5 contributions to the Ponyville Ciderfest 2023 Storytelling Adventure App
5 contributions to the Ponyville Ciderfest 2023 Storytelling Adventure App AKA 5 tales from the Book of All Stories.
For those who don't know: The Ponyville Ciderfest Storytelling Adventure was an interactive story that ran throughout the 3-day convention in 2023. An "Alternate Reality Game" that involved actors, events, quests, and an interactive app that contained dozens upon dozens of bite-sized stories. These stories were unlocked using code words hidden around the convention, and each one offered multiple endings that would contribute pages from the Book of All Stories to one of three factions.
It was an honor to participate in the event, even though I could not attend the convention myself. The five stories below are my contributions, with their code words and all possible endings. Each story will have a brief description at the top, and the endings will be separated into separate chapters for a true CYOA experience.
Sunburst, sagely wizard and current vice-headmare of Twilight’s School of Friendship, reaches out to you regarding a page of the Book of All Stories. The dramatic changes around Ponyville and all of Equestria wrought by the book’s very presence has sent the studious unicorn rifling through the library in search of means and magics to find the scattered pages. This, however, has led to an unexpected discovery.
“Oh good, you’re here,” Sunburst says once you arrive. The orange coated stallion, with cream white “socks” in his fur and dark red-orange mane, motions you from the entrance of the library to his side, to a lectern currently holding a closed book. The hardcover book has gold lettering on, spelling out “A Hearth’s Warming Tale,” in fanciful lettering.
“It’s the strangest thing,” he says as he brings a hoof up to adjust his round glasses before giving his goatee a single, straightening stroke. “I had just developed a spell I believed could help us find pages of the BAS… the Book of All Stories. Sorry, I picked up Twilight’s habit for acronyms. Anyway, when I first tried it, I was surprised that it was having such a strong reaction. It eventually led me to this book, but… it’s strange.
“I feel like I’ve… read this book before. In fact, looking up my library history, I’ve checked out this very book before, back last winter. Yet, I can’t remember a thing about it. Even the title… Hearth’s Warming… I feel like… this isn’t just some instructional book about making a good fire in a hearth.”
Your own confusion perhaps matches Sunburst’s as you clearly remember what Hearth’s Warming is: the Equestrian winter holiday celebrating not only the fire of friendship but the very founding of Equestria. And it’s not something Sunburst would ever forget. You even begin to explain it to Sunburst, the cyan-eyed scholar watching you and listening intently.
Yet, as you are explaining the holiday, the book itself seems to sputter and jump, as if a firecracker was ignited in its pages. The cover swings open, and the pages flip and flow as if being riffled through by the wind. Ice and snow sprays from the book, blinding you briefly in white frost.
When you open your eyes next, you and Sunburst are no longer in the library. Instead, you are standing outside in a bitterly cold blizzard. The wind is howling across rolling dunes of snow. From beneath the snow you can see rooftops of long buried buildings. It’s as if the world has been buried in a thick blanket of ice and snow.
“You, who still yet remember Hearth’s Warming,” a booming voice speaks. Where the snow and wind chills your spine, the voice you hear chills your very soul. You and Sunburst both turn where you stand, looking back to a looming cloaked figure that towers over you. The figure is easily three times the height of Celestia, and yet you can see nothing but swirling darkness against the ground. Near the hood of the cloak, you do manage to make out a face. At first blush you would believe it to be Princess Luna, yet somehow you know the visage of the princess is just a mask for something else.
“Who are you!?” Sunburst sputters out, likely echoing your own thoughts.
“I am the Spirit of Hearth’s Warming Yet to Come,” the towering creature answers. “And you two can correct a terrible wrong.”
“I… I feel like I’m starting to remember now.” Sunburst looks at you, adjusting his glasses again before looking back to the Spirit Hearth’s Warming. “But how in the world did I forget Hearth’s Warming? And how are you real!? You’re just a character from a story!”
“Surely you would not doubt the existence of a world where the Hearth’s Warming Tale truly came to pass amidst the many worlds brought to life by The Book of All Stories.” The spirit said before moving slightly to one side, revealing a floating book. It was the Hearth’s Warming Tale storybook from the library, but now with a single page standing upright as the others laid flat.
“Through its pages all is as real as one wants it to be, and yet it is a blank page that has created a story with no future.”
The Spirit turns and looks at you expectedly, and after a few tense moments, you dare to approach the book. The single page standing upright in the book is a page of the Book of All Stories. Someone had placed the page into the Hearth’s Warming Tale story book, and through the magic, the page integrated itself into the story.
