Somewhere, in a world known as ‘Symphony of Sorcery’, the curtains open revealing an orchestra stand.
It was empty at first, but not for long. The room begins to fill with people, all carrying different instruments while searching for their seats. One by one, they took a seat and began tuning their instruments. Today is an important day for these people. It takes two minutes for everyone to prepare, as a man with glasses and a fancy suit appears between two ladies playing the harp. He places a sheet of paper on a music stand and brought his attention to the camera.
“How do you do?” The man said. “My name is…”
“Mister Taylor! Mister Taylor!”
The man, Mr. Taylor, turns to one of the musicians, who plays the violin, who quickly approached the man in the glasses.
“Mister Taylor,” The musician said again.
“Yes, what is it?” The man with the glasses asked.
“You won’t believe this. But I have terrible news.”
“What? What happened?”
“It’s the sheet music; they’re gone! All of them!”
“Gone? Just like that?”
Yes,” The violinist nodded.
“But how can this be?” The man asked, confused. “We had them before.”
“I know! Each musician had one, even Mr. Stokowski. But now they’re just… Gone! Like they have a mind of their own.”
“That’s very strange. Have you searched anywhere else?”
“Every nook and cranny, but they’re nowhere to be found!”
“Hmm… There is a possible way that…”
Suddenly, before the man with glasses could finish, a bright light appears on the ceiling interrupting him. Everyone gasps as they looked up, as the light opened a portal and screams could be heard.
“What is that?” The violinist asked, surprised.
“I… I’ve never seen this before,” The man with glasses answered.
To everyone’s surprise, nine colorful individuals emerged and crashed in the middle of the room with a hard THUD! The portal disappears once more, as the musicians began to talk among themselves.
“Ow…” Rainbow said, rubbing her head. “Is that book playing with us or what? All this falling to the ground is getting on my nerves!”
“Well… That was special!” Vinyl said, shaking off her daze.
The man with the glasses and violinist watch in silence, surprised by what they see.
“Are those… Tiny horses?” The violinist asked.
“Looks that way, but I think they’re ponies,” The man with glasses observed. “They’re very colorful and look! There are two Unicorns, two Pegasi and three normal ones. That one must be an alicorn and the little guy must be a dragon.”
“Are they from the Pastoral Symphony?”
“I don’t think so. There are no dragons or normal ponies on Mount Olympus and those Pegasi are very small. They’re, without a doubt, not foals. Maybe it’s best you take your spot; I’ll talk with our new guests.”
The violinist nods and makes for his seat as the man with glasses approaches our Equestrian heroes. As the ponies and dragon slowly stood up from the floor, they looked around in surprise. They never expected to see so many humans at once. This was a totally new experience for Vinyl and Octavia.
“Wha-Wha-Wha-What are those?” Octavia asked, nervously.
“They’re humans, Octavia,” Twilight said. “Bipedal creatures that live on a planet called Earth. Don’t be scared; I don’t think these ones are hostile.”
“Cool!” Vinyl said, shifting her sunglasses.
“Are we in an… orchestra stand?” Spike asked, looking around.
“Looks that way,” Twilight answered.
Just then, the ponies saw the man with glasses approach and stop inches before them. Neither the ponies nor the man knew what to say upon first meeting till the man himself broke the silence.
“Hello,” He speaks, with a welcoming voice.
“Hello,” Twilight said.
“This is quite an unexpected surprise,” The man replied.
“Sorry if we disturbed you,” Twilight apologized.
“Not at all, little lady. Perhaps I should introduce myself. My name is Deems Taylor. Composer, music critic and Master of Ceremonies.”
“Pleased to meet you, Mr. Taylor. I’m Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship, and these are my friends: Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Spike, Octavia, Vinyl and…”
Twilight then noticed that one of her friends is missing.
“Where’s Jiminy?” Twilight asked, looking around. “Is he still in Equestria?”
“No, he went with us through the portal,” Rainbow points out.
“Then why don’t I see him?” Twilight asked, looking around.
“Maybe some pony stepped on him,” Rarity gasped, checking her hooves.
The others looked at their hooves, but not a trace of Jiminy could be found. Twilight thought, when her eyes became small as pinpricks and faced her butt.
