Chapter 31
The door to the throne room opened and Commander Stormwind entered, flanked by a pair of Solar guards.
He was a dark coated pegasus with slicked back white mane. I couldn't see his cutiemark because of his armor. Only reason I could tell his mane and natural coat was because he wasn't wearing his helmet, leaving the uniform enchantment of the armour off.
His two companions, a pegasus and unicorn respectively both looked like guards usually do. White coat, blonde mane. They stopped inside the doors and he continued on.
Coming to a stop, he bowed, "Prince Page."
"Captain Stormwind," I said with a smile, "Welcome back to Nocturnis. To what do we owe the pleasure?"
He stood back up, "I have several guards ponies that have not reported back from leave. I understand they are in the Nocturnis jail?"
"To my understanding that is correct," I agreed, "That is usually what happens when you get arrested."
"Your highness, surely you can understand that it is important to get them back to the base to continue their training. Surely everything can be cleared up. I looked at the reports, nopony got hurt."
"That's up to the judge to decide," I said, "I don't know the specifics of their cases."
Captain Stormwind frowned, "Prince Page, in the past-"
"What happened in the past clearly was not working, Captain," I told him seriously, "Because it and similar things kept happening. It's not the same ponies either, so it's clearly a structural and cultural problem."
He scowled, "Your highness, soldiers can get a bit unruly on leave. It happens, especially when stuck on base for most of the time. Surely they can just pay for the damages done?"
"As I said, not up to me. And as I don't know the charges the judge will apply, I can't comment. But I would expect guards ponies to get in a bit of trouble, that is true. But there is a difference between getting drunk in public, and hitting somepony or wrecking a market stall. I'm sure the judge will be fair in her rulings. If the charges aren't serious, I'm sure it's just a fine or some community service instead of prison time."
Stormwind lived up to his name, his ears flicking back for a second as his feathers puffed up, "Prison!? If anything serious enough to warrant prison, it should be handled by the solar guard. Your highness, if the safety and safe return of my guard ponies can't be guaranteed, I won't have any choice but to cancel all leave to Nocturnis."
I smiled at him, "Excellent, saved me the trouble."
He blinked at me in surprise, "Prince Page?"
"Well, I was thinking that if this didn't work and incidents kept popping up, I may have to ban any and all members from your command from entering Nocturnis. Sure, the few bits your ponies bring in is nice and all, but they have necessitated that we start construction of an actual prison, if a small one. It'll be decades before the bits your ponies bring in even start to break even on the construction costs alone. So I would be more than happy to send you all out on your tails if things don't improve."
"You can't do that, it is against Equestrian law," he said firmly, "No town, city, province or village can exclude, hinder or prevent the movement or actions of the royal guard."
"Correct," I said and smiled, "But I can. It's within my personal authority."
"Prince Page, surely you see that this is a severe-"
"Keep talking and you'll find yourself a private assigned to the Staliongrad garrison latrines."
His muzzle snapped closed with a click of teeth.
I regarded him for several long moments before I let a sigh out, "Captain Stormwind. You want your guard ponies out of trouble, finishing their advanced training and then sent back. I want your guard ponies out of trouble and couldn't give a toss about the rest. There is no reason for us to be opponents on this. Keep your ponies under control and it won't be a problem. I don't care how you do it, but if you won't, we will."
He glared at me for a moment before he nodded curtly. Then he turned around and marched out, his two guards following alone.
The throne room was quiet for several moments before I smiled, "That went well," I commented, drawing a small smile from Leaf and Wind.
Flower sighed softly from her desk, "It'll be trouble, sir."
"It's already a problem, Flower," I said with a small sigh, "Let's see if this helps. Well, that was a nice thing to have to deal with first thing in the evening. What's next on the schedule?"
Flower pulled her calendar closer, "Next is-"
######
I slipped into Sanctuary, the dream realm being replaced for a moonlit forest clearing.