Looking at the preceding page, you can see that the last thing to happen was the Spirit of Hearth’s Warming Present was warning Snowfall Frost about how they had just witnessed the last Hearth’s Warming ever. Knowing the story, you remember that Present’s warning would normally cue the appearance of the Spirit of Hearth’s Warming Yet to Come.
And yet, with the blank page inserted, the story is paused.
“In this moment, you hold all the power Snowfall Frost once held. To leave the page where it has been haphazardly placed could mean the end of Hearth’s Warming for any stories whose fate is bound to similar events. To remove it would mean you can restore the flow of this fable.”
“And why can’t you remove it?” Sunburst asks as he dares to walk up beside you, marveling at the page and its potent magic.
“I am a guide and nothing more,” The Spirit of Hearth’s Warming Yet to Come answers. “I can show you what the future holds, but I cannot make you seize it.”
“We should remove it, right?” Sunburst says, looking at you expectantly.
What should you do to the Page in a Hearth’s Warming Tale?
You reach out, grasp the page firmly, and begin to pull. It resists for a moment, but then you feel it starting to peel away from The Hearth’s Warming Tale book. As it does, you feel like you hear a voice behind you. Glancing back, you can see Snowfall Frost now stumbling in the snow. Her story no longer interrupted, she is able to arrive at the frozen future to meet the spirit.
“You have set right what another sought to disrupt, and now I may guide this wayward soul once more. Thank you,” the spirit says just as you give the Page a final ginger tug, removing it entirely from the storybook. At that moment the wind whips up a snow flurry, and you are forced again to close your eyes. When you open them, you are back at the library. You and Sunburst still feel the chill of the cold weather that had enveloped you, but that cold was melting away as the warmth of the library surrounds you.
You hold the Page, properly recovered, and the Hearth’s Warming Tale book is once more on the lectern, cover closed. There is some temptation to open it and ensure the story is intact, but somehow you know everything, at least in this small part of Equestria, is right again.
It is unfortunate that Sunburst doesn’t really know where your allegiances truly lie, otherwise he might not entrust you with such a weighty decision. Perhaps Hearth’s Warming was so significant in times past, but the modern version had undeniably drifted from that once wholesome purpose. That and a little less hope and warmth in Equestria would surely help your true allies, and surely they could deal with any Windigoes that might get a little too uppity.
So you begin to reach for the book, but instead of moving to remove the Page, you instead grip the covers and begin trying to close the book.
“No, what are you doing!? It has taken all that I have to bring you here, to right this wrong. Should you close the book and seal the page within, this tale shall be forever altered. Snowfall Frost will never see the portents of the future, and shall never learn the true impact of her spell. You shall doom Equestria to be bathed in a blanket of eternal snow!”
Those were the last words the spirit was able to utter as you managed to snap the book shut. A blinding light and whistle of snow forces you to shut your eyes, and when you open them again, you are back in the library.
Sunburst is looking around confused. “What just happened? I feel like… something just happened, but maybe I just… zoned out. We were talking about my spell for finding BAS pages, right?.”
You just smile and reassure him everything is fine, even as you take the book from the lectern. The once fanciful gold writing on the front is gone, and the book itself is entirely blank. After all, who would ever want to publish an incomplete story. Yet still, within the blank tome, you see the shimmering Page from The Book of All Stories.
It seems you managed to remove an annoying pony holiday as well as secure a page for your allies. Talk about a Win-Win.
Caramel Malt strides ahead of you, all smiles even as she leads the way deeper into the Everfree Forest. It was a misadventure, all starting from some rumors being passed around at Trotter’s Cider Bar. Whispers of a malevolent force in the Everfree Forest, one stirred up by the semi-recent incursion of Twilight Sparkle and her newly formed group of Ponyville friends. An incursion that had resulted in the defeat of a thousand-year-old evil and the return of a princess that few would have believed to be more than an old pony’s tale.
Still, you had been having yourself a drink at the Cider Bar when Caramel Malt got looped into one such retelling of the rumors. Of a newly awakened ghost haunting the old castle in the forest. Caramel Malt had been entranced by the various versions of the story, it seemed, and finally that night it had hit a tipping point.
“I say we go out and see for ourselves,” she called to all in the tavern, and many had called back in return. It was a bustle as tabs were paid and ponies began to file out, forming the flash mob of adventurers that wanted to go and see the ruined castle and the truth of the rumors. Even you got caught up in it, for one reason or another, and soon the few dozen ponies that had gathered struck out beneath the late afternoon sun.
