Chapter 116
Celestia looked down at me, "So you haven't looked?"
I shook my head, "Not in the dreams and I told the guards to stop giving me reports when we reached fifteen and I haven't checked the square."
She frowned slightly, "Why?"
I sank down to sit, looking at the colourful window of Twilight and the rest of the elements before me, "Because as long as I don't look, there are both enough and not enough ponies that have showed up. As long as the number is not observed, it's not quantifiable and as such, can just as easily be enough. Call it Schrodinger's Thestrals."
Celestia smiled slightly, "I'm not sure it works like that, Page."
I sighed softly and then shrugged my wings before glancing up at her, "No... likely not. But it does allow me to keep my hope up for at least a little longer," I admitted, "I know it's not the right thing to do, I need to know what's going on to make decisions, but..." I said and flicked one ear as she sat down next to me, her large wing settling softly across mine as she watched me, "I just want to pretend I didn't fail completely for a little while longer."
"Page!"
I smiled at her and shook my head, "I know, I know. But if nopony shows, I have wasted over two milion Bits. Sure, some can likely be used for another plan or other purpose, but still," I said and snorted, "I should have planned this better, given it more time. But I just..."
"Just wanted to help as many as quickly as possible," Celestia finished for me as she moved up next to me, her wing settling softly against mine.
"Yeah," I admitted and looked up at the window of Sparks and her friends, "I have to do better next time. They deserve for me to do better next time."
Celestia gave my mane a small nuzzle, "Page, you have already done more than my sister and I ever managed."
"And it's not enough," I said and then looked at her, "How do you do it?"
"Do what?"
I looked at her and then waved a hoof around, "This! All of this! How do you handle ponies looking up to you at all times, how do you handle them expecting you to have all the answers!?" I asked before I sighed and facehooved, "...And now I'm doing it."
Celestia gave me a quick hug with her wing as she grinned before she got serious and pulled her wing back before she looked at me, "Come with me."
I frowned and then moved up next to her, letting her guide me through the castle towards a balcony facing out towards Canterlot. She stopped by the window, thankfully not bringing me out into the cold before she looked at me, "What do you see?"
"The city."
She nodded, "And beyond it?"
"The horizon, clear skies, more of Equestria."
Celestia nodded again, "Do you know what I see?"
I looked at her in question and she smiled,
"I see what you see. But I also see ponies able to go about their lives without fear of being raided by another tribe. Ponies that can sleep calmly in their beds with full stomachs. Ponies that are happy."
"Why you and Luna formed Equestria," I said and nodded as I sat down.
Celestia nodded, "It was," she admitted and then she actually blushed, "Well... actually no."
I blinked at her, "What?"
She actually cringed slightly and shifted her wings as she moved closer, "...Actually, the entire start of it all was because I thought the son of the leader trade delegation from the closest unicorn tribe was cute and I wanted an excuse to see him more often. So I might have worked for closer cooperation between us and things may have gotten a bit out of hoof..."
I looked at her for a long second before I broke down laughing.
Celestia giggled and poked me with her wing, "Let's keep that one out of the history books, shall we?"
Still laughing, I nodded before I smiled up at her, "Kind of snuck up on you, all of this, didn't it?"
She nodded and looked out through the window again, "It did," she admitted, "It's not fair what's being done to you, Page. You are getting all of it at once and because something I and my sister should have taken care of so long ago. I'm sorry."
"Nopony is perfect," I said and shook my head, "Not even a pretty pony princess," I teased and then sighed softly as I got up, "I better check how bucked we are and then get with Sparks and Midnight and see if we can't come up with a better plan and rescue what we can of this mess."
I turned to walk away when Celestia spoke up again,
"Page! I don't want you to g-" she started and broke off. I looked back at her in question.
Don’t say it. Don’t say it or I won’t be able to.
Celestia sighed softly before she continued, "...I don't want you to get hurt," she finished more quietly as she moved up next to her, "Promise me that. That no matter if you stay in Canterlot or head down to the jungle... promise me that you'll stay safe."
I smiled at her and touched her wing with mine, "Nopony can ever promise that. But I promise I'll be careful."
She nodded, "I suppose that's true," she admitted and then smiled, "Want some company?"
"I would love some," I agreed and smiled back as we started through the castle.
Somehow she always did manage to cheer me up. We'll check how many showed up and then get them some rooms in the castle for the night while I pick some larger brains than mine for a new plan.
Pushing the door open, I exited onto the balcony and moved over to the railing before I froze. The square was full of ponies. Wha- did we double book it or something with some other event?