Tonight had been a really long night and I just needed to get away for a bit. Luna would likely join me in a while, I had gone to bed early. Or rather, perch. With Sunny and Sparks away, it was really no reason for me to use the bed. So I was hanging from my tail in the rafters instead.
Make as well take what positives I can out of this.
The air was cool without being cold and there was a slight wind from the west. It didn't look like it was going to rain either anytime soon, the sky was clear and stars shimmered on the bla-
There was a rustle of leaves behind me and I turned around, finding myself staring at a little filly.
She stared at me with wide eyes and I stared right back.
She was a earthpony, looking about ten years old with pink coat and darker pink mane, a piece of amber as her cutiemark.
"...Hello there," I said in surprise, "I'm Blank Page. Who are you?"
"Tree Sap," she said, taking a small step back, "A-are you really Prince Page? Where are we?"
I smiled, "We're in a dream realm. What's the last thing you remember?" I asked, trying to figure out how the buck she ended up in Sanctuary.
"I-I was in the hospital, my dad was reading to me and I was-" she started to say before she blinked, "I fell asleep!"
"What was he reading? Anything good?"
"Kinda, it was a book about knights and battles and stuff."
Oooh. Sanctuary is a word that might come up there. If it happened just as she fell asleep... that would explain how she ended up here!
Huh, and I thought I picked a codeword that wouldn't come up when trying to sleep. Damn it, I should have gone with something more difficult and obscure.
"Sounds interesting," I said with a smile before I frowned, "You're injured?"
"Sick," she sighed, "Been for ages. Miss my friends."
"I'm sorry to hear that," I said with a small smile. I had planned to just make her wake up, but... this is likely the first time she's been out and about for a bit. It wouldn't really hurt to let her stay until she woke up naturally would it. Not like she'd be able to figure out how to get back anyhow.
I smiled and glanced around, "Want to know a secret?"
"What?" she asked and shifted a bit closer.
"This place has chocolate bushes," I whispered to her.
"...No, that's not a real thing."
I smiled, "Totally is," before I turned slightly, "See that biggest tree in the forest? At the base there are a bunch of them."
"...But it's dark and scary."
"Nothing to be afraid of, Sap," I told her, "This is my realm. No pony eating monsters allowed. Besides... I'll let you in on another little secret. Do you know how to whistle?"
She nodded.
"Alright, whistle three tones, pause and then three more," I said with a grin, "Go on," I added as she hesitated.
Six tones rang through the meadow and a light appeared among the trees. It fluttered closer, resolving to look like a ball of blue light, lighting up the area like a streetlight as it fluttered up to hover before her.
"Go on," I said, "Tell the sprite where you want to go. She'll guide you."
"I-I want to go to the chocolate bushes by the large tree, please."
The sprite bobbed in the air and started to flutter off.
"Go on Sap, have fun," I told her with a smile, "If you get lost, just whistle and a sprite will join you."
"Thank you, your highness!"
I watched her quickly galop after the glowing mote of light and smiled. She might have arrived here by accident, but it was a happy one at least.
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Awwww😍
Stormwind is lucky Page controlled himself so well, otherwise he would already be escorted to his train to Stallinograd.
That or he had assainged him to a team hunting Rexis.
That could become a problem with people accidentally slipping in.
11879195
Yes and he should be getting some smarts put into his guards because causing problems off duty isn't a good sign of someone who supposed to uphold the law
The military thinking themself above the law, this can not stand, this precedence would ruine a lot
Blank Page really needs a more elaborate combination. Perhaps:
'Nocturnal Sanctuary realm'.
Otherwise I think my comment idea about a entertainment section off part of Sanctuary is a great idea.
Loving wholesome chapters.
Sick? Well, well, looks like the afterlife theory might be confirmed soon.
And Page built some interesting Easter Eggs into his world.
Captain Stormwind hard overfly his influence, Blank Page did very well.
Blank Page leaving justice to a judge, brilliant.
Especially if things are serious enough to need a judge to lay down the law, no matter who get punished for something they committed.
