Ciderfest 2023 Mane Story Friday Night - "Immersion"by SonicsunsChaptersHeroesChaos [CANON]VillainsHeroesBarley and Caramel ran through a portal to yet another dimension. They found themselves in a futuristic city at night, filled with neon lights and high-rise buildings. Hundreds of pegasi filled the crowded streets and the air above, shopping and chatting casually. Caramel gasped. “Ohmygosh, look!” She pointed to a neon sign that read “ZH”. Before Barley could answer, a passing pegasus called down to them “Hey!” she said, “Are you lost?” Caramel and Barley looked up at the newcomer, both noticing the high-tech visor on her face and the chrome-plated devices on her forelegs. “I guess we do stand out,” mumbled Barley. “Hey,” said Caramel, “is this Zephyr Heights?” The high-tech newcomer looked confused. “What? No, this is Zipp Heights.” “Zipp Heights?” “Yeah. You know. Zipp?” They stared at her. “Zipp Storm. You know? Founded the CyberCorps? Went to space? Beat the Galaxians in the battle of Zumba?” “Zumba?” said Barley, dumbfounded. “You’re really not from around here!” “Yeah, that’s actually a funny story.” said Caramel. “We sortof came through a portal.” “Oh, that’s your deal! Yeah, that’s been weird. I heard there’s some portals further down the mountain that nopony can figure out. Oh, and we had some junk fall through a portal earlier. Is that yours?” The stranger gestured behind them, and Caramel and Barley turned to see a very familiar hot air balloon. It was purple with a basket underneath. “OhmigoshOhmigoshOhmigosh!” squeaked Caramel. “Barley, we have to use that.” “For what?!” An hour later, the pair were in the basket of the balloon, drifting down along the mountainside as the sun rose in the distance. “Ohhhh, this is perfect!” yelled Caramel, and she began to sing: “My Little Pony, My Little Pony, ahhhhh…” “Portal!” yelled Barley as he steered the balloon into a large portal below them. Caramel nudged him. “Hey! Don’t interrupt the song.” But it was too late for that. The balloon passed through a portal and the pair found themselves awash in daylight, drifting through the skies of some other world. Carmel looked out over the new landscape. “Wow,” she whispered. The two of them paused for a few moments. Barley turned and sighed. “So…I guess we’re going off-schedule this year.” “It’s not the first time.” she offered. He looked at her and raised an eyebrow. “Ok, I guess it’s the first time that this…you know, specific thing has happened” she replied, somewhat embarrassed, “but it’s pretty amazing, right?!” “It would be,” said Barley, “if it wasn’t so dangerous.” He leaned against the edge of the balloon basket, crossing his forelegs beneath his chin and tapping his hoof nervously. “Hey,” offered Caramel, “we’ll find her.” “How? She could be anywhere! And if we do find her, what then?” “I…I don’t know. She’s a little off.” “A little?” He thought of Fizzy’s fury at Opening Ceremonies; the memory still shocked him. “But I’m sure there’s a good reason for it. We’re her friends. We’ll figure it out.” “And in the meantime, we’ve got three different factions fighting over a bunch of magical pages so they can…what, rule the world?” “Apparently?” “Like I said: Off. Schedule.” “Hey, look!” Carmel pointed down towards a series of thatched-roof buildings below them. In a few moments they landed on a grassy field in a very familiar little town. A windmill turned lazily in the distance. “Caramel, is this-” Suddenly they were greeted by a very familiar voice. “There you are!” The two of them turned to see none other than Twilight Sparkle approaching them with a smile, magical Pages fluttering about her. “Twilight?!” yelped Caramel, falling out of the basket and faceplanting onto the ground. Twilight laughed a bit as she helped Caramel up. “Easy, now. You’ve had a hard day.” “Where have you been?” said Barley. “In a word, everywhere.” Twilight replied, glancing through the pages that fluttered around her. “This really is a fascinating situation, though personally I’d like to get back to normal as soon as possible.” Barley sighed. “You’re telling me!” Caramel piped up. “What happened to Discord and Tirek?” “We don’t know. We’ve heard about Tirek attacking guests, but the guests have been helping us gather pages too, and we’ve been using them to protect everypony. As for Discord…” Twilight frowned. “I know he usually has some plan, but I’m worried. Last we really spoke was after the Battle of the Bell, and I know what happened bothered him.” She shook her head. “Like I said, I’m worried.” “That’s a relief,” said Barley. “What about Fizzy?” Twilight sighed. “I don’t know. She’s been moving across stories chaotically, and it was hard enough tracking you down. But don’t