Chapters
-
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 •
-
-
Harlequin glanced briefly outside the walls, confirming what she’d already thought. There was a carriage moving down the road towards them, in Princess Luna’s colors. She could sense no terrible magic radiating out from within, though. The alicorn herself was not in attendance. The hive was surrounded by royal guards, growing more numerous by the minute. Of course, they weren’t here to lay siege—the changelings within had already surrendered. Princess Luna’s staff moved through the hive, making…-
102.0 K •
-
-
It wasn't hard to arrange a private meeting with Alex. She's not the mayor anymore, even if she remains active in public life. I sent ahead and she set aside the entire afternoon to talk to me. It wasn't difficult, since she lives just across the street from my mother's house. Even after all these years, the founders have remained close together.We chat for over an hour before I bring up the subject of my investigations. I want an accurate history of Alexandria, one ponies will be able to read and know how…-
105.4 K •
-
-
Arcane knew where she was going, if only through rumors and whispers. But she probably could’ve found her way there just by judging the reactions of the ponies watching them. The high-and-dry was practically newborn compared to the sunken city, but some of the creatures here looked less agreeable than any of the ancient watchers on the sunken tomb.Conversations stilled as they passed on street corners, mares held their foals closer, and even sweet old ponies crossed the street to walk away from them.…-
111.2 K •
-
-
Hayden wasn’t in a castle anymore.She started to panic, worrying that she’d somehow wandered off, maybe been dragged of by some Celestia loyalist. She’d been living only at her hospitality for at least a week now, and there were probably plenty of her staff that would’ve jumped at the opportunity to make her vanish into a cell.But this didn’t feel like a cell. She was in bed, surrounded by stars.I’ve been here before. This is Princess Luna’s tower.She sat up at once, memory flooding back to…-
141.3 K •
-
-
So it began. Archive had been recruited to protect the HPI from Athena’s influence. Now she realized that influence had been Athena’s feeble attempts to slow the expansion of Gideon’s Outsider faction. Instead of working to root out Athena, she began moving to support and conceal her. Even so, it was not difficult to contribute in other ways. Working directly with Athena meant the two of them could easily fabricate “victories,” such as “inventing” systems Athena could not monitor. What gains…-
153.4 K •
-
-
Bingham Canyon proved not to be the paradise of technology and progress Alex had promised: mostly it was temporary buildings and lots of metal supports sunk into concrete near the bottom of a gigantic open-pit mine. Yet even the temporary structures on the rim had electricity and running water. As Jackie went into surgery, Alex learned that she herself was being brought on as an advisory engineer on the construction of “Paradise Crater.”Not because there weren’t any humans or ponies of the HPI to do…
-
153.4 K •
-
-
Lotus rarely visited Canterlot anymore—less often than in her first year in Equestria. She could only sit for so many interviews and appear in so many elaborate public ceremonies before they all turned exhausting. Besides, she had a family to think about. Nothing could beat the peaceful, rural quiet of Hono.Until the village burned to ashes.Even so, there was something particularly impressive about arriving in Canterlot by train. Almost an hour weaving slowly up switchbacks up the mountains, until…-
133.2 K •
-
-
The flames burned high over Hono that night. Hono wasn't just a village built on discipline, friendship, and cooperation—it depended on those things to continue to exist. It took only one soul to lose control of their anger, just once. If the residents couldn't get things under control almost instantly, they probably never would.That night, they didn't. Blue flames turned orange as the town's largest structures caught fire, and its ancient trees burned. Hono survived a war, survived the return of the…
-
133.2 K •
-
-
Liz stared down at the blade, where it sat on the edge of the little table in her quarters. Most objects from the surface did quite poorly when you brought them into a seapony settlement—metal rusted, silicone rotted, electronics short-circuited. But this knife appeared to be an exception, its metallic construction wasn’t steel and didn’t seem to be corroding.Much like Liz’s faith in Jackie. The bat was still out there somewhere—the Dreamknife had survived so much, how could she be dead now?…-
99.8 K •
-
- Previous 1 … 22 23 24 … 136 Next