That was a few hours ago, and now it was just you and Caramel Malt. Others had turned back because of exhaustion, personal responsibilities, or just boredom from tromping around in the Everfree Forest for so long. You didn’t know when or how you became the last one with Caramel, but it happened and you felt compelled to remain. Maybe you truly wanted to see the truth of the rumors. Maybe you just don’t want Caramel Malt to be alone in the forest. Maybe you just don’t want to have to walk back through the forest alone.
No matter the reason, you continue on with Caramel as, finally, the forest opens up to an ancient, craggy chasm, a rickety rope bridge, and a looming, ancient castle.
You begin to cross the bridge, and it is more harrowing than anything you saw or dealt with in the forest. It wobbles and creaks with each step. Each board groans like its within moments of giving way under your or Caramel’s weight. Yet, the bridge holds. You both safely cross and enter the ruins of the castle just as the sun is beginning to set.
Caramel Malt was giggly and bubbly as always, poking her head in doors and calling out to anyone or anything that was there. You are far less vocal, mostly taking in the sights, sounds, and even smells of the ruins. The whole place smells of dust and moss and wet stone. In some ways, it smells like a fresh rainstorm even though the sky had been clear all day.
You open your mouth to call out to Caramel Malt, to suggest that there was nothing to find, when a rage-filled roar reaches your ears. You both freeze in place. You see Caramel visibly shiver, and you can only do the same as the goosebumps crawl down your spine. Caramel looks back at you. There was a bit of fear in her eyes, but there was far more concern.
“Somepony could be hurt or trapped. We should check it out,” Caramel says.
Again, compelled either by your own adventurous spirit or fear of being alone, you follow behind Caramel and begin helping her pinpoint the sound. Eventually, you come across an ancient hall. A raised platform and a rotting throne at the end make it clear you are standing in the very heart of the castle: the throne room.
This was where Nightmare Moon had been defeated a little while ago, and this was where you saw it. Scattered on the floor like the broken pieces of a bowl was the armor of Nightmare Moon. The blue-toned iron was iridescent like the moon, and above it was… a shadow. A pony. An alicorn. Truly, it was hard to say. Some dark form was pulsating above the armor, as if trying to take shape, and yet never managing to be more than a swimming pool of shadow one might mistake as a trick of the light.
And at the center of the shadow was a floating piece of paper. As you and Caramel dare to get closer, it becomes more apparent it’s a page from a book. It has three clean edges while the fourth is a bit more jagged, either because it had been ripped out or the book's binding had come undone.
“The… night!”
You and Caramel Malt jump back from the shadow as it reacts to the pair of you drawing close.
“The night… shall last… forever.”
Those words ring familiar in your mind. In the wake of Nightmare Moon’s defeat, newspapers explained her aspirations. That and it was part of the founding story of Nightmare Night. No matter how much you liked or hated the holiday, it was hard not to know the story of something celebrated on a national scale.
“Help me… bring… the night. The eternal… night.” The shadow spoke through its unseen mouth, the page still floating there tantalizingly.
“I… I don’t think this thing is supposed to be here. But… we can’t leave it here to go get the royal guard, or Princess Celestia. What if someone else finds it, or what if it goes someplace else?” Caramel Malt says, looking to you for an answer of what to do.
It was true, the smartest choice would be to simply flee and get help. Yet, if this was some remnant of Nightmare Moon, it couldn’t just be left to threaten Equestria again, right?
You look at the page, which seems to be anchoring this echo of ancient villainy, and you can feel it calling out to you. Asking for your will, your choice. What story did you wish to bring to light?
As you touch the page, the simple truth solidifies in your heart. This echo isn’t a sentient thing. It is magic stripped away from Princess Luna by the Elements of Harmony. An echo of her jealousy and pain, and you feel the Princess of the Moon deserves a chance to put her past behind her. The day was saved, the princess rescued by Twilight Sparkle and her friends. You want it to stay that way.
In reaction to your feelings, the page slips into your grasp. The shadowy remnant of Nightmare Moon fades away like a shadow under a lantern light. You are able to clutch the page, and feel that its magic is dormant, at least for now. Perhaps you can find out more about this strange magic back in town, but for now, Caramel Malt finally expresses a desire to go back and you wholeheartedly agree.
As crazy as it sounds, when you read the newspapers about the defeat of Nightmare Moon, you almost felt bad. Maybe daylight and sunshine had never really been your thing, or maybe you just appreciate the endless expanse of stars on a nice dark night. Or maybe you are just tired of the rule of Princess Celestia, and feel a little rebellious shake up in the ruling class of Equestria is overdue.
