The sound of rain against stone filled the chamber at the top of the pyramid. I didn't bother with a torch, even with it being in the middle of a rainstorm with the sun down, I still saw well enough to move around, especially in the slight light filtering in from lamps in the camp below.
I was sitting close to the entrance, listening to the heavy rainfall outside as I stared at the altar in the middle of the chamber.
The one an unknown number of beings had been sacrificed on.
Why? For power? Belief?
To do such a thing to another thinking being... I had trouble understanding the mindset of somepony like that. From the skulls below, it wasn't even non-ponies... and if the statue was anything to go off, he had been like I was now. Assuming that's really what Discord did and not just copying the effects.
But I don't think that was it, Discord wasn't one to just do the lazy copy thing.
I was the same as the thing that did this... or was I?
I ate fruit, not blood. Was that what this was? An actual vampony? A vampony that came to this place and took over, spreading his curse to the rest of the pegasi? To be worshipped like a blood god?
Skulls for the throne indeed.
A glow from outside drew my attention and Moon Dancer stopped outside, a bubble of magic around her, keeping the water away, "Lord Page?" she asked, peering into the darkness.
"I'm here," I said and moved out where she could see me.
"Oh!" she said and nodded, taking half a step back before she smiled, "Princess Midnight told me to come get you. We found something in the main chamber."
"What? We searched the place pretty thoroughly," I said and moved out into the bubble of her magic, trying not to limp. My shoulder ached but it didn't bleed, so fuck it. It can heal on its own time.
Moon Dancer led down the stairs, "The carvings on the walls," she explained, "It's not just patterns, it's images. You just can't see them as the paint is gone. Midnight has a spell that makes them stand out... and you should see them."
Now that I really wanted to see.
We moved down the stairs to the entrance and I followed her inside. She canceled the field over us and instead her horn glowed like a light and we moved through the short tunnel into the main chamber. It was lit up by the light of torches burning in the corners, set into ready made sconces. Midnight was talking with Dee close to the pyramid of skulls and I moved over to them.
"Page!" Midnight said with a smile, "We found something. It's amazing!"
"So I heard. Show me?"
Midnight nodded and stepped up, her eyes half closing as she focused before her horn lip up in a bright glow and beams shot out from it in all directions. They played across the rock walls of the chamber and where they touched, they left lines of lights following the contours of the rock like small lines of glowing purple neon.
I felt my jaw drop as the inside of the chamber was revealed. Every crack between the stones stood out, yes, but what’s more, the entire inside was carved into images from floor to ceiling.
"Over here," Dee said and touched my shoulder before pointing towards the side.
I looked over and then slowly approached. It showed a landscape of ponies with batwings among trees with small huts. It showed fighting against other ponies, being driven back.
"I think it may be part of the history," Dee explained quietly, "It starts here and then goes all the way around the chamber."
I nodded and kept moving. The next image showed a larger thestral arriving. One with a horn. Light shone out from him, seemingly radiating from his horn as he drove the invaders off.
The next image they were all bowing before him, offering up gifts.
Another image, this one once more of battle. It seemed more even now, equally as many on each side. I continued along the wall to the next image. One displaying the thestral lord sitting on a throne, overlooking bowing subjects... thestrals... with one hoof extended, pointing towards half a pyramid behind them.
They were building this place.
The next one was... gory. A dead pony on the altar at the top of the pyramid, streams of blood running down the sides. But there were thestrals standing on the levels of the pyramid and they were surrounded by some sort of glow.
The next image was one of the thestrals overrunning their enemies, the unicorns were on the ground, thestrals standing above them.
Feeding.
I stopped walking and looked around and then up at the statue. Thestrals... wasn't a curse. They... we... were an actual pony tribe. It wasn't a curse at all, it was a fucking super soldier program!
Fuck me...
I shook my head, feeling my fangs with my tongue before I looked to Midnight, "But why did we start to crave fruit? Why the low reproductive rate?"
"We don't know," Midnight admitted as her spell faded away, "But my working theory is that it was a curse cast by one of their enemies. It's possible that the low reproductive rate or suppression of thestral traits was intended or an unintended consequence from an interaction of the blood magic, but I don't know. I need to study it more."
I took a slow breath and nodded, "Let me know if you need to examine me or something. I'm fairly certain Discord used the entire package on me, everything else has matched so far."
Midnight nodded, "I'll let you know," she said with a small smile.
"Okay," I agreed and looked at the wall behind me for a second before starting out of the chamber again. Better let the experts get on with things.
I stopped though and turned to look up at the statue.
You. You did this.
You were like me. You were like Celestia, like Luna, Like Midnight and Twilight. You could have been so, so much better than you were. You could have brought prosperity, formed Equestria or something like it over a thousand years early.
