"Daring Do looked around the chamber, her eyes playing across the masonry as the light of her last torch flickered in the darkness," I read out loud, "The slight rumbling from distance thunder sounding loud enough to be audible even in the underground chamber."
"There has to be a way out of here, there always are," Dee read next to me, "The ancient ponies that built this place always had trap doors hidden in structures like this, I just need to find it!"
"But even as she looked, she knew," I continued, "That she only had so much time. If the torch went out, if the rain got here first. This chamber could become her to-"
I broke off and my ears turned as I looked up past the group gathered around us to listen.
Everypony else turned to listen too at the sound of snapping branches coming from the forest outside the barricade.
"Guards! At the ready!" Moon Glow commanded as she flew down from the upper level, spear held in one hoof, "In positions! Everypony knows what to do, get into the shelters!"
Everypony sprang into action, but it wasn't in panic. Everypony knew what to do and hurried into the shelter of the lower level of the pyramid. I got to my hooves, Amber somehow seeming to materialize next to me, "You should too, sir."
"I'm staying," I told her in a tone that said I wasn't asking, "They might need my eyes."
Amber made a small buzzing sound but didn't argue.
Dee looked at me and gave me a nod. I nodded back and then she took to the skies, circling high up into the night. Her task was to be one of the 'eyes in the sky'.
That's when I saw it. The rexosaurus slammed into the barricade, one head turning to grip one of the spears sticking outwards in it's yaws and rip it out of the ground. Then it started to batter it's way through.
"Fire!" Moon Glow yelled and her unicorns shot the first of their spears towards the closest head. They peppered across it's thick skin, some bouncing off, some sticking.
The monstrosity seemed to care about as much as I would about a mosquito bite.
It opened it's jaw, showing rows of needle-like teeth as thick as my foreleg before it roared loud enough to make my lungs vibrate in my chest.
It pressed it's wings against the barricade and the thick wood snapped like matchsticks and it was through. A second volley of spears stabbed towards it.
"Aim at the eyes!" Moon Glow yelled and the pegasi took to the air, swooping above it to distract it as the unicorns threw again.
"Clear the area," a voice said and I looked to my left only to see Midnight step up to me.
She looked like she had when those two things attacked out camp during the journey here. Her mane moved to a wind that only affected her.
I nodded and looked down towards Moon Glow, "Clear the area!" I yelled to her, "Heavy hitter, coming through!"
She spared a quick glance towards me and Midnight before she yelled orders for her pegasi to pull back almost in a slight panic.
As soon as they did, Midnight's horn lit up brightly and a dozen of the barricade quarter trunks lifted into the air before spinning around, their pointed ends aimed towards the rexosaurus.
Now, I could say that she threw them at it, but that would have been a bit of an understatement.
There was a woh-smack sound and the rexosaurus roared. The massive spears didn't accelerate towards it, they just kind of disappeared from where they had been and then reappeared halfway through the monstrosity, buried a pony length into the thickly packed ground through its entire body in a dozen separate places.
The thing was tough. But nothing is that though.
The monster managed a final sound before it collapsed against the thick spears running through its body.
Midnights mane settled down and the glow from her horn faded away as the rexosarus collapsed with a final wheezing sound. She looked at it for a long moment before she spread her wings and glided down to stand before it.
I spread my wings and followed her down, looking up at the dead beast.
"You did it," I said quietly as the scent of fresh blood filled the air, making it taste like copper.
"Then why don't I feel any better," Midnight asked just as quietly, "I think I'm-" she said and then quickly closed her eyes, looking like she was going to throw up.
"Because you're a good pony," Tempest told her as she joined us, moving up to Midnight's other side, pressing her side against her.
Midnight took a deep breath, trying to calm down. But it just made her turn green and she quickly looked around in slight panic before she disappeared into a flash of light.
I looked to Tempest, "She really does deserve better than this," I told her quietly.
Tempest nodded, "I'll go check on her, Commander," she said and then went looking for the other alicorn.
I shifted my weight and my hoof made a slight squish sound so I looked down, finding that one of my hooves was in a pool of blood and dirt, turning it into a kind of nasty looking mud.
Quickly taking a step back, I dried my hoof on the grass before looking up at the monster.
Wonder if Luna let me bring one of the skulls with us when we go back home. It would look so awesome on the wall of the living room.
Then I tilted my head in thought, looking at it for a long moment, "Amber?" I then asked.
"Yes, sir?" she asked as she stepped up next to me.
"The one that attacked the airship camp... you were there and watched the entire attack, right?"
Amber nodded, "I wasn't teleported out, I hid."
"Yeah, so you got a better look than anypony else. Correct me if I'm wrong, because I was more than a bit distracted at the time, but didn't it have longer horns?"
Amber looked at the dead rexosaurus before she nodded, "It did. There's more of them."
"There's more of them," I agreed with a sigh, rubbing my eyes with my hoof, "Fucking awesome."
Am I alone in hoping that the blood ritual gets activated somehow and effects/empowers Page?
Honestly, Luna might be okay with this. I'm sure she had monster-skull trophies back in the Castle of the Two Sisters.
"I want to put this skull in our living room!"
"Page, use that head of yours for once. We should put it in Tia's living room instead!"
So excited for new chapters!
The alicorn statue and altar mysteries are killing me.
Midnight just accelerated the spears so fast Page didn't see that.
Teleportation would be pointless when it's magic resistant.
Even if that worked they would have appeared without any force behind them with little damage.
10466256
Why not directly above the throne, so the noobles see what happens to every creature that crosses them?