No matter what, those feelings flow into the page, and the shadow begins to laugh. A muted chuckle at first, but it evolves quickly into a truly villainous cackle. You feel someone grab you, and looking back you can see it’s Caramel Malt. Her adventurousness and courage has run out, and you could tell by her expression that all she wants to do is run away. You pull yourself away from her, feeling within yourself the desire to remain.
Another cackle from the shadow is enough to force Caramel to act on her fears and flee, and when you look back, you see the shadow solidify. An alicorn mare as black as the darkest night looks down upon you, a mane of stars swirling as a sharp, toothy grin lingers on her face.
“You have chosen wisely, and in time your sensibility shall be rewarded,” Nightmare Moon says as she takes the page and holds it in her magic. “But for now, I must gather my strength. But just remember to look to the night and be prepared… for soon it shall be eternal.”
At that Nightmare Moon vanishes from your sight. She turns to a dark cloud and flees from the castle through a gap in the ceiling, taking the page with her. You have just given the villain a second chance at her ambitions, and only time will tell what will result.
As you reach out to touch the page, you are reminded of the rage-filled sounds that had drawn you to this remnant of Nightmare Moon. It had sounded angry, but also… sad in some ways. You knew the story. Princess Luna had grown jealous of her sister, and taken on the mantle as Nightmare Moon to try and usurp the sky and the kingdom. But then she was just defeated by a rainbow, all her feelings washed away?
Perhaps her actions had been bad, but her feelings had been not. To feel unappreciated and jealous was entirely valid. Nightmare Moon had just been the culmination of Luna’s bad choices. But if this remnant was capable of speech, surely it was capable of feeling. You wonder if that’s what you’re facing: all the jealousy and anger of Nightmare Moon that had been stripped away with Luna along with the dark powers.
But as you touch the page, the feeling in your heart is that you want Nightmare Moon to be happy. To find her peace and work through her problems. To find redemption not by rainbows, but by understanding. The page flashes to life as those feelings flow into it; it forces you to squint your eyes and turn away as it becomes bright as the sun.
When the light finally passes, you look back to see the remnants of armor have transformed into soft cloth and merged together into a single blanket, on which a fairly young foal is resting. The foal was black as night, and with hair that seemed on the edge between Luna’s familiar cyan and a darker, richer, nightly purple. You see the foal possess wings and a horn, and you stand stunned for a moment as you try to comprehend what you may have just invited upon the world.
“Oh, isn’t she a cutie,” Caramel Malt says as she moves to pick up the foal. “We should get her back to Ponyville where it is safe. We can figure out what to do after that.”
You watch as Caramel Malt turns and starts moving for the exit, and you can’t help but turn to follow. You don’t know who may come to care for the filly. Perhaps it will be a new duty of Twilight Sparkle, Celestia’s Faithful Student, or perhaps it will fall to someone else. Still, this filly was sure to cause a chaotic stir in Equestria.
“Are you ponies ready to see the most amazing, most death-defying feat of your lives!?”
You had intended to visit the quiet town of Maretime Bay to enjoy some of the local attractions and natural beauty. The beach, the rolling grassy fields, and the quiet, laid-back community of earth ponies was a welcome and restful departure from the high-flying lifestyle of the pegasi in Zephyr Heights.
And yet somehow Zephyr Heights had decided to follow you, or at least it could feel that way with the unfortunate circumstance as you saw Princess Pipp Petals standing on a low stage that had been setup along the main street of the normally calm coastal community. She was full in her influencer persona, taking selfies with the crowd behind her and hyping up just about every little thing.
Yet, you begin to notice that the banners and balloons attached to the stage weren’t in Pipp’s usual favored colors of pink with gold accents. No, all the advertising you saw aligned more with Princess Zipp Storm’s colors, a base of white with blue and pink accents. The elder princess, heir to the throne, was seen in the public far less often compared to her famous sister. Yet, it seemed for today, Princess Zipp was doing something rather flashy.
“That’s right, it's a big reveal time everyone. My sister. The coolest princess in Equestria, at least after me, is going to attempt an ancient and legendary feat of pegasi speed and agility. The Sonic Rainboom!
“Now, I know what you’re thinking. ‘Pipp, that all sounds super cool but I don’t know what a Sonic Rainboom is.’ Don’t worry, my fave followers, we got an expert on this subject ready to lay it down for you. Your friend and mine who swirls the smoothies here in Maretime Bay: Sunny Starscout!”
