I watched the temple slowly recede into the distance in the middle of the sea of green that was the jungle as the sun slowly rose at the horizon.
Nopony wanted to stay longer than absolutely necessary, so... we left as soon as it got bright enough for the others to see to load the airship.
Shifting my wings, I sighed softly, the wind tugging at my mane as I put my hoof against the railing on the platform on top of the 'balloon'.
So much had happened since we left Canterlot. Ponies had gotten hurt. Ponies had died.
But we had learned things.
Sadly none of which made me any happier than ponies getting hurt. There had been a thestral alicorn in the past. A male even.
He had been a monster that turned the thestrals into more monsters.
According to Midnight, the curse on us was overlaid over the actual blood magic and it suppressed a lot of the things the blood magic did, such as the blood drinking.
She didn't know if it was the curse, the blood magic or a combination of the two that caused thestrals to have a majority of non thestral foals, but something was doing it.
I tried to help and all I did was potentially make things worse.
Somepony moved up next to me and I looked at Amber in surprise, "Amber?" I asked before I smiled slightly, "I'm tasting rather bad, aren't it?"
"...Kinda bitter, sir," she admitted.
"I'm sorry," I sighed against the sound of the wind as the propellers started to slowly turn faster, "We should go back inside. How's everypony feeling?"
Amber looked thoughtful, "Kind of... melancholy."
I slowly nodded.
That made a lot of sense. They made it through, but it had been difficult, painful and dangerous. But they also made it, together. Not only did we make it, but we achieved our objective.
Didn't mean it didn't suck, but... still.
"No talk about throwing the bat into the propellers yet?"
Amber glared at me and I raised a hoof,
"Sorry, sorry," I said in surrender and then shook my head, "I'm just a bit down right now.”
“You should go to your mates, you taste better with them close by.”
I smiled slightly and sighed, “I would, wouldn’t I?” I asked and shook my head, “I just feel like being in a bad mood for a while. You can go back inside, I’ll be a while. Nothing is going to jump me here.”
Amber looked at me like I was stupid before she sat down and looked out over the horizon.
Changelings.
I shook my head slightly and flicked my ears, looking out over the jungle below as the wind tugged at my coat, wings and mane.
What do we do now?
...No. All of this was on me. All of it. From Midnights nightly nightmares to the ones of the rest of the group to the ponies hurt and the ponies died. The lost equipment and the destroyed airship.
I got everypony into this and I have to…
...fix it. There was no fixing it. Ponies have died.
I closed my eyes for a second. Fu-OW!
I looked at Amber in surprise as she pulled away, looking at me smugly as I put hoof on my neck, “You bit me!”
“You needed it.”
“I don’t need my blood rushing with changeling venom!” I snarled and spread my wings in protest, already feeling the effects, the wind almost pulling me off the platform as it hit my wings.
“Yes you do!” Amber argued and glared at me, “You need something to pull you out of this so you can do something constructive. Those kinds of emotions are not good for the hive!”
“Not everything is about the bucking hive!”
“It is!” Amber said and rounded to me, glaring, “Not just the Changeling hive, but your hive, the hive of the fearful bat ones!”
I took a step back and looked at her in surprise, struggling to stay angry. It was difficult when it started to feel like I hit puberty again in the middle of a stripclub.
“What?”
“How does tasting awful help the bat ones?” Amber asked over the wind, her wings buzzing, “It’s bad for your hive! Stop it!”
“I-” I started and then closed my eyes, taking a long slow breath, “It’s not that simple, Amber. There is no fixing this.”
“All things die. Never a way to fix it. The hive still needs work done,” Amber said, shifting slightly, “No way to fix dead drones. Help the ones alive. Zakzzzkkezzz!”
“...I don’t know that word,” I said, breathing deeply.
“It doesn't have a pony translation. My life for the hive. My life mattered. My life helped others.”
I opened my eyes to look at her for a long moment, “Make their lives matter.”
“Their lives already did matter,” Amber said, “That’s my point. They are part of why we have what we have now, know what we know. Don’t waste it.”
I stared at her and then shook my head, “I’m not having this conversation while on ‘ling Venom.”
“And you’re still clearer than you were a minute ago!”
Taking a deep breath, I shook my head, “Lings,” I said and rubbed my forehead with my hoof as I looked away from her inviting looking… curves.
Amber looked at me stubbornly, “I’m still right.”
“Maybe,” I admitted, “But you have a bucking way of going to make a point,” I grumbled, “I’m going inside.”
