A collection of small stories that I wrote for the Ponyville Ciderfest convention.
These are a series of short stories that I wrote for the choose your own adventure Ponyville Ciderfest convention in Milwaukee. It will include the multiple ending that a con attendee would be able to choose from so anyone who reads it can see all potential outcomes.
You have heard of pages being magically transported into a Power Ponies comic book. You’ve never been magically sucked into a comic book before but you are keen to see what lies within the world of super heroes!
You land on a rooftop within the great city of Maretropolis and see the Mane-iac leaping from rooftop to rooftop, carrying a glowing page in her magic hair as she laughs maniacally. The super hero team known as the Power Ponies are in hot pursuit as you and Barley look on from a distance.
“Look!” Barley screams, pointing towards the comic book characters as they scramble across the rooftops of Maretropolis.
The Mane-iac devilishly wrecks her way across the Maretropolis skyline, desperately trying to stay one hoof ahead of her heroic foes. In her fiendish fury, the wicked villain wreaks a wildly withering path of doom and destruction. Her magically enchanted mane hurling anything that was not bolted down towards the pursuing Power Ponies.
The heroes, however, are relentless as they give chase to their achingly antagonizing arch-enemy! Their goal, laser focused, to stop whatever evil intentions the Mane-iac has with the magical page that she had acquired. Ignoring the flurry of debris, the Power Ponies carry on in their pursuit, dodging or blasting their way through the frenzied attempts of the Mane-iac to escape.
“Curse you, you puny, pathetic pack of petulant Power Pony pests!” The villainous villain cries as she greedily clutches the magical page, “How dare you attempt to stop my glorious plan of using this strangely magical page to make the manes of everypony in Maretropolis grow uncontrollably !”
“Fiend! Keep on her, Zapp!” Masked Matterhorn shouts out as Zapp speedily flies after the villain, trailed by her magical thunder clouds.
“Don’t worry ponies!” Filisecond says as she speedily zooms towards The Mane-iac, “I’ll get her!”
The Mane-iac uses her magic hair to swing effortlessly from rooftop to rooftop, avoiding the best efforts of the heroic ponies who pursue her. All the while, her evil laughter echoes in the ears of [USERNAME] and Barley.
“I don’t think they’ve spotted us yet, and the Power Ponies look like they might need some help.” Says Barley, “But the situation looks kind of dangerous, what should we do, [USERNAME]?”
[CHOICE] Should you interfere and help the Power Ponies or stay hidden and see what happens?
> You help the Power Ponies get the page. (Hero)
> Let the Mane-iac get away. (Villain)
[ENDING A: Hero] You think it over and say, “We need to help the Power Ponies!”
You and Barley leap out in front of the Mane-iac. However, with her attention being drawn by her battle with the Power Ponies, the Mane-iac fails to notice you and Barley blocking her path. The devilish villain smash straight into both you and your pony partner, causing the magic page to loosen from her evil grasp. The Mane-iac quickly recovers but is forced to flee the scene with the Power Ponies chasing close behind.
“Whoa there!” Filisecond says as she zips up to you, “Are you ok there? A good hero always stops to save civilians,” She says with a smile.
Barley picks up the magical page with his hoof and explains the situation as the rest of the Power Ponies catch up.
“I see,” Says Masked Matterhorn, “So that explains why these pages seem to have the power to rewrite reality. If you can help us keep them out of her clutches, then we will gladly welcome your assistance!”
“I’ll get Fizzy and Caramel while you look for more pages around the city. And do be careful with that page, writing the wrong thing in it could do a lot of damage," says Barley.
(+1 page for Heroes)
[ENDING B: Villain] You decide that getting in the way of such a furious battle for the sake of the manes of Maretropolis is simply not worth it. You hold Barley back as the Mane-iac, cackling to herself, uses the evil tendrils of her even more evil mane to scribble down several lines on the BAS page. With but a few short strokes the Mane-iac completes her dastardly task as the Power Ponies can only look on in horror. All around you, you hear the lamentations of the townsponies as their manes begin to rapidly grow out of control.
Most of the Power Ponies disperse to aid the surrounding civilians as the Masked Matterhorn approaches you and Barely alone.
“Who are you two?” The Masked Matterhorn asks as you and Barley reveal yourselves.
“I’m Barley Tender, and this is [USERNAME].” Barley responds. Barley explains the situation to the Power Ponies about the BAS pages being let loose in their city.
The superhero nods slowly, “I must say that I’m very disappointed by your lack of action, but we need all the help we can get. My friends and I are going after these pages, and we won’t turn down any extra help. After all, Heroes need to trust their citizens as much as they trust us.”
“Glad to hear it! I’ll get Fizzy and Caramel while you look for more pages around the city!” says Barley.
A page from the Book of All Stories has appeared in the comic book city of Maretropolis. You and Barley race through the streets of Maretropolis and run into Zapp and Fili-Second, two of the Power Ponies. A page had appeared in the downtown area of the magical comic book city and you and Barley were able to meet up with two of the Power Ponies in order to find it.
“Sure glad you two managed to find us so we can stop whatever nefarious plot the Mane-iac has cooked up for that page.” Zapp said.
“That mean old Mane-iac won’t trip up the fastest pony alive this time!” Filisecond speedily blurted out as she zipped around you.
As your group rounded the corner a scene of villainy most devious lays itself bare before you. The Mane-iac and her army of hench ponies have the BAS page in their evil clutches.
“HENCH PONIES!” The Mane-iac shouts, “It’s the Power Ponies! Get them you fools so I can write you into the outside world! MUAHAHAHA!”
“Oh no!” Shouts Barley, “If she gets her minions out of the comic world, it’ll be an absolute catastrophe for everypony!”
“She’s got a lot of hench ponies today.” Zapp gasped, “But we’ve handled them before, haven’t we Fili-Second?”
Fili-Seconds mouth curls and grows into a massive, heroic smile as her and Zapp bravely leapt forwards in a hurry to halt the evil plan of the dastardly Mane-iac.