worry. We still have time.” She wrote something on a page, and a portal opened up beside them. Caramel looked in and saw what appeared to be the deck of a spaceship. A gold-colored pony on the other side looked up at her in confusion. “Don’t mind us!” said Caramel. Twilight gestured to the portal. “Fizzy was in this world a short while ago. If you follow portals from there you have a good chance of finding her.” “You’re not coming with us?” said Barley nervously. Twilight shook her head. “I’m sorry, I’m busy making sure that Pages don’t fall into the wrong hooves. And besides, you’re her friends. You’re the ponies she needs to talk to most.” Barley nodded. “We’ll do what we can.” Caramel bounded through the portal. “Do not be alarmed! We come in peace!” Barley followed. He took one last glance back at Twilight as the portal closed between them. Chaos [CANON]Caramel and Barley held each other close as they tumbled through another portal, finding themselves in a vast space between worlds. The disparate lights of a hundred landscapes raced by at dizzying speed. Caramel tried to process what she was seeing but it was all too much. She saw a flash of Ponyville with a dark green sky, then suddenly she saw an underwater city filled with tuna fish sleeping in cans. She felt scorching heat behind her and turned to see what appeared to be an ice sculpture made of lava drifting lazily past them. A small yellow bird was skating on it without a care in the world. “Hang on!” yelled Barley over the din. He opened his wings and caught an updraft from an inside-out weather factory, lifting them both through another portal which he hoped would provide them some safety. Together they slammed through a field of something which eventually slowed them to a halt. After a moment, Barley let go of Caramel, heaving deep breaths. “What was that?” “It’s popcorn!” shouted Caramel, looking out at the apparently endless popcorn that covered the new landscape. “That’s not really what I meant. I - hey!” “What? It’s good!” said Caramel, though her mouth was too stuffed with popcorn for Barley to hear her properly. Barley gestured at the portal they’d just come from. “I mean what was all that?” “You mean the giant crazy mysterious space between universes thing?” “Yes. That.” Caramel paused. “No idea!” she exclaimed, pointing a hoof in the air to punctuate the point. Barley sighed. “So what do we know?” Caramel tapped her hoof on her chin. “Well, we know that Fizzy opened the Book of All Stories.” “Right.” “And it sucked us all inside.” “And now three factions are fighting for control of the universe.” “It’s a little off-schedule, isn’t it?!” said Barley, throwing his hooves in the air. Caramel nodded. “A little!” Barley looked around at the strange popcorn-covered landscape. “How are we going to find Fizzy? What’s going on with her? And where did she get the book, anyway? It doesn’t make any sense!” Suddenly a voice echoed all around them, chucking to itself. “What fun is there in making sense?” A burst of wind swept up the fields of popcorn into a series of tornadoes. Caramel and Barley held each other close against the wind as the popcorn retreated and a tye-dye silhouette appeared in the sky, surrounded by dozens of glowing Pages. A chocolate raincloud loomed in the background as the figure laughed. “Who are you?” shouted Barley. The silhouetted figure turned suddenly. The wind stopped. The rain stopped. “Seriously?” said the figure with annoyance. “It’s not obvious?!” “Well, I just wanted to be sure-” “Oh for Smooze’s sake! Here I was trying to make an entrance and you had to go and ruin it.” A small boom box appeared at the figure’s side, and with a huff the figure pressed “Play”. A voice from the box sang. “Discord! I’m howling at the moon. And sleeping in the middle of a summer-” “Discord!” said Caramel and Barley. The music stopped and the figure revealed himself. “Oh, finally!” said Discord, pinning a little badge that said “Vry Smrt” to Barley’s vest. “I don’t suppose you need even more hints? Any lingering questions, perhaps?” Caramel and Barley spoke at the same time. “Where’s Fizzy?” said Barely. “What kind of popcorn was that?” said Caramel. Barley looked at her. “Also, where’s Fizzy?” she amended. Discord smiled. “Well aren’t you in luck! It just so happens that I know the answer to one of those questions.” “...and?” said Barley “Goodness, you really do need to be led by the nose. Obviously it was Vulcan White Cheddar with a Swiss Accent.” “You mean you don’t know where Fizzy is?” Discord sighed with annoyance. “I don’t know, and frankly I don’t care.” He smiled. “I’m in the middle of a game, you see. I’ve pulled ahead of the competition, but I still can’t afford to take my eyes