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// Introduction (Page 1) 
// Story: The Purloined Pony 
// by Chris 
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The Purloined Pony


Welcome! If this is your first time reading a story of this sort, make sure you look at this section first! If you’ve played before, you can go on ahead to page 2 and begin your journey.

In this story, YOU get to be the star! In this particular tale, you will take on the role of Carrot Top, a young Earth Pony filly living in the quiet town of Ponyville. As you read, you will be faced with a series of decisions. Some may seem small and others momentous, but all will affect the story which you create. Each time you are given a choice, you will be instructed to go to a certain page. Simply click the link to go on, and keep reading to find out what happens next. There are 18 different endings to choose from! Some are happy, others... not so much. But each is unique. You can read this story over and over, and never follow the same path twice!





Now that you know how to play, why don’t you go ahead over to page 2 and begin your adventure.

Good Luck!

Note: links ahoy! If you’re the type of reader who likes to go back and see where every single option leads but who hates having 30 tabs open, you might want to keep the main story page up, and track the pages you've visited on a scrap of paper. Or if you aren't that type of reader, you can just barrel on through and hope for the best! Your call, really.

Another Note: If you want to know more about the story, check out the Q & A. Warning: may contain mild spoilers.


*****


Acknowledgements

First of all, let me recognize Lauren Faust and the crew behind FiM, as well as the various authors of the 80's/90's book series which inspired this. Without their creative endeavors, derivative works like this obviously could not exist. 

Next let me thank my editors/pre-readers, Anonymous (who doesn’t want any recognition, pah!) and Lightsideluc. You can imagine what a pain it would be to edit a sprawling piece like this, and their assistance was invaluable.

And last but certainly not least, thanks to you, the reader. Writing stories is fun—why else I would I do it?—but knowing that people enjoy what you’ve written enough to actually read it (and comment on it, hint, hint) is a real boost. And double-extra thanks to any of you who are reading this sentence right here. I mean seriously, reading all the way through the acknowledgements? That’s dedication! I just want you to know, I appreciate it.

Special FiMFic Edition Acknowledgements

For the FiMFic version of this story, I've incorporated several pieces of fan art which first appeared in the Russian translation (which you can read here, courtesy of Многорукий Удав).  Thanks to him for the wonderful translation, and to both he and Lenich for the pictures!

Finally, on top of all the above, I’d like to thank everyone who’s ever asked me, in forums, comments, or e-mails, when this was coming to FiMFic. I know it’s taken years—literally—but it’s thanks to your interest (and dedication to letting me know about said interest) that I’ve finally gotten this thing together. I hope it was worth the wait!