Zapp used her magic thunderbolt amulet to whip up a tornado, throwing the evil hench ponies to the ground as Fili-Second galloped at great speed up to the Mane-iac. But the Mane-iac had an evil smile on her face as she scribbled onto the page.
“And then the two meddling Power Ponies fell asleep before they could stop my beautifully evil plan.” The Mane-iac said and wrote mere moments before the two heroes could reach her. Then and there, Zapp and Filisecond halted in their tracks, falling fast asleep to the ground. However, Filisecond was moving at such a great speed that she crashed right into the laughing villain, throwing them both, the page, and the pen the Mane-iac had been using to the ground.
“Hurry [USERNAME]!” Cried Barley, it’s up to us now to get that page!”
You and Barley rush towards the page as one of the evil hench ponies rises from the ground and gallops off towards the page. Then, out of seemingly nowhere, a second evil henchpony jumps on top of Barley, pinning him to the ground.
“Ah!” Barley cried, “They got me!”
“You better give up on that page or else!” The evil henchpony threatened, shaking his hoof down at Barley.
[CHOICE] What should you do?
>Get Barley. (Villain)
>Get the page. (Hero)
[ENDING A: Villain] You immediately turn around to help Barley, running towards him and freeing him from the grasp of the evil henchpony. Unfortunately, the other evil henchpony managed to retrieve the page and the pen and scribbled down something on the page.
“Real world here we come!” He shouted as all of the hench ponies and the page itself were suddenly sucked up into a wormhole and disappeared from Maretropolis.
“Darn!” cried Barley, “They got away.”
You help Barley up as the Mane-iac slips out from under Fili-second and escapes into the city.
You look down at Barley and say, “Go and wake those two up, there’s still more pages to find in the city.”
(+1 page for Villains)
[ENDING B: Hero] You ignore the henchpony’s warning and head straight for the page. Fortunately, hench ponies aren’t very tough and grabbing the page and pen from him are not difficult.
“Time to turn the tables on these ponies.” You as you immediately write that all of the hench ponies fall asleep, thus saving Barley from some terrible fate.
“We need to wake up the Power Ponies now.” Said Barley, to which you agree.
You write the Power Ponies wake up but before you can write anymore the Mane-iac’s evil hair snatches the pen from your hand and nearly grabs the page as well.
“I’ll get you next time Power Ponies!” She yells as she flees into the city.
“Don’t worry about her.” Zapp, just waking up, says. “We have to get her hench ponies to jail while you keep looking for those pages.”
“I’ll help them.” Barley said, “I’m still a little spooked from that encounter, but you should go and find more pages.”
A page from the Book of All Stories has been transported to the sewers beneath the comic book city of Maretropolis! The evil Mane-iac has set out to retrieve it for the purpose of doing….evil! You and Caramel Malt have entered into the comic book world of super heroes in order to retrieve it and halt whatever evil plans the Mane-iac may have for it. Along the way you have run into two of the Power Ponies, Masked Matterhorn and Saddle Rager, who have teamed up with you to help save the world!
“Wow, [USERNAME], I can’t believe that I’m teaming up with THE Power Ponies to help save Equestria.” Caramel Malt said, seemingly not minding that she was running through the sewers.
“Come on now.” Masked Matterhorn sternly interjected, “We’re on a mission, there’s no time for small-talk.”
“Oh Masked Matterhorn, they’re trying to help us, you could try to be a little nicer.” Saddle Rager said kindly.
“Please don’t worry, “Caramel smiled, “It’s all in a day’s work to save the world, right?”
The great, gallantly gallivanting group gallops further into the deep, damp sewer as sounds of an evil and maniacal laughter echo through the underground halls. The Mane-iac is just ahead, chasing a floating, glowing page through the sewer, grabbing at it with her evil mane of evil power.
“Halt!” Shouts Masked Matterhorn, “In the name of Maretropolis!” Masked Matterhorn blasts several energy beams from her horn but the sly villain curls her mane into a protective ball and blocks the blasts.
“Foolish little Power Ponies.” The villain laughs, “You will not stop me from retrieving this page of power and using it to release all my fellow Maretropolis villains from the League of Villainy from pony prison and unleash them upon an unsuspecting world!”
“Holy cavalcade of cantankerous criminals!” Cries the Masked Matterhorn, “If all those villains escape, it could spell doom for the world!”
“Don’t worry, Power Ponies.” Says Caramel, “[USERNAME] and I have got your backs.”
With that, the Mane-iac shoots down the sewer passage, chasing the ever-elusive magic page as you and the heroes give chase. Masked Matterhorn lets loose a flurry of laser beams from her horn, causing the Mane-iac to dodge and weave her way through the claustrophobic passageways. Along the way, the Mane-iac knocks aside a small and very adorable looking sewer gator, which makes Saddle Rager go full rage mode and transform.
“Go Saddle Rager!” Masked Matterhorn shouts, shooting a beam of ice which Saddle Rager slides on to gain speed and ram right into the Mane-iac.
The walls of the passage collapse onto the group, trapping Masked Matterhorn and Saddle Rager beneath the rubble. The Mane-iac narrowly escapes as she leaps towards the page piece, but part of her mane has been trapped in the rubble as well. The page piece gently falls onto a stone as the Mane-iac reaches out for it with the magical tendrils of her mane.
Caramel immediately turns aside to help the injured super heroes. The fallen rocks have knocked the two heroes’ unconscious as Caramel worriedly rushes to free them from being totally crushed.
“[USERNAME], help!” Caramel yells as she pushes and shoves at the rubble which is currently pinning the two Power Ponies down. “I can’t free them by myself.”
[CHOICE] What should you do?
>Help Caramel free the Power Ponies. (Villain)
>Stop the Mane-iac from getting the page. (Hero)
[ENDING A: Villains] “I can’t leave the Power Ponies like this.” You say with a split-second decision to help Caramel free the unconscious Power Ponies.