“Or sat on him?”
Every pony looked at their butt in panic, while Deems Taylor and the musicians just faced each other appropriately confused.
“Don’t worry, everyone,” Jiminy’s voice said. “I’m alright.”
“Jiminy?” Spike asked, looking around. “Where are you?”
Suddenly, the Cricket’s head pops out of Pinkie’s mane even to Pinkie Pie’s surprise.
“Up here! I’ve been hiding in Pinkie’s mane. Boy, who knew so many things could fit in here?”
“I know, right?” Pinkie asked, smiling.
Deems saw the little cricket, just by that look he knew who he is.
“Jiminy Cricket?” Deems asked.
“Yes?” Jiminy said, turning to Deems.
“’The’ Jiminy Cricket?”
“The one and only!”
“My, my,” Deems said, adjusting his glasses. “This is impressive."
“Wait, wait!” Twilight asked, looking at the two. “You know who Jiminy is?”
“I sure do,” Deems nodded. “He’s created by Walt Disney himself.”
The name, immediately, caught the attention of the ponies, cricket and dragon.
“Whoa, whoa, hold up a sec!” Rainbow said. “Disney? As in the ‘Book of Disney’?”
“That is correct.”
“So… You’re telling us that this person, Walt Disney, is the one who made the stories we went through?” Twilight asked, curiously.
“He’s a very well-known man,” Deems explained. “He, along with his team of animators, story writers and big dreams, made the Disney company as it is today.”
This sparked every pony’s interest in the matter.
“Gosh, well… Is he here?” Fluttershy asked. “We’d like to meet him, if he wants to.”
“Unfortunately, he couldn’t make it tonight,” Deems said. “He’s busy working on… Did you say a book?”
“Yes, you know about it?” Twilight asked.
“Mr. Disney said something about a book before he asked for my help with this,” Deems said.
“What did he say?” Twilight asked.
“He said he was creating a magic storybook that leads to many worlds where the characters really lived,” Deems said.
“Ooh…” The ponies said, in unison.
“So… I exist because of him?” Jiminy asked, surprised.
“Yes, I just can’t believe he actually did it!” Deems said, impressed.
“That Walt Disney guy must have a lot of imagination,” Pinkie said.
“That he does, Miss Pinkie Pie,” Deems nodded. “That he does.”
“Well, I would love to meet him someday,” Jiminy said.
“Me too,” Rarity said.
The other ponies and dragon nod in agreement, as Twilight observes the musicians.
“So, what are you all doing?” Twilight asked. “Are you playing a concert too?”
“We certainly are,” Deems answered, addressing another man in a fancy suit. “I would like to welcome you here on behalf of Walt Disney, Leopold Stokowski and all the other artists and musicians whose combined talents went into the creation of this new form of entertainment: Fantasia.”
“So that’s what Fantasia is,” Twilight said.
“But who are you performing to?” Octavia asked.
“For our very special audience, right over there,” Deems points out.
The ponies turned toward a camera he was pointing to, much to their confusion.
“Oh, I see them!” Pinkie smiled, waving. “Hello! Hi everybody! Hi Mr. Writer!”
*Sighs* Hello, Pinkie Pie.
“Oooookay…” Twilight said, awkwardly.
“But we now have a big problem,” Deems said.
“What kind of problem?” Jiminy asked.
Suddenly, the conductor, Leopold Stokowski, approaches the group.
“Well, one of the violinists said all the sheet music is gone,” The conductor explained.
“Ah yes, ladies and gentlemen, meet Leopold Stokowski,” Deems introduced, while Leopold bowed. “He’s the famous conductor who will compose the music for Fantasia.”
“Let me get this straight,” Applejack speaks up. “You were about to start a concert for an audience, and you lost your music?”
“No, we didn’t lose it,” Leopold corrects. “They’ve just disappeared, now we can’t find them.”
“That’s strange,” Vinyl said.
“So, we’re in the same boat,” Octavia replied.
“What do you mean?” Deems asked.
“We're preparing a concert back home,” Octavia explained. “I haven’t written any music because I found no inspiration.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Deems said.
Twilight pondered the situation when she had an idea.
“Why don’t we look for your missing music?”
