"Are you sure of this, Page?" Celestia asked as she paused outside the doors. Luna looked at me with concern from next to her.
"I am," I confirmed, "And I think the bit of theatrics will save us some significant headaches in the future."
Celestia nodded, "I don't disagree, but I worry you're pushing yourself too hard."
I smiled at her, "Buck, I already walked here. I can handle twenty meters more to my chair."
"...That's not what she meant," Luna said softly.
"I know. I'm fine," I told them firmly, "I told each of you before, I'm not made of glass."
"They worry about you," Midnight said as she and Twilight caught up, "Is that so strange?"
I shot her a look, "Don't you start."
Twilight smiled, moving up by my other side, distracting me by pressing her nose against my cheek, "Calm," she reminded me.
I shot her a look too before I turned to point my right hoof between Midnight and myself, "Just for the record, you and me, never a thing. Ever will."
Midnight looked amused, "Oh?"
"Yes. Because I'll never survive you and Sparks at the same time," I said firmly before I smirked and eyed Twilight, "All though, it is a nice mental image."
Twilight's cheeks turned a bit red before she glared at me, "Stop that!"
Midnight laughed, "He is your coltfriend, not mine. You deal with it."
"No thwacking with wings, it may kill me," I reminded Twilight cheerfully.
She glowered at me for a second before she shook her head, "You and Celestia really do belong together."
Celestia smiled.
Luna looked smug.
Then Celestia brought us all into order, "Everypony ready?" she asked, turning serious..
Everypony nodded and got into position. She and Luna in the front, everypony else behind them. Me to the right and Twilight and Midnight next to each other to the left. Everypony ready, the doors opened and we filed out into the throneroom. Even compared to the normal group of hangers around that usually filled it, the place was packed. Ponies standing shoulder to shoulder all the way from the open area before the thrones and to the gates.
Celestias and Lunas thrones were where they always were, but smaller ones had also been installed. A pair of purple ones, marked with a pink star and with darker purple pillows had been set to Celestia's left.
To Lunas right as another one was set up, a black and silver throne, same size and shape as Twilight and Midnights, marked with an empty scroll on the backrest and thick black velvet pillows.
Making a show of walking without a limp, I crossed over and climbed onto the throne with my mark on it, instantly missing the one back home. Mine back home was big enough that I could lay down comfortably on it, this one I had to sit on.
Also, the pillows on this one were way too soft.
All of which were things I was thinking of, doing my best to ignore the thousands of ponies staring at me. I never liked that and this was more than ever before at once.
So I did what I could and ignored them.
Celestia looked out over the gathered ponies and for once, nopony spoke for several moments before she spoke up, her voice ringing out over the throneroom clearly, “This trial has been called because of the attempted assassination of Prince Blank Page,” she said and looked towards the guards by the main gates, “bring in the accused.”
I love democracy. The attempt on my life has left me scarred and deformed.
Damn, I should have worn a cloak!
The gates opened and a quad of guards escorted the prisoner inside. The chains keeping his forelegs hobbled jingled as he walked, a ring fitted around his horn for security.
Neighsay looked like he had had better days. But he walked with his head raised and had clearly made an effort to look presentable. He wasn’t wearing his normal cloak, but his mane was in it’s usual brushed back style and his short beard was kept in order.
The crowd parted around him and the guards as they moved forward. Now things weren’t quiet, whispers moving back and forth across the throneroom.
They got to a halt before the thrones in the cleared area and he looked up at us.
Celestia looked down at him and I glanced at her. She looked calm. Luna looked calm. Twilight looked angry and Midnight had reached out and put a hoof on her shoulder.
Celestia and Luna looked calm.
But I knew both of them well enough to say that they very much were not. In fact, both of them were pissed. Really, really, pissed.
As in, just shy of astronomical anomalies levels of pissed.
Which, as the judges in a trial, was not the best mood, but the evidence was strong and as long as they played along with the plan, everything would not only go fine, but help change the optics of the situation.
“Neighsay,” Celestia said quietly, but her voice still seemed to reach towards every corner of the throneroom, “You stand accused of the attempted murder of an alicorn. Your magical signature has been recorded from a teleport at the site of the crime. In the search of your estate, a crossbow practice range has been discovered in your cellar, but a crossbow was nowhere to be found. The bolts discovered matching those fired from the attempted murder weapon. Your feelings towards the victim are well known. How do you plead?”