As you go to save the Power Ponies from the rubble, the Mane-iac reaches out with a strand of her mane, holding a pen, to the page. She is just able to scribble down that her fellow villains Pharaoh Phetlock, Long-Face, High Heel, Smudge, and Shadowmane were freed from prison with the page and let loose upon Equestria. The page then disappears in a flash before your eyes.
After a few more moments she pulls her mane free from the rocks and escapes into the dark sewer, laughing evilly.
(+1 page for Villains)
[ENDING B: Heroes] “I can’t let the Mane-iac get the page!” You shout as you run past Caramel and snatch the page moments before the Mane-iac can grab hold of it.
You run back towards the Power Ponies as the Mane-iac angrily rips herself free from the pile of rocks. A sudden and shuddering shaking grips hold of the sewer as the cave-in causes the walls around you to buckle, causing the wall to collapse, separating her from you, Caramel, and the Power Ponies.
“Good job, [USERNAME].” Said Caramel, “Now help me get Saddle Rager and Masked Matterhorn free.”
You and Fizzy Glitch find yourselves in the comic book city of Maretropolis in search of a page from the Book of All Stories which has appeared within the city. Before you stand Radiance and Mistress Mare-velous of the famous superhero group, the Power Ponies!
“Hello my dears.” Radiance says, politely bowing down in greeting.
“No time for greetings.” Mistress Mare-velous curtly says, “There’s evil ahoof.”
Fizzy looks around nervously as the super powered ponies approach, “Come on [USERNAME], getting that page is more important than anything right now.” The colorful kirin speaks quickly, her words barely registering, “Barley and Caramel will never let me live this down.” She frets.
There is indeed little time for long hellos as the evil super villain known as the Mane-iac appears before you in all her evil splendor. Within the coiling tendrils of her twistedly evil magical mane lies the very page that you and your heroic counterparts seek. She stands there, menacingly glaring your group down as an evil smile purses her evil lips.
“It appears you have arrived too late my little ponies!” The Mane-iac laughs, “Soon I shall use this magical page to write my devilishly genius power transfer device into the world of Equestria to bring me one step closer to the completion of my evil master plan!”
“GASP!” Radiance gasps, “That vile villain of venomous vitriol will be capable of taking the magic powers of anypony in the whole world!”
“Not on my watch!” Mistress Mare-velous cries out in righteous fury.
Fizzy freaks out as the villain flaunts the BAS page that lies within her clutches, “Oh no!” She cries in shock, “This is awful, this is absolutely awful! Some crazy villain has already made off with the page, oh, this won’t end well.”
The two Power Ponies immediately leapt into action against their hated foe. Radiance uses her magical powers to create constructs of tongs and pincers to grab at the page held by the Mane-iac. Mistress Mare-velous lets loose her lasso of righteous justice to bind the hair of the villain so she can’t unleash her wicked powers against the heroes.
The Mane-iac fights back with all the mischievousness and malevolence she can bring to bear. There are THWOMPS, and there are ZINGS, and TWANGS as the bitter enemies face off in mortal combat.
“[USERNAME], what should we do?” Fizzy frantically fretts, “I need to try and fix this. It is absolutely necessary that I try to fix this.”
You try to calm Fizzy down as she seems to continuously become more and more distraught at the situation unfolding before your eyes, but she seems to not be responding well.
The combatants seem to be evenly matched as they belligerently brawl throughout the barren, broken streets that bend around you. In that moment, however, you find Fizzy and yourself smack in the middle of the fight as the combat naturally seems to flow towards yourself. The Mane-iac as well as Radiance and Mistress Mare-velous surround you as they fight, seemingly oblivious to your presence in the melee. They all simultaneously leap towards each other as you continue to try to calm Fizzy Glitch down.
[CHOICE]
> You successfully calm Fizzy Glitch down, but she’s unable to help the Power Ponies in time. (Villain)
> You fail to calm Fizzy down and she turns into a nirik, helping the Power Ponies. (Hero)
[ENDING A: Villain] You and Fizzy manage to escape the battle between the heroes and their villainous counterpart. As the battle fades into the distance, Fizzy Glitch is able to calm down with your gracious help.
“Thanks, [USERNAME]. That could have gone much worse.” Fizzy Glitch sadly sighs, “I don’t know what I’m going to do or how I’m going to fix this.” The kirin says morosely.
You look back in the direction of the battle in time to see that the Mane-iac was able to unfortunately defeat Radiance and Mistress Mare-velous. The villain cackles wickedly to herself as she pins the two heroes down in her evil mane and writes her alterations in the BAS page. The page glows brightly before disappearing in a flash of light along with the Mane-iac, leaving the Power Ponies defeated.
(+1 page for Villains)
[ENDING B: Hero] Fizzy seems immune to your attempts to help as the heroes and their arch nemesis close in. Each passing moment continues to push Fizzy Glitch further and further into herself as time seems poised in uncertainty. Then in the moment before the two Power Ponies are to clash with the evil Mane-iac, Fizzy, unable to endure the situation, erupts into a powerful fit of anger. She bursts into flame as her emotionally-charged nirik form takes over and engulfs her entire body.
“I can’t take this anymore!” Fizzy Glitch roars as she literally explodes with raw emotion.
The power of blast pushes you, the Power Ponies and the Mane-iac to the ground in a sudden frenzy of fire and magic. The BAS page slips from the Mane-iac’s grasp as she is pushed apart from her foes as Radiance and Mistress Mare-velous recover and spring into action.
The Mane-iac’s glare turns to a scowl as her precious mane is scorched in Fizzy Glitch’s magical fire, “My precious mane! You’ve ruined it!” She cries, turning to flee from her foes.
With the Mane-iac gone, You and the Power Ponies turn to calm down Fizzy Glitch.
You appear alone somewhere on the streets of Maretropolis. An eerie silence permeates through the nighttime air as the streets lay abandoned, save for the distant call of carriages and sirens on some distant street. Honestly, if it were any more deserted a tumbleweed would roll across your feet.
“Hello there.” A strange voice says behind you.
You swiftly turn around to see a diminutive pony sporting a red cape and small mask that covered his eyes.
