"Celestia!" Luna yelled, "We can't hold it much longer!"
She was right. We could hurt it, sure. But for every tentacle we blasted apart or burned to a crisp or cut off, another... two or three others... took its place. Meanwhile, the hole in reality just got bigger and bigger. Big enough that at times you could glimpse... things through it. Eyes. Mostly eyes.
So many eyes. Nothing could possibly need that many eyes!
I slammed another spear of ice through the portal, aiming for the eyes whenever I could, but Luna was very much right. We couldn't keep this up. For every tentacle we cut off, three took it’s place.
I ducked beneath another tentacle, just barely shielding against a third one but then then it knocked me back several hoof steps across the wooden floor.
The monstrosity was getting bi-shit!
I ducked and spread my wings for balance, ducking and then lashing out with my magic, running a blade of magic along the tentacle swinging towards me, cutting along its length, ichor spraying through the air before a second blast from Luna cut it in half.
"Everypony! Get out of here!" Celestia yelled.
"If we leave, it'll overwhelm you!" Sunset yelled, her side against Celestias as she sent another jet of burning flame towards the closest tentacle and it retreated, bursting into flames.
I jumped over a low sweep, "Everypony! To me!" I yelled, casting another cutting spell straight across the room, not really aiming. I didn't need to, I couldn't miss by sending it into the mass of tentacles, "Get ready to shield!"
Sunset was the first one there, teleporting from Celestia to me, sending a piercing spell towards the mass the moment she landed. Luna dropped down from the air, wings spread next to me, "Sister! Do it!"
Celestia's horn were already burning with energy as she shot a firespell towards the closest mass of tentacles, but she nodded and spread her wings as her horn seemed to take on an entirely different kind of glow, her mane starting to shift from a ethereal rainbow effect shifting, turning brighter, more orange and yellow as the energy expanded, flowing through it towards the tips… something that started to look disturbingly like a flowing solar eruption,"Everypony! Close your eyes!" she yelled as the glow started to intensify.
The Goddess of the sun was about to come out to play.
Oh shit.
Almost in a panic I threw up the strongest shield bubble I knew, overlapping with Sunset’s and Luna’s. I closed my eyes and looked away, covering my face with one wing, the other I put over Sunsets.
The next second... it wasn't violent. There wasn’t really a loud explosion. I couldn’t even hear it really other than as a whump kind of sound.
I just felt a kind of full body pressure and a heat, almost like standing in the midsummer sun, or perhaps suddenly opening a forge was a better comparison, and things went bright but then it was silent again.
I slowly lowered my wing and opened my eyes, blinking the sunspots out of my eyes as I looked around. Luna had one wing around both me and Sunset as it to protect us, but our shield bubble had kept us safe.
The air was filled with smoke from burning wood and ash, but the portal was gone and so were the tentacles. It didn't take more than a second or two before I spotted Celestia. She was standing right where I last saw her, her white coat gray with ash as debris rained from the sky still, her spectral mane flowing in the bright sunshine.
Bright sunshine through the drifting smoke.
I blinked and looked around. The library was... gone. Just gone. The entire tree was missing, just the base of the walls and roots still stood, smoldering in place, small fires burning.
The only piece that remained was the small circle of floor inside our shield bubble. Ash and small burning pieces of shrapnel still rained down from the sky. The rest of the village seemed intact... ish. The closest houses looked a bit scorched and there were a couple of burning bushes, but none of them looked outright flattened.
Sunset suddenly dropped her shield bubble and struggled out from beneath my wing, "Twi!" she yelled.
Oh shit, Twilight!
"Go!" I told her, dropping my shield as well at the same time as Luna did, "I'll check on Celestia!"
I was worried about Twilight too, but I had to check that Celestia was okay too. Just because she was standing didn’t mean she was anywhere near okay right now.
I shared a look with Luna and we quickly made our way over to Celestia.
"Sister? Are you well?" Luna asked with a frown as we reached her.
Celestia flicked her ears and sighed, "...I'm fine," she said before she took a step back, her right hoof trembling slightly but she put it back down, "But look."
I turned in the direction she was looking in.
The stone table... It was broken in half and looked like it had half melted. Parts of it still glowed a soft red of molten rock..
Well, fuck.
Chthulu just had his tentacles kicked by Celestia.
Equestria - 1, Unspeakable Horrors from Beyond - 0
Well, looks like Midnight is here to stay.
I am Page at the end of this chapter
O noes
This chapter is such hope breaker. What was suppossed to be happy ending of some event turned into horror ended with same thing as Tirek Battle and with Midnight possibly stuck forever.
Dear Tree of Harmony, if you are going to react to this shit at any point, this is very proper time to do so, we would even readily stomach crystal castle/tree this time, I believe, I can certainly say.
Well, that'll show both purple horses that two plus two does not equal fish as they originally thought.
On the other hand, Sunset will be really happy to have two Twilights to snuggle with to console for this fiasco.
This out of the way, I can only see Twilight getting a new 'table' via destiny shenanigans via Tree of Harmony. Otherwise Midnight is screwed.
PS: I hope to see Page getting on Discord's arse to see Midnight sent back home ... or else.