Pipp quickly stepped to the side of the stage, continuing to hold her phone at a good visual angle as Sunny stepped onto the stage. She smiled, she waved. It wasn’t the same pomp and circumstance that Pipp would put into welcoming the crowd, but it was easy to see Sunny was excited.
“Thank you everypony,” Sunny said once the crowd had died down a little. “Now, once upon a time, Princess Twilight Sparkle, Equestria’s Princess of Friendship, worked to save the world from numerous dangerous villains and threats with the help of her circle of friends. The same friends that would help her to create the Unity Crystals that now give us all our magic. One of these friends was the eternally loyal, stunt flying Rainbow Dash.
“Member of the famed stunt squadron, the Wonderbolts, Rainbow Dash was one of the fastest pegasi to ever be seen in Equestria. She was able to fly so fast that she could break the sound barrier unassisted, and with her chromatically colored mane, her pegasi magic would in that moment create an unmatched spectacle in the sky. A sonic boom of colors aptly named the sonic rainboom.”
“And my sister, though she doesn’t have a rainbow for a mane, is going to be attempting that legendary feat here today,” Pipp said, turning her head upward and pointing to a far off cloud super high in the air. “My brilliant sister, who has studied our pegasi wing mechanics even before the return of our magic, believes that on a picture-perfect day like today, that ancient legend is possible.”
It was at this moment you felt something scuttling by you on the ground. Looking down, you see some small creatures moving between the hooves of the watching crowd handing out flyers. You take one from a raccoonicorn that offers it, and look to see a graphic depicting Zipp performing the famed Sonic Rainboom.
Though… something does feel weird about this particular piece of paper. While looking around, all the other papers being held by the ponies in the audience are one white printer paper, your’s feels like it’s on something far older. It’s a bit yellowed, and you feel like you catch a wiff of something. A mixture of dust and quiet, yes the very smell of quiet, that makes you think of a library.
Yet, you cannot be distracted by the page much longer as you hear Pipp’s voice blaring even lower than usual. “Zipp, are you ready?” The peppy pink princess had gotten hold of a megaphone, and was using it to shout up to her sister high above. Your eyes move up with the rest of the crowd, where you see the small dot that is Zipp Storm wave back.
“All right… 3… 2… 1… GO!”
With Pipp’s final shout into the megaphone, you see Zipp begin a nosedive. She is going straight down, trying to build speed both with the flapping of her wings and the force of gravity. She is plummeting, and you feel yourself tensing up as you watch her zoom closer and closer to the ground. Could she actually do it, or is she going to have to pull up and give up the attempt immediately?
Which was better? This rainboom sounded amazing, and some part of you surely wanted to see it in person, but… something about the moment felt off, maybe. Was this really the time and place to see such a legendary feat recreated?
Should Zipp be successful with the Sonic Rainboom?
You know a bit about the more reclusive of the two pegasi princesses. Zipp Petals wasn’t one for the limelight. She was smart and inquisitive. You had seen things in the newspapers about her solving mysteries. And yes, there had been talk about her pursuit of flight before the return of magic, but now that all pegasi had it back, that was enough. She hadn’t been driving herself to push it further.
If Zipp saw this as something needed to solve a mystery, maybe you could see it, but then she wouldn’t be making such a dramatic attempt at recreating an ancient legend in front of a crowd in Maretime Bay. No… something felt just a little off. It was cool, but… maybe not how things were supposed to be.
And perhaps unbeknownst to you, the flier you are holding gets a little warm, maybe even tingles a bit in your grip. That somehow, a page of an ancient and powerful book had somehow found itself in a stack of printer paper
So with everyone else, you watch as Zipp gets close but after a few attempts fails to break the sound barrier. Eventually the attempts stop, Zipp looking disappointed but being consoled by her friends. You don’t know what’s being said, but you see her crack a smile despite her disappointment.
Surely she has learned some important life lesson, and somehow that feels right as you return to enjoying your trip to Maretime Bay.
Maybe you can’t explain Zipp’s motivations, but perhaps she simply feels compelled to attempt something everyone would believe is impossible. Maybe she’s doing it for her friends, who wish to see the astounding feet of pegasus flight. No matter her motivation, what you feel in your heart is simple. You want to see her succeed, and you start cheering with the rest of the crowd as you clutch the flier tightly in your grip.