“I’m Humdrum.” He says, “I’ve been ordered by the Power Ponies to keep an eye out in this area for strange, glowing, magical pages that have been appearing throughout Maretropolis. The Mane-iac’s been after them as well, no doubt with some seriously evil intent on her mind.”
“Oh, I see. “You say, “Well it just so happens that I’m also looking for the same pages.”
Humdrum stares intently at you for several seconds, seemingly gazing deeply within your soul, “Well you don’t look like you work for the Mane-iac.” He says, “Her evil cohorts usually have a more sinister look about them.”
He suddenly produces a page from the Book of All Stories and holds it out for you, apparently expecting you to take it. You stare back at the tiny hero, somewhat amazed and somewhat concerned by his willingness to trust a stranger.
“Um, thanks.” You say, tentatively taking hold of the magical page from his eager hooves.
“Yeah, the villains around here usually ignore me, so I have free reign to move around the city and find things.” Humdrum sighs, “It can get frustrating sometimes, but that’s the life of a sidekick I guess.”
You take a look around and your surroundings are still quite empty and desolate. There is not another sign of life, be it hero or villain, for miles. You once again look at the smiling sidekick who stands before you. You feel a sense of pity for the sidelined sidekick, as he kindly smiles up towards you.
“No need to reward me by the way!” he says, “A good deed is its own reward.”
[CHOICE] What should you do with the page?
>Leave the page with Humdrum. (Hero)
>Use the page to throw a party. (Chaos)
[ENDING A: Hero] You kindly thank Humdrum for his relentless pursuit of goodness and justice. You feel a profound sense of pride for the little guy as he sports a huge smile on his face.
“Thanks Humdrum.” You say, “I think you should keep this. Give it to the other Power Ponies to keep it safe. You’ll make a great hero one day.”
Humdrum beams with pride and accomplishment as he takes the page from your hands. As the glowing page touches the hooves of the small pony, it seems as if the magical light starts to radiate off Humdrum himself. It was as if whatever magic was held in the page filled Humdrum with new determination.
“Your effort will not be forgotten, citizen!” Humdrum salutes you, “You can rest assured that this page and this city are in capable hooves.”
“I can see you are a very fine pony, and I wish you the best of luck in fighting the forces of evil.” You say happily.
And with that you leave the page with Humdrum who returns it to the Power Ponies for safekeeping.
(+1 page for Heroes)
[ENDING B: Chaos) You think it over and say, “You know what, this place is so quiet that it’s kind of creepy.”
Humdrum looks at you puzzled, “What do you mean?”
“I think it’s time for the sidekick to have some fun!” You say.
With a stroke of your pen, you write that a huge party spontaneously erupts after Humdrum gives you the page, and sure enough that is exactly what happens. Instantly the silent streets come alive with music and bands of ponies, playing nearly every kind of instrument imaginable appear before yours, and Humdrums eyes. The sweet and delectable scents of foods of all kinds waft tantalizingly through the air as food vendors pop up on either side of the street. Ponies file their way onto the previously abandoned street, pulled in by the cacophony of sounds from the musicians.
“Holy popping pony party!” Humdrum gasps as the crowd of ponies begin chanting his name with reverent pride as they dance through the enlivened streets.
“Come on kid.” You say, “I think it’s time someone showed you some appreciation.”
You toss the page to one of the random party goers and go have fun with Humdrum.
You are transported into the world of heroes and villains. A page from the Book of All Stories has appeared in the heart of Maretropolis, the comic book city under the watchful protection of the heroic Power Ponies. Your attention is immediately grabbed by a great commotion off in the distance. You run towards the great noise only to see a grave situation laid before you!
The Mane-iac triumphantly stands atop her ultimate doomsday machine, THE HAIRSPRAY RAY OF DOOM! Before her stands the Power Ponies, assembled here to face off against their greatest foe. There was Zapp, Radiance, and the Masked Matterhorn! Saddle Rager, and Mistress Mare-velous! Fili-second, and Humdrum, looks like the gang’s all here!
“Maretropolis has nothing to fear!” Masked Matterhorn cries aloud, “The Power Ponies are here to save the day!”
The Hairspray Ray of Doom shines with a mighty yet sinister light as thunder and lightning leap forth in the skies above. You can tell that the absolute worst has happened, because the villain’s nefarious machine is no doubt powered by one of the pages from the Book of All Stories. Standing before the mighty weapon sits dozens of Maretropolis citizens, already with wild and crazy manes from the evil power of the Mane-iac. The poor citizens call out for help as the Mane-iac had stolen their hopes with the power of her ultimate weapon.
The Mane-iac utters what must have been the greatest and most vile evil laugh in the unending history of evil laughs, “FOOLS! You have come too late and already my power has grown beyond your comprehension! The power this page has given me has allowed me to make my Hairspray Ray of Doom infinitely more powerful than ever before. The ‘mane’ event is upon us, evil rises, and I have attained UNLIMITED POWER!”
You can only hide and watch as the epic struggle between good and evil rears its astounding head before you.
“Power Ponies GO!” Mistress Mare-velous shouts as the heroes strike a heroic pose and leap into action.
The enthralled manes of the townsfolk, empowered by the pure evil of the Mane-iac’s device, go to meet the heroes. The scene is unbelievable. Like an unyielding tower of goodness, the Power Ponies put forth their heroic might to free the townsponies from the vile curse that had ensnared them.
Radiance conjures magical clippers to clip the magically mangled manes from their unwilling hosts. Mistress Mare-velous lassoes them into bundles, while Masked Matterhorn freezes them solid with blasts from her horn. Fili-second, with her great speed, zipps the frozen manes far from the battlefield, while Saddle Rager wrangles the rascally, radicalized, raging manes all by herself. All the while Zapp, with her magical amulet, thrusts all her heroic might into a great tornado that sucks the captive townsponies together allowing Mistress Mare-velous to lasso even more crazy manes.
