Chapters
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"So, you realize this is a bad idea," Alex said, her voice exasperated. "Like, maybe the dumbest idea ever."Richard had spent his whole life hearing ponies talk about how important Alex had been as mayor of Alexandria. He found it a little hard to believe now that she was working behind the desk at a pharmacy, shorter than he was, and probably younger too. But she also happened to be working the hospital pharmacy, and so there would be no way to buy what he wanted without getting her approval.Richard…-
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The sky shattered.Once, the magical energy required to bridge the worlds was a mere sip, possible even for a single unicorn to perform with the right spell and practice. But after years of drift, the distances were so vast that the greatest magical powers in all Equestria were required.Lightning tore at the sky, striking the snowpack in a dozen places and melting huge patches of blasted white permafrost. The wind roared, and for a second the aurora cut the sky even during the height of midday.Then a pony…
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187.6 K •
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A hundred thousand islands mingled with the clouds, each one drifting to their own orbits. None looked alike, none were made of the same stone, or shaped quite the same way. Huge chunks crumbled at random, and occasionally two whole islands would collide, raining down into the void without a trace left behind. The sky remained a perpetual twilight, smattered with a handful of bright stars. There was no earth below, though the water flowing from several of the larger waterfalls never seemed to be…-
47.2 K •
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Time passed. Recursion could not have easily summarized how she lived, except to say that she was satisfied.Eventually, across the blurring of subjective time and the march of its absolute on Earth, the world ended. Very few ponies were exposed to the chaos, except in very specific circumstances.“Where are we going, Momma?” The colt’s voice sounded close in Recursion’s ears, and she turned to look sideways at him.Base Case had a gray coat, though he had inherited a slightly yellower form of her own…
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47.2 K •
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Recursion appeared in the throne room, a few feet away from Cadmean. The changeling looked like himself again, though he seemed to take that shape less and less.“You took a long time saying goodbye,” he began, though there was a grin showing between his pointed teeth. “I think that rescue earned at least a hug.”“Yeah.” Recursion wrapped her hooves around his neck. She would’ve shared his excitement, only a few minutes before. She could’ve come back to Equestria the moment Aurora made it…
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47.2 K •
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Abby stepped out from the kitchen doorway, grinning goofily all the way. She might not have been involved in the party planning, but she couldn’t be more impressed. It was exactly the same sort of party she might’ve thrown for her big sister back when they had still been kids, complete with handmade banner.Recursion looked the same as she was used to seeing her from their tutor sessions. It was very strange to be standing in a pony-sized apartment, surrounded by other ponies, and still be looking down…
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47.2 K •
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Cadmean resisted the urge to break something. Not because he didn’t want to, or because he thought anything in the apartment (or the universe) had any value. Rather, because he didn’t want to be overheard. Recursion might be gone—his chance to see the real world snatched away because of Recursion’s stupid pride—but that didn’t mean he couldn’t find something else to amuse himself.Cadmean’s entire world had been created for that purpose, a hive of endless captive ponies to do with as he…
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47.2 K •
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Recursion returned to the sound of shouts. As usual, Abby’s summons had turned the nearest doorway into a portal that would take her to a censored simulation that allowed her to interact with Earth, and so that was how she returned.Her kitchen was in ruins, with broken plates and furniture shattered and a small fire burning on the stove instead of food. Cadmean perched atop the icebox, batting away the broom Figure was trying to use to push him down into Rule’s waiting hooves. A quick glance over her…
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47.2 K •
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Recursion appeared in a brief flash of white light, hooves settling onto the ground of her old apartment. The suite was lavish, large enough that she had thrown guild parties of a hundred ponies quite comfortably. The whole place looked almost exactly as she remembered it—all her pictures were still on the wall, her books in their shelves, everything. I’ve never actually been here as a pony.She hadn’t visited her apartment much since emigrating. She had tried, but… the memories had been too fresh.…
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47.2 K •
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The bedroom door opened, and Princess Luna walked in. Recursion couldn’t help but laugh—seeing the powerful Alicorn princess in her little sister’s college bedroom seemed surreal. Recursion had grown far more comfortable around the princess in the last few decades, and so she didn’t bow or feel afraid as her friends always seemed to.There was nothing behind the bedroom door, only an endless, featureless void. Luna walked past her without a word, surveying the bedroom. Only after several long…
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47.2 K •
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