You’re so enthralled you almost don’t feel the flier growing warm in your grip, or feel magic dancing or tingling off it. And even if you do notice, you don’t realize the piece of paper you’re holding is magical. No, your eyes are glued on the plummeting Zipp Storm as she continues to pick up speed, as you and others around you begin to see a cone of air starting to form around the tips of her hooves.
Then, just as the moment of no return, it happens. A boom of sound, like the sky splitting open during a thundering storm, shakes Maretime Bay. Zipp makes a sharp turn in the air, a trail of pink and blue following behind her.
And at that point in the sky where the sound barrier finally gave way, a glistening circle of flaming colors is extending outward, Intermixing and alternating streaks of purple and pink that stretch further and further across the sky like a burning ripple across a sky-blue pond.
She had done it. You, the crowd, and her friends all raise your voices in cheers as Zipp forms the trail behind her into fanciful loops and corkscrews in the sky. The legend was real. Maybe it wasn’t a rainbow, but what Zipp had accomplished was no less spectacular, and it was an amazing way to start your visit to Maretime Bay.
It’s hard to recount the strange circumstances that found you working in a high-class cafe in Zephyr Heights, but your current situation is undeniable. Dressed in the sleek black-tie uniform of the establishment, you’ve been given the task to bus and clear tables. It’s only for one shift, so it’s only a minor inconvenience for your plans, and you’ve had a chance to see some rather famous pegasi, at least from a distance.
One particular pegasi of highest renown you’ve seen is Queen Haven herself, who came in about two hours ago. She took a seat at a corner booth at the very back of the cafe, her guards taking stations far enough away to give the queen privacy, but still close enough to be able to act in an instant. They’ve also done their best to stay out of the way of the regular wait staff as other customers tended to, which has been appreciated by the full-time employees.
Queen Haven, from what you can see, has been very deep in thought. The waiters would come by, and she seemed to be slowly ordering additional things whenever they did. Always little snacks, or different caffeinated drinks, but the dirty plates were starting to pile up at her table. And it seems one of the other waiters has taken notice too, as you were given a subtle nudge to go refresh the table for the queen.
You start heading over, an empty table bussing bin in your grip. The guards stop you briefly, to inspect you and the empty bin. After they perform their due diligence, they let you approach the queen. You ask, in your own way, if you might clear some of the dirty dishes. The Queen snaps out of some deep thoughts, and offers you a kind smile. “Oh yes, of course. Thank you.”
It’s nice to see even the royals in Equestria have manners, and you quickly begin collecting the dirty utensils, plates, and cups into the bussing bin. You then take the wet rag you have with you to give the table a very light wipe down. In less than a minute, the work is done and you prepare to leave.
“Thank you again. Though… I don’t think I’ve seen you around before. Are you new?”
You answer Queen Haven’s question, elaborating how you were just helping out for the day. Hearing that seems to make something spark in Queen Haven’s eyes and she gestures you closer.
“So you’re just passing through town, a visitor… someone who would likely never be in Zephyr Heights again and would be unable to breathe a word of any scandalous matter that you might hear about.”
You can only nod your head to Queen Haven’s words. It’s hard to see if or when you’d ever return to Zephyr Heights, though… the mention of a scandalous matter might put you on guard… or it might make you all the more curious.
“Oh, I’m in a dreadful pickle, and I want to ask someone, anyone for advice. But… oh, they’d think so poorly of me I’m sure if I were to breathe a word of this; of what I’ve been contemplating.
“You see… I’ve found this page from a book, and it’s a powerful relic. It can change our very world, change our story as it were.” Queen Haven reaches beneath her wing with a hoof, and produces the piece of paper. In so many ways it looks like just some normal page from a book, but you can also just sense the magic coming off of it. It is undoubtedly powerful.
“And… I’ve been so tempted since I found it. You see… my eldest, Zephyrina Storm… she is next in line for the throne. And she has so many skills suitable for a queen. She’s smart and inquisitive. She’s not easily tricked either. But… she just doesn't have any interest in it. And Pipp, my youngest… oh she’s so caring, and the public adores her. That and I think she’d actually want to be queen, but… traditions do have to be honored and followed. Otherwise, they very well aren’t traditions, are they?”
Queen Haven looked intently at the page, running one hoof across the rough-textured paper. “Maybe with this page, I could change things around a little bit. Make things easier for my family… but I can already hear Alphabittle scolding me. That and my girls could easily be angry with me if I change things too much. But surely they can appreciate it. I'm just trying to look out for them. It’s the same reason why I faked our ability to fly so long. I just want them, and all my little ponies, to be happy.”