“Hmm,” The Mane-iac ponders, “They’re doing well…too well. My woefully wonderous wickedness cannot be undone by these dangerous, dithering do-gooders. It’s been fun, but the time to destroy them has come!” she laughs.
However, before the Mane-iac can activate her Hairspray Ray of Doom, Humdrum leaps from the shadows and snatches the page, the power source of the insidious device, from right before the Mane-iac’s eyes.
“No! You foolish faltering foal! What have you done!?” she cries in vain.
Suddenly her doomsday machine, deprived of its source of power, sputters and spins, bursting apart in a slithering wave of evil, mane-based magic. The ray collapses in a heap and a great burst of smoke as you continue to look upon it from a distance.
When the smoke clears, you see that every one of the ponies present has been frozen by the power of the evil device. The Power Ponies, the citizens, Humdrum, and even the Mane-iac herself have all fallen prey to its paralyzing effects. As you step from your hiding place, the BAS page gently floats down and lands in front of you.
“Help us! With that page, you have the power to be a hero!” The Power Ponies call out, barely able to speak from the paralysis.
The Mane-iac looks desperately over to you, her eyes wild and crazed as her evil mane wraps and coils around her, trapping the villain in her own hair, “No! Think of the power we could wield! The fun we could have! Evil is great and good is dumb!”
You pick up the page, its gentle glow radiates outwards, reflecting off your face as you gaze into it.
[CHOICE] What do you do with the page?
> Help the Power Ponies (Hero)
> Help the Mane-iac (Villain)
> Free everypony and send them all to Equestria (Chaos)
[ENDING A: Hero] With a stroke of your pen the townsponies and the Power Ponies, those most heroic of heroes, are freed from their magically inflicted bindings. They rear up in victory and give a heroic “Huzza!” as they find freedom.
“Don’t worry friend,” Masked Matterhorn says, patting you on the back, “We’ll make sure this page is kept safe and sound. You should be proud of yourself.”
The other Power Ponies subdue the Mane-iac who now looks very unhappy as she is carted off to prison for her crimes. The Power Ponies take the page for safekeeping and the city is saved.
(+1 page for Heroes)
[ENDING B: Villain] You decide that the Mane-iac is correct and that good is indeed dumb. You write down that the Mane-iac is free and is to be set loose in the real world upon an unsuspecting Equestria.
The Mane-iac’s evil laugh echoes throughout the city as she and the page are sucked into a vortex of magic to be let loose upon the real world.
(+1 page for Villains)
[Ending C: Chaos] After a moment of thought you realize that watching this battle was awesome and that having a superhero team and a villain for them to fight in Equestria would be super cool and fun.
With a single stroke of your pen, you write that everypony would be freed and transported to Equestria. Everypony assembled has a confused look on their faces as they are all sucked into a vortex and transported into Equestria. The page is sucked away on its own as your time in Maretropolis concludes.
Disgrace! Shame! Svengallop had lost everything he had, everything he had ever worked for. His life’s work, undone by the incessant meddling of a magical princess hovering just outside his sight range and some random farm pony.
He had not taken his fall from grace well, but had spent his days since his firing wallowing in his own self-pity and resentment. All his thoughts now bent towards just how to rebind the threads of his old life and to regain the status he had lost.
“How dare those ponies do this to me!” Svengallop roared to himself as he walked down a lonely alleyway in Las Pegasus, “You save Equestria a couple times and suddenly you’re allowed to do whatever you want to whomever you want.”
As the disgraced manager made his way down the grungy alley, muttering to himself and lamenting his misfortune, a faint light in the distance caught his eye. Far off in the corner of the dimly lit alleyway, beneath a pile of what could only generously be described as trash, a pale glow emanated softly.
“Hmm? What’s this?” Svengallop muttered to himself as he was inexplicably drawn towards this most unusual phenomenon.
He approached carefully, as one would do if seeing strange lights radiating from a pile of trash in an abandoned alley. Despite this, some part of himself, deep down, compelled the pony forward towards this strange discovery. As he approached, the light seemed to increase in intensity as a single object, what seemed to be a page from some mysterious spell tome, rose from its hidden spot to hover before Svengallop’s eyes.
Svengallop gawked in utter amazement at what he saw before him. Words and images wove themselves around the page, floating, hovering, sliding across its magical surface as though under some mighty enchantment. But despite the beauty and magic of the object that hovered before him, Svengallop’s attention was glued to what the words and images on the page portrayed.
“How can this be?” Svengallop wondered, “This is the day that traitor Coloratura fired me! It’s all here, a perfect transcript of the entire tragedy.”
Svengallop reached out a hoof to seize the artifact which seemed to glimmer and shine even brighter as he touched it. The bewildered pony stared longingly at the image of his former self. Confident, successful, powerful! He had had it all and he had lost it all…but as he stared into the enchanting glow of the page, a thought slithered its way into his calculating mind.
“I see.” He said, “This page can be changed. My own story can be rewritten and all the wrongs I’ve endured can be made right again.”
A cruel and cunning smile curled its way onto Svengallop’s lips as his mind fluttered at the thought of regaining his position and power over the world of show business. He couldn’t help but chuckle to himself at the thought of it.
It is here that you, having come in search of a rumored Book of All Stories page that was sighted in the area, find Svengallop laughing away in the alley. You notice him holding the page and, having realized the gravity of the situation, leap into action, swiping the page from Svengallop’s hooves before he can react to you.
“Huh!?” Svengallop gasps, “No! You can’t do this to me! I..I... I need that page, you don’t understand.”
You hold the page high up above where he can reach it, “Do you now?” you say somewhat sarcastically.
Svengallop throws himself to his knees, “Please.” He begs, “I can get my old life back, my wealth, my status, my fame. I can change everything back to how it was before my life got destroyed!”
You seem unconvinced.
Svengallop desperately racks his brain for anything he can do to salvage the situation. He thinks for several moments before a new thought enters his brain.
“I can cut you in.” He said, “I was the manager to the biggest pony pop star in Equestria and if you let me change my history to regain my former position then I would gladly let you reap the rewards of Countess Coloratura’s success.” Svengallop smiles a reluctant, if not somewhat friendly smile.