Somepony below pointed towards me and yelled, "It's Prince Page!" and then he bowed as he rippled, changing from a blue pegasus to a dark blue thestral. But he was just the first, it almost moved through the crowd from him, sweeping across the ponies and as they bowed, many shimmered into slightly different colours as they gained bat wings until more than half had changed.
I swallowed, feeling my jaw drop before I glanced to Emerald Sky as she trotted onto the balcony, "Do...do we have a headcount?" I asked her.
She nodded, "Yes, your highness," she said and pulled a scroll from her satchel before checking, "Counting foals and non-thestral family members, we end up at a total of eight hundred and fifty three ponies. Six hundred and twelve of which being thestrals."
Oh buck. We had calculated the food and supplies for six hundred total, including hired ponies.
I spread my wings for the crowd and waved and they erupted in cheers as I asked quietly, "Sunshine?" I asked through my smile as I glanced at Celestia while she stepped up next to me, "Would it be possible to negotiate for a loan?"
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And we're done! No Celestia X Page yet, but it's getting closer. Probably. Maybe.
Looks like Thestral City is gonna happen. Not sure how I feel about that but this series has been nothing but amazing so far, so I'm sure it's going to work out excellently in the future.
I was close with my guess of 600 bat ponies, but I didn't even consider the idea of normal ponies coming along.
I... I don't want it to end just yet... Thank you Hiver, this story is fantastic and I hate that I'm all caught up now.
I can believe that
That is not what you were going to say and I don't think for even a second anyone would believe it if you told them otherwise
...this whole "touching each others wings" thing is totally the pegasus equivalent of the unicorns "horn touching" thing isn't it?
Yes, yes I did
*Sad Lemur Noises*
Nooo.... I don't want this one to go just yet.... It's too soon....
Finally over...
612 Thestrals in a group of 853. So that is 241 Non-Thestrals. And as Page contacted 473. As most Thestrals are likely to have Non-Thestral Mates due to their sparse and limited Population... Yeah. I am betting a number of them probably had their relationships ended by revealing themselves for this venture as the numbers for Non-Thestrals should be much higher if they had stayed, at least if all of them had at the very least a special somepony. Would do the math for this more thoroughly if I wasn't so tired.
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The word is older than that and all three creatures it is used for are barely similar in appearance only.
This was a really great part of Page's story
and now we can see page really step into being a leader with his thestral colony.
By the end of this I really want Page to have a title like "The King of Thestrials" or "The Father of Thestrials" to kinda show all of his hard work to get thestrials accepted in Equestria.
Oh. Bother. STILL no confession from Sunshine, *and* page is going away for an indeterminate amount of time?
HIIIIIVEEEERRRR!
*shakes fist*
This has to be one of the best series on this site multiple books the first one was rough but as you wrote you got better the story improve I'm excited for your next book congratulations on another book complete can't wait to see you what happens next
Really, ending it with a double tease? That’s cruel.
Thank you for the last month of daily entertainment, making some bad and stressful days a little brighter.
Looking forward to see what the future holds, and how neighsay will get his comeuppance. 😊
I know we've been well overdue an ending, since we're well over 100 chapters now...
But damnit, I can't wait for more-
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On the other hand, he will be using dreams to get lessons from Celestia on how to lead.
Hiver and cliffhangers. Name a more iconic duo
this ending in a nutshell. Darn you Giver!
See you all again in 2 or 3 months :)
Am I the only one emotionally invested in Celestia likely repressing her feelings for Page here? I can already see the arc. Celestia got all the attention from Luna for so long... Luna finally gets a husband that loves and adores her but... oopsie, now Celestia has fallen for him too.
I can imagine her repressing her feelings because she had taken so much attention of the citzenzry from Luna centuries ago. Page was someone that made Luna feel loved. Celestia barging in would feel, to her, that she was meddling with something that was rightfully Luna's.
In short, Celestia is obviously holding back from Page for Luna's sake. That's something that will likely come to a head eventually, because she'll have to confess sometime.
Thank you for the work you've done! Every day I got great pleasure from reading a new chapter and now I will look forward to the next part of the Page's adventures! It's a pity that Amber has disappeared in the last chapters. I wish you health and inspiration!
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Reasons why I'm actually excited for the Thestral City Arc:
1. Development for Page's character
It's clear this entire series is about Page finding his place in Equestria. However, because he ended up befriending and marrying a princess, his arc from there is about proving his worth to the country that he now helps preside over, ESPECIALLY after his ascension. However, it's clear from his interactions with established Equestrian institutions that they are very hesistant to accept him. He can't escape from just being "Luna's Husband." Thestral City gives him the opportunity to do just that. The Thestrals look at him the same way most other ponies look at Celestia and Luna.
(He'll go build his own city, with blackjack... and hookers.... in fact, forget the city.) Sorry, I had too.