I love it when Page puts creatures in their place they deserved being put in.
camo.fimfiction.net/yYT-0dh5M8zV0sJ5szBYrftdeosQPmJvzPcJZCTO9-E?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.pinimg.com%2Foriginals%2F9d%2F16%2F45%2F9d16459c7508e4ebc3d264e8703eb080.gif
You sure about, you sure that's a fact Page
*eye-twitch*
Page did VERY well, stormwind was forgetting that he was talking to an alicorn, the consort of princess luna and the ruler of nocturnis. Dude SERIOUSLY overstepped his bounds.
I have a strange feeling that the captain isn't the problem here. At least, not the main one.
Let's be honest here, no matter how honorable and noble a leader is, one cannot keep everything in check... Or every pony. It also wouldn't surprise me if Page's bats poked the nest with a stick every once in a while.
11879229
It’s sadly not unusual in both fiction and reality for military authorities to think themselves better than or at least a distinct separate category from “mere” civilian ones. And that really needs nipping in the bud here for Page to be respected as a ruler in his own right instead of just some upstart lesser alicorn who’s only playing at being prince while the “real” ponies run the show around him. Which in turn is something a military commander worth their salt really ought to be able to work out for themselves and appreciate after a reminder like that even if they missed it beforehand, so I at least half expect Stormwind to come around soon; it’s only if it turns out that he doesn’t that there’ll be a real issue.
11879277
Things have indeed more than one side, every coin has three...
11879283
Very good reasoning, let's hope he earned his position and didn't bribe and cheated himself into it.
Common sense should have him back down, but pride can make even outmatched intelligence at times.
Neighsay comes to mind.
Captain Stormwind was trying to push his authority to get his soldiers out of jail, while Page has already moved a few spaces ahead to force a much needed reality change with the Royal Guards. Tensions will rise for now so we'll see what goes with this path.
Hiver... Don't you DARE let Tree Sap pass on from after having her fun here in Santuary!!!!!
11879243
Ah yes, Navi is here. Given he’s a human from Earth, not surprising, especially since we have no Idea what he’s seen aside from what was mentioned in previous chapters.
Nice, another new chapter to start my afternoon. I'm loving these frequent updates!
Here's hoping it's not too late to follow Barney's advice:
camo.fimfiction.net/6-xNTQBtrMfo-_6gDEeVdfhUxi_hubCqbuCCint-G4o?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.imgflip.com%2F3427nm.jpg
And, of course, the problem with Sanctuary's code word reminds me of DuckTales. Gyro Gearloose thought that "blatherskite" was obscure enough to use as a codeword for the Gizmosuit, not knowing it was Fenton Crackshell's catchphrase. (Thank you, Disney wiki.)
A sick pony winds up in sanctuary after falling asleep.
Did page accidentally create an afterlife?
11879232
What's this about an afterlife theory? I've never heard this before.
Hey, I just found this story back in the Featured box! Sweet.
If Tree Sap is actually dead, and not just asleep in her hospital bed, I'll be a sad panda.
i.pinimg.com/736x/61/29/20/6129202167963e4be20ee90fe551db8f--twisted-humor-south-park.jpg
11879246
Soon to be consort to Celestia
Tree Sap:
Thank you for having fun with me in this dream! LOOK! I even found a four leaf clover!
Page:
Oh that is wonderful! What a pretty clov--
Luna:
Oh Page! Where are you?
Page:
...Sap give me the clover. Now. NOW! Before my wife sees it!
Tree Sap:
What's wrong?
Page:
No time to explain! *magic zaps the clover*
Luna:
There you are. I was looking all ove--oh dear. 
Who is this?
Page:
Oh this is Tree Sap. Say hello to Princess Luna, Sap!
Luna:
Why is she holding a cabbage?
Page: Uhh...We were trying out farming! Right Sap?!
Please play along!
Tree Sap:
...riiiight.
11879243
11879316
I dunno, I didn't hear it make any obtrusive noises.