[CHOICE]
What should you do?
> Let Svengallop become Countess Coloratura’s manager again. (Villain)
> Keep things as they are. (Hero)
[ENDING A: VILLAIN] You think it over for a few moments and begin to feel what must be some perverse form of pity for this pony. Plus, his promise of compensation doesn’t sound half bad at all.
“Okay then, Svengallop, you’ve convinced me.” You say, before rewriting the events of the Helping Hooves Music Festival.
With a stroke of your pen, all of Svengallop’s misdeeds were never discovered and the position of power over Countess Coloratura is restored, much to the corrupt manager’s delight.
(+1 page for Villains)
[ENDING B: HERO]
You think it over for a few moments but decide that Svengallop was not worthy of the position he once held. His egotistical actions led him to his own downfall and your feelings on this matter are quite settled.
“No, Svengallop.” You say firmly, “You must suffer the consequences of your actions and I will not help you cheat your way back to what you lost by the very same bad behavior.”
You turn away and leave the dejected Svengallop alone in the alley to live with the life he made for himself.
“ARE YOU READY FOR YOUR STORY TO CHANGE FOREVER!?” Iron Will shouts to the massive crowd of ponies that have gathered for his latest seminar.
“Yes!” Hundreds of ponies shout back in unison.
“ARE YOU READY FOR A NEW CHAPTER IN YOUR PUNY PONY LIVES!?” Iron Will shouts, continuing to hype up the crowd.
“We’re ready!” The ponies answer in a raucous noise.
“AND ARE YOU READY TO REWRITE YOURSELVES INTO A NEW AND BETTER YOU!?” Iron Will shouts, the crowd in his complete control.
The crowd of ponies was positively frothing at the mouth as they beat their hooves and cheered over every word that Iron Will gave them. Iron Will smiles, bits in his eyes, as he runs and leaps across the stage, building the hype and noise of the crowd to entirely unnatural levels. Iron Will’s goats, his faithful employees, man smoke machines, fireworks displays and various other incendiary devices to aid in whipping up the crowd. The display was quite successful as hundreds of ponies whooped and hollered at the showponyship of the minotaur.
“THE TIME IS NOW FRIENDS! WITH THIS SEMINAR YOU WILL FIND YOUR LIVES LITERALLY CHANGED FOREVER!” Iron Will gestures to a large tent that had been previously set up, “Within this tent, friends, Iron Will shall help you rewrite your story into whatever you wish it to be.” Iron Will says, lowering his tone as he walks towards the tent.
“Ooh, I wonder what secrets he has in there?” One pony asks.
“Some magic spell maybe?” Asks another.
“No, no, he just gives you a pep talk and some catchy slogans.” Says a third pony.
Iron Will smiles to himself, his mind on the money. What awaited each pony out there was indeed quite magical. It was something he had chanced upon one day as he traveled from town to town, selling his assertiveness seminars and various other business ventures. What he had found was a magical page that he soon discovered gave him the ability to rewrite certain aspects of pony’s lives. All he had to do was meet with a pony and change their stories to make them more assertive.
It was very simple, a tweak here, an adjustment there, a changed decision or two and presto! A brand new pony ready to take on the world, after Iron Will charged a nominal fee of course. Oh yes, this was a guaranteed money making machine and if Iron Will helped a few ponies grow a backbone then not only was he successful but he would also be a hero of course. A hero helping ponies get their lives in order.
The thought that drastically altering pony’s personalities might be a bad thing had entered his mind of course, but the copious amounts of bits he had made did a good job suppressing it. It was a small, miniscule thought, hardly worth thinking about. Seeing so many ponies changed meant Iron Will was a success, the odd story of his changes going horribly wrong hardly discounted his many successes. Or did it?
“No!” Iron Will says firmly to himself, “A few ruined lives are an acceptable price for hundreds of more successful lives.”
Although, the stories had begun to reach him of the consequences of some of his seminars. At first it was just a few, but recently the number of stories he had heard of ponies whose personalities drastically changed and had gone on to ruin theirs, and others' lives had begun to increase. This gave Iron Will a moment of pause as the first pony of his seminar approached the tent.
[CHOICE]
What should Iron Will do?
> Keep using the page. (Chaos)
> Stop using the page. (Hero)
[ENDING A: Chaos] Iron Will pushes such weak thoughts out of his head. He had no time for such indecision when there were ponies to help! The page was a gift, not a curse! And it was a gift that he would use for great profits for himself and all of Equestria.
“Welcome small pony.” Iron Will says, pulling the curtain to the tent aside for his customer, “Are you ready for Iron Will to change your life forever?”
I sure am!” The pony says happily as he enters the tent.
(+1 page for Chaos)
[ENDING B: Hero] “This isn’t right.” Iron Will mutters to himself, “If I can’t make these ponies more assertive by myself, then I have no business being Iron Will! Iron Will’s methods work because an iron-will is what it takes to be assertive.” The minotaur says assertively.
“I’m here to change my life!” The first pony customer says, trotting up to Iron Will.
“AND DOES IRON WILL HAVE AN ASSERTIVENESS TRAINING COURSE FOR YOU!” Iron Will roars confidently before grabbing the pony and tossing him up on stage and away from the tent.
“I’ll have to bring that page to one of the princesses, can’t just have it lying around and ruining lives.” Iron Will says, before following the pony on stage.
The winterchilla is a most strange and unusual creature. Terribly quick, devilishly tricky, and annoyingly adorable, the winterchilla, at first glance, seems the same as any harmless woodland creature. With its small fluffy body, its large ears, and its contagiously cute eyes, this unassuming creature finds itself often overlooked in the hierarchy of fearsome monsters. But the winterchilla conceals a dreadful secret, for once the sun sets below the horizon a monstrous transformation takes place. Once darkness falls on Equestria, the adorable winterchilla turns into the abominable WINTERZILLA!