off the prize.” A golden statue of Discord appeared beside him, and he took a moment to admire it. “But shouldn’t you be helping Twilight deal with Sombra and Grogar? And we heard Tirek was grabbing pages from the guests-” “Oh, but I am helping!” Discord leaned in, a twee grin stretched across his muzzle. “I’m, in fact, making the world a better place! Poor Twilight just wants to reset to the status quo, but I think history could do with an editor, don’t you?” “But-” “Oh, but nothing! Do you really think it’s fair that the changelings had to suffer under Chrysalis for decades? Or that poor Stygian spent so long locked in limbo after Starswirl mistreated him? I’m not just having fun here.” Barley gave Discord a blank stare. “Okay, maybe I am having just the teeniest amount of fun! Afterall, who doesn’t like a good chocolate rain?” Discord pointed at Caramel, who was grinning far too broadly. “ She gets it! I am helping, though. Trust me.” He then blinked far too many times, with eyelashes that were far too long on eyes that had become far too big. Barley sighed. “But what about Fizzy?” Discord threw his paw and talon in the air. “Again with the Fizzy! Do you think of anything else?” “We really do need to find her.” Caramel replied. “Ugh! Fine! Frankly,” he continued, “you’re starting to bore me anyway. I liked it better when you were tumbling around.” With that, gravity suddenly shifted. Caramel and Barley found themselves tumbling straight through the portal. “Good luck finding your friend!” shouted Discord. “Just be sure to cause some chaos while you’re at it!” He laughed as the ponies tumbled out of sight. Villains“Run!” shouted Barley. Caramel galloped as fast as she could while a horde of angry changelings chased after them. She didn’t dare look back, but she could hear the approach of their buzzing wings and their thundering hooves. Heart pounding in her chest, Caramel approached the edge of the rocky cliff. As changelings approached from behind and the portal grew closer in front, she suddenly saw that it wasn’t at the cliffside at all; it was hovering midair ten feet further away! “Barley!” she shrieked. “Jump!” shouted Barley. With her final hooffalls bracing against the cliff’s edge, Caramel lept with all her might. For one heart-stopping moment she thought that she might not make it, until suddenly Barley swooped down holding her in his forelegs just long enough for them both to rocket through the portal. They scrambled to their feet on a stone floor in a dark dungeon. “Come on” said Barley, “they’re almost-” He looked back at the portal, only to see it vanish before his eyes. They both took a moment to breathe. Caramel looked back at the blank stone wall, still panting. “Do you think they’ll come after us?” Barley hesitated. “If they could, they’d probably be here already.” “Here’s hoping.” “I guess the con’s gone a bit off-rails this year, huh?” Carmel gave a dry laugh. “Yeah, a little bit!” “We’re trapped in a book.” “Yup.” “We’ve got three factions gathering up pages so they can Write the Future.” “Whatever that means.” “And we still haven’t found Fizzy! What was going on with her, anyway?” Caramel looked at him. “I…I don’t know.” “Well we’d better figure it out, and fast.” Caramel attempted a smile. “We’ll manage. I mean we survived the changelings, right? That was lucky.” A deep, sneering voice echoed around them. “THERE IS NO LUCK.” A terrible scraping noise came from the far wall as stone blocks magically reoriented themselves and slid to either side. The ceiling joined the wall in reshaping itself, and soon the two ponies found themselves in a vast stone hall. Great cauldrons lit the room with mighty blue flames, sending shadows dancing wildly across the newly-formed walls. Ahead of them, in the center of the room, a staircase rose to a sinister throne. On the throne there stood a blue ram, glaring down at them. Magical Pages circled him through the air, shaded by the blue firelight. Caramel turned to find an exit, but there was none. She tried using her magic on the stone walls but it simply bounced back at her. “Stop trying” said the ram upon his throne. His voice was barely above a whisper, but it was magically amplified to echo throughout the room. “There’s no point.” Barley stepped between Caramel and Grogar. “What do you want?” “I had hoped your prattling would provide useful information, but apparently you’re just as ignorant as you seem.” He looked them over, like a butcher staring at a rough cut of beef. “Perhaps your bodies can be reshaped into something useful.” “Twilight will stop you!” Barley shouted, trying not to let his knees shake too visibly. Grogar stopped short. And laughed. “Your little alicorn princess? I am an