Yet.
oh...oh no page, did you accidentally create an afterlife...
11879415
I love you
Absolutely priceless!
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Not publicly known IIRC.
11879413
I don’t get it. Can you please explain the joke.
11879465
In the comment section of Chapter 32 of Eclipse, I made a joke scene of Luna getting frustrated that she has never found a four leaf clover despite the fact that her long lifespan should make it a statistical guarantee.
11879469
Twenty years ago, I found a six-leaf clover. It looks like a tiny marijuana leaf. I'll post a picture of it online some day. (I wish Fimfic had galleries where users could post their own images.)
11879463
They don't even have a date set for a wedding
11879469
I mean Technically the long lifespan doesnt really Guarantee her finding one, as you said its just statistically.
I’m surprised page isn’t a dad yet
Tales From Before - The Sun Shines Down I
===
From the personal memoirs of the Heirarch of the Sun:
The first time I met the stranger who took the name Blank Page, I hardly noticed.
Grey was the only color I saw in those days. A thousand years alone on my throne left me... numb to almost all sensation. Some days, the only reason I could find to raise the Sun was because it let me lower the Moon closer.
The hope I had held for my sister to come back to me was always feeble. The long years did it no kindness. But still... I refused to leave her without a home, when she returned.
Even if it were the Nightmare... Well. I had given her a thousand years of banishment. What sort of sister would I be if I could not endure the same?
With such melancholic thoughts, calming such an intelligent, if clearly panicking pony was a simple enough course of action. Truthfully, his situation was one of the few new things I had seen under the sun in too many years; found in a crater with odd crystalline growths, he claimed to not only have no memories of Equestria, but also that he wasn't a pony of any kind at all.
Humans were strange creatures. Sunset Shimmer's foray beyond the mirror had me revisiting my memories of my visit to that strange world, though it seems the odd apes had advanced their technology at a truly remarkable rate from my time among them. When I was there, they were experimenting with new means of mixing powdered limestone into a remarkably strong building material that I shamelessly borrowed for my own little ponies.
It took only a brief conversation with Blank Page to convince me that he was probably speaking the truth. His gaps in knowledge were too broad to have been born to this world that I love, and his clearly learned demeanor proved he was too well educated to be left entirely alone.
Thus, a standard stipend and orders to come in for regular conversations with a few researchers would give me enough grounds to decide if he was safe for my other little ponies.
This is one of the better decisions I've made, I feel.
It did not take long for myself and others to grow fond enough of Page. He was uncouth and had a bit of a mouth on him, but he also knew how to catch himself. Honestly, it was a delight to have someone to talk to that wasn't enamored with my stature, both social and physical.
===
And then, the great day arrived, sooner and later than I had dared dreamed. The Nightmare returned... and so did Luna. That tale I have saved in Volume 261-B, but I am happy to write again that seeing my Luna come back, with new bearers of the Elements in tow, is the brightest moment of my life. It felt like I could live again.
Of course, it did not take long for us to return to our ways of sniping at one another, of commiserating over this or that... but it had not occurred to me just how much Equus had changed in her long banishment. Luna was... lonely. She had come back to the home I had prepared for her, only to see that my colors alone waved over the throne, that nopony remembered the old tales of her generosity, her loving kindness, and her great love of sharing stories.
She was as alone as she had ever been, in the dark days leading to her fall.
Something in me... wilted. If I had somepony, anypony I felt I could trust the throne to, it would have been their's, all so I could take my sister and fix what was clearly still broken.
And then I remembered Blank Page. The pony, that just like my Luna, was no ordinary being. He, too, was lonely. The brief conversations I'd had with him showed that much; he needed a friend as badly as my Luna needed somepony that wasn't afraid of her.
So I schemed.
===
I am a genius.
Blank Page was nervous, and with a few questions it became obvious that in his world, the thought of Magic being able to move the heavenly bodies was not only unheard of, it was apparently quite impossible.
Well. That will solve itself in time; the nice thing about power overwhelming is that it tends to crumble all attempts to deny it with repeated applications.