Queen Haven looks to you. “And surely this kind of opportunity will never come around again, so… I know it’s a terrible burden to ask but… what would you do in my position? You, a stranger I may very well never see again nor will be around to reveal the truth… should you advise me to use it.”
You can tell Queen Haven is being sorely tempted by the page and its promised power, but you have to give her your honest advice. You don’t think she should use it. She’s the queen, and while it may be difficult dealing with the public, there must be ways she can address the problem using her authority.
Queen Haven sighs in defeat, but nods her head. “If even a stranger tells me the same advice I imagine Alphabittle saying, then really how can I do anything else. Thank you, and sorry for burdening you with my troubles. It’s not a traditional tip, but… I feel better if you would take this. Maybe you can return it to where it belongs.”
Queen Haven gently offers you the page, and you can’t help but take it. You share a few more words with the queen before you must bow and depart, getting back to cleaning other tables. Still, into the pocket of your uniform you’ve gently tucked the page to keep it safe. After this shift, you’ll figure out what to do next.
You can understand the Queen’s predicament. The easiest answer for her would be to change the laws so she could pick which daughter she wants to be queen after her, but there would be some public outcry about it. Both for changing traditions, and also likely some ponies would not feel the streaming influencer Pipp Petals would be as good of queen as her elder sister, Zipp.
So you advise the queen to use the page to change the laws, a power she already has. But the page will let her do it without drawing a lot of public attention. Sure it’s cheating the system, just a little, but she obviously cares for her daughters and wants to be able make them happy, and making it a choice instead of a tradition seems the right route.
You see the queen smile, obviously delighted for someone to say and agree with her feelings. She gently tucks the page back under her wing. “Thank you, and I’m sorry to ask you for advice out of the blue. Ponies can get bent out of shape when things change. I should know, I was so stubborn when it came to my girls and their quest for the Unity Crystals. But change is good sometimes, but if I can make that change go over more smoothly, I think everyone will be happier.
“So thank you.” The queen bows her head to you gently, and you return the same. You linger to share a few final words with the queen before you have to get back to your job. As you depart, you think about what you’ve just done and… you probably feel okay about it. Changing an old stupid law that ponies would only gripe about because it was old and “tradition” seemed like a good use for the page.
You can’t deny it's a bit manipulative, but you also feel like Pipp Petals just wasn’t suitable for the crown. Zipp was obviously the best choice. She just needed to have a reason to want to be queen. So you advise Queen Haven that perhaps that was the best way to use the page. To give Zipp the inspiration she needed to want to be queen. To help her find her motivation.
After all, Queen Haven of Zephyr Heights would surely know what was best for her family and her kingdom.
“You’re right… It's really my responsibility. Just like it’s Zipp’s responsibility. She can’t run away from it, but… I don’t want her to be miserable either. So… changing something so she’s not miserable… that’s a motherly thing to do. Mother and Queen does know best.”
You nod your head in agreement and reassure Queen Haven as she tucks the page back beneath her wing. You’re unsure how the queen will change Zipp. Perhaps have her gain an interest in the nuances of politics, or simply have her start enjoying the public eye a bit more.
But either way, you’d imagine you’d soon be hearing about Zipp a bit more in the news as her path in life is gently course-corrected to ensure its destination was the throne of Zephyr Heights. And surely gently modifying someone's feelings and emotions couldn’t result in Zipp becoming some tyrant… or that Queen Haven wouldn’t get drunk with the power and start using the page to change other things.
No, surely that wouldn’t happen, but even if it did… maybe it would be okay. After all, mother knows best.
With the pages from the Book of All Stories popping up all around Equestria, strange sights were becoming commonplace. The power of the pages was shifting reality back and forth, and yet, other smaller occurrences paled in comparison to the sight of Mount Aris within Equestria’s borders. The great coastal mountain and home of the Hippogryphs had, with no warning, appeared one morning adjacent to Canterlot Mountain.
You, among those seeking the pages, were immediately dispatched to the newly appeared Mount Aris. And it was fairly easy to see, even from your initial arrival, that it was no facsimile or illusion. It was the real Mount Aris, now sitting in a deep lake where rolling green hills had once been. And the lake itself was salty and very deep, revealing that Seaquestria had been brought along as well.
With the credentials given to you by Twilight Sparkle, it’s fairly easy for you to get an audience with Queen Novo. The regal ruler of Mount Aris, of the hippogryphs and the hippocampi, was in her throne room upon your arrival. The stately white stone of the hippogryph castle was surely a rival to the beauty and regal radiance of Canterlot. Yet there were differences you noticed. The castle itself was more airy, with higher ceilings and taller doors suitable for the naturally taller residents.
