//------------------------------// // Chapter 48: Rebirth // Story: At the Inn of the Prancing Pony // by McPoodle //------------------------------// At the Inn of the Prancing Pony Chapter 48: Rebirth In the wake of the bizarre and inexplicable events of Halloween 1984, the original Equestrian setting for Ponies & Dragons was abandoned. In its wake came Laura Curtis’ Dragon World, and Laura Curtis’ Vampony World, and Laura Curtis’ Steampunk Pony World, Laura Curtis’ Post-aPocalyptic Ponies, and Laura Curtis’...well, you get the idea. Laura and Tracy Curtis basically took over Horsewords, Inc., with the full approval of the ecstatic stockholders, who were seeing sales up to ten times what Mary Jo Powell was ever able to accomplish with the Equestrian setting alone. It looked like Horsewords Inc. and Ponies & Dragons would last forever. What no one could anticipate was that it was the very success of Horsewords that would spell its doom, rather like that of a certain remora. Before that fateful convention, everybody was playing in the same setting. Now, there were over a dozen different settings, and then there were the books, which actually sold more than the games. After all, reading a book is a lot easier than using your imagination to come up with stories based on rulebooks and module outlines. The fandom—the ones who were actually role-playing, anyway—fragmented into warring factions, each of them convinced that their own tweaks to the rulebook to make their adventures work were the right ones. And each specialized group of fans—especially the readers—was ripe to be stolen away by specialty companies that could do horror, or steampunk, or post-apocalypse, or even fantasy better than a company that was trying to cater to all groups at once. By 1990, the sales had plummeted, the stock price had cratered, and against the wishes of the Curtises, Horsewords Inc. was sold...to a toy company, of all things. The Fashion Pro Third Edition of the Ponies & Dragons rulebook came out in 1992, and was instantly proclaimed a laughing stock by critics and public alike. Those players who didn’t stick to Second Edition rules created their own pirate editions that proliferated across the fledgling World Wide Web like weeds. Just outside Phoenix, there are three enormous warehouses stocked full of Third Edition rulebooks that the stores returned by the box load in the months after Christmas 1992. The game was officially cancelled by Fashion Pro in 1999, after five solid years without putting out a single product under the P&D banner. The Curtises were disappointed, but had become well-known fantasy authors outside of the world of ponies, so their disappointment wasn’t that great. Do not think that the Powell sisters suffered through this period. No, they were divested of their stock by the Curtises on quite generous terms, leaving them independently wealthy. Mary Jo got into the field of self-help books and seminars, especially the realm of mental self-control and relaxation. In interviews, she always managed to imply that she had had a mental breakdown in 1984, without ever actually saying that she had had a mental breakdown. Ellen Powell continued her career as a corporate lawyer, while also designing a variety of different games on the side for a variety of companies, including Fashion Pro. It was in the wake of the sale of Defenders of Sicily in early 2007 to Fashion Pro that she received a most unexpected request. At first, she told Brooke Golden, executive vice president in charge of customer retention, that she couldn’t possibly take that request. However after a few months spent in a mountain retreat, she asked for permission to give a formal proposal to the company. The big day had arrived. Gathered to watch Ellen Powell’s presentation were the board of executives for Fashion Pro, headed by Aly Fassfelder, president of the company. Sitting halfway down the table was Brooke Golden, her eyes riveted on the open door. On the other side of that door, Ellen Powell waited impatiently for permission to begin. Perhaps as a way to torture her further, she could hear every word uttered within. “This is absurd,” Ms. Fassfelder told Mrs. Golden. “Market research is utterly against this proposal. Why can’t you admit that your recommendation is a weak attempt to make up for your nearly two-decade-old poor decision for Fashion Pro to buy out a doomed gaming company? You can let her in, by the way.” Ellen Powell walked into the room. Her once bright red hair had faded with the decades, becoming lightly streaked with silver. She wore glasses now instead of her old contacts. And her long plain dress was designed to accentuate her intellect instead of her figure. She was very much the advisor now, instead of the princess. Ellen stood quietly just inside the doorway, her lips pursed, waiting for her opportunity to speak. “Well, I would advise you to wait until you’ve heard Ms. Powell’s proposal,” Mrs. Golden said calmly to Ms. Fassfelder. “And this is not about my 1990 recommendation, or for that matter your decision to prematurely close out the Ponies & Dragon line in 1999. Now let us allow Ellen here a chance to speak for herself.” She gestured towards the remote mouse for the presentation. Ellen took hold of the remote, nodding to those assembled with a smile, and