“You will?” Leopold asked.
“We will?” Spike asked, before Applejack nudges him. “I mean… Yeah, sure! Of course, we’ll look!”
“We always help those in need,” Twilight added.
The others nodded in unison.
“We’ll be so thankful to you,” Deems said.
“But how are we going to find sheet music?” Rainbow asked. “You said they disappeared.”
“We might have a suspicion as to where they might be,” Deems said.
Suddenly, a bright light shone on the floor as a stand emerged with a songbook on top. Its presence took everyone completely by surprise. One by one, six additional stands with songbooks appeared. Each book had a different colored cover.
“Whoa!” Rainbow gasped.
“Well, Ah’ll be,” Applejack said.
They approached one of the songbooks, studying it with confusion.
“Songbooks?” Twilight asked.
"Yes, but these aren't your average songbooks,” Leopold explained. “Inside the musical score is a gateway to realms created by music. It’s where we get the source for the music we’re supposed to play for the concert.”
“Amazing!” Octavia smiled.
“But do not be deceived,” Deems warned. “There are beautiful things in those realms, but between those clefs and notes lurks danger.”
“Sounds familiar,” Spike replied, turning to Twilight.
“Ha! Danger’s my middle name!” Rainbow bragged. “Rainbow ‘Danger’ Dash!”
The other ponies rolled their eyes at that, there were times Rainbow Dash gets on their nerves at time.
“What she meant to say is that we’ve dealt with many tough situations,” Applejack said.
“You bet!” Pinkie agreed. “We’ve dealt with an evil alicorn who wanted to make nighttime last forever but turns out she’s our ruler’s sister. Then there’s an evil Changeling Queen, a shadowy unicorn from which I'm not certain if he's really a unicorn, a centaur who stole magic from every pony in Equestria, a group of teenage dragons, a tyrannical satyr along with a unicorn with a broken horn, an evil queen who wanted to kill her stepdaughter, a…”
“You don’t have to name all our enemies, Pinkie,” Spike said, shutting her muzzle. “They get the point.”
“I want to thank you again for doing this,” Deems said, pointing to a songbook glowing red. “If you should proceed, I advise you to start with this one. Are you sure you’re ready for this?”
Twilight examines the book for a few seconds, then back toward her friends before making her decision.
“Absolutely!” She said, determined. “Bring it on!”
This looks good! Quite original idea and well written. Hopefully the ponies won’t find themselves in the middle of erupting volcanos, flowing lava and noxious air... and they might be up for a fright if they meet this one...
No wonder why I didn’t want to watch that part when I was a child.
Well, a new spin on how the musical segments are presented! Awesome! Cant wait for Toccata in Fugue!
8669641
You forgot to mention a lightning storm and fleeing from a titanic predator!
8669665
That too!
Splendid. Imagine their surprise when they get to Jungle Book and find out that was the last one Walt himself did before passing on.
8669734
That, i believe is still a long ways off. I think DinoDisneylover1 is planning on doing the ENTIRE Disney canon.
Very awesome! I do hope the Ponies will get through every obstacle and magical event.
What exactly is the point of having the music sheets go missing?
8669978
Each of the sheets will be found in the musical books. The books are the main musical segments. At the end, they will get some sheet music, and move onto the next book.
8670037
Ah!
This is going to be glorious.
When do you think they can meet Walt Disney?
8673560
I'm still thinking on that. Maybe in a later story.
Those magic musicbooks are a reference to Kingdom Hearts 3D, aren't they? Nice touch! An easy way to explore all the worlds in the storybook...
Now I'm eagerly awaiting the introduction of Mickey Mouse and Master Yen Sid! I have a feeling that Twilight will be making comparisons to those two and herself and Celestia when she was being taught magic by her.
8673996
You get a 10/10 for discovering that reference.
So Kingdom Hearts 3D is referenced on this adventure? Lovely!
8675403
Yup.
8675415
What's the next disney movie after this?
8683046
Dumbo
8683085
Fluttershy's kindness would definitely be mother-like to Dumbo when Mrs. Jumbo is locked up.
8683373
She could use the STARE on that buck toothed naughty boy!
8683613
Let's save our ideas until the time for Dumbo comes.