Queen Novo looks up from some scrolls upon your arrival, her guards announcing you and your association with Princess Twilight Sparkle. Queen Novo grimaces a bit at the name, and you were warned that of Equestria’s four princesses, Queen Novo’s opinion on Twilight was perhaps the most problematic. Still, she gestures you closer and sets the scrolls off to one side.
“Welcome, [USERNAME], to Mount Aris. I’m guessing Princess Twilight sent you here to ask why we’re suddenly her next door neighbors.”
You nod your head and confirm Queen Novo’s suspicions. Who wouldn’t be concerned to find a mountain had appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the night.
“Well, I’ll admit, this is a bit of my own doing.” She reaches to a table beside her throne. She passes over the scrolls she had been looking at earlier and picks up a single piece of paper. From the color, size, and shape, you immediately recognize it as a page from the Book of All Stories.
“For so long my kingdom has been isolated from our allies here in Equestria, and above all, I ain’t fooling myself about its size either. At best, we’re comparable to the Crystal Empire, and even that is a vassal state of Equestria anymore. And when I heard about Celestia and Luna retiring, leaving me to deal with Princess Twilight… well, I guess that gave me a whole lot of reasons to make a little geographic change for the better.”
You are perhaps tempted to point out that moving a mountain isn’t exactly a “small” geographic change, but you don’t. Instead, you ask Queen Novo if she’s sure a decision like this is really wise. She’s causing a very big change to the world.
“You say that like I didn’t do my research. This bit of land in Equestria was being used for a whole lot of nothing. Just rolling grass fields. And sure, maybe I displaced a few animals, but you Equestrians are all about managing the wildlife populations and everything else. I’m sure any animals I’ve displaced can be rehomed to Mount Aris proper or someplace else in else.
“Besides, Mount Aris is a bustling city and, since I brought a little bit of the ocean with us, a hot new tourist destination that’s landed right in your backyard. I imagine Princess Twilight will be thanking me once everyone gets used to the change. So really, I think I’ve done both our kingdoms a favor.”
You can see that Queen Novo made up her mind, but perhaps there is still a chance you could convince her to not abuse the power of the page.
You speak frankly with Queen Novo. You understand her points and perspectives, but moving a whole mountain like this is bound to cause a lot of problems for both kingdoms. You rattle off even a few of the possible predicaments created by the situation, like land disputes and tax issues. The laid back queen of the hippocampi and hippogryphs seems to grimace as you quickly make her realize how much paperwork could be in her future if she decides to stay her current course.
Within a few minutes, she’s sighs as she gets up from her throne and descends towards you. “Guess I was acting a bit too impulsive. You could say that’s where Skystar gets it. No wonder she galavanted off to help Equestria without telling me.” She comes to a stop in front of you and offers the page.
“Here, I’ll let you take care of putting things back the way they were. I’ve gotta make sure none of my citizens have left and no Equestrians have gone and gotten lost in Mount Aris. After that, you’ll be free to send us back.”
You nod, and thank the queen for seeing reason. You can surely understand why she was tempted to make such a grand change, but it’s better for Equestria as a whole, and your efforts with the Book of All Stories, if things stay the way they're supposed to be.
Honestly, you can understand a lot of Queen Novo’s motivations. And her use of the page really did seem to integrate Mount Aris and the subnautic Seaquestria into the landscape of Equestria rather seamlessly. That and even as you were arriving at the mountain, you could see the excited looks of the hippogryphs, hippocampi, and even some of the ponies that had already managed to come to visit the mountain.
Truly, it seemed like it would be better if the two allied, friendly kingdoms were closer together. Yes, maybe it would cause some headache and a mountain of government paperwork, but… you smile and bend a knee to Queen Novo. You explain that you understand the wisdom of her decision, and you support it.
“Well, good to see some ponies can see sense. I know Twilight’s going to give you an earful when you get back, but I appreciate your understanding. How about I give you a tour around Mount Aris as a thank you? I even took special care to ensure the Harmonizing Heights are still as musical as ever, even here in Equestria. Then you should see the sea tunnel that connects Seaquestria all the way to the coast. After all, gotta have my seaweed wraps with my deep tissue massages.”
Queen Novo laughs, and you can’t help but join along as you follow the queen for the promised tour of her kingdom. She is truly a direct and commanding queen, but not so wrapped up in the rules and traditions that she isn’t willing to cause a little bit of a stir if she feels it would be better for everyone in the long run.