clicked it once. The screen, which had been black, showed a simple picture of the pile of varied and unrelated books that were the full array of publications on P&D when it closed. “Hello,” she said warmly. “It’s nice to meet with you. You know who I am, so I won’t bother with my history, but what I think you do need is a refresher on the history of Ponies & Dragons.” The picture switched to one showing the three original rulebooks. “When we started, we were living in a world that we wanted an escape from, anything to dive into; a world of bizarre ponies with the power to change the world—that fit the bill. For many years, our own little playground was enough. A circle of ten friends or so, we gradually turned it into a game that could be easily learned by others, and eventually, sold.” The next slide showed the core rulebooks of the Second Edition. “We refined our world, not to gain sales, but to make it easier to play, and more fun for our players. That’s what they wanted, something fun. The sales were great, really impressive, and the game spread like wildfire. Then...the Sisters Powell couldn’t handle it anymore.” The picture changed to a simple snapshot of the ER, with M.J. being wheeled out in a wheelchair. Ellen paused for a few second before continuing in a quieter tone than before. “We grew tired of the fighting, and of the stress of running a company. That much is true. You may think I am here merely to revive old glories. But I am not. I am not asking this board to revive P&D. That game is dead, its market flooded with a million clones and without its primary player base. If someone today asks a member of the game’s primary market what kind of tabletop games they play, our product isn’t even in the top ten. Think about that: not even the top ten, in the field it created.” The picture changed to that of an adventurer pony, with a sword. “But I know how to bring back the wonder and joy of the game, without copying this same, tired old concept.” In the next picture...the sword is gone. That’s the only difference. Ellen smiles, drops her pointing hand to her side, and waits for someone to say something. Ms. Fassfelder stood up from her chair. “Interesting,” she said, walking up to put her hand on the screen over the image. “You kept the pony, but dropped the source of all the protests.” She turned to face Ellen. “Only there’s one problem—how can you have a role-playing game, with no conflict?” “You assume that conflict is the same as violence,” Ellen answered. “I grew up with the players, our players. I was one for a very long time. And what I know is that they have a lot of difficulty with a certain source of conflict, not in games, but in real life. In fact, addressing this conflict is the main purpose of our game, and has been all along. Loneliness. Ostracism. Self-imposed isolation. Little girls who have been told that the world is out to get them, and yes, little boys who don’t know how to deal with the emotions and nuances of social interaction. I propose we launch a new line, based on a new idea, not fighting, but being happy. Not conquering an empire, but making friends. A game based on friendship.” She clicked the clicker, and a picture of Hope Springs appeared‎, with the words “Friendship Is Magic” above her, and “Honesty, Loyalty, Generosity, Laughter, and Kindness” underneath. Ms. Fassfelder looked at the screen for several seconds, eyes wide, and then...she blinked. “I like it,” she said quietly. “This, this right here.” She pointed at the words. “This is exactly what was missing from Ponies & Dragons, the reason why I was so strongly against its acquisition so long ago. But is it possible? Can you have a game engine driven by cooperation instead of conflict? What...what sort of goals would you give the players under this system?” “Satisfaction. Well, that’s not all of it. Here is my basic formula: We’ve always had classes and races, and they could mix without limit. I like that, it shows the true potential of anyone. So what I have done is looked at the average group of friends, and made them into archetypes.” The screen changed to show three tiers: Element, Class, and Race. “I’ve added a third option, because a lot of the other gaming systems have shown a huge variety in character customization. We need to match that aspect while keeping it easy to understand. We have five elements, three races, and then the following classes...” The picture zoomed into the classes. “Researcher, Laborer, Caretaker, Creator, Public Figure, and Expert. Though I am debating changing Expert to something else—it’s supposed to be a pony that has a single goal or pursuit, and is very good at that one thing.” “So,” said Mrs. Golden, “would that mean that skillsets could be developed in social settings? Trade fairs, say, or...athletic competitions? Which would also allow development of these...Elements of yours?” “Yes!” Ellen exclaimed. “On the nose, in fact. One of the modules I have in mind is an athletic competition. Here’s the thing, as most of the characters are still learning to be social: despite cheating in the competition being discouraged by the NPCs, the PM is supposed to actively create opportunities for it. The players then get to learn valuable lessons based on that interplay. “Back to the social aspect of the game though, I