But what did you do with your power? Your knowledge? Your abilities?
You turned ponies into monsters to drive away everypony else.
Fuck you, you fucking failure of an alicorn.
I looked up into the statue's ruby eyes and barred my fangs, hissing at it. I'll undo your work. I'll make sure thestrals are accepted among everypony else, as common as pegasi, unicorns or earth ponies!
You will have failed!
Then I'll find a time spell and go back to your death to show you. Just to make sure that you know about it!
I gave the statue another hiss and then turned and left.
Well Seems Discord and Cadence will have to work that much harder to ship him with the statue.....
1.
Wait......
.........Page you will go on a time travel journey
2.
What was that alicorn thestral supposed to do anyway?
Say hello to super xenophobic and racist ponies to join him and let him guide them?
He has his tribe so he supported and guided it,let them be who they are
I don't think that there is something wrong with that and he isn't a failure
It’s good that Page is saying “we” a lot more now, shows he’s accepting who he is and taking responsibility for his new people.
Niiiiiiiiice
Weird thought: What if the statue was of Page and time travel was involved? That he ends up needing the sacrifices of the ponies of the past to gather enough magical energy to return to the present time?
A bit grim but maybe the ends justify the means and that it'd already happened would help him rationalize what he would need to do.
Somehow trying to meld the idea of the Thestral into Pegasi transformation into that theory but ah well, just a thought!
Don't be so hard on that alicorn Page; if the first picture is anything to go by the context is that the bat ponies were always fighting for the right to merely exist. One of the alternative timelines made by Starlight (that didn't happen in this continuity) was Equestria at war with the Crystal Empire. Celestia had to industrialise the nation and bent almost the entire thing to war just to hold them back.
Turn that into three kingdoms trying to exterminate the scary spooky bats and it figures they would turn to darker measures just so their children could live to see one more day. The social problem you're dealing with has been going on for the better of ten thousand years. The three tribes still have not learned better; just a thousand years ago they shunned one of their own rulers. A great many still do.
They way i read it is the earth ponies, pegasei and unicorns have been the real villains for over six thousand years...
“Dig up the past, all you get is dirty.”
I can’t help but feel, he is going to be talking to himself.
Maybe the skulls aren't from sacrifises and instead they are trophies, with each skull being from the leader of a enemy army?
Just a crazy thought that poped into my mind.
10456598
I swear, Page thinks so much like myself that sometimes I have to remind myself that this isn't my self insert, this is someone else entirely.
l am sorry Page.... But it looks like that the thestral alicorn, did what he did in order to protect and save his subjects from being unjustly murdered by the other tribes..... What else would you have him do? Stand idly by while innocent thestrals were being murdered?
images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/29e0efca-dbe3-44db-acd0-387f0fe959dc/de63rav-cde10318-cdfa-462e-81b7-faa0f31a49a5.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOiIsImlzcyI6InVybjphcHA6Iiwib2JqIjpbW3sicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvMjllMGVmY2EtZGJlMy00NGRiLWFjZDAtMzg3ZjBmZTk1OWRjXC9kZTYzcmF2LWNkZTEwMzE4LWNkZmEtNDYyZS04MWI3LWZhYTBmMzFhNDlhNS5qcGcifV1dLCJhdWQiOlsidXJuOnNlcnZpY2U6ZmlsZS5kb3dubG9hZCJdfQ.OWWqnJYX45H91xjrG65-hVE5TRAX3A6m11WkFrNHJZM I know I posted this last chapter but it applies here too.
10460498
This is really cool
Oh, oh no.
I feel like time travel hijinks might happen, kinda like a closed loop where he gets sent and then has to do that stuff cause he thinks it'll mess up the time line. That would be some pretty big character development..... Wait... we've only seen Starlight in his timeline for her to get permission to build the Town right? so it could be possible.
I'm catching onto your tricks.
10460433
I have a feeling he already is talking to himself.
And his intention to go back and give that Thestral alicorn a piece of his mind is only making that feeling even more certain.
So, the 3 tribes were all gung-ho about commiting complete genocide on the thestrals, this alicorn thestral appears and helps the thestrals push back the other tribes and HE'S the bad guy according to Page?
10460533
No, he was the bad guy when he decided to resort to darker magics of nature, and caused the thestrals to become living monsters.
10460533
The various pony tribes fighting each other was part for the course at the time. Also, Page believes the Alicorn is bad because the Alicorn had other ponies sacrificed for power, and never tried to unite the tribes, only tried to conquer/kill them
10460514
A theory I also have a whiff of. But it could also go the other way, in where there are no time-travel hi-jinks.
10460514
Nah starlight was defeated. To the point where when she tried time travel I believe she got instantly beat up by like a bunch of guards i think. Might be a different fanfic but yea.