Emperor. I am the Father of Monsters. She has only ever fought the distant descendants of my glorious creations; she has not proven herself against my glory.” Slowly he stepped down from the throne and began descending the staircase. “What about Discord? You think you can take him too?” Caramel shot back. “The imposter? I shall take vengeance for his impudence in due time.” He approached them and his voice grew harsher. “I am a very patient ram. I have waited untold eons for this moment. But now that I have my chance, I will not hesitate to act.” Iron chains erupted from the ground, binding Caramel and Barley’s hooves. They struggled to no avail. Grogar circled them slowly. “ It’s rather funny. The ‘guests’ of your little… event have been feeding me these pages. Even they recognize the inevitable. I have enough to begin my work, and when the book closes in two days’ time I assure you that I will be the victor. I would like to keep you here, to witness the moment when your hope turns to despair. Perhaps the nirik will serve as your guard, once I’ve found her. It is only a matter of time.” He then looked them over again. “In the meantime, you might serve well as manticores…” Suddenly a new voice echoed through the hall. “Don’t count us out yet, jerkface!” “WHAT?!” Grogar snapped his head just in time to see Rainbow Dash burst through the wall, enveloped in a magical aura and scattering stones in all directions as she thundered her foreleg straight into Grogar’s face. Grogar roared and stumbled back as Rainbow Dash called over her shoulder. “SUNNY!” Sunny Starscout was right behind her, transparent wings glowing with alicorn might. Blasts from her horn made quick work of Barley and Caramel’s chains. “Quick, before he recovers!” Grogar was already rising to his feet as Sunny conjured a portal to parts unknown. Dash shoved Caramel through the portal as Sunny grabbed Barley with her magic. The four of them tumbled through just as Grogar blasted the portal with his own magic. “Watch out!” yelled Sunny. “He’s trying to-” Suddenly all was silent. Sunny was gone. Rainbow Dash was gone. Caramel and Barley found themselves in a brown barren landscape stretching out in all directions. A low wind began to pick up, and for a long time it was the only sound. “Barley?” said Caramel. “Yeah?” “Let’s find Fizzy, and then let’s get out of here. Quick.” Far in the distance, dozens of portals began to open.
HeroesBarley and Caramel ran through a portal to yet another dimension. They found themselves in a futuristic city at night, filled with neon lights and high-rise buildings. Hundreds of pegasi filled the crowded streets and the air above, shopping and chatting casually. Caramel gasped. “Ohmygosh, look!” She pointed to a neon sign that read “ZH”. Before Barley could answer, a passing pegasus called down to them “Hey!” she said, “Are you lost?” Caramel and Barley looked up at the newcomer, both noticing the high-tech visor on her face and the chrome-plated devices on her forelegs. “I guess we do stand out,” mumbled Barley. “Hey,” said Caramel, “is this Zephyr Heights?” The high-tech newcomer looked confused. “What? No, this is Zipp Heights.” “Zipp Heights?” “Yeah. You know. Zipp?” They stared at her. “Zipp Storm. You know? Founded the CyberCorps? Went to space? Beat the Galaxians in the battle of Zumba?” “Zumba?” said Barley, dumbfounded. “You’re really not from around here!” “Yeah, that’s actually a funny story.” said Caramel. “We sortof came through a portal.” “Oh, that’s your deal! Yeah, that’s been weird. I heard there’s some portals further down the mountain that nopony can figure out. Oh, and we had some junk fall through a portal earlier. Is that yours?” The stranger gestured behind them, and Caramel and Barley turned to see a very familiar hot air balloon. It was purple with a basket underneath. “OhmigoshOhmigoshOhmigosh!” squeaked Caramel. “Barley, we have to use that.” “For what?!” An hour later, the pair were in the basket of the balloon, drifting down along the mountainside as the sun rose in the distance. “Ohhhh, this is perfect!” yelled Caramel, and she began to sing: “My Little Pony, My Little Pony, ahhhhh…” “Portal!” yelled Barley as he steered the balloon into a large portal below them. Caramel nudged him. “Hey! Don’t interrupt the song.” But it was too late for that. The balloon passed through a portal and the pair found themselves awash in daylight, drifting through the skies of some other world. Carmel looked out over the new landscape. “Wow,” she whispered. The two of them paused for a few moments. Barley turned and sighed. “So…I guess we’re going off-schedule this year.” “It’s not the first time.” she offered. He looked at her and raised an eyebrow. “Ok, I guess