The stars and moon shone above as the wind ruffled my mane. The sound of the large slowly turning propellers behind and below was the only sound breaking the sound of the wind.
I stood alone on the upper deck, looking out over the dark jungle far below, lit only by the stars and moon. I could make out some glow from the cabins around the curve of the balloon, but it hardly mattered.
A sound behind me, a hoof against the metal mesh and I flicked an ear back before glancing over my shoulder to see Twilight or Midnight approaching from the hatch, wearing a pair of night goggles.
No, that's Twilight, her mane whipping in the wind was longer, she wore her mane longer than Midnight did.
I waited for her to get closer, looking back out over the forest gliding past below us again. Tonight. One more day and then we'll be back.
"Hey," Twilight said as she stopped next to me.
"Hey," I said and gave her a small smile, "Looking for me?"
She nodded, "Wonder if you were hungry, we're getting to lunch time."
"I'll be down in a bit."
She regarded me behind her goggles for a couple of moments, "Thinking?"
"It has been known to happen occasionally, Sparks," I said with a small smile, "Rarely, I admit, but it does happen."
"Thinking about?" she asked, "Nocturnis?"
I sighed softly, "The ponies there. How to calm things down, I understand the news of my incident made some of them quite a bit upset."
Twilight looked at me seriously, "Page, if it had been in Nocturnis, when Neighsay was identified he would never have reached the trial. He would have been mobbed by the general population, tied up and tossed outside the shield. Likely with his horn not blocked by a ring, but cut off like in the old days."
"Oh."
So quite upset.
Twilight pressed her side against mine, her feathers feeling hot compared to the wind, "...And I wouldn't have been far behind them," she then admitted, "When I saw him at the trial, I got so angry. I thought I was before, but... seeing him, I... if Midnight had not been right next to me to stop me, I may have done something."
"Sparks..." I said and slipped my wing across her back, hugging her close, "If it had been you, Sunset, Luna or Celestia, I would not have been able to be as restrained as you. You know where I'm from. My previous people can be... not nice when their loved ones are threatened."
She looked up at me, "Maybe so. But you are a pony, Page. A good pony."
"I'm not sure I am," I said quietly, uncertain if she could even hear me over the sound of the wind and propellers.
Sparks looked at me with worried eyes, "What do you mean?"
"Consider the things I have done in the past. Threatened to stab Sunset to get her to return to Equestria, exploded Tirek, tortured the Storm King. Manipulated ponies, likely ruined lives to get my way, even if it was because I thought it was for a good cause. I'm not sure any of those are the actions of a good pony."
Twilight regarded me for a long moment before opening her mouth to speak only to pause and motion me closer. I ducked my head-ow!
She bit my ear! And not just a nip as Luna does either! That hurt!
"Ow! You bit me!"
Twilight glared at me, "Saved Equestria, Saved Equestria, saved the bat ponies, saved the changelings, saved thousands upon thousands of ponies!" she yelled and poked my chest, "Saved my Kitten! I will not have anypony criticizing you about any of those, especially not you!"
"I think I might be bleeding!" I exclaimed, feeling my ear with a hoof.
"You're fine!" she snarled and stepped closer, forcing me to step back, "So you stop that right now, and I'm serious. You are a good pony and you are helping a lot of ponies. Everything you have done has been to help ponies! You put every bit you earn into doing it, you do a job you hate because it helps ponies and you are away from ponies you love because it helps ponies!"
I cringed, taking another step back, but she followed me right along, her nose almost pressing against mine.
"So you stop that right now! Would I be in love with a bad pony? An evil pony?"
"I-i… No, but..."
"Would Luna marry one?"
"No, I-"
"Would Celestia? Sunset?" she continued, taking another step forward, "Would the thestrals of Nocturnis follow a bad pony?"
I hesitated, "I mean, their anc-"
"Would Fluttershy? Pepper? Flower?" Twilight continued, cutting me off once more to stab my chest with her hoof, "So you be quiet and listen to me!"
I cringed again and glanced down at my hooves.
Twilight ducked down and met my eyes, "Are you listening?"
"...Yes, Sparks."
"Good," she said and stood up, using a hoof to guide my muzzle up until I looked into her eyes, "You, Page, are a good pony. A good Prince. Some things you have done, you and I both wish didn't have to be done. But they still had to be done. The world is not always a good place filled with nice creatures. And sometimes even good ponies have to do bad things to stop worse things from happening," she said before taking half a step forward and brushing her lips against mine, "And you, my bat, is a good pony."
I gave her a soft kiss back before I nodded, "Can I speak now?"
Twilight nodded.
"I would argue that you are somewhat biased," I told her gently before raising a hoof to forestall another assault, "But I may be beating myself up a bit too much about things. It's just that everypony is looking up to me, especially in Nocturnis. Like... like they think I have all the answers. And I don't and I know I will never measure up to what they think I am."
Twilight shook her head with a small sigh before rubbing her cheek against mine, "You don't have to. Just be you, it has worked pretty well so far."
"I guess," I admitted and then shook my head, "I'm just afraid to disappoint them. Disappoint you. Everypony puts so much trust in me and I want to live up to it."
Twilight smiled softly at me, "Do you know why?"
I shook my head and she smiled wider, reaching up to touch my cheek with her wing,
"Because you are a good pony, you stupid bat," she said and shifted around, pressing her side against mine as her wing rested across my back. I was a bit taller still, so she had to stretch a little for it.
I leaned softly against her side, burying my nose in her warm mane.
I still wasn't too sure about being a good pony, but maybe I could be a good Prince and... maybe that had to be enough.
