A magical page has become embedded in a book about Gusty the Great. There's something different about this book now.
A pair of fillies approach you with a problem. Their favorite book is behaving strangely. What kind of magical shenanigans will you find within its contents?
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)
Hero: Gusty and the Unicorns run to Cloudsdale for help
Gusty and the Unicorn Warriors knew they weren’t strong enough to defeat Grogar.
Grogar smirks at Gusty. “There, see?”
So they made a hasty retreat.
“As cowardly unicorns should,” he commented.
A hasty tactical retreat. “Full gallop to Cloudsdale, we need more help,” Gusty commanded.
“Wait, what?” Grogar looks at you with concern.
Gusty says, “You heard the reader. Full gallop to Cloudsdale, we need more help!”
The Ponies rush off into the distance, and Grogar stands there dumbfounded before rushing after them. “Get back here!” He runs to give chase, but stops briefly and looks back at you with fury. “I’ll deal with you later… if I ever get out of this mess that you caused.”
Grogar disappears from view, leaving a cloud of dust in his wake, and suddenly you realize you can turn the page. The golden page now shimmers and the words you spoke are somehow written on it as if by a skilled calligraphist. It then tears itself out of the book and flutters away like a butterfly, before disappearing in a flash of golden light.
You flip through the rest of the pages before handing it back to the bewildered fillies. “I don’t think this book will give you trouble anymore,” you say to them.
“Aww, that won’t happen again? That was kind of fun. I want to see it again,” Coconut Cream said.
“Yeah,” Toola Roola replied.
“Let’s go read some more. Maybe we’ll make up our own story.”
“Where Toola Roola and Coconut Cream come to the rescue of Gusty the Great!”
You grin at the two figures in the book and you speak in a darker tone.
Grogar’s eyes flash with fire as he stares down his opponent.
“Oh, now we’re talking,” Grogar says.
The horns of the ancient and powerful ram spark with electric fury.
“Wait, what’s going on?” Gusty asks.
He unleashes a beam of wild magic far more powerful than the combined strength of the spell that the unicorns had used.
“Oh, no,” Gusty says.
“Oh, yes,” Grogar replies as he fires the beam at Gusty, who screams in pain as she’s thrown back out of the frame. The other unicorns scatter in all directions.
Grogar was too powerful for the Ponies. It was a dark day for Equestria. Their last hope for salvation was gone.
You see Gusty enter the frame again. “Wait, can we please talk about this?” Her flank is smoking, as Grogar gives chase, firing more blasts at her and narrowly missing.
“Come back here and get what’s coming to you,” Grogar yells with manic laughter in his voice.
The golden page now shimmers and the words you spoke are somehow written on it as if by a skilled calligraphist. It then tears itself out of the book and flies away like a hawk before combusting in a burst of crimson flames and pitch black smoke.
You flip through the rest of the pages before offering it back to the frightened fillies. “I don’t think this book will give you trouble anymore,” you say to them.
The fear is apparent in their eyes and they look like they might cry. “Umm, I don’t want it anymore,” Toola Roola says. “Coconut, we’d better go.” The two of them run away, nearly tripping over themselves before they turn a corner and disappear.
You look at the book one last time. The cover has changed to one with evil red eyes on a field of black. The title: “Grogar’s Revenge.”
Grogar and Gusty both power up and prepare to do battle.
“Oh, this should be good,” Grogar says.
“Bring it on,” Gusty replies.
Both Gusty and Grogar’s horns glow with arcane magic.
And just as they’re about to unleash havoc on one another, the spirit of Chaos, Discord descends upon them!
Both Gusty and Grogar’s horns stop glowing, and you could swear you just heard the sound of car brakes. They look towards you, and ask in unison, “Who?”
A pair of “hands” suddenly reach around from behind the picture. One is the paw of a lion, the other is the claw of a bird of prey.
“Oh, that would be me,” Discord says joyfully, as the entire picture is flipped over.
Grogar and Gusty suddenly find themselves standing upside down with the sky below them. They look down, look at you, and then look at each other, and then scream. A moment later they begin falling. The picture follows them as they cling to one another in a panic. Then coming into the frame from above is the familiar draconequus. He’s dressed in a white spandex skydiving suit with a World War 1 pilot’s scarf and flight goggles.
“Sorry to drop in on you like this. I’ve broken the fourth wall before, but this is almost ridiculous even for me.”
Grogar and Gusty keep screaming.
“Will the both of you quiet down, you’ve already reached terminal velocity, it can’t get any worse than this.”
Suddenly the blue sky is replaced with stars. Discord looks at you and shrugs. “I stand corrected. Maybe it can get worse.”
The moon hurdles past and both of them scream even louder.
Discord assures them, “Oh, relax, Princess Luna is just going through a phase.”
“Wait, if we’re in space, how are we breathing?” Gusty screams.
“Don’t question it, just enjoy it; you’re under absolutely nopressure at all,” Discord says. “Well, you should at least dress the part, I suppose.” Discord grabs a tiny space shuttle from off frame and opens its cargo doors, pulling out a pair of fish bowls. He closes the doors on the shuttle and tosses it away like a paper airplane. He then slams a fishbowl over each of their heads, which muffles their screaming.
Discord looks at you. “Well thank you, [USERNAME], for the unexpected invite. I hope I made it worth your while. “And don’t worry about these two, I’ll make sure the story doesn’t become an… orbituary.” He giggles. Discord reaches out of the picture, grabs the book and slams it shut. His claw then grabs the golden page, tears it out, and somehow folds it into an origami image of himself which dances along the book cover for a moment, before disappearing in a flash of white light.
Looking at the book cover, you realize the title has changed to, “Gusty and Grogar’s Far Out Adventure.”
The two fillies stare at you wide eyed and barely blinking.