No, my joy comes from the way Luna immediately hit it off with Page. Apparently, he's a bit of a story teller as well, and he had Luna enthralled from the first words of his sad tale of heroism and loss.
Apparently, she's arranged to have him come over for tea to finish the story in two day's time.
===
As happy as I am that Luna finally got through to her object of affection, it would have been nice to have some notice that I would be handling the moon for one night.
===
Blank Page, it turns out, is an incredibly aggravating being. It might be his origin, or just the kind of person he is, but being told to, I quote, "fuck off," during the negotiations with the captured Changeling Queen was the closest I've come to affronted in a very long time.
As his words had clearly caught the Pretender's attention, I decided that discretion was the greater part of victory and let him work his whiles.
For a second time, he exceeded my expectations. A genuine truce would have been a miracle. Blank Page was not content to settle for that; he laid the framework for a bitter foe to not only surrender with dignity, but also begin the framework to turn such a dangerous being into an actual ally.
It is many years since these events that I write this, so it is easier to allow hindsight to color my memories of this time. Chrysalis is and was a cunning adversary, and I truly believed at the time that we would find the entire swarm of Love-eaters disappear without a trace the next morning, and reports of dead ponies drained of everything to crop up again, just like the last time.
It was with great surprise that I found she was still there, three days later.
It was some confusion, but even more hope that we placed hoof to hoof, horn to horn, to seal a covenant of non-aggression. Even now, it shocks me that she agreed and lived up to her word.
Blank Page earned himself a Noble Title for this great act of heroism and skill. Oh, how he hated it, but now that I had seen just what depths lay beneath that unassuming exterior, I was not going to let his hooves idle. He made my sister happy, and he made our kingdom safer. For better or worse, I now considered Blank Page a piece on the board, and one that I wanted to nurture into something greater.
===
===
There will be more. I started a reread of the whole series a few weeks ago, and it's been a joy savoring it. Celestia is a wonderful character throughout. She starts as almost incidental, a structure to say "ok go do plot now" by giving Page blanket permission to exist so we didn't have to deal with "ohshit I'm broke what do," and then giving him the MeetCute with Luna... but even from the very first story, she evolved into an actual character, and one that grew ever more present and important in Page's orbit.
I wonder how far back Hiver planned to add her to the growing herd. It seems like it might have been as late as the Wedding, as the immediate aftermath of that event is where she makes her first confession, but I'm thinking it might have been as early as his officially starting to court Sunset in the Crystal Empire.
Celestia... had a whole lot of depression and funk to shake off before she was fit for much of anything emotionally investing. I've never really watched the show, most of what I know is from fanfiction, much of it concentrated here. The impression I get is of someone who has lived a terribly long time, and felt the terrible weight of those long years. I find it telling that the moment she felt Twilight could handle it (maybe even a little before), she tossed her a crown, grabbed her sister, and skedaddled into eternal retirement.
The course of her thawing out in this fic was the work of years, both in and out of story. Thawing is the wrong word... perhaps the numbness wearing off, as more and more reasons to become connected to the world reach out to her is more accurate.
Anyways, that will do it for this Part I of who knows; I look forward to more Hiver goodness ^_^
I'm pretty sure that police officers and military personnel are explicitly told that they are not above the law and are, in fact, more affected by them than civilians. Whatever's going on is either not entirely the fault of guards or a deeper issue with the military system.
11879234
That gif is how a solar eclipse works!
Nice
Nocturnis is starting to feel a bit like Okinawa with how the military causes trouble for the locals and tries to get away with it. Hope it gets sorted out faster than IRL.
Wonder if others are going to start popping up there
11879890
That's the main advantage of not being a democracy. In real life, we have the problem that even if the initial leader is good they'll inevitably die and be replaced by someone worse.
...
D'awwwwwwww- (CLANG-KGT!) ... (D'awww-meter rattles as it is shaken) *SIGH* You think you're safe...