Thestral City will help develop Page's character into an equal to that of Celestia and Luna in Page's eyes.
2. New Location and characters
This helps give the story much more originality. This is a city that can pretty much be created from scratch the same way a New Star Wars planet is created. Secondly, we can also get a chance to hear some of the stories in the hundreds of Thestrals.
I am VERY interested to see some of the new Thestral characters we will meet, learning their backstories and how they are learning to fully embrace their Thestral identity. This is an arc that, with enough time, could be a standout feature of the next story.
3. Page doesn't have to be in Thestral City forever
I think a lot of people are worrying about this because they think Page is going to be just packing up and leaving Canterlot forever. However, I don't think that's the case. Let's look over the facts.
1. Page is not a born-Thestral. Discord made him one and it's a process that has a built-in caveat to get undone (Tempest has to give up her horn).
2. The Thestral alicorn's introduction and mystery is definitly a plot point that's going to be followed up on.
3. Page is getting very insistent and VERY passionate about making this work in order to prove his worth.
So, I'm going to be making a prediction. Screenshot this comment right now, and we'll see how right I am.
-Page is going to Thestral City with Sunset, Sparks, Midnight, Swift Wind, Fluttershy, and Tempest. The main plot will center around the establishment of the city while simultaneously solving the mystery of the Thestral's History.
-Along the way, we meet several new Thestral characters, with particular emphasis on ONE new main Thestral character that will be integrated into the main cast.
-As the story goes on, Page will slowly begin to get more and more stressed out as more problems pile up. In order to ensure the City stays alive, he runs himself ragged and begins to go power-mad, believing his drastic measures to be the only way to save the City and prove his worth. This leads to some conflict with Sunset, and Celestia and Luna (during their periodic appreaences) notice this too.
-Eventually, Page gets an intervention, but it doesn't go very well. I don't know how yet (though I do believe that the time travel spell from "The Cutie Re-Mark" might be involved. Maybe Starlight escapes prison?), but Page will end up traveling back to the ancient past and end up becoming that Thestral Alicorn from the statue, becoming the very thing he said he hated. His own Nightmare Moon.
-Throughout all this, Tempest and Midnight's relationship will also grow and develop. Tempest in particular may learn to realize that she doesn't need her horn.
- So, after the rest of the cast FINALLY gets through to Page, we go back to Present-Day Thestral City. Page takes a step back and realizes that he can't be the one to run this city anymore. Heck he isn't even a real Thestral. So, Tempest gives up her horn so that Page can return to being a reguler alicorn and Return to Canterlot, because now that he's proven himself to be Celestia and Luna's equal, he returns to their side.
(Also, Page and Celestia will become a thing either by the end of this or AT LEAST become closer to happening.)
-Then, remember that one new main Thestral character I mentioned... well, that new Thestral's arc will be very similar to Skitter, where they're arc leads to them assuming the role as the Political Leader of Thestral City. Page apologizes for the wrongs he committed against the Thestral tribe in the past and relinquishes his role as Thestral City's Leader. A true Thestral now leads Thestral City. However, this new character will be sure to remind Page that HE was the one that helped her grow into being the leader she is. Page may not be a Thestral, but helped them in ways they are forever greatful for, and that counts for something.
And so, Page will conclude this arc and Return to Canterlot a more fufilled stallion.
So yeah, I don't think Page is going to be in Thestral City forever, and I think we're going to be getting a great story with it. We'll see how it goes. Can't wait to read it!
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A title like "The King of Thestrals" wouldn't exactly be a compliment, since kings and queens don't exactly have the best reputation in Equestria (King Sombra and Queen Chrysalis are the two most prominent examples). Calling him a King wouldn't do him any favors. As for "The Father of Thestrals", that's just an outright lie. Thestrals were around ages before him and he's not even a real one. Yeah, he's trying to do a lot to save them, but Twilight and Midnight are the two that are actually saving them, since they're the ones removing the curses. Page could somehow create a grand utopia for the bat ponies, but it wouldn't help anything without Twilight and Midnight removing the curses so that the bat ponies could start getting their numbers back up. Provided this somehow works, there are going to be other ponies that deserve as much as (if not more) of the credit for saving the bat ponies as Page.
Wuff... Now we must wait for more adventures with Page and friends! I’m happy that the thestrals will get some recognition with their own settlement, hopefully with some of their own customs and culture to color up the place. Eagerly awaiting the next installment!
