Walking the halls of the convention center, you hear panicked squeals as you pass by the kids’ room. A white filly with green, yellow, and purple hair, comes running out of the room carrying a book.
“Comeon, Coconut Cream, it’s my book,” yells a second filly running out quickly after. This filly is pink. Her red and yellow mane is uniquely different from her tail, which is blue and purple.
“You didn’t even know it did that, Toola Roola!”
“It didn’t before, but it’s still mine!”
“And what are you going to do with it now?”
“I… I don’t know! Just give it back!”
“Why do you want it? It’s all messed up.”
The two of them begin fighting over the book, first pulling on it with their hooves, before grabbing it from both ends with their teeth. For a moment, you notice a flash of light from within the pages.
You ask, “Whoa, wait! ‘Messed up’? What do you mean ‘messed up’?”
The both of them freeze and look in your direction. Toola Roola lets go of the book and says to Coconut, “Well, go on. Show the person.”
Coconut Cream trots over and offers it to you. “It just got all weird and talky.”
You sit down on the floor and quickly skim through the pages and then reach one where the page refuses to turn. Examining the edges more closely, you can definitely tell there’s an odd gold edging on one of the final pages, a page that looks slightly larger than the rest, as if someone had slipped it in like a note. You try to tug on it but it refuses to budge.
You suddenly realize the two fillies are standing to either side of you, staring with wonder at the book. Toola Roola says, “That’s where it stops. Just read it.”
You look at the last two pages you can read. The page on the right depicts a determined white-coated unicorn with a green and red mane, staring down an intimidating blue ram.
On the left page is a body of text, which you read aloud.
While nopony had ever tried to reach Cloudsdale on hoof, Gusty the Great was not deterred! She and her unicorn warriors marched up the hill. But suddenly, they encountered the treacherous Grogar! Gusty could tell he was ready for battle. Gusty called out to the unicorn warriors, “We can fight Grogar together!”
As you continue, the fillies look more intently at the book, hanging on every word.
And the unicorn warriors shot magical beams into the clouds that wove into one! The beam, stronger than a thousand armies, shined down! It wrapped around Grogar and pulled him to the ground! “Don't let him escape,” yelled Gusty. But Grogar was strong, for fear gave him power, and he broke through the bonds!
Nothing. You try to tug on the page again, thinking that perhaps reading it would allow it to move. Suddenly an angry voice commands, “What do you think you’re doing? You can’t just take that.”
Did the book just talk?
Looking back at the picture, you notice the blue ram, Grogar, is now glaring at you. Wasn’t he looking at Gusty a moment ago?
“Did… you just talk?”
“I did, and I’ll do a lot more than that if you tug at that page again. Maybe you would enjoy a thousand years as my prisoner in Tambelon.”
The fillies make whimpering noises and slowly back away from the book.
Suddenly the image of Gusty begins speaking. “Knock it off, you old goat, you’re just confusing them.”
Grogar responds, “I… am a ram! And what is there to be confused about? We’re talking pictures in a storybook.”
“Right. But I’m pretty sure we’re not supposed to be doing that.”
“Whatever. Can we just get on with the battle,” Grogar asks with a snarl.
“Well, I think the reader has to do that,” Gusty replies.
“Oh, you have got to be joking.”
Gusty shakes her head. “The ending of the story is in flux now. We can’t finish it without the reader.”
Grogar says, “Oh, well alright then.” The ram stares at you with glowing red eyes. “Obviously the reader knows what works best here. The mighty ram has just escaped and was about to use his mighty bewitching bell to entrap and enslave all of the Ponies, and take them away to do his bidding in the glorious city of Tambelon!”
Gusty shoots back, “That’s not how it should go at all. I was taking my warriors to Cloudsdale.”
“Oh, I don’t think so,” Grogar says with a smirk.
“You want to get your bell rung?” Gusty asks Grogar.
“When my bell rings, you and all your friends will be trapped in a magical cage, my…. Little…. Pony.”
You snap, “Alright, enough of this.”
> Gusty and the Unicorns run to Cloudsdale for help (Hero)
> Grogar defeats the Gusty and her Unicorns (Villain)
> Discord has a little fun (Chaos)