My App Stories for Ponyville Ciderfest

by ImThatGuy

Stoney Eyes

The Everfree forest was a horrid and ghastly place, home to all manor of dangers that most ponies could scarcely imagine. Its trees were huge and gnarled, their branches twisted, their leaves long and dark. Wicked and magical plants grew on them and trailed along the ground to trip and snare any unwary pony who trod the ground. Old and unpredictable magic saturated every inch of this ancient and mysterious place, and most ponies who went in, never came out again.

Of all the eerie dangers that lurked within the enchanted forest, one of the worst was the cockatrice. A creature of evil magic it was, with the body of a snake and the head of a chicken, and with a single glance it could turn anyone and anything to stone. Most cockatrices were ill-tempered by nature, and even the very best of them could cause the meekest and most timid of ponies scurrying to the deepest darkness to escape its gaze.

So it was that a particular cockatrice had made itself out to be particularly menacing. It had made its den in a garden of stone. But this was no natural place, for the stones that made up its lair were the statues of many of the very ponies that had once foolishly made their way into the beast’s home. Dozens upon dozens of statues ringed the cockatrice’s nest, the exact number known to none. The cockatrice had taken to arranging the statues in odd and unnatural ways in order to deter more fools from disturbing its home.

The faces of these countless statues made sure of their intent. Warped and twisted into looks of fear and terror before their untimely petrification by the power of the creature. The cockatrice was very proud of the garden it had made, for the stone protected it from many things and kept it hidden when he wished.

“What an artist I am.” The cockatrice thought to itself, gazing lovingly at its ghastly and grotesque work, “If only there was a way to move all these statues?” It asked itself, “Not all of them are shaped as I would like and a change of venue could do me some good, I think.”.

The villainous creature sulked at its unfortunate predicament as it wondered how it would ever be able to overcome its troubles. Suddenly the forest went still, and all light and sound seemed to drain away from the world and collect into a single point. Right before the cockatrice's eyes appeared a glowing piece of paper, etched with strange symbols that ebbed and flowed and glowed with an eerie light.

“What is this?” The cockatrice asked itself as it slithered over to the object that had disturbed it. It took but one look at the glowing page and the cockatrice magically knew what this thing was and what it could do.

[CHOICE]

What should the cockatrice do with the page?

> Use the page to control his statues. (Villain)

> Keep the page but not use it. (Chaos)

[CHOICE A: VILLAIN]

The cockatrice's eyes lit up with its sinister intent. This object was exactly what it had been waiting for! With this page, the cockatrice could give itself the power to grow his wonderful garden even more.

“Oh, what fun!” It croaked to itself, “What glorious things we shall do together!”

The evil creature’s eyes lit up like a beacon, its hideous garden of statues began to creak and shift as the powers of the cockatrice increased with the altering of the page.

“I do believe there is a town of ponies near the forest where I may practice with my new magic.” The cockatrice smiled an evil smile as its animated army slunk its way through the forest.

(+1 page for Villains)

[CHOICE B: CHAOS]

The cockatrice looked at the page that appeared before it. The creature knew instinctively what it was and what it could do but instead of scooping it up the monster just stared blankly.

“I don’t need this thing,” The cockatrice growled, “But I certainly wouldn’t want one of those annoying little ponies getting their hooves on it either.”

The Cockatrice took the page with it to the deepest part of his lair and buried it among his most prized statues. The monster was pleased with its work and returned to admiring the many statues that dotted the forest floor.

“Perhaps I should go and find some more ponies to play with?” The cockatrice thought to itself.

(+1 page for Chaos)

Comments

[Janicethelight]

This reminds me of my two hearts tory. It's cool we both used the cockatrice to make more statues. I also like the ideas of the statues moving. What else could they do, I wonder?

[ImThatGuy]

11757468
Hey, thanks for taking the time to comment for each story! It was a blast writing them and super weird seeing them let loose to the public at a convention, lol.