Looks like you just wove yourself a narrative.
Great chapter once again Dinodisneylover1! Thank you for it ( and story in general ) 😊
p.s. Funny thing: I always watch movies while reading your stories at the same time, about which you write (Like: I was Reading (your story) AND Watching Snow White at the same time). I try to make images of the story in my head as clear as possible (my way) 😰
I'm probably jumping the gun here...(the gun? More like an entire munitions factory), but will there be elements of Fantasia 2000 included in this story or will it just be the original Fantasia?
9024859
Nice.
9028593
It's possible, but Fantasia 2000 will also have a Disney Chronicle.
That goes to show you, it's not the characters who brings the magic to make the creators famous. But the creators who make the magic and the characters.
And the book was made to be very expanding in order to house even the characters of today. And very timeless so the stories and the book itself would never wither away, and be lost to time. Also, it's a one-of-a-kind! Only those lucky enough to find it can experience the magic left behind by this great man!
Guess the Book of Disney wasn't the only magic book created by Walt Disney then, huh? Or were the books only there as a reference to Kingdom Hearts 3D?
*After reading your author's notes*
Well, right now, you're an inspiration to me now. And I'm sure a lot of us Disney Bronies are inspired by you too. You've certainly put a lot of efforts in, not only writing long stories of a series of MLP/Disney Crossovers, but actually managing to combine the fun from both series into one. This way, not only did you allow us to reconnect with some of the Disney classics, but a chance to connect the past with the present in a fun, creative, entertaining way.
Now, I'm feeling a lot more inspired to revive another scrapped Disney Project. Which will take some time since one of the original author has gone MIA, and I've only succeeded in recovering pieces of the project.
8673626
You mean like Saludos Amigos? That's one of the film I can think of where Walt Disney makes an appearance himself.
Initially with ‘Fantasia’ it’s a straight forward concert on screen that shows animated shorts incorporated with the use of song and little dialogue. But an added plot device involving missing sheet music would definitely make this movie more exciting for younger viewers. And the book must have some sense of humor to constantly drop the cast comically rather than giving them a soft landing, as if it has a mischievous personality as a big as ‘you know who’. And honestly I wouldn’t blame Taylor and the band for mistaking the ponies as inhabitants of ‘Pastoral Symphony’ considering the whole show is mostly based on Greek mythology (I can’t wait till we get there).
Now this isn’t the first time that ponies have met ‘humans’ during their previous adventure, but in this case it would be a first to see ‘live action’ humans considering how the movie shifts from the orchestra pit to the various animations. And they are not just meeting any normal person, they are in the presence of Deems Taylor, who was big in the music business in his lifetime. Plus, it’s no surprise he’d know about Jiminy Cricket without any introduction as he brings up he’s a creation by a man they may or may never meet… Walt Disney. It is this stunning realization they discover that he’s the man behind ‘The Book of Disney’, though Deems point out he was initially working on it at this time period, but as I said they couldn’t meet him on account that he had other matters for the company. But I have this suspicious feeling that one day they’ll meet the man in some form whether it’s sometime during this episode or perhaps, if we’re lucky, later on in the Chronicles.
As if the guests couldn’t get any bigger, they meet another big wig in the orchestra scene: Leopold Stokowski, a man that would slip my mind when I first saw it as a kid but as I got older and researched the man I was astounded by his work as a conductor. It is he who informs the cast that the sheet music has vanished into thin air and without it the concert won’t be able to proceed. And now our cast has a new quest: To get back home, they must find the sheet music for the human orchestra even if it means traversing through the various worlds brought to life by their music. Sounds easy at first, but somehow it will be anything ‘but’ easy as our cast will soon find out. Yet what makes ‘Fantasia’ unique in the first place is how the focus of the movie is all on the music and soundtrack, the scores that makes all our favorite films possible, and it is through here where the adventure truly takes course.
Notes:
*I’d insert a question mark after ‘mane’.
I was going to point out about the violist and violins issue, until I learned that while ‘violist’ refers to the ‘viola’, it just means it’s a large violin so… I just answered my own question.
good pony's
9028725
Sweetie Belle can do her First Adventure in Who Framed Roger Rabbit and they can meet Mickey Mouse again with Looney toons star Bugs Bunny. Jessica hit Roger rabbit and Sweetie Belle with a frying pan.