10460575
True. But we won't know until when/if it happens, that's the fun of theories.
10460590
K, I wasn't sure. It's been awhile since that point in the series.
Ok so I really don't think Page is the mystery alicorn, because I don't see him performing ritualistic sacrifice in order to wage war...
Like ever
What if the other tribes were right to be scared and fearful of the Thestrals? What if originally they were a bloodthirsty and blood drinking tribe? That they were powerful like the Aztecs and subjugated the other tribes?
What if they were cursed to become fruitivores rather than hematophages by powerful opponents? Maybe Alicorns? That the price of the curse had to be paid by the Alicorns as well and they also declined. What if it was done to save the other tribes?
What if the results of the curse were lower birth rates, loss of power, and ability to fight back? That their reputation as bloodthirsty creatures was deserved? What if their new old reputation followed their new forms as their reputations lived on? That the curse was designed to eliminate them once and for all? That the current batponies are paying the price, unfairly, for what their distant ancestors did?
Surely not you might say. There would never be a tribe/species that lived off of ponies.
images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/d3a495b2-e8ed-45c1-b673-97d20bbc1681/d4xaj5w-145452b0-cee6-41a0-81da-116041df5f3f.png/v1/fill/w_894,h_894,q_75,strp/chrysalis__the_queen_of_changeling_evil_laugh_by_failmegapro-d4xaj5w.png?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJpc3MiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwic3ViIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsImF1ZCI6WyJ1cm46c2VydmljZTppbWFnZS5vcGVyYXRpb25zIl0sIm9iaiI6W1t7InBhdGgiOiIvZi9kM2E0OTViMi1lOGVkLTQ1YzEtYjY3My05N2QyMGJiYzE2ODEvZDR4YWo1dy0xNDU0NTJiMC1jZWU2LTQxYTAtODFkYS0xMTYwNDFkZjVmM2YucG5nIiwid2lkdGgiOiI8PTg5NCIsImhlaWdodCI6Ijw9ODk0In1dXX0.TC-qq9j8wo2jeW3sh9fDtWqz67lzzM9GbNx1eDpJyxg
10460533
Of course...
This alicorn crossed a line Page finds unforgivable.
I too have my lines; freedom and choice is everything to me; if i was that alicorn (and we have our facts right) i would freely offer the ritual. With consent i would even cross my "no mind effecting effects" line. But they have to make that choice of their own free will.
Page has come to a cultural difference and is judging him while warning Midnight to also not jump to conclusions. This is how all the bloodshed starts. In my opinion; this is why Celestia keeps Equestria in its own bottle. In the show there were no none pony dignitaries seen till after Twilight became princess. Celestia needs friendship lessons more than Twilight ever did. Hell; LUNA, one of the rulers of Equestria, didn't even know about the hippogriffs until the shit hit the fan and by then it was too late.
Equestria had no real allies without Twilight. They are so xenophobic it came to no surprise that Chrysalis could drive them apart and bring back the Windigoes. All on her own changing the culture of a kingdom... they are just that naturally xenophobic. Once Twilight leaves the dark ages will roll back in and anything not a pony will suffer in Equestria. (Including ponies if we count zebras)
No, Page. Do you want to get caught in a causality time loop? Because that's how you get caught in a causality time loop! You're gonna go back in time, discover that there wasn't a thestral alicorn, become that thestral alicorn, and find out history was a little more complicated than you thought and that you didn't have the whole picture.
10460689
My thoughts exactly!
10459153
Get lost. I see in preview that it was supposed to be a Doctor Who soundtrack. When I tried to listen to it - it said that video was unavailable. Now try again, troll freak. Or better, get lost.
10460488
Protect yes, but butchering you’re enemies and keeping their heads as trophies? That’s too far.
PAGE GLARES AT THE STATUE...
Page: You...Thestral king! Your legacy lays upon the blood-soaked stones of this temple. You took the thestral tribe down a path of destruction under the guise of a savior! In exchange for promising victory against their enemies, you turned your subjects into blasphemous blood-thirsty beasts! By creating a cult of personality that consumed countless pony lives, you struck a fear so deep among the other tribes that its impact is felt to this very day. What say you monster?! Demon! Devil born from the lowly of beings! WHAT SAY YOU NOW?!?!
Statue: ...The Aristocrats.
Page: Oh that's it! *screams as ponies hold him down* LET ME AT HIM! LET ME AT HIM!
10460713
Huh, weird. It still works for me. I am on mobile, though, but I doubt that would matter.
10460739
I dunno, it tells me "video unavailable".
10460525
So he's going to get dirty digging up the past...with himself?
