEDITORS - About the Editors // Story: Scattered Tales - App Stories for Ponyville Ciderfest 2023 // by Sonicsuns //------------------------------// Sonicsuns swung his glowing sword, deftly severing an “ed” from what was supposed to be a present-tense verb. He looked back at the rest of his party, surveying their work. “UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” groaned Note Worthy as she punched a new comma into place, “I can’t stand Arial!” RQK grabbed a story in his gauntlets and magically marked it. “Sorry, that’s just the standard. At least the Print Book will be in Libre Caslon.” The marked story glowed blue and bolted through the sky, destined for the legendary Ready to Publish folder. Shade Hunter added comments to a story that didn’t make any sense. In a moment it disappeared back to the folder from whence it had emerged. He looked around the area. “Hey guys?” he said, “Does anyone notice something’s off?” The living skeleton Undead Rattler paused in his work, as did the spectral Ghost Note beside him. “Yessss,” whispered Ghost Note, “...ssssomething is amissss…” “Aw, crap,” said FTS57, “this is one of those off-the-wall stories, isn’t it?” Just then, Wolfheart Griffon swept down from the sky, propelled by powerful wings. “Friends! Editors! I bring news!” Sonicsuns called out. “What of it, Wolfheart?”  “It appears that we are trapped in a story written about ourselves! This entire piece is a tribute to the editing team!” Sonicsuns considered his sword. “Well, that explains that.” “What’s more, many of us are using ostentatiously embellished vocabulary which does not adequately depict how we converse in reality!” Overlord Pony raised his magic scepter. “No matter! We must edit these stories as duty compels!” A glowing spiral emerged from the scepter’s crown, enveloping nearby tales and searching them for bad tabbing. Ellywn86 spoke next. “But if we are in a story ourselves, could it be that the story we are in is also in need of edits?” They all looked at each other. Suddenly the earth shook beneath them, and the world began to tilt. Untold stories went tumbling with them, smashing into each other and causing strange new errors. The mighty editors struggled to survive the onslaught. The WOrlD began to tweeest! Erors wer piling upp! “We’re coming to the end!” said Celestilune. It was true! The CHOICE block was just a few sentences away! “And apparently the narrator is talking to the audience now!” said Note Worthy, trying to grip the ground as it tilted. RQK did likewise and looked ahead. “Shouldn’t there be a chaos option?” “No,” said Shade Hunter, “the alignments are off-balance. Too many stories with chaos endings, or at least that was the balance back when this story was first drafted. We needed a couple hero/villain stories to even it out.” Sonicsuns yelled to them all. “Hang on, everypony! Here it comes!” [CHOICE] > Fix the errors! (Hero)  > Ruin everything! (Villain) [ENDING B: HERO] A flash of light consumed the area. A moment later, the world reappeared. Sonicsuns and his faithful editors found themselves on level ground. They watched as the mangled stories drifted back into their original forms.  The font had changed. “Garamond,” said Note Worthy appreciatively. “At last.” The mighty editors continued their work, policing tense changes and misplaced punctuation. They spotted logical errors, offered ideas for improvement, and enjoyed each other’s company along the way. Sonicsuns paused and took stock of it all. He knew that there were many attendees who would never think of the editing team. Their work took place behind the scenes, largely unnoted and unnoticed. And yet they touched the lives of every reader. Sonicsuns addressed his teammates. “Thank you,” he said. “I’m glad you’re with me.” (+1 page for Heroes) [ENDING B: VILLAIN] NOoooooo!!1 The villians! Their attaking every1 with their rouge angels of satin! The Lavender Unicorn went there, and she breaks the face of TIME! The tabss r wrong! Somepony fix the tabbbbsssssssssssss She went to the market and she buys a sandwich and she said “this wasn’t a sandwich” and the shopkeep had said “yes it is” and she says “nu-uh” and he dinosaurs. Double  spaces  all  the  way  cross  the  shy! WA  WAAAA   SO INTENSE Its   starting   to   look   like   triple        quad                    spaces                   oh noooooooooooo000000000000000000000000000000000000000000oooooooooooooooooooooo000000000000000000ooooooooooooooooo000000000000oooooooo000000o00000000o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0ohohohohohhohohohohohohoh;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; That’s not a semicolon! Those aren’t even semicolons! Stop speaking GREEK! I have an idea!? Lets use character from GEEK MYTHOLOGY! STAN LEE SHOWS UP AND HE- CTRL-A DELETE (+1 page for Villains)