“I didn’t, you know;” Amber said as I turned to walk away.
I paused and looked back at her, “What?”
“No venom,” she claritied, “I just bit you.”
“Did you bucking placebo me!?”
“Feel better now?”
I just shook my head and trotted inside.
Really Page, really
Huh... interesting effect of changeling venom
Oooooooh! Oh ho ho
10476386
in the words of Glen Quagmire, "Giggity."
Once more, he was NOT a monster, he was a ruler who did what NEEDED, and HAD TO BE DONE in order to PROTECT the lives of the INNOCENT from being MURDERED by INVADERS
I'm kinda torn. I'd think that as a former human he would be a little more resistant to tragedy. Or ponies would be a little less resitant to actual death and all the stuff.
10476431
That doesn't not make him a monster, it just means the path is paved in good intentions.
memegenerator.net/img/instances/52218510/just-fuck-already.jpg
That much sexual tension Page has with these changelings would suffocate Cadence
Discord: Did...Page just admit to eying up a Changeling?
Cadance: Yes he did~! Discord! Update the charts please. A 10% increase for success to all changeling candidates with Amber receiving 15%!
Shining Armor: Really? That is a big rise for more than one potential waifu over just one inner monologue...
Cadance: Well Shining the main obstacle for Amber, Skitter, and Chrysalis is if whether Page could truly show sexual attraction towards their species. This is just proved possible. Combine that the upcoming Griffin territory mission, this has turned into a big win for them collectively!
Shining Armor: ...so if we added a different species as an option, would you consider growing our herd? Pretty please~!
Cadance: What are you talking about? We already done that...Discord is here!
Shining Armor: ...I can't win.
Clever girl *Sips Tea* Clever girl indeed
10476463
Idr the whole saying but there is something about a path to hell and good intentions
Bad page! Dont go looking at other 'Lings! Skitter has first dibbs!
“Placebo. Mashebo. Let’s FREAK!”.
10476445
the thing is most people can't handle emergencies, and death all that well either. all things considered as the first time in a position of power where he's gotten people killed he's holding up about as well as can be expected. like it or not he's going to one day be seen as powerful and authoritative as one of the other two alicorn sisters and he's going to have to command armies
camo.fimfiction.net/HGKOVNTrPh_dQIegq-4XQTTfq37sBPSPcGN3_7ZAMFg?url=https%3A%2F%2Fderpicdn.net%2Fimg%2Fview%2F2014%2F7%2F10%2F671941.gif
Amber... Go - t-a-s-t-e - him ~♡
---
Amber field report: Success ♡♡♡
Hive King reaction to traditional mate biting before breeding was a hivetrilling success!
The King was in a state of high arousal toward me ones i bit him.
Recommendation: Flirt by Praising his herd and individuals, bite him gently, add hot breath before and after fang contact, use the stamina venom on the second round and the lust pheromones/ stimulants in between rutting.
I estimated your both highnesses to be fully fertilised!!!
Request: Cleaning every spilled drop of love personaly ^.^/)♡
10476445
Agreed. Human + having survived difficult situations.
Telling there families what happens probably get him down. Otherwise i still agree with that assesment.
Amber scores a win for that battle of thoughts. Yes Page, this expedition didn't go as planned and some ponies died. But everyone who signed up for it knew it would be risky, though not to what they thought it would be. But mayhaps you should look into seeing a shrink when you get back if you keep up with the guilty shoulda woulda couldas.
Meh, there's no telling what he is. Would you consider a homeowner protecting his property and family by shooting the invader? I would say no. Drastic times need drastic actions.
That, however, doesn't excuse the treatment the Thestrals are undergoing. Unfortunately some will never accept anyone different.
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10476576
You're misquoting. The road to Hell is paved with good intentions that were not acted upon. The idea being that intentions themselves are so common as to be usable for paving stones; what matters is if they were followed through on.
Bad Amber, should have sassed him as well.
10476694
To me the"misquote" is a warning about ends justifying means thinking. The full quote implies that so long as you intend for the end result to be good you have free rein to do evil.
10476576
Not exactly where I was going but it works too.
♫
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10476463
10476576
No they aren't. While your saying is also insightful, the oldest source we know of this is in Virgil's Aeneid "facilis descensus Averno (the descent to hell is easy)".
It even shows up in the bible. Ecclesiasticus 21:10, "The way of sinners is made plain with stones, but at the end thereof is the pit of hell."