And so it happened that on this particular day, of this particular month, of this particular year, far off in the snowy mountains of Equestria, fate would collide with forces greater than any adorably dangerous creature could ever dream of. For it was here, now, this moment, immediately, that a certain winterchilla would come in contact with a force of magic that could change the fate of Equestria itself.
Winterchillas are not known for great intelligence, but neither are they known for any great lack of intelligence. They could in fact be convincingly cunning in their own way, with a surprising level of instinct to rival any predator. Such intelligence as this particular winterchilla could muster would soon be put to the test as it neared the den that it called home.
The winterchilla scurried its way across the snow-covered forest floor of its mountainous home. The air was cold, colder than an icicle floating in ice-water on an icy day, as the diminutive rodent ran its tiny feet over the fresh blanket of snow that was so common to the area. It had been a long day for the winterchilla, scurrying left and scurrying right as it wished. Climbing up on rocks, or up in trees, or inside bushes to look for berries to eat. It had been an all-around busy day for the winterchilla and now, after a long day of scurrying, it sought nothing more than to return home and rest.
“I must be asleep before I transform,” The winterchilla thought to itself, “then nothing shall bother me during the night as I sleep.”
The winterchilla, being small, was often the target of harassment from larger creatures. The only respite it and all its furry brethren had was at night when their forms changed into the mighty winterzilla. If not for the great speed with which the animal was known for, they would no doubt have been bullied by any larger predators during daylight hours. It was only at night when they turned into mighty monsters that they felt truly safe.
As the rodent made its way home, a most unusual thing drew its attention. Deep in the forest, nearly beyond the range of the small creature’s eyes, a faint glow in the distance seemed to demand that the winterchilla approach.
“What is this?” The winterchilla thought to itself as it approached.
What it was, was a power that no winterchilla had ever encountered before. A page from a magical book that could change the life of this and all winterchillas forever. What it was, was a page from the Book of All Stories! A page that somehow, this small creature knew had the potential to change everything forever.
[CHOICE] What should the winterchilla do?
> Leave the page and return home. (Hero)
> Use the page to make all winterchillas into winterzillas permanently. (Chaos)
[ENDING A: HERO] The winterchilla gazed at the page, either instinctively or magically knowing what it was capable of. But despite knowing its power, the winterchilla felt no need for it, as the winterchilla had everything it needed and wanted.
“This thing should not be here. It feels wrong.” The winterchilla thought to itself.
The small creature took the page in its tiny teeth, scurrying it to the hollowed-out base of a tree, and quickly burying the page in a pile of snow.
“It shall be safe until tomorrow when I can find a better hiding place for it, or find some nice pony who will look after it.” The winterchilla thought, feeling pleased with himself before scurrying off home.
(+1 page for Heroes)
[ENDING B: CHAOS) The winterchilla gazed longingly at the magical page. By some instinctive or by some greater magical power, the small, fluffy creature knew what this page was capable of. The winterchilla knew that with this page, the winterchillas would never again need to fear larger animals. With this page, the destiny of all winterchillas could be irrevocably changed so that never again would they be overlooked and ignored by the world.
“With this the winterchillas could all become WINTERZILLAS!” The cunning creature thought.
The page, reacting to the deepest desires of the magical creature, rewrote the story of all winterchillas. Now it would not simply be at night that they became worthy of awe, but at all times of every day, of every month, and of every year.
Tartarus was a dark and unfriendly place. It was a place that few creatures, pony or otherwise, would willingly tread. Within the cavernous recesses of this uninviting place sat the greatest assortment of villains and monsters that could be found within the world. Legendary foes, creatures lost to time and myth, and monsters that once threatened the peace and harmony of all Equestria were made to make a dwelling in the cold darkness of Tartarus. These great and terrible beasts made their homes here because Tartarus was a prison, the greatest prison in all Equestria, and the sentinel of this great prison is the mighty guard dog known as Cerberus.
Cerberus, the three-headed dog that guarded this wicked place, had long strived to uphold the duty that was so long ago put on him. The mission to guard the gates of Tartarus and to prevent the escape of those Equestria deemed exceedingly dangerous had been Cerberus’ purpose for longer than he himself could remember. Recently, however, Cerberus had found himself irrevocably bored in his dark and unfriendly home. Equestria had become quite well defended since his guard had begun and though he had made some few blunders the problems never failed to be solved.
“They tell me to stay here forever,” Cerberus thought to himself, “I might as well be a prisoner myself.”
Indeed, Cerberus rarely had the opportunity to leave his gloomy home and the few times he did he had been scolded by the princesses. But they did not understand his plight, to be a prisoner while having committed no crime. Tartarus was quite an awful place to live, no sunlight, no grass, and no wind but for the faint and cold drafts that he could sometimes feel bouncing off the hard rocks of the walls of the caves.
And the prisoners themselves proved to be just as awful company. Either they were monsters that were trapped in cages or some vengeance-filled villain who spent all their time howling into the void before losing hope and giving into despair. None of these were much in the way of conversationalists, not that Cerberus could talk, but he often liked to imagine himself doing so for the sake of his own sanity and entertainment.
So it was that as the three-headed dog laid in the dark of his cavernous home that something utterly amazing happened. Before the stunned canine's very eyes, a glowing, magical page gently floated on top of his old large paws. It hummed with magical energy as it gently lowered itself before the face of the great dog. Either by some deep instinct or by the magic spell that undoubtedly held this piece of paper in its sway, Cerberus knew of its purpose and its power. Cerberus knew that with this paper he could rewrite reality and escape this place to a life more pleasing for him.
[CHOICE] What should Cerberus do with the page?
> Use it for himself. (Chaos)
> Get rid of it. (Hero)
[ENDING A: CHAOS] Cerberus thought it over and came to the realization that his current life was quite miserable, “This thing is my ticket out of here.” Cerberus said.
He quickly took the page into his mouth and with one last look back into the vast blackness of Tartarus made his way towards the exit. The large dog happily barked as the page, sensing his intent, rewrote itself, freeing Cerberus of his long task and setting him free into Equestria.
“Hello freedom” Cerberus barked happily as he made his way into the world.