Because thinking about the Neighsay incident and what followed... if things had been different and it had been one of my girls that were attacked... attacking me was one thing. But attacking somepony I loved...
I knew that if somepony hurt somepony I love, I would do bad things.
Nice
By now, I think it's only Sunset and Midninght who hasn't munched on that ear yet. So, when is there turn?
Good chapter
Thanks for the chapter!
Have a great day!
Page: Oh..I wasn't expecting that.
Twilight: I understand its hard to wrap your head arou--
Page: No not that. Humans have done a WHOLE lot worse and that seemed..mild and boring!
Twilight: I am not following.
...FEW MINUTES OF EXPLAINING THE SPANISH INQUISITION LATER...
Page: --and then would be displayed in front of the village for several days.
Twilight:
Midnight:
Page: What?
Midnight: ...okay then. For the sake of sanity, I'm wiping all our memory back to when Page said "oh" to resume a more productive conversation.
Page: That is not necessa--
✨MIND WIPE FLASH✨
Huh, Sparks and Midnight are diverging more and more, given the different reactions. Neat!
He isn't a good pony, but a damn fine leader.
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Alicorn stallion ears are delicious?
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Yeah, some knowledge better stay unknown.
Chrysalis disguised as Thorax:
"I still have not been found out, but little Predator isn't tasting as good as Amber suggested. Perhaps playing this O&O would help to get him into a more enjoyable meal, the Dragon teens of Nocturnis should make for sufficient teachers."
Amber:
"So you are going to befriend the dragons of the Purple smart Alicorns?"
Chrysalis:
"I do not belive in friendship, but i belive in mutually beneficial bonds, i shall learn this O&O and they will get entertainment out of it.
A fair deal for both partys."
Amber:
"... You want to snack on their love for the game and for their mutual pony mate while learning it?"
Chrysalis:
"I say mutually beneficial, not equally beneficial."
camo.fimfiction.net/HGKOVNTrPh_dQIegq-4XQTTfq37sBPSPcGN3_7ZAMFg?url=https%3A%2F%2Fderpicdn.net%2Fimg%2Fview%2F2014%2F7%2F10%2F671941.gif
Page constantly going on about how bad he is every other chapter is getting pretty tiresome, have to say. Especially when he gets the same responses each time.
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Hung, drawn and quartered. If done "properly" (nothing about this is proper, as the saying goes), you survive until the horses pull you into fourths.
Oh I know for a fact that if ANY creature had attacked or harmed any of Page's mates, he would have become the ponified version of The DOOM Slayer and start a tour of RIP & TEAR!!!!
'He wore the Crown of an Alpha Rexosaurus and THOSE who felt the Bite of His Ice Lances called Him:
THE DOOM SLAYER!!!!!'
*Insert BFG DIVISION*
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Beware the AIB Alicorns In Black cause you won't remember anything!
light magic: is based on the creation of matter
black magic: corruption of matter.
harmony magic: fortification of matter in its permanence.
chaos magic: change of matter.
this is why twilight is bad at transformation magic That's why ponies can't use chaos magic.
that's why page can use illusion magic and can't use fire magic properly, because he shouldn't even be able to use light.
and that's why discord doesn't like the magic of harmony. permanence is against change.
these are my theories about magic.
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It is a somewhat repeating theme but I feel that.
Even though the message is the same, it feels a bit different from experience.
(Celestia having made decisions in the past that cost a lot of lives, Luna still dealing with guilt, Sparks being somewhat in the same position he is as a new leader. And Sunny having made bad decisions in the past.)
But all that aside, I think with the darkness that is in a human brain. If you’re thrust in a leadership position in a land with rather harmless creatures, you’d need the constant assurance that you’re not turning bad or evil.
Especially if you’re not having all the answers but are expected to give them.
Ominous!! Maybe there’s more conflict abrewing?
Also, if there’s any fan art made, I’d love to see the scene of Twilight biting Page’s ear and making making him cry ‘uncle.’
Page needs to get democratizing things or else he's gonna go mad in a few decades.
One good thing I can see coming from this tragic series of events is this kind of scare will definitely motivate Pages' mares to not wait around any more.
Anyone else hear wedding bells soon?
And I definitely don't think Luna will be going back to Canterlot alone.
great chapter
Oooooh if this isn't foreshadowing a "Mr. McGee you won't like me when I'm angry" moment then it's a wasted discussion. Nice of Twilight to tell Page like it is. He's a 'good pony' for certain definitions of 'good.'
I still say we need to make the distinction between a good person and a good Pony. He doesn't think or act like a pony. He thinks and acts like a human.
His dabbling in dark magic, his exploding Tirek, his torture of the Storm King; behavior typical of Humanity, not Ponykind.
Page is a good person while failing to act like a good pony.
you know, reading this makes me wonder what a nightmare version of him would be like.
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I know its been said in this story that Cadence's power is scary, but imagine if Page could gain Chaos magic or something similar due to his Writing Powerstm
I won't lie, page getting his ear bit will always make me laugh I'm always happy to see updates to this series! I've been following it since.. the second story, I think? I know I haven't quite caught up yet but this is genuinely a really entertaining romp through Equestria.
11653136
OTOH, the executioners tended to get paid very well, especially if the execution was done in the "proper" manner--otherwise, the executioners' apprentices would suddenly get a promotion.
11653176
Agent A: "Stare into my horn"
*FLASH*
Is he?
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=93tb90aA7-I&pp=ygUaZ29vZCBtZW4gZG9uJ3QgbmVlZCBydWxlcyA%3D
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=k_vhLZOOnhQ&pp=ygUTV3Jhcmggb2YgdGhlIGRvY3Rvcg%3D%3D