it’s the first time that this…you know, specific thing has happened” she replied, somewhat embarrassed, “but it’s pretty amazing, right?!” “It would be,” said Barley, “if it wasn’t so dangerous.” He leaned against the edge of the balloon basket, crossing his forelegs beneath his chin and tapping his hoof nervously. “Hey,” offered Caramel, “we’ll find her.” “How? She could be anywhere! And if we do find her, what then?” “I…I don’t know. She’s a little off.” “A little?” He thought of Fizzy’s fury at Opening Ceremonies; the memory still shocked him. “But I’m sure there’s a good reason for it. We’re her friends. We’ll figure it out.” “And in the meantime, we’ve got three different factions fighting over a bunch of magical pages so they can…what, rule the world?” “Apparently?” “Like I said: Off. Schedule.” “Hey, look!” Carmel pointed down towards a series of thatched-roof buildings below them. In a few moments they landed on a grassy field in a very familiar little town. A windmill turned lazily in the distance. “Caramel, is this-” Suddenly they were greeted by a very familiar voice. “There you are!” The two of them turned to see none other than Twilight Sparkle approaching them with a smile, magical Pages fluttering about her. “Twilight?!” yelped Caramel, falling out of the basket and faceplanting onto the ground. Twilight laughed a bit as she helped Caramel up. “Easy, now. You’ve had a hard day.” “Where have you been?” said Barley. “In a word, everywhere.” Twilight replied, glancing through the pages that fluttered around her. “This really is a fascinating situation, though personally I’d like to get back to normal as soon as possible.” Barley sighed. “You’re telling me!” Caramel piped up. “What happened to Discord and Tirek?” “We don’t know. We’ve heard about Tirek attacking guests, but the guests have been helping us gather pages too, and we’ve been using them to protect everypony. As for Discord…” Twilight frowned. “I know he usually has some plan, but I’m worried. Last we really spoke was after the Battle of the Bell, and I know what happened bothered him.” She shook her head. “Like I said, I’m worried.” “That’s a relief,” said Barley. “What about Fizzy?” Twilight sighed. “I don’t know. She’s been moving across stories chaotically, and it was hard enough tracking you down. But don’t worry. We still have time.” She wrote something on a page, and a portal opened up beside them. Caramel looked in and saw what appeared to be the deck of a spaceship. A gold-colored pony on the other side looked up at her in confusion. “Don’t mind us!” said Caramel. Twilight gestured to the portal. “Fizzy was in this world a short while ago. If you follow portals from there you have a good chance of finding her.” “You’re not coming with us?” said Barley nervously. Twilight shook her head. “I’m sorry, I’m busy making sure that Pages don’t fall into the wrong hooves. And besides, you’re her friends. You’re the ponies she needs to talk to most.” Barley nodded. “We’ll do what we can.” Caramel bounded through the portal. “Do not be alarmed! We come in peace!” Barley followed. He took one last glance back at Twilight as the portal closed between them.
Chaos [CANON]Caramel and Barley held each other close as they tumbled through another portal, finding themselves in a vast space between worlds. The disparate lights of a hundred landscapes raced by at dizzying speed. Caramel tried to process what she was seeing but it was all too much. She saw a flash of Ponyville with a dark green sky, then suddenly she saw an underwater city filled with tuna fish sleeping in cans. She felt scorching heat behind her and turned to see what appeared to be an ice sculpture made of lava drifting lazily past them. A small yellow bird was skating on it without a care in the world. “Hang on!” yelled Barley over the din. He opened his wings and caught an updraft from an inside-out weather factory, lifting them both through another portal which he hoped would provide them some safety. Together they slammed through a field of something which eventually slowed them to a halt. After a moment, Barley let go of Caramel, heaving deep breaths. “What was that?” “It’s popcorn!” shouted Caramel, looking out at the apparently endless popcorn that covered the new landscape. “That’s not really what I meant. I - hey!” “What? It’s good!” said Caramel, though her mouth was too stuffed with popcorn for Barley to hear her properly. Barley gestured at the portal they’d just come from. “I mean what was all that?” “You mean the giant crazy mysterious space between universes thing?” “Yes. That.” Caramel paused. “No idea!” she exclaimed, pointing a hoof in the air to punctuate the point. Barley sighed. “So what do we know?” Caramel tapped