am repurposing the alignment system from the original game. Remember, we had Good, Evil, Lawful, and Chaotic. These alignments are still used all over the tabletop gaming world. But...” The presentation switched to a six sided 3D shape, roughly drawn by Ellen, but labeled on three axes. “Instead, we have Introverted or Extroverted, then Aggressive or Passive, and finally there is Pioneering or Refining. A nice way to say leader or follower, pretty much.” Ms. Fassfelder tapped her lip with one fingernail. “Yes. Yes, I think this does show some potential, but it would need a little work to hammer out a few minor flaws. For example, having five elements, three races and six classes will lead to a duplication issue. I suggest adding a sixth element, but...you seem to have covered the obvious traits of friendship. Let’s just say for now that it’s ‘secret’, and fill in the blank later.” “Sure!” Ellen nodded quickly, sitting down at the table, her presentation forgotten. “We could even work that into the first module, if we wanted. Have it be a discovery process. The friendship of others unlocks it. That’s a pretty solid hook. Another thing, and I know it’s not something you will be super thrilled about, but the world is a dangerous place. We will be keeping hit points, and have some defensive tactics. Definitively this is not a fighting game, but there are moments where a friend saving your life or hitting you needs to have a tangible value.” “Certainly, certainly,” Fassfelder said with a nod as she re-took her seat. “But all the same, I would prefer a setting where more often than not fighting is going to prove the wrong response to a situation. Leave the choice there, but show the consequences.” Ellen laughed, relaxing as she laid out some papers. “It’s like you read my mind, Ma’am. So...what do you say?” She opened a folder, and slid across a brutally simple document. “Half share, all creative rights, and if I leave or you buy me out, you have to keep it a monolithic brand, with secure patents, for fifteen years.” Fassfelder picked up the handout and looked it over. “Trying to fix all the mistakes of the past, I see? Well, if there are any holes in this, I will be sure to have my lawyers let you know so you can fix them. Director-driven properties have been working very well for us in the Twenty-First Century, and I intend to see it remain so.” With a massive grin, Ellen calmed herself, before pulling out a separate document. “This...I don’t want it to be a condition of the first deal. If you don’t agree, then the deal is still intact. But, if you are willing, I would like to buy back the copyright design, names, and related features that specifically involve Celestia and Luna, to do with as I wish.” She cautiously presented the much more detailed document to Fassfelder. The company president looked down curiously at the new document. “They were the original rulers of the Equestria setting, yes? Do they even need to be in the Friendship Is Magic setting at all?” “Yes,” Ellen said earnestly. “They tie our brand together, and they show a transition from a war-torn country to a land of peace, and...well, as one of their creators, I would like to give them a chance to rule a peaceful Equestria, side by side. I’ve developed complete personality profiles for both of them in the new environment.” “So that would be the start,” said Mrs. Golden, pulling a copy of this document over for her perusal. “The redemption of Nightmare Moon?” “After a hundred years of exile, she returns to a land of love and joy. I could either run that as the first PonyGameCon showcase in... a long time, or it could be the first module. The group of players has to become friends as they find Nightmare Moon, with Celestia missing to keep her from intervening, and they find that friendship is a more powerful force than they thought, reverting Nightmare Moon to Princess Luna.” As Ellen speaks, she toyed with a bracelet of blue stones and silver that looked well worn, her expression inscrutable. “First adventure,” Fassfelder said decisively. “Not included in the box, so not to force the players into the path of being known to the rulers of the land from the very start, but recommended, perhaps as a sort of ‘difficulty boost’. After all, if you helped the Princess reunite with her beloved sister, that sets up the party for all kinds of quests…” “They might even have to chase off some marauding dragons,” suggested Golden. “No,” said Fassfelder. “One dragon. Who’s sleeping in a mountain cavern and making a noxious smoke that drifts over the nearby town. Much more open to non-violent solutions.” “Sure, definitely,” said Ellen, writing this all down. “This all works excellently. We could even include dragons in a later expansion. After all, the whole problem with dragons was involving them in combat, so I can imagine having them on equal footing with ponies. So...are both deals a go, then?” Fassfelder continued paging through the “Princess Agreement”. “N...no, this isn’t right,” she said after a few seconds. “It’s the matter of—” “Yes?” asked Ellen. “Your...eyes. For a moment, I thought I saw...never mind.” Ellen quickly looked down at the paperwork, as she listened. “Anyway, it’s this part here: one hundred years between Nightmare Moon’s banishment and her return. It’s entirely