Chapters
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Six Months. 51% Twilight Sparkle adjusted her woven plastic hat under the harsh Proximus sun. Sweat brimmed on her brow, and the smell of dirt filled the air around her like earth pony perfume. She could feel the soreness in her muscles, roughly proportional to how full the wheelbarrow was in front of her. Fresh carrots were piled inside, each one half as big around as her hoof and glittering with moisture.“We ain’t done,” Applejack called from beside her, eyes narrowing slightly. “We rest when the…-
158.4 K •
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Outside the castle, Hayden could hear the sound of war. The steady crack of her own arquebus weapons, answered by volleys of crossbow bolts. Tonight’s rain was not of water, but of blood.But those soldiers weren’t meant to keep princess Luna from entering the castle, not really. At the first sign of serious resistance, the fleet was to retreat to the outpost of Canterlot, leaving Celestia and Hayden behind surrounded by the enemy.Princess Celestia sat by one of the windows near the thrones, watching…-
141.3 K •
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Kyle followed Akiko down into the parts of the lodge she'd never seen before. The walls seemed to close in around them as she moved, though of course the stone and cement couldn't be moving. But there was magic in the stones, magic that responded to their steps, wrapping around them like a straitjacket with each foot they traveled. She should probably be thinking more rationally—would Monday really want her to walk down into captivity to save their own life?Probably, she'd met them on the deep web. They…-
129.9 K •
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“I can’t believe you’d let a crazy walk all over you like that,” Solar Wind muttered, shoving the paper card into her pocket. “Weren’t you threatening me with all kinds of crazy things, like… yesterday?”It was still night, so at least there weren’t many other creatures in the transfer station. A few food carts sat dark and cold against the wall, but here the lights all worked and the benches were freshly cleaned. Magpie made her way towards the stairs, leading up to the Starseed line. The…-
231.4 K •
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No, it’s time to be a leader. Twilight could see the desperation in Applejack’s eyes, the pain and despair. This was a pony on the end of her rope, who had already given so much of herself to save the life of a pony she didn’t even know, who was frayed from sickness and worry over her own death. A pony who had been unexpectedly been returned a member of her own family, only to come so close to having them snatched away again.“No,” Twilight said, voice flat.“What do ya mean, no?” Applejack…
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158.4 K •
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If Magpie’s supply of compassion had been running low before, after crawling through the cramped service-passages of Vanaheimr for over an hour with Solar Wind’s voice yapping constantly in her ear, she’d now thoroughly reached the negative. With every step she took through the gloom, her desire that the hippogriff’s air armor would finally start to fail grew. Then the bird would have to fly back to the safety of an airlock, and Magpie could finally accomplish her mission in peace.“It doesn’t…
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231.4 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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Twilight's eyes darted between the soldier and his weapon, eyes narrowing. If it were anything like the ones the other humans used, it couldn't be terribly threatening. But killing one of the guards here would not improve their odds to negotiate a peaceful release."We're not a threat to you," she said, turning her hands toward him. Her other friends all followed suit, freezing in place. "We've come to talk about the baby you're holding downstairs. Nopony has to get hurt."Twilight couldn't possibly miss the…
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129.9 K •
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The nightmare that had been Princess Luna cut a devastating path across Equestria, cutting scalpel-precise through the most important lines of trade. Her army had no airships, but they didn’t need them. Half of them weren’t even alive.Hayden was no longer leading the military opposition, so she had little to do with the conflict as it happened. Princess Celestia might’ve decided not to kill her after all for practical reasons, but that didn’t mean she trusted Hayden. Mostly she spent her time in an…
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141.3 K •
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Call Applejack immediately 43%Twilight had an awful feeling about this. As she removed the radio from her pack and switched it back on, she could feel the beginnings of nausea in her chest, and the tension in her limbs. It was the feeling she always got when she knew there was going to be conflict. But there was nothing for it. The Equinox’s chief engineer relied on trust more than anypony else aboard. There could be no softening the truth for her, no beautiful lies. If Twilight kept this secret and…
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158.4 K •
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