All right so I don't know about anybody else but seems kind of hypocritical to me that he was willing to turn himself into a monster just so I can extend his life but when another gives a chance to others so that they can drive away and invasive tribe he's just like I don't know you did the bad thing
10460514
Yer thinking of the Bean verse. Baked Bean was holding court for his Celly with help of Discord and Ravens twin sister when starlight appeared and asked, and Bean made a deal with Discy behind the throne to spy on her.
Here in the Page verse, Page went with the mane six to Our Town and got knocked out at the start of the fight in CM cave vault; his being knocked out caused him to drop his active illusion as at the time he'd just become an alicorn, the shock of seeing a male alicorn made Glimy drop her guard and thus was stopped before she could take the groups CM's. And she was in the dungeons for a time before Page poked her in a dream, and she's been rehabilitating since then.
10460850
YYYEAH!!! That's it, shit I mixed up series. Thank you. And also damn, now idk how else they may do some time travel hijinks. I still like the idea of him being the Alicorn Thestral from the statue; as much as it may not make sense or out of character for him I like it.
10460724
Not as trophies, as a warning "Leave my people in peace, or be added to the pile"
10460735
Rarely do you see a comment that is at once so right and also so very very wrong
this is one thread that I think maybe only the highlander has ever touched on but this alicorn, he didn't exactly have the luxury of growing up in a time of freedom, stability, and peace. It doesn't excuse what he did, but if you look back at basically every great king of the past, they were all murdering psychopaths by our standards, from alexander to the Great Khan, they stacked the bodies up high for no particular reason other than because they could and they were made to believe they were legally, morally, and divinely protected from consequences of waging what we would say today is genocide
That said, there's not many stories that frame immortals from the past as having an alien mindset to us, its usually assumed they changed with the time, or if not they're usually the bad guy
page might be making too many assumptions too, the low birthrate might be simply caused by interbreeding with pegasi though that's not exactly good for the tribe
Unless he did the groundwork that allow the Sisters to unite ponykind. Its really hard to tell...
There was ones a story were 3 partys formed a plan.
-1 would create destruction under troublesome groups and individuals. Not even stoping in dencly population centers.
-1 would keep balance the needs&wants and knownlage ( so they dont decline if possible).
-1 would create a safe heaven for a all 3 partys and races with striktly managed rules.
Resulted in less wars and overall bigger prosperity.
The 'evil' are sometimes the good guys that take the blame for the greater benefit of all.
Necromancer come to mind.
10460735
....Now I have to read Paige's lines with his voice, thanks
10460689
That or going back in time makes you amnesiac or mad.
In which case, yeah. Causality will we happening.
I think it was just under a week ago that I began the wild ride that is reading this saga all the way from the beginning. Now that I’m all caught up, I believe this is the first time that the plot of this story has taken an absolute, sharp turn from that of the animated show. With real differences starting to form, I am curious as to how a couple things will go down-
-Page likely won’t encounter Cozy Glow directly at any point. Not significant, but something to note.
-I wonder how he’ll interact with the Pillars- especially Stygian. I wonder if they’ll be friends or if it’ll be another villain to leave a sour taste in Page’s mouth.
-The way the plot has been going, the previous series finale has been dismantled entirely- Discord may still be out there and is far from good, sure, but Chrysalis and Tirek are out for the count and Sombra, unless rewritten in a drastic fashion, will still get himself blown the hell up.
I really do wonder where this current plot will go, though- this will make things most interesting.
Ancient alicorn: I will bring peace and prosperity to my people through any means necessary.
Page: yea well I’ll bring peace and prosperity to your people and you will have failed.
Ancient alicorn: okay buddy
10460735
Oh boy it's orientation day!
Thats cute
Oh boy, I think he created a self - for filling prophecy.
10460393
Dont worry. All 3 are imortal. They have all the time on there side...
10460402
Indeed. Perhaps he was even successful but hes decendants get tricked... and dying out slowly over the generations
10460421
Or its like blood donation work. The skulls? The leaders of powerhungry pony trying to pull a King Sombra on his peacefully living subjects!
10460433
Under the dirt is knownlage and wisedom. Killing Tirek was needed. Who knows what the skulls origins did to deserv to become exampels!
10460450
Exacly!
10460431
Indeed. No one trows himself in a conflict with more enemys then they can handle. Often do problems come to one ( Equestria for example is often a target for many others ).
10460487
Damn it Page! Eat a snockers! Your always hallucinate your a bipedal thing on a 'web side' that read a story of a 'fictional character'. Commenting under the alias named KKSLIDER... We really need to get that checked out. . .
10460498
Check out his mouth! Perhaps a enchanted message is on his tongue!!!
10460511
All pictures of this Artist are ♡
10460599
Remember Tirek? Extreamly messy times need drastic measures to be dealt with. Remember Dracula? Spear enemy solders by the 10.000 plus to strike fear into his enemys so they stop there religion driven attacks...