too quick for the kind of societal transformation necessary to get from the old combat-centered world to the world of friendship that you...that we are aiming for. I mean, unless Princess Celestia is some kind of devious manipulator who is forcing society to go in her planned direction whether they like it or not…?” Ms. Powell bit her lip, still staring at her paperwork, struggling to come up with some counter argument or rebuttal. Finally, she gave in. “Okay... However I would then like to write errata, extensive errata, covering the time between P&D and FiM. Showing the development of society, adding history for PH’s to use, and so on. This would include bringing back old enemies from P&D, and reshaping them for future releases.” “Agreed!” Fassfelder said with a smile. She flipped to the last page, picked up her oversized “signing pen” and added the words “Errata to follow covering the period elapsed between Second and Fourth Editions” as she said them out loud. “We can just pretend that Third Edition never happened,” she added with a wicked grin. She then flipped back a few pages. “And we’ll correct the interregnum of one hundred years to...one thousand.” The pen loudly squeaked as the correction was made. Ellen winced. “Any objections from the Board?” “All in favor of the twin motions?” asked the Board’s secretary. A few seconds later she announced. “Both motions pass unanimously.” “And so it is done,” Ms. Fassfelder said, signing both documents. “Welcome to the Fashion Pro family, Ms. Powell. And may your time here be a happy one.” Ellen bowed slightly as she gathered her copies of the documents. She mustered a genuine smile, looking out across the room. “Thank you. All of you. My goal isn’t to make us all rich, but I promise, this will do better than the fractured system in place now. Have a good day.” “And the same to you!” Fassfelder said warmly, standing and waiting until Ellen had taken the elevator down to the ground floor. “So?” asked Golden. “You were right,” Fassfelder said with an incredulous shake of her head. “You were absolutely right—this is far better than anything we could come up with in-house. The game is guaranteed to garner customers based on nostalgia alone—the masses who actually watched that wretched Power Morpher movie are proof of that. But this”—she gestured at the image of the ponies still on the screen— “this could well bring in an entirely new demographic!” “A demographic willing to buy toy versions of the sample players?” “Undoubtedly. Except for the princesses, of course.” Fassfelder gestured to the subsidiary agreement. “Of course,” Golden said. “For now.” “You’ll be following her every move.” “Of course.” “And how long?” “A year,” said Mrs. Golden. “In a year’s time, Friendship Is Magic will be 100% Fashion Pro controlled.” “Excellent. I’ve always thought that Celestia would look much better in pink.” Ellen shut her car door, and fell limp against the seat of her beat-down old car, a happy smile on her face, fighting with worry that had nagged her for the last few years, and likely wouldn’t go anywhere anytime soon. But she turned that old silver bracelet, and the smile grew. “That didst go well, methinks,” a voice reverberated inside her head. “Although thou hast my apologies for my little mistake earlier.” Ellen didn’t even jump. “How could I be angry at you? That was your life at stake there... I’m sorry, I had really hoped for a hundred years...” Ellen sighed, the smile vanishing. “You achieved my sister’s instant restoration to sanity, a prize worthy of any price. As an ageless being, what matter to me is it how long the secondary goal of our reunion takes to achieve? Besides, that just makes the return to my native land all the more interesting.” She wasn’t a very good liar. “Is that why you found me? Despite every barrier and bridge to cross, you tunneled through reality into my head? Luna, I don’t want you to be alone for a thousand years, I—” “It was nothing, Child, so do not worry your head about it. The School of Dream Magic is most subtle, able to make its way through any barrier, even a supposedly closed portal between worlds. Despite Tia’s desperate efforts, in the end it fell to me, because this was the one thing I am able to do better than her. No, I suppose it was more than that: I decided I was done with having others write my life for me, without hearing my input. First my sister and her subjects controlled it, then a thing that never even should have existed. And to have that succeeded by your kind. No, Ellen...Friend...the future now is ours to shape, for both our worlds. We will accomplish what even my sister was unable to do: create a better Equestria, the best possible Equestria...through ponies and people.” “So maybe, we will have a happy ending,” Ellen sighed, looking down at the paperwork. “Finally, a happy ending to all this... Do you think Celestia would be angry? That I am rewriting all this? Starting over again? You all are still locked to the whim of the players, even if they are going to be working towards peace now...” “Discord left us no other alternative. Our worlds are forever linked, and only the nature of that bond may be altered, not the fact of its existence. And as for endings...I’m not fond of endings. Think of it more as a new, eternally bright beginning.”