Well that other world is fucked
This looks even more and more likely to happen, especially if the spell had an effect on time-travel
10382679
I wouldn't count it like that, more like a draw
Celestia wasn't restricted and Cthulu like was and could only use tentacles
If both of them were in the same situation then bye-bye Celestia
10382719
Details.
Well, at least they didn't open the door to a Victorious!Sombra or Queen!Nightmare Moon dimension. On the other hand, I'd like to see Pageverse!Luna and Page curbstomp Nightmare Moon while Celestia watches, sipping tea.
We need spin-offs.
One shot omakes.
10382686
Mhm. Now that the library has been nuked, they can work on opening the box from the Tree of Harmony, so Pageverse!Twilight and friends can get their castle and their own cutie map. (I wonder if Sunset and Page would get their own thrones, too?)
Friendship is like destiny. IT. SHALL. NOT. BE. DENIED. ITS. CHAMPIONS.
10382733
By that
you mean a threesome that will later become foursome ?
10382792
Silence, please! Or Cadance will hear you and will try to make Page's life even more interesting!
10382733
Sombra and NMM would't be worse. Sombra is solo guy with army of slaves, which is weakness on itself and Nightmare was showed in her world as somehow rational and dutiful, she may be even defeated by mere words, especially from Page and Luna. Victorius!Tirek world, that would be OH SHIT moment.
Expecting the unexpected, will be a new rule they have to impliment if they ever do something like that again...
Through the Fire & Flames the Library is gone and a multi-trans dimensional table is destroyed!
...Well shit. I sense a Megaton Drama Bomb being dropped right NOW!!!
10382746
What champions?
Harmony influence is not needed
Page did more work without interference, manipulations, and guidance of the spirit, tree of harmony than most.
For example, Page didn't need a map telling him to get to Starlight, etc.
He handled Sunset Shimmer situation straightforward and logically
He permanently dealt with Tirek and become an alicorn
He made friends with changelings and Chrysalis thanks to him being an apex predator in his world
He actually tried and succeeded in fixing Tempest horn
He is a balance of good and evil spectrum, ideas, and forces that make him universal in this world.
Page can be your best ally and friend or your worst enemy and nightmare
As for what they will do with Midnight?
Page will probably do another deal with Discord
Some have been saying Chthulu, but I think it was Hermaeus Mora
tentacles, eyes and books (library)
10382917
Discord can't do anything about Midnight, as he stated like 2 stories ago. And any deal with him on this case, by my opinion, should be like: "Do it, or feel our wrath" type, as he is main source of this problem. which he did due to hurted feelings and self-estime.
10382917
Page - Alicorn of Harmony, if this trend of accomplishments continue.
“...and why couldn’t you use that against Tirek?”
10382685
To be fair they just need A key for Twi, assuming the other adventures happened as they did in cannon and the mane 5 already have there gifted Harmonykeys.
Either a rueful discord or another token of friendship should suffice to unlock it.
Or maybe just give Page a crowbar. 😂
10383003
Wasn‘t there a sequence a few stories back where she remarked that she can still remember the smell.
Guess she wanted to prevent the Throneroom from smelling like roasted cow?
*Twilight and Midnight staring at the destruction*
Twilight: ...m-m-my home...
Midnight: ...t-t-he table...
*Twilight and Midnight teleported away*
Discord: HEY GIRLS! Uhhhh...welcome to the emergency ice cream room! You can leave at any time thru this door...but I strongly suggest some ice cream therapy as you...process...okay?
*Twilight and Midnight remain speechless*
Discord: ...GREAT! I will leave you be...and don't mind the marshmallow walls and cotton candy furniture! The soft materials are for your...safety...please take your time.
*Discord disappears as the two alicorns are stuffing their sad sad faces*
10382943
Wouldn't be the first universe he's ended up getting a gander at Equestria.
Let's just leave out the resulting Diarch-mommy results to that line of progress, though.
10383038
Tirek walked everywhere. Find an open field, make a parking lot.
Thanks for the new chapter! Looking forward to the update!
I think they opened the wrong door
10383122
So we‘re going with: she knew exactly what she was doing, and Pages Wings weren’t that unexpected for her?
(Just grasping at straws to make one of my favorites look good.)
10383316
Thee thinks?
10383362
...I’m confused
Welp, great chapter!
10383003
Tirek eats magic. That's magic. Manavore would simply consume the magic as she tried to power up.
10383543
Magic, yes but not the heat.
10383545
If he eats the magic as she calls on it, there is no heat. Just a big gosh dang meal. And I'm pretty sure the bubble they were in when it happened was what was keeping him back, untill one of them let go
10383587
If she focusing the power of a Star than the heat would hit first.
But I digress.
10383602
This is one of the things about magic: how much of the effects are magical directly, and how much is mundane after effects?
Conjure a fireball: the fire is fueled by magic, but is the heat and flame itself magical? What of the light it gives off? Eating the magic may stop the flame but the residual heat may yet exist.
10383772
That’s what I’m talking about. If you shield yourself from a fire spell you will block the impact but the heat will remain. The shield would need to be airtight and all encompassing, above, below, and all around, not to mention the light.
Good summation, Page.
Motherfucker
What happened roughly? This:
0:36 - 0:55