“Not guilty,” he said firmly, looking up at her, “I did not attempt to kill an alicorn, I attempted to save Equestria and its alicorns!”
The throneroom has been quiet, or at least it seemed like it had been, but a hush spread across the ponies there.
He raised an hoof as far as it could with the chains and pointed in my direction, “That thing is not an alicorn! Since it insulated itself into the court, Equestria has been heading towards ruin! Changeling infestations, attacks by chaos spirts, Centaurs! Griffons! Yetis! Monstrous vamponies!”
Neighsay looked around, “Do you all not see it! I know some of you share my view! We have to save our amazing country! With every minute passing, the very values of our society is crumbling away, eroding beneath that things influence! Corrupting our alicorns! Has there not been solar events never before recorded in our history!?”
Silence.
Nopony spoke.
Neighsay glared in my direction, “That thing is no alicorn! It’s a devil! A devil made pony flesh! It whispers secrets, corrupting the minds of our pure Princesses and leading us to ruin! We must destroy it before it’s too late! We must cast the monstrous creatures out and return to our solid traditions before the very fabric of our society is sundered!”
Celestia took a deep breath before letting out a soft sigh, “Neighsay, you have admitted to your crime. While the attempt on an alicorn's life is a rare one, thankfully, the precedent is firmly set. Banishment to Tartarus.”
He met her eyes pleadingly, “My Princess, I implore you. Please listen to me. It is not to late t-”
“And so I give my judgment,” Celestia said firmly, her voice as soft as diamond, “I sentence you to-”
“Princess Celestia,” I said, cutting her off, “I believe that in this case, perhaps a different sentence may be more suitable,” before I looked at Neighsay, “This pony is clearly… not well. I am no doctor, but his mental state is clearly unstable. Possibly paranoid schizophrenia or something similar. Banishing him to tartarus would be wrong in my mind. I understand there is a precedent in the judgment in this sort of crime, but in this case I believe we should make an exception.”
“How dare you! Monster! I’m not insane!”
I looked at him with pity, “We shouldn’t use that word.”
“I’m not insane! I’m not insane!”
Now the throneroom was no longer quiet. The whispering was back.
Neighsay spun around, looking around, “I’m not insane! Don’t listen to it! Can’t you see what it’s doing!?”
Celestia sighed softly, “I believe you may be right, Prince Page,” she said and shook her head, “I’m sorry, Neighsay. You did your duties well in the EEA in the service of the crown and I thank you, but now it is our time to take care of you. Guards, please escort Neighsay to the holding cell and prepare for his transfer to closed care.”
The guards moved to pull him away and now he was no longer keeping his composure. Yelling, ranting and raving. Ponies gave them even more room on the way back, shying away from him.
Made me wonder if I was actually right. But in the end it didn’t matter. It was not him we needed to banish.
It was his ideas.
Clever move
Thanks to label nopony will ever really trust him again about anything. They will think there goes crazy old neighsay. And considering what he tried to do if he so much as utter a single threat against anyone he will be locked up again faster than you can count to ten.
I kinda suspect that it was him because in the show he was a racist jerk who could cause a war with his attitude and his determination to have only ponies at twilight school. Even though the only right thing he did was take over the school when those in charge were missing though he went too far with his accusations and could have caused a lot of trouble down the road.
For those who've forgotten, the throne back home is the skull of a giant dinosaur thing he personally helped kill. Nocturnis doesn't !@#$ around.
"I'm not crazy you're crazy! Especially you Napp-Page!"
Ooooooooh...
Very punchy line.
And very good alternative sentence for effect.
I actually did not see Neighsay behind it. I actually thought it was some noble, the griffin with the shortest tenure as ambassador to Equestria ever ( the one who struck Page), and even briefly thought it was one of Page's soldier friends, the one with a crush on Celestia way back, thinking he went crazy when Celestia and Page spent time at the tower outpost practicing magic together.
But the punishment given to Neighsay was the best one they could give him. Tartarus is just timeout for eternity, but reducing someone to a raving lunatic, forever destroying his name, locking him away in an asylum, turning his every word, every action, everything about him into the ramblings of a madman is sooo much sweeter.
