Chapters
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Lotus couldn't see out the window, so she had no way of knowing exactly where Gus decided to stop. Not until he gave the command, and she took her leg off the pedal. He switched off the engine, plunging them back into the silence. A few seconds later the lights went off too, and they were cast into near-total darkness.Lotus didn't try to say anything, didn't even move—anything might make her think about what she'd lost. What you took away. This wasn't an accident. You knew the risks, you took them…-
133.2 K •
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The front door hung open ahead of her. Whatever happened to the door, it didn't stop her from fleeing into the night. The cold air should've been a relief, compared to the orange and blue flames consuming her home. Instead, she found the air grating and painful against her coat.Compared to the flames behind her, the outdoor air was freezing cold, chilling her through to the bone. There was no smoke, only a growing cloud of steam, blinding her. Where was it coming from?Then she saw. It was raining again, a…
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133.2 K •
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The spell was, in fact, still going.Lotus felt it, though she couldn't exactly describe what she was feeling, or how. The spell wasn’t drawing power from her anymore, the same way it took active concentration to hold something up in the air. That wasn't a good thing—a spell that she wasn't actively casting was a spell that she had no way to stop."It shouldn't be!" She stood up, stumbling away from his camera. The little toy woodpecker toppled off the side, clattering against the floor. Lotus recoiled,…
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133.2 K •
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Another few days passed. Lotus spent them as productively as she could, running endlessly over the practice exercises a princess in another world had sent. At least she was making some small amount of progress—she could hold objects in the air now, so long as they weren't too heavy. That meant she didn't have to stick her face into food to eat it anymore.If only she had trusted her entire savings to invest in meme stocks, maybe she could've bought a cabin in the woods somewhere, and wouldn't be trapped…
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133.2 K •
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Lotus stared down at Luna's response, turning over the magical letter in the air. She could hold it there now, so long as she stayed focused. That focus took total concentration, and shattered the instant she looked away. But it was all the proof she needed—she could learn this. She could get better. Once she mastered this new skill, she could return him to reality.Of course that wasn't what her new pen-pal seemed to want. She wanted Lotus to find the way back into another world, so they could be saved…
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133.2 K •
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The task waiting for Lotus was harder than any academic challenge she'd ever attempted before. Of course learning an impossible new skill was not directly comparable to anything she'd done in her life before. But the many hours of practice and study that followed felt very similar.Nothing in high school had ever felt quite as difficult, of course. No piece of math homework she ever failed to complete had the promise of never having her own body again, or forever marooning someone who was only trying to…
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133.2 K •
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Lotus slept uneasily that night. In a single day, everything she thought she knew about her world was now taken away. Even finding a comfortable position wasn't easy--despite the size of her bed, no human position let her relax. Even when she finally found a way to rest, with her legs out to either side, that only let her physical discomfort fade into the deeper, emotional pain. Her body had been stolen, her financial future was uncertain, and some unknown, dangerous enemy from another world was now…
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133.2 K •
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"I can't believe I almost missed it!" Iron Feather exclaimed. He took the book from Lotus, turning it over in his hooves.She let him have it without much resistance, backing towards the door. She felt much better after cleaning up, but some part of her would feel strange until she got dressed. "You expected to realize I could... puke books?" she asked. She still had a towel wrapped around her lower body, but in practice it didn't cover much. She couldn't get tight without restricting her legs, which…
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133.2 K •
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Eric looked up into the doorway, where Gus now stood. His roommate stumbled, then dropped two huge armfuls of groceries onto the ground. Produce went everywhere. But he didn't seem to care. After a few seconds he stopped screaming, raising both arms to protect himself. "What kind of wild animals are—""Gus," Eric said. He remained still, afraid that too much motion might startle his old friend into running away. If his roommate ran, the police or animal control would soon follow. He couldn't let that…
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133.2 K •
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Iron Feather wasn't sure how to feel about his rescuer. On one hoof, she was certainly the reason he hadn't died. His memory of the night before was not clear, but the injuries on his back were obvious enough about the consequences. A break that severe was enough to bleed him to death. Leaving him exposed to the elements—and capture—with such a serious wound was a death sentence.But at the same time, he could see when a pony wasn't all there. He didn't have to guess, it was obvious that Kirin worked…
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133.2 K •
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