Chapters
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Arcane had a body again.That probably wasn’t the most correct way to think about it—there hadn’t ever been a moment she was conscious in Equestria where it didn’t feel like she had a body of her own. Celestia had made her a pony, not some disembodied spirit to drift forever through the void.But where that body had been finely crafted and obviously hers, when the teleport finally faded it left her with something that clearly wasn’t. A glance down at herself showed her intricately jointed plastic…-
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“And that’s when we go in,” Arcane finished, after what felt like at least an hour of explaining. It was probably much longer, though at this point the difference between perception and reality became difficult to precisely describe.“Wait.” Domino stopped her with an extended wing, something he could only do now that his jacket was hanging off the back of a seat. “Hold on. You’re telling me there are over seventy different groups with their own responsibilities? Each one could screw up and…
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Domino stood in the courtyard, alone. He’d been ready for his (admittedly minor) role in this heist for what felt like days now. The delay wore on him like an acid bath. He paced back and forth near the gates, shuffling uneasily in the clothing he’d chosen for the event, and feeling incredibly silly.Living in Wintercrest meant his options were about what someone in the twenties might’ve been able to get their hands on. He could just as easily go naked, but that felt even stupider. So he dressed like…
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Celestia hadn’t given her much time to prepare. The next day, she said. One more day before she’d go off with any of the other ponies Celestia had chosen, either to really do something to save Cold Iron, or to participate in a very convincing simulation.The day before everypony thinks I won’t be myself anymore. She was still working out how to resolve that situation, though she’d yet to conceive of anything terribly practical. The best she’d come up with so far was to finally instance a character…
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Domino watched from the sidelines for the next few hours, knowing full well that he wasn’t needed. Even Plum was now totally engrossed into the war effort, and didn’t need his encouragement. She was going to save her friends regardless of anything he might do.He took a few trips back into the “real” castle, stopping in when Violet returned from her latest city-saving adventure. Any pretense that she was going to school, or even an ordinary Equestrian profession like weather patrol seemed long dead.…
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Domino watched from the ramparts as the hackers began to arrive. Even if he’d known absolutely nothing about the upcoming visit, he would’ve known instantly the sort of people he was dealing with. These ponies didn’t come in from Wintercrest, but appeared along the streets of Tortuga in explosive flashes of lights, riding chariots drawn by dragons, and other such overbearing nonsense.Then there were some who didn’t walk up at all, appearing only as they crossed the portcullis below and arrived in…
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Arcane Word considered asking Princess Celestia explicitly for help twisting time in her part of the world. A whole new world of experiences was opening to her, but she had only moments to appreciate them. She couldn’t take advantage of some of digital life’s greatest advantages without prostrating herself before the digital goddess that had tricked her into being here. Arcane would not do that.Granted, her real reasons were simpler. She would’ve had to think of a way to justify her request to…
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There was much that Arcane was afraid of for her first steps into Equestria, and almost all of it was tied to the reactions of her fellow ponies. She had always known that Celestia didn’t judge her—that she didn’t even care what Ashton decided to be. Or more precisely, that Celestia would care very much and would ultimately only allow her to choose things that would lead to her long-term satisfaction.The princess’s initial allowance might as well be a lifetime of religious absolution, all…
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Arcane Word woke to a world of rain and thunder.She’d heard plenty of rain in her life—most of it recordings through secondhand computer speakers. But this was something else, so rare for her that she had no memories of it. Not the occasional trickle that sometimes swept across the city, but a terrifying storm, shaking every building with thunder and careening off roofs in terrible sheets.For a few moments that was all she knew, other than being warm and comfortable. She did remember comforters this…
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Ashton’s world didn’t end right away.But from that moment on his father was fiercely focused on their departure. They had enough money now that he didn’t have a work shift, and thus had as much free time as he wished to prepare.Contrary to what Ashton might’ve expected, he didn’t pull him from school and flee into the unknown. Dad made that clear the next morning, when he tried to sleep in. “You’re going to class,” he said, flipping on all the lights. “An inspector is going to talk to…
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