Chapters
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The teleport took her in a flash, briefly blinding her and setting off all the thaumic energy indicators in her helmet. She had given herself a full twenty feet of breathing room over where she guessed the surface to be, in case her calculation had been vastly wrong. It was, and twenty feet was more like fifty. The parachute on the back of her armor exploded outward as she started to fall, but it wasn’t enough. Parachutes weren’t meant to work at such short distances. It was night, but even the gloom…-
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For all the different ways Lonely Day had died, what happened after was always the same. She drifted in timeless space, felt forces tugging her towards the gulf that would terminate her existence, then turned away and returned to her body instead.This time was different. As Archive drifted back towards Earth, she passed through boiling clouds and roiling storms and found she was not alone.“It’s about time you died. Baconhead made it seem like a good death was part of your morning routine.”Archive had…
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“Dreams are your territory, not mine. Outside of my own sleep, I’m worse than useless. Here, though.” There was no delay like when Jackie had changed. One second she was an Alicorn, and the next she had her own batwings and her horn had vanished. It was not really all that different: Archive didn’t actually know what being a thestral felt like, so the sensations were entirely imagined.“I’ll… consent you’ve actually created a shared dream.” She sounded reluctant. “That doesn’t mean…
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They left St. Louis the next day, by the first light of morning. Nopony tried to stop them like in Alexandria. She pushed Ezri to her best possible pace, even covering a little more ground in the dark. They were walking west instead of south, but even so… she didn’t want to be anywhere near the city when night fell. If word got around there were a pair of young ponies traveling alone, there was no telling what “accidents” they might have on the road.There were others they passed, but none turned…
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The longer she met his eyes, the more she recognized. The glove might’ve changed, but the hand underneath was exactly as it had been. “Fine.” She gestured back at Ezri. “Just between us. I’ll cooperate, but only if you leave her out of it. She’s not involved.”He shrugged. “If that’s what you want. I’m sure I could improve her as much as you. But if it will speed things along…” Alex felt something stir at her back. The straps came loose without a glow of magic, sliding clean off to…
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They came from the gloom of near evening, circling in from upwind where their prey would not smell them. Since the Event, it seemed that all animals were at least a little smarter. Huan had seemed to outright understand her at times, and followed complex spoken instructions with characteristic canine loyalty. Unfortunately, that same new source of mental power was extended to all creatures, even the dangerous ones. Even the wolves.In later years, she might be impressed with their cunning. At the time,…
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153.4 K •
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Getting dressed for a trip into the arctic chill of winter was never easy for an earth pony. True, her clothes were specifically made for one of her race. There were pull-tabs and clasps large enough for hooves or mouth to operate. Even so, a process that might've taken ten minutes with hands took over an hour without them.She dressed Ezri first, then closed off access to the city's heat system for good. The old mansion had pre-Event insulation and held heat far better than their new buildings, yet still…
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Their new world couldn’t afford to waste chemistry on embalming. That meant Sky’s funeral was held the next day, in the old church that was still used as a church. Sky’s will named a priest and the rites she wanted, so there were few decisions Alex had to make on her behalf. Her death came as no terrible surprise.It seemed like half the business stopped in Alexandria that next day. The funeral procession blocked traffic, and the old church spilled ponies into the aisles and up into the rafters too.…
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153.4 K •
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The work took months; it always did. At the rate Alex was going, her family would return to a house far better than the one they had left behind. They put in the new floors, they redid more of the furniture to be sized better for pony bodies. They repainted, expanded the garden, and did maintenance on the septic system. All while making more and more frequent visits to Bountiful.There were no longer resources to waste on frivolous calls home when so little of the satellite network remained intact. She…
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"You can take the blindfold off now." Alex leaned back in her seat, so she could see Amy's reaction. She had been to Bountiful plenty of times herself, it had no wonders for her. But for her friend...Amy tugged on the blindfold, and her jaws fell open. Alex heard her gasp, letting her awe wash over her along with the flashing lights and colors. Alex remembered her first visit. It was good to see that emotion shared.Bountiful was a city of steel and stone, as the old cities had been. In some ways it was…
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