Am I the only one hopping that a primal instinct makes Page drink that blood?
page has rex blood on his hooves and all the other rex are gonna target him for it assuming it was him that killed the first one.
10466301
Chrysalis's little Apex Predator XD
Discord: I feel kind of bad for shipping anypony with Midnight at the moment.
Cadance: I don't feel anything. Ever. Except for the overwhelming need to see Midnight kiss Tempest.
Long pause. Discord nervously shifts away from Cadance as she starts rambling on about shoulder touches and waifu material.
Discord: Can Windy go back to writing fluffy shipping scenes? Ponks' Cadance scares me.
Cadance: ...and a pony's life means nothing next to the perfect ship!
Discord: I think the doors are locked...
10466277
Exactly. IF they were teleported they would be merged with his skin and there would not be pools of blood. His skin was perforated though which is why there is blood. Now... IF she did accelerate the spears that fast... um.. why didn't they catch fire or cause sonic booms?
However... nothing is magic proof... just resistant. Apply crazy levels of magic and anything can happen.
10466324
Discord: I need an adult!
Ya know, if the corpse is still magic resistant it's bones/hide would make excellent armor...
10466225
10466286
O yeah! Vampire Page mode activation
10466256
Purrrfect
10466257
Dont worry we find a Necromancer for you to continue reading the story if you pass away from hype
10466277
Primitive Pistol just without gun and wood instead of metal rounds.
10466284
Genius
10466315
If that dont get Chrysalis and Luna into a breeding frenzy i would be slightly dissapointed
10466360
All of my Y-E-S
♡♡♡♡
Tempest: Midnight...Midnight? Let me comfort yo---what in the world happened here?
*Midnight is getting adorably crushed...by teddy bears*
Midnight: I DON'T KNOW! I can only guess a temple trap but...WHY TEDDY BEARS?!
...MEANWHILE...DISCORD IS GETTING SCOLDED...
Cadance: Discord! Our interactions are suppose to be indirect!
Discord: I panicked and it was an emergency! She was so sad! Also...she looks so cute surrounded by teddy bears...
Cadance: ....true. *starts taking pictures*
10466324
...My influence over the comment section has gotten too strong! Oh woe is me! This crown is too heavy~!
Why Blank Page, did you think it would be easy?
Well that's going to be unfortunate. The smell of blood and gore will be drawing just about every scavenger and other carnivore from miles around. Big and easy free meal up for grabs.
Take the skull Page. Start up your collection like the Predators. Yautja for the fancy.
Okay, they need to skin this thing and make some magic proof leather armor out of it. If this were the human world these things would have already been hunted to extinction in the wild and grown on factory farms to feed the military industrial complex. : /
10466655
Chrysalis will be displeased her future King was so close to danger...
https://www.deviantart.com/4as/art/The-pet-of-deception-801097466
10466256
Better yet, put both skulls in Celestia's bed on either side of her while she's sleeping.
images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/29e0efca-dbe3-44db-acd0-387f0fe959dc/de6daow-b61ccdd4-6c41-4a3e-9268-a22f89f03b93.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOiIsImlzcyI6InVybjphcHA6Iiwib2JqIjpbW3sicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvMjllMGVmY2EtZGJlMy00NGRiLWFjZDAtMzg3ZjBmZTk1OWRjXC9kZTZkYW93LWI2MWNjZGQ0LTZjNDEtNGEzZS05MjY4LWEyMmY4OWYwM2I5My5qcGcifV1dLCJhdWQiOlsidXJuOnNlcnZpY2U6ZmlsZS5kb3dubG9hZCJdfQ.rsCCSeitHxAt0eJiyC3gqpMUiyIOPr1_WZ0TLEByfzo Midnight Sparkle Unleashed
10466795
Laughs in military complex
10467515
When i see the picture i was like... SPITFIRES MOM ?!
Super Sayajin Twilight Sparke, First or second stage i wonder... Probably second
10467615
Adventure games like: Monster Hunter vibes intensives
10467071
This skulls a fricking huge... I doubt more than one fits without making the room to cramped
Well ain't that demoralizing.
Seems to me something like that would be teratorial enough that there shouln't be very many in a given area.
10521888
Need a lot of food to feed them beasts
10521888
15 miles is more then enough distance to separate territory.
Heavy hitter is an understatement! Twilight is a 40mm Mini Nuke!
Foreshadowing?
10466518
You can’t escape the memes!!! Your crown shall forever be enchanted with the Curse of Binding!
I wonder if a rexosaurus was forced to swallow a macuahuitl would do any damage. If you can't match it with raw power then target its weak points: its eyes and its insides (aim for the lungs and not the stomach)
I'm just questioning how they would handle it if Midnight wasn't there
If Page stop thinking like a pony and started thinking like a human these things would not be a problem. We've killed bigger with less (no magic).
a human with magic would think "How fast can I move this pebble with my mind?" it may be immune to Magic directly but it is not immune to physical strikes propelled by Magic.
We have seen ponies like Rarity, who don't have a special talent in magic, do some serious multitasking with magic. Why is there no magic machine gun?
Don't worry Page:
10470785
I think they have to fear ponies more in the long run...
11623649
There is, Pinkie Pie Wedding invasion of the Changelings in canon.
encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQhYIPtXdZWrdoNdsZzzAwoqTJARJxKS2yylQ&usqp=CAU
Huh.
I take back what I said before, Twilight (Midnight) does have in her to kill something.
Well done.
11623649
Agreed.
How badly they use magic in this story is fully in canon but still infuriating at times.
Well, duh. Why would you think there was only one?