(+1 page for Chaos)
[ENDING B: HERO] Cerberus stared down thoughtfully at the page that now rested softly before him. He dreamed of what life might offer him were he free of his sacred duty. But deep down he knew it would not be right. He had a job to do, an important one at that and he knew that were he to leave, many unimaginable horrors may be released upon an unsuspecting Equestria.
“I know just the place for you.” The mighty guard dog thought as he lapped up the page and walked deeper into Tartarus.
Cerberus knew of a place, deeper and darker than most others in his cavernous domain. It was a special place, known to but a few, where he knew the page could be kept safe until one of the princesses could be contacted. Here the page would lie, deep in a magic proof vault, until Cerberus could be sure that somepony of responsible character could be sent to safely deliver it to those who would not misuse it.
“Where am I?” Fluttershy wondered as she timidly peered around at her foreign surroundings.
The terrified pony had absolutely no idea where on Celestia’s good Equus she happened to be at this particular moment. One minute she had been very carefully attempting to grab at one of the pages from the Book of All Stories, and the next minute she was here, in a strange forest, surrounded by plants and noises that were entirely unfamiliar to her. This fact terrified the little pony, causing Fluttershy to leap before she looked as she fled the scene in a moment of pure panic.
“This is awful, just awful.” Fluttershy sobbed as she galloped through the forest, “That’s what I get for trying to be brave.”.
As Fluttershy took to the sky, tears fell down her face blocking her vision. Just then she was suddenly halted in her flight by something large she had failed to see and bumped into. Fluttershy tumbled to the ground, her tears intensifying as the pain she felt from having hit the ground so unexpectedly flooded through her. Fluttershy’s eyes, strained as they were from her tears, retained enough of their vision to be able to look up at what she had just ran into. Fluttershy immediately froze in a moment of sheer and utter terror as standing right before her was a massive and terrifying monster! And worst still, the monster was standing right on top of the page!
It stood on two hideously massive hind legs. It had rows and rows of razor-sharp teeth, a large and intimidating tail, two puny arms.; and most shocking of all… the monster had… Fluttershy’s cutie mark!
“W-w-what?” Fluttershy mumbled to herself as her eyes made their way to the great beast’s flank, “How is that possible?” Fluttershy wondered.
As Fluttershy laid on the ground the monster turned, its great head lurching downwards straight towards the shy little pony. Its small dark eyes stared straight down at Fluttershy, seeming to peer straight into the pony’s soul before shifting towards Fluttershy’s own cutie mark. The eyes of the monster widened as it stared down at the cutie mark. Its head lowered down to just above Fluttershy’s level as its great and toothy maw opened before her.
“O-oh, I’m so sorry.” The monster whispered shyly into Fluttershy’s ear, “I didn’t see you there. I hope you’re not hurt.”.
Fluttershy paused, only just barely managing to fearfully tilt her head up to face the monster. “D-d-did you just talk?” She only just managed to whisper out.
[CHOICE]
What should Fluttershy do?
> Ask Fluttershy-rex for the page. (Hero)
> Befriend and stay with Fluttershy-rex. (Chaos)
> Be overwhelmed by fear and flee. (Villain)
[ENDING A: HERO] “Did you just talk?” Fluttershy asked, some of her fear dissipating at the smooth and gentle voice of the creature.
The monster’s toothy maw turned into what Fluttershy had to assume was a smile, “Oh, I guess you aren’t used to ponysaur talking to animals like you. So, um…y-y-yes, I was talking to you…if that’s ok?”
Fluttershy’s gaze now lowered to the glowing page that the ponysaur was standing on, “U-u-um, if it’s not too much trouble…um…could I maybe have that page you’re standing on, please?” The Pegasus shyly asked.
The ponysaur looked down at her feet and noticed something glowing beneath them, “O-o-oh, you mean t-t-this thing?” She gently lifted her foot, “Here you go.” The shy ponysaur said meekly.
“Thank you.” Fluttershy wheezed out as she snatched the page up in her hoof and was magically transported back to the Equestria she knew and loved.
(+1 page for Heroes)
[ENDING B: CHAOS]
Fluttershy gazed up in total astonishment at what she had just heard. Her mouth hung open as the very large and very, very intimidating creature had just spoken. This upset and terrified her very much, but it also intrigued her.
“Who, or maybe I should say what are you?” Fluttershy managed to say.
The monster looked meekly at the Pegasus, “I-I-I’m Fluttershy-rex.” She managed to say, “And I’m a ponysaur. M-m-me and my friends live here in Saurestria.”
Fluttershy’s eyes suddenly widened in amazement and excitement, “A real ponysaur!? I’ve never talked to a real ponysaur before! Are there more of you!?”
“Um…yes.” Fluttershy-rex said hesitantly.
Immediately all of Fluttershy’s fear left her as a massive smile forced its way onto her face. Fluttershy immediately spread her wings, lifted from the ground, and glided gracefully onto the ponysaur’s back, “Oh would you please, please, please take me to see your friends?” Fluttershy squeed.
“Um…ok.” Fluttershy-rex answered.
The two headed out, leaving the page behind in the mud.
(+1 page for Chaos)
[ENDING C: VILLAIN]
“Y-y-yes.” The creature mumbled.
As the monster spoke, Fluttershy only noticed the massive mouth of the beast, and the massive teeth that jutted out in unending rows from that mouth. The sight of row upon row of massive, razor-sharp teeth inching ever closer proved to be too much for poor, scared little Fluttershy.
All reason and logic left Fluttershy as her wings carried her swiftly away from the threatening monster. Her wings, weak as they were, went into overdrive and flew the timid Pegasus high into the sky and away from any danger. The tears of the poor pony were so profuse that they seeped into the cloud she now rested on and fell as rain. This rain then fell down and hit the torn page that had been abandoned in the mud.
The negative emotion of these tears was so great, that they seeped into the page itself and manifested as dark magic. The page darkened, shriveled up, and ultimately disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving Fluttershy trapped in a world of monsters.
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.