Still, kinda wanted to see Neighsay try a final assault on Page, only for the alicorns to reduce him to a cloud of molecules in front of everyone, giving everyone a clear message: stay away from out alicorn stallion.
Nods This is why truly free speech is so important, it let's us cut out the sickness with compassion and reason.
Ideas are incredibly hard to kill, stigmatizing them as fringe and insane however is another matter. That's why I believe governments clandestinely encourage conspiracy theories, that way if there is a leak about amoral operations they can just label it as "fringe conspiracy theories" like they did at first with the MK Ultra leak.
11643580
honestly I forgot he existed, been so long IRL and I think in universe since he's been relevant to the story, and iirc that was three chapters tops.
Naysay martyr act failed spectacularly:
camo.fimfiction.net/a043oQ7o9_70QfEhxjT3Z_N1vG6sWLbMq3o1-7Amwh8?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.pinimg.com%2Foriginals%2F61%2F67%2F3b%2F61673b03ff44618a42b19f6cdd90f5e0.jpg
Has he foals? Otherwise this loony ended his bloodline indeed.
If he is not insane then after a few dream sessions with his "favorite not-alicorn", he will be
Did I forget Neighsay being in one of the stories before this?
11643638
I only remember that he was one of the vocal people against a bat pony alicorn. And remembering the show well it put him at the top of the suspect list. I couldn't really imagine the guards doing something that would hurt the princesses even if they didn't agree personally with the bat pony thing. They had sworn to defend Equestria and everyone in it and that includes bat ponies. The fact was that alicorn long ago cheated them and then left them holding the bag. I bet if that mysterious alicorn ever showed discord would have permission to his worst to the guy.
For Naysay to do it himself? Only reason I see was to be a martyr for history to remember, now he lives on forgotten by anyone that might see his ideas as what they are: The madness of a old pony.
11643622
Agreed it be more epic, yet this punishment was way more poetic~♡
11643627
He wanted to die a martyr and lived on as a lunatic.
11643576
Naysay was always stopped by Page, now,for a final time.
11643608
Nice 👍
That's actually clever and best option out of those I can imagine. Still it feels weird if you know how mental institutions were used in USSR and it's occupied territories. "You don't like communism? Comrade you're clearly deranged" and of to Psychuszka you go
I was almost sure a changeling hive had something to do with Page's attack. They don't like him and what happened with Chrysalis, and an assassination seems the kind of thing they'd do to creatures they don't like.
camo.fimfiction.net/AVRVz8mIR-ta4iadGf6pFDHTmguWqY-TVNkD0NQQls8?url=https%3A%2F%2Fderpicdn.net%2Fimg%2Fview%2F2018%2F9%2F4%2F1824315.png
camo.fimfiction.net/xzb_CPsKbTVn-ghk5o9SQLmSa5OhME7cvB_KZNaTXUs?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpre03.deviantart.net%2F3604%2Fth%2Fpre%2Fi%2F2012%2F041%2F4%2Fa%2Funlimited_friendship___by_shrubninja-d4pan89.jpg
Great chapter I really want to see queen chrysalis and skitter talk to him aka threaten him
11643654
The easiest way to kill someone's ideals is to let them live out a quite life far from society.
11643664
What the heck. Those pics are hilarious. Thanks for the good laugh. I needed it after how long and stressful today has been.
YES! Called it!
Oh, Neighsay. You were a Nightmare Moon-grade asshole in the canon timeline, and your alternate self in Page-verse even progressed to attempted regicide. And now that you are labeled mentally incompetent, nopony will ever listen to your repeating ramblings of radical racism ever again - except maybe in a cautionary tale.
Well done!
Thanks for the chapter!
Have a great day!
Be cautious for while you want to banish his ideas, they may fester into a cancerous growth. It may have been for the best if anyone but Page made the argument for insanity. For having Page make the plea may prove Neighsay right. His cohorts may be smart enough to keep their heads down for now.
Should've expected Neighsay...
Though I was hoping for something else than the 'racist idiot tries to murder different pony' thing, for example a unicorn who had a wife and kids who were thestrals and he didn't want to move to Nocturnis for some reason, so his family left him and he wanted revenge or something like this. It would've put some interesting points on the negative side of Nocturnis that it broke a family, or possibly more.