her hoof on her chin. “Well, we know that Fizzy opened the Book of All Stories.” “Right.” “And it sucked us all inside.” “And now three factions are fighting for control of the universe.” “It’s a little off-schedule, isn’t it?!” said Barley, throwing his hooves in the air. Caramel nodded. “A little!” Barley looked around at the strange popcorn-covered landscape. “How are we going to find Fizzy? What’s going on with her? And where did she get the book, anyway? It doesn’t make any sense!” Suddenly a voice echoed all around them, chucking to itself. “What fun is there in making sense?” A burst of wind swept up the fields of popcorn into a series of tornadoes. Caramel and Barley held each other close against the wind as the popcorn retreated and a tye-dye silhouette appeared in the sky, surrounded by dozens of glowing Pages. A chocolate raincloud loomed in the background as the figure laughed. “Who are you?” shouted Barley. The silhouetted figure turned suddenly. The wind stopped. The rain stopped. “Seriously?” said the figure with annoyance. “It’s not obvious?!” “Well, I just wanted to be sure-” “Oh for Smooze’s sake! Here I was trying to make an entrance and you had to go and ruin it.” A small boom box appeared at the figure’s side, and with a huff the figure pressed “Play”. A voice from the box sang. “Discord! I’m howling at the moon. And sleeping in the middle of a summer-” “Discord!” said Caramel and Barley. The music stopped and the figure revealed himself. “Oh, finally!” said Discord, pinning a little badge that said “Vry Smrt” to Barley’s vest. “I don’t suppose you need even more hints? Any lingering questions, perhaps?” Caramel and Barley spoke at the same time. “Where’s Fizzy?” said Barely. “What kind of popcorn was that?” said Caramel. Barley looked at her. “Also, where’s Fizzy?” she amended. Discord smiled. “Well aren’t you in luck! It just so happens that I know the answer to one of those questions.” “...and?” said Barley “Goodness, you really do need to be led by the nose. Obviously it was Vulcan White Cheddar with a Swiss Accent.” “You mean you don’t know where Fizzy is?” Discord sighed with annoyance. “I don’t know, and frankly I don’t care.” He smiled. “I’m in the middle of a game, you see. I’ve pulled ahead of the competition, but I still can’t afford to take my eyes off the prize.” A golden statue of Discord appeared beside him, and he took a moment to admire it. “But shouldn’t you be helping Twilight deal with Sombra and Grogar? And we heard Tirek was grabbing pages from the guests-” “Oh, but I am helping!” Discord leaned in, a twee grin stretched across his muzzle. “I’m, in fact, making the world a better place! Poor Twilight just wants to reset to the status quo, but I think history could do with an editor, don’t you?” “But-” “Oh, but nothing! Do you really think it’s fair that the changelings had to suffer under Chrysalis for decades? Or that poor Stygian spent so long locked in limbo after Starswirl mistreated him? I’m not just having fun here.” Barley gave Discord a blank stare. “Okay, maybe I am having just the teeniest amount of fun! Afterall, who doesn’t like a good chocolate rain?” Discord pointed at Caramel, who was grinning far too broadly. “ She gets it! I am helping, though. Trust me.” He then blinked far too many times, with eyelashes that were far too long on eyes that had become far too big. Barley sighed. “But what about Fizzy?” Discord threw his paw and talon in the air. “Again with the Fizzy! Do you think of anything else?” “We really do need to find her.” Caramel replied. “Ugh! Fine! Frankly,” he continued, “you’re starting to bore me anyway. I liked it better when you were tumbling around.” With that, gravity suddenly shifted. Caramel and Barley found themselves tumbling straight through the portal. “Good luck finding your friend!” shouted Discord. “Just be sure to cause some chaos while you’re at it!” He laughed as the ponies tumbled out of sight.
Villains“Run!” shouted Barley. Caramel galloped as fast as she could while a horde of angry changelings chased after them. She didn’t dare look back, but she could hear the approach of their buzzing wings and their thundering hooves. Heart pounding in her chest, Caramel approached the edge of the rocky cliff. As changelings approached from behind and the portal grew closer in front, she suddenly saw that it wasn’t at the cliffside at all; it was hovering midair ten feet further away! “Barley!” she shrieked. “Jump!” shouted Barley. With her final hooffalls bracing against the cliff’s edge, Caramel lept with all her might. For one heart-stopping moment she thought that she might not make it, until suddenly Barley swooped down holding her in his forelegs just long enough for