I like what you said, I really do. But, don't make stuff up or original personal interpretations of common sayings or proverbs, then act like people are wrong for sticking with the common phrase. It puts a pretentious twist on what would have been a thought provoking worthy addition to the discussion.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_road_to_hell_is_paved_with_good_intentions#:~:text=The%20modern%20expression%2C%20%22The%20road,book%20of%20Proverbs%20in%201855.&text=The%20earliest%20known%20text%20resembling,to%20hell%20is%20easy)%22.
Oof
10476892
I object to that characterisation. I accept that I was wrong; I legitimately thought that the original reference was from Dante's Inferno. But I object to the characterization.
10476539
PRICELESS
Technical Discord is a mix of mutible species...
Shining Armor needs to learn to be more specific
10476574
Perfect timing for that line
10476576
Meh... Cant make Omlet without adding ponys... Wait...
10476613
Incorrect! You can never have enough! Luna + 3 Changelings get the double Lunar party twice as hot
10476624
He is basicly like the Royal Sisters when they started after become Alicorn. In time he can deal better with it
10476624
I was thinking in comparison. There seems to be no explicit death in the MLP show. I mean it. It's a saccharine land, or something. Meanwhile we have terrorists, wars and natural catastrophes. So yeah, I'd THINK that HUMAN would be better equipped to handle such stress. I was never talking about being completely immune, but rather handle it better than the ponies. They fall apart first, not Page.
10476659
Oh yeah, this is gonna be tough. After all, Page is not an emotionless bastart, he is a human, who is simply more equipped to handle such an idea.
10476673
Some things can't be fixed overnight or in one lifetime. It can take generations to correct. Even a Royal decree can't change how ponies/people feel. It can only cause them to hide their true feelings. Page is still thinking in mortal time and not Alicorn time. He will live to see the results even though generations will have to be satisfied with slow and steady progress. The older you get, though, the faster things seem to go. From his viewpoint it will happen overnight. Days are probably like minutes to Celestia.
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I can only imagine how relationships are seen through her eyes.
Page is hot and bothered now~
Luna & Sunny will have a goooood tiiiiime
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I imagine relationships with anyone but another immortal is almost a one-night stand, even if it lasts a lifetime. Mayflies. Everypony is like mayflies. Not that they aren't wonderful special individuals... but their existence is so fleeting. Here today, gone tomorrow by her reckoning or perhaps here one minute gone the next. Hard to imagine Celestia, depending on how your head canon goes, viewing mountain ranges growing like trees or weeds. It's no wonder she wanted her sister back so desperately. And Twilight an alicorn and looks at Cadance as a niece. They are anchors in a constantly changing world. Without them she would be alone. In the end even dragons would not be long lived enough. It's why Page is so desirable. A male Alicorn to spend eternity with.
This chapter just cemented the fact that Amber is best but.
I imagine her doing this rather demonstrably, just to underline how stupid she thought that suggestion was.
Things usually don't have to jump Page for him to get into trouble, he often manages to find trouble himself.
This is what we call a Xanathos gambit, no matter how Page reacted to her biting him, it would change his mood, the following confusion over the placebo effect just helps him not slip back into self blame
10476936
Fair enough. I'm not familiar with how Dante uses the quote, but he could very well have mangled it. It wouldn't be the first time his done that. Inferno reads like a friggin fanfiction. I'm sorry I attributed the blame to you. Thank you for baring the accusation gracefully.
Here's a decent 12 minute summarized review of Dante's Inferno, for anyone interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gp8JGQk0CFQ&ab_channel=OverlySarcasticProductions.
I love the content these people put out; it's just the right mix between informative and hysterical.
10476385
Amber is real smart. She saw the Murphy bait and decided to spring it herself.
First thing I thought of
10477353
I don't have the internet for videos right now,so I'm just going to assume it's 12 minutes of screaming
Ya gotta love em’!
You GOTTA love em’!
Yep, ling venom the aphrodisiac.
So he was staring at her inviting curves, and that was all on him, no venom hahaha
Page wants some cuddlebug cuddling
Another one for the harem
10995858
I ship it
Amber is a genius, either she Placebo him or she lied to him and he think he Placebo effect himself.
Clever Ling♡
The comment section are barrels of fun, forget my own comment from the past and enjoyed it beside the others coming up with stuff 👍
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Definitely we get a Bugwaifu one day, if sooner it might be Chrysalis and Skitter , later... Just Skitter
"See to the living, the dead are a patient lot." -Spitfire
Mmm, melon collie.
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