Still a great chapter and can't wait to read more!
They sure do
Wow, he's callings them out in the middle of court
Oh we can, and it's perfect
Yup, now you just need to have a team of trusted lawyers go over every single one of the EEA's rules and policies
I also tend to forget that Neighsay is a character in this series.
This is probably the best outcome for the future. Still, my favorite interaction between these two was waaaaaay back when Neighsay was going on about how "You will not stop me again....." and Page just looks at him and straight faced asks "Who are you?"
Very clever. Banish him to Tartarus and you just turn him into a martyr for others to carry on the twisted ideals and encourage future assassination attempts. Brand him a madpony and he simply gets treated like he's senile and ready for the retirement community. Others would question whether his ideals were worth following.
Twilight: Well that was eventful.
Midnight: Yeah...I wonder what caused Neighsay to consider such extreme actions?
Page&Luna&Celestia&Discord:
*All four remembering all the things done to Neighsay in the comment section...most notably here here here here here here and here!*
Midnight: Why are all of you being so quiet?
Page&Luna&Celestia&Discord: NO REASON!
(RIP Neighsay torment jokes...you will be missed.)
11643734
That was the griffon ambassador razor wing, the guy that punched page in the face. As far as I remember Neighsay only appeared once trying to remove page’s noble titles while doing the racisms.
11643782
I remember that, he was doing that to Razorwing on purpose to mess with him.
I think the Neighsay scene I was referring to is the same one. I thought it was funny that Page legitimately didn't know who he was.
Repercussions, Chapter 99
Damn, the punishment given to Neighsay, is actually the perfect decision.
11643729
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the EEA disbanded in this universe? Or was it that every existing member with "dirt" on them was fired and replaced?
Hatred and insanity go hand in hand.
Fitting that we call it madness.
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The fact we can't upvote a comment more than once is truly a crime.
I was kinda gambling on Page pulling the 'forgiveness' card, but Neighsay has been quite the thorn recently.
I suppose it's mostly because I actually care for mentally disabled adults IRL, and it takes a very strong mind to not crack mentally if you had to live with them 24/7.
11643769
In case you guys don't feel like scrolling thru the comments, Neighsay have been submitted to the following in the comment section..thanks to me:
- Beaten by Celestia via Yugioh card game style
- Got his hindquarters broken by Daybreaker after calling Page a "rat with wings".
- Got publicly dissed by both Celestia and Page in a Hamilton rap number!
- Had his dream manipulated by Page to suffer cringe-inducing acne and long nose hairs.
- Another dream manipulation but this time with a floppy horn to symbolize...other issues.
- Getting caught in a Celestia-induced explosion followed by Discord trapping Neighsay in a time loop of that event in order to "get the comedy right"...it took 39 time loops.
- Dream tortured one last time by the Tantabus! Neighsay helplessly watched his money be used for Nocturnis-related charities!
Nice
The topic of extremism always brings to mind something that happened on Discord once. Someone posted a link of some teacher making fun of a religion and one of the people in chat went "I must research this woman so I can kill her for my religion". That's not even a joke. It's... really damn scary to think that people like that are walking free.
After benge reading all the stories of blank page I have one question. When is page going to get foals?
And now to quietly ship him to Nocternis, and leave him in the heart of the jungle. The food chain and society both will benefit.
Thanks everyone for liking my comments. It's very rewarding that my humor is appreciated ♡
Have a great day/twilight/night and I hope you enjoy future comment section random fun as well.
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Why? All the things he's accomplished is because he is not a pony. He doesn't think like a pony. He doesn't act like a pony. In that way, Neighsay is right.
11643974
NO! NOT THE MONEY! ARE YOU SURE YOU DON'T WANT MY FIRST BORN FOAL INSTEAD?!
11643806
Actually that mark wells universe. Afterwards they were replaced and their rulebook was given a major trim down.
1.)I think you mean integrated, not insulated.
2.)spirits,
1.) are
2.) that thing's
3.) Have there
11645175
Yeah. it is. too many 'verses . I also find myself getting hiver's page-verse and irrespective's bean-verse mixed up often, too.
11643648
Chapter 99 of Reprecussions.
dam hes good