Chapters
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Nicole didn't sleep in the entryway that night, much as she was tempted. As she explored the room, she found what she might've expected at an expensive Tokyo hotel, not a primitive bomb shelter. The whole space was perhaps twenty feet long and eight tall, with every inch utilized to the fullest. There was a bed mounted above a little work desk, and a bathroom with a shower that could fill the whole space.It wasn't just looks, either. The amenities might be made of crystal and strange marks, but they…-
187.6 K •
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The bridge of the Wing of Midnight was a far less impressive place than many other ships she’d commanded. It might’ve been a modest conference room on Earth somewhere, with its many reconfigurable interfaces and holosurfaces on the walls. There were two chairs near the front for pilot and copilot—the rest of the seats they’d brought were camp chairs. From what Olivia had seen so far, the ship had been well supplied at the moment it departed—but for such a tiny ship, that didn’t mean much.In a…-
515.2 K •
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Julian woke much earlier than Avery—well, this one. Having such varied schedules was actually an advantage for Julian, it meant that he could spend his time with more than one of the pieces of his best friend. It would’ve been much simpler to think that only Avery was the same person and that all the others were clones—but that worldview had not survived evidence. The truth was that every little piece was something he recognized, and every one of them cared about him in her own way.So he took…-
43.4 K •
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But as it turned out, they couldn’t. Olivia didn’t respond to her suggestion that a team should be sent, except to say that “There won’t be one ready for six months. I’ll put a pin in your suggestion until then.”Her clone was even less helpful. “We’re too busy building to go anywhere. This isn’t why I signed up.”The rest of their search that day turned up nothing useful—if there had ever been paint or other exterior writing on the ruins, it had long since worn off. There were no…
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515.2 K •
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It all happened in a blink.Star had been keeping watch at first, and with the Alicorn distracted she was the first one to see the group of approaching survivors. Windbrisk was at the lead, though a few more beleaguered ponies limped along beside him.Then someone screamed, their voice fading into the night. Star spun, her words to Windbrisk dying on her lips. She barely even noticed him taking off in a blur of wings, diving down into the swirling gulf of magic and horror. She didn’t even have time to warn…-
247.0 K •
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The screen went black.“That was it,” Forerunner said. “Dr. James Irwin Generation Two tried to treat his injuries, but you know better than most his medical training wasn’t sufficient for an intestinal wound. Without robotic assistance, he passed away a day later. His final instructions were a single command.”Again the recording, though only audio this time. Lucky shivered as she heard her old human voice one last time, shaking with agony. “I order you, Forerunner… don’t… make another…
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515.2 K •
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Princess Luna nodded towards the side of the controls, though there was a flash of annoyance in her eyes. I’d be upset if my sister talked to me like that. Isn’t she in charge too?Lucky started walking, following her off the edge of the glass. All this… they’d come so far, and they lost. There was no way the three of them could beat the princesses, not with one badly-injured Lightning Dust and one Forerunner with nothing but a crossbow. She didn’t even know if this was the right place—for all…
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515.2 K •
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It was not a pleasant trip. Getting out of the Crystal Empire wasn’t terribly difficult—there were no papers to be stamped, or checkpoints to pass through. Flurry Heart just had to wear thick enough clothing to conceal her identity (which she would have had to do anyway, thanks to the cold waiting for them), and they just walked out. Lucky wasn’t terribly worried about what school would think—now that she had her cutie mark, she wasn’t even required to attend.No, the real difficulty came once…
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515.2 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…-
47.2 K •
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Was it normal to be this nervous when going to talk to a machine? Twilight felt like her hooves were made of lead, and each step was an enormous effort of will. The generator was running upstairs, belching occasional clouds of steam and smoke up into the air. She hoped no pegasi were unfortunate enough to be flying over the library today.She carefully locked the door behind her, then flicked the lights on with her magic and began trundling her way down the stairs. Each step practically shouted on the wood,…-
90.1 K •
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