them both to rocket through the portal. They scrambled to their feet on a stone floor in a dark dungeon. “Come on” said Barley, “they’re almost-” He looked back at the portal, only to see it vanish before his eyes. They both took a moment to breathe. Caramel looked back at the blank stone wall, still panting. “Do you think they’ll come after us?” Barley hesitated. “If they could, they’d probably be here already.” “Here’s hoping.” “I guess the con’s gone a bit off-rails this year, huh?” Carmel gave a dry laugh. “Yeah, a little bit!” “We’re trapped in a book.” “Yup.” “We’ve got three factions gathering up pages so they can Write the Future.” “Whatever that means.” “And we still haven’t found Fizzy! What was going on with her, anyway?” Caramel looked at him. “I…I don’t know.” “Well we’d better figure it out, and fast.” Caramel attempted a smile. “We’ll manage. I mean we survived the changelings, right? That was lucky.” A deep, sneering voice echoed around them. “THERE IS NO LUCK.” A terrible scraping noise came from the far wall as stone blocks magically reoriented themselves and slid to either side. The ceiling joined the wall in reshaping itself, and soon the two ponies found themselves in a vast stone hall. Great cauldrons lit the room with mighty blue flames, sending shadows dancing wildly across the newly-formed walls. Ahead of them, in the center of the room, a staircase rose to a sinister throne. On the throne there stood a blue ram, glaring down at them. Magical Pages circled him through the air, shaded by the blue firelight. Caramel turned to find an exit, but there was none. She tried using her magic on the stone walls but it simply bounced back at her. “Stop trying” said the ram upon his throne. His voice was barely above a whisper, but it was magically amplified to echo throughout the room. “There’s no point.” Barley stepped between Caramel and Grogar. “What do you want?” “I had hoped your prattling would provide useful information, but apparently you’re just as ignorant as you seem.” He looked them over, like a butcher staring at a rough cut of beef. “Perhaps your bodies can be reshaped into something useful.” “Twilight will stop you!” Barley shouted, trying not to let his knees shake too visibly. Grogar stopped short. And laughed. “Your little alicorn princess? I am an Emperor. I am the Father of Monsters. She has only ever fought the distant descendants of my glorious creations; she has not proven herself against my glory.” Slowly he stepped down from the throne and began descending the staircase. “What about Discord? You think you can take him too?” Caramel shot back. “The imposter? I shall take vengeance for his impudence in due time.” He approached them and his voice grew harsher. “I am a very patient ram. I have waited untold eons for this moment. But now that I have my chance, I will not hesitate to act.” Iron chains erupted from the ground, binding Caramel and Barley’s hooves. They struggled to no avail. Grogar circled them slowly. “ It’s rather funny. The ‘guests’ of your little… event have been feeding me these pages. Even they recognize the inevitable. I have enough to begin my work, and when the book closes in two days’ time I assure you that I will be the victor. I would like to keep you here, to witness the moment when your hope turns to despair. Perhaps the nirik will serve as your guard, once I’ve found her. It is only a matter of time.” He then looked them over again. “In the meantime, you might serve well as manticores…” Suddenly a new voice echoed through the hall. “Don’t count us out yet, jerkface!” “WHAT?!” Grogar snapped his head just in time to see Rainbow Dash burst through the wall, enveloped in a magical aura and scattering stones in all directions as she thundered her foreleg straight into Grogar’s face. Grogar roared and stumbled back as Rainbow Dash called over her shoulder. “SUNNY!” Sunny Starscout was right behind her, transparent wings glowing with alicorn might. Blasts from her horn made quick work of Barley and Caramel’s chains. “Quick, before he recovers!” Grogar was already rising to his feet as Sunny conjured a portal to parts unknown. Dash shoved Caramel through the portal as Sunny grabbed Barley with her magic. The four of them tumbled through just as Grogar blasted the portal with his own magic. “Watch out!” yelled Sunny. “He’s trying to-” Suddenly all was silent. Sunny was gone. Rainbow Dash was gone. Caramel and Barley found themselves in a brown barren landscape stretching out in all directions. A low wind began to pick up, and for a long time it was the only sound. “Barley?” said Caramel. “Yeah?” “Let’s find Fizzy, and then let’s get out of here. Quick.” Far in the distance, dozens of portals began to open.