9028725
Sweetie Belle got lost in Toontown to try to find her sister and her friends Roger rabbit.
9565932
That's gonna take a while. Sweetie Belle will first appear in Cinderella.
Disney Behind the Scenes:
One day, Walt was eating at Chasen's in Hollywood where he met famed conductor Leopold Stokowski.
The two had a nice chat and Walt brought up his Sorcerer's Apprentice idea which got Stokowski very intrigued (especially since he liked the music) and thus began the collaboration of two entertainment giants.
Vinyl: Sound familiar, Tavi?
Octavia: It does.
When composing the music, Stokowski got so into it that one night, he spent 3 hours perfecting the score with his orchestra. That sense of perfectionism however came with a big price, quite literally in fact. The budget of the short grew at a frighteningly large rate, so much that it became 3 times more expensive than the average Mickey cartoon which started to concern both Roy and even Walt that something so expensive might never make its money back.
images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54fc8146e4b02a22841f4df7/1571779080842-3KHTVQH6U16N8P6O0M3G/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kGPzi5BUwByqKA-s2ahbOzxZw-zPPgdn4jUwVcJE1ZvWQUxwkmyExglNqGp0IvTJZUJFbgE-7XRK3dMEBRBhUpxnb_uz87Td5YJ01bzvRdB11mJyje1RoFaq3h_70DzvXF7yDU8iOQkcecWroqplGjc/Art+of+the+Fantasia+G+-+36.jpg?format=1500w
Pinkie: That really is a pickle. What could they do to balance that all out?
Octavia: That is a good question...
Funny enough, the answer came from Leopold's enthusiasm. Leopold was bursting with so much energy after scoring The Sorcerer's Apprentice that he wanted to do more.
m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMzM2NTk5NTMtMDYwYS00NjFhLTlkY2EtZmExMjk1YzY5NDY4XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNzgyOTQ5MTc@._V1_.jpg
This gave Walt the brilliant idea of making shorts similar to the experimental Mickey project but put them all into one feature! A Concert Feature if you will...
So in 1938, Disney extended Stokowski's contract and began work on the concert feature. When it was time to select which musical pieces to use and what visuals to match them with, Walt and Leopold didn't just bring in some of Disney's team members for the meeting, they also enlisted the help of composer and music critic Deems Taylor to be an advisor in the selections.
Taylor was also brought onboard to appear on camera during the film as The Master of Ceremonies where he would introduce each segment of the feature.
Once all the music was selected, there was still one thing to do for the picture: The Title. The Concert Feature was alright but it seemed a little dull and generic. So after careful consideration of many different names, the one that ultimately got chosen to express the true meaning of what this film is all about was "Fantasia!", since its definition is stated as: a free usually instrumental composition not in strict form.
Pinkie: That really does make sense the more I think about it.
Octavia and Vinyl: Mmhmm.
Now that everything was set for Fantasia, it was time for the animators to get to work and bring the music to life.
Who’s the shadowy unicorn who Pinkie thinks isn’t really a unicorn?
Oh I LOVE Simsala Grimm! I always thought it was a fun way to introduce kids to fairytales, because the episodes more-or-less kept the original details intact while smoothly adding new characters for extra fun (not to mention humor). Doc Croc is my favorite of the two.
I also realized that Jiminy will have to return to the book before they reach Fun and Fancy Free, since he's the main host of that movie. Maybe he misses Pinocchio and decides to visit him before Fun and Fancy Free, and then later rejoins the ponies after Fun and Fancy Free?
As for them meeting Walt...oh I know! The Reluctant Dragon! It was one of the lesser-known Disney movies during Walt's era, and he actually shows up in that movie. The basic plot is a guy named Robert Benchley, who's 'encouraged' by his wife to recommend the story The Reluctant Dragon to Walt as a film idea. Robert instead ends up taking a tour of the studio, introducing the work that goes into an animated film to both Robert and the audience. That'd be a perfect story for the ponies to meet Walt, since they can stick with Mr. Benchley and also learn about how the movies are made and then later meet Walt himself along with Mr. Benchley.
to the worlds