Story of the Blanks

Story of the Blanks, also titled in-game as My Little Pony Friendship is Magic: Story of the Blanks and Friendship is 8-bit: Story of the Blanks, is a fan-made video game first made available on Newgrounds.com. The player takes on the role of Apple Bloom as she discovers a hidden town in the Everfree Forest, where the game delves into the horror genre. The game was created by Donitz, and it is constrained to use genuine NES graphics and graphical limitations.

Story
Apple Bloom is on her way home after adventuring with her friends when she finds Twilight Sparkle on her way to visit Zecora in the Everfree Forest. Apple Bloom insists on tagging along, much to Twilight's dismay. They deliver the books to Zecora's house safely, but she warns Twilight and Apple Bloom to leave the forest as quickly as possible. As they try to leave, Twilight finds some trees have fallen in their path. While she tries to move them, Apple Bloom spots another filly watching them, and decides to follow her through the forest.

She eventually finds herself in a quiet village known as Sunny Town, where none of the residents living there have their cutie marks, despite all being adults. After some exploration, she finds an abandoned house hidden behind the town. She makes her way in, only to find the burned skeleton of a filly sitting in the fireplace. As she tries to escape, she discovers the town ruined and covered in overgrowth. Zombies of the ponies she had met stalk her as she runs. It's revealed that a young pony named Ruby had discovered her cutie mark, and the townsponies, believing it to be a curse, murdered her, inadvertently cursing themselves in the process. Ruby's ghost eventually helps Apple Bloom escape, and she and Twilight go home together.

Ruby
A young earth pony who lived in Sunny Town prior to the curse. She had discovered her special talent for finding things, signified by a magnifying glass cutie mark. The townsponies believed "the mark" to be a curse; Ruby was murdered, her skeletal remains in the fireplace in an abandoned house. Her ghost roams the Everfree Forest, and when she accidentally leads Apple Bloom to the haunted town, she apologizes and helps her escape. She has a grey coat and an orange mane with lighter orange highlights, and her eyes glow yellow.

Mitta
An earth pony living in Sunny Town, presumably Ruby's mother. When Apple Bloom finds her, she is locked up in Roneo's house and crying over Ruby's death, feeling guilty for allowing her to die. Later when Apple Bloom tries to escape the town, Mitta's ghost appears holds the other zombies back, giving Apple Bloom a chance to run. She has a grey coat and a blood red mane. Her ghost form has a blood red coat and a black mane, and her eyes glow red.

Grey Hoof
An earth pony and self-proclaimed "celebration planner extraordinaire" who was arranging a party around the time of Ruby earning her cutie mark. It was under his orders that her murder was executed, believing "the mark" to be a curse, hinting that other ponies had been murdered for earning cutie marks too. He has a grey coat and black hair.

Roneo
An earth pony living in Sunny Town. He has a crush on Starlet, and he had been planning on giving her a gift (a red ruby) before losing it. Apple Bloom helps him find it, and he presents it to Starlet. His house is used to lock up Mitta after Ruby's murder. He has an orange coat and a blue mane.

Starlet
An earth pony living in Sunny Town. She has a crush on Roneo, but gets worried when he doesn't talk to her. When he presents his red gemstone to her, she tells him that his love was more than enough of a gift. She has a white coat and an orange mane.

Gladstone
An earth pony living in Sunny Town. When Apple Bloom talks to him, he says he's never heard of cutie marks before. He has a brown coat and an orange mane.

Three Leaf
An earth pony living in Sunny Town. She explains that since their town has everything they could ever need, nopony leaves the town. She has a green coat and a mossy green mane.

Zombie ponies
After Ruby's murder, a curse was put on the residents of Sunny Town, turning them into zombies. Their flesh hangs off their black bones, and they have glowing red eyes and fangs. They chase Apple Bloom, trying to force her to become one of them.

Reception
The game was submitted to Newgrounds.com on July 2, 2011. As of September 16, 2011, it holds a general rating of 4.32 out of 5 (after 4,969 votes), and a score of 9.3 out of 10 in the game's review section (after 436 reviews). It was the daily featured game of July 3rd, 2011.

Trivia
During the beginning of Bridle Gossip, Spike and Twilight discuss the possibility of zombies being the reason Ponyville's residents are in hiding. Twilight chalks it up as "not likely," to which Spike nervously adds, "...but possible?" Incidentally, Bridle Gossip also happened to be Zecora's debut episode.