Love to see this story end on a high note
Its good to see it worked out and Page will have his chance to help and guide his Subjects. Onward to hope, toward the future of Equestria 
So... What Bugwaifu will follow him? Cuddlebug is a requirement to have my Changeling itch scrached
Its always kind of sad to see a book complet but i love to see the future one
Going to miss the comment section until next book... Very entertaining and deep herd to enjoy here after all
See you all next book
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The title "Father of the Thestrals" could be considered like an honorary title for Page's work in building a modern nation/city for the thestrals. Like Mustafa Kemal Atatürk who was granted the surname "Atatürk" in 1934, which means "Father of the Turks", in recognition of the role he played in building the modern Turkish Republic.
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That has been the best take on the Page-Is-The-Ancient-Thestral-Alicorn theory I've seen. I still don't like the time-travel plotline/theory/idea, but the way you put it makes some sense.
If it's his version of Nightmare Moon, I can understand it. I also like the idea of him relinquishing the rulership of the city, giving it to the Thestrals.
Amazing end to this story!
Celestia: Very well. *blushing* I want at least 2 romance novels out of you for every year you need extra funding for your village! Every additional novel you make in a year will equal to more financial aid.
Page: What!?
Celestia: THEY MUST INCLUDE PICTURES! I also want you to record yourself reading each book then send that copy to me as well!
Page: That is a complete abuse of your powers!
Celestia: Well I want to "abuse" you in other ways but this will have to do for now...
Page: What was that?
Celestia: NOTHING! Do you want the loan or not?!
This part of Blank Page's saga has concluded! It was a fun ride~! (Even during the times we complained to each other over logistics)
Can't wait to see you all again in the next installment! Until then please stay safe~!
After all the thestrals revealed their true form, Page should have put on his pegasus-alicorn disguise and screamed "GET THEM!" just for the lulz.
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It's not the end, but a pause, come back in two to three months for Hiver's next movie like book in the series!~
And while you wait, you can go reread The Blank Page series.
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NO!! Don't give me Code Geass flashbacks!
Congratulations for finishing the story.
That’s a great ending. And a cliff hanger no less. What will become of them in the wilds? How will they adapt? Is Page the Alicorn depicted in the statue? Will Cadence sneak her way in to Ship.
Well done Hiver old boy!
As tradition goes, I now leave my Wishlist...
We get some baybehs. The idea of Sunset with a foal in a wrap on her chest just makes me squee!
Perhaps a bit of a time skip is in order in that time things have changed, a formed yet tottering settlement. Dealing with Bandits, the Elements
that’s the weather Pinkie
yeah that.
Celestia and Page. She didn’t want him to go. She deserves a good somepony. If it’s not Baked Bean then Page needs to do something about that in a century or so.
The Pillars. We need to see to them. Especially Rockhoof, Applejack isn’t going to ship herself
- NO! Shoo! Go away!
Lastly, don’t stay away for to long yourself.
Until next time!
ok now this is how to end a chapter ok story.
i admit i did not see this coming, the end of the story that is.
grate righting team.
till next time we meat.
Food stocks are to low sire.
Not enough wood m’lord.
Granary stocks are very low sire.
Wood needed.
Stone needed.
Just nails home that Celestia will probably join this 'royal herd'. I'm guessing Sunset will add Twilight after a time since they'll all be in the Jungle.
WINK
Though I think at somepoint, the Prince of Thestrals may end up with a Thestral mare himself. Is that weird?
Oh, just kiss already, you two.
On one hand I feel happy that you've keep creating more of your amazing story, on the other I am sad that I will have to wait for more. I want you to know tat each chapter was a little ray of sunshine in everyday life. Stay safe and I hope you keep up the good work
Well we are now getting more proof that Sunshine does have the hots for Page, yet he's being such a Negative Nancy That Murphy had to show him up nicely for once just to get him into this worrisome thought: HOLY SHIT!!!! It did work out. WTF now am I gonna do?!?!
Love it
Well, guess we're gonna have to start hunting jurassic 'round here...
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I know that reference! Ye bugger
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Ah ha, a fellow Stronghold and Stronghold: Crusader player!
The enemy have breached the wall!
I can't wait for the next one, to see sunset and luna's reaction to finding out page really did write smut for celestia.
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Incoherent screaming
Holy...that is a lot more than even I thought would show up! 853 ponies and 612 of those are all thestrals... that’s more than enough for the village.
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Every story in this series has ended abruptly.
Think of the stories more like excerpts from an autobiography and you’ll be less bothered by the sudden stops.
And so, we come to the end of yet another satisfying story... until the eventual sequel comes out.
In the meantime...
quotemaster.org/images/31/317cba1bba82a7b0433f0e3b20e07e1b.png
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Loved it and will miss the comment section fun times
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YAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!
Mornin’ your lord ship.
No taxes is one thing but what about a, small gift? Go on.