Chapters
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The next few days were a blur to Sunset Shimmer. Most of what had to be done involved her very little. First came the supplies to the front, refreshing the troops that were fighting off invasion from the south. A few days without food had crippled morale, but they had kept fighting.The city itself had to be made secure, but Sunset had little to do with that. She wasn’t a warrior, so she didn’t join the squads of ponies tracking down the last of the changeling-like creatures and fighting them off. It…-
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“I’m not sure how long this works!” Jackie called, without even stopping to look over her shoulder. “But we need to move, right now!”There was now a solid wall of bodies in front of them, with thick brown smoke congealed around it like mortar. But even looking at it from a distance, Jackie could see that the Federation marine had been right. It wasn’t going to last long—the wind was blowing and soon it would be gone. They couldn’t just wait here for the entire city to march into it.Jackie…
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“Well if that ain’t the craziest thing I’ve seen today,” Xavier muttered, finally shattering the timeless illusion that was their heartsong contact. “You still speak their language pretty well for not having a translation program in your brain, Sir Bradley. What I wouldn’t give for a core dump right now.”Suddenly the harsh reality of their situation came crashing back down on her. Sunset couldn’t feel the glowing crystal walls anymore, or the sense of sourceless hope that had convinced her…
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“I’m going to see her,” she announced, rising to her hooves and marching straight for the airlock. “This conversation is fucking over.”Of course, the hatch didn’t open. Despite Jackie’s confidence, an AI like the OMICRON Core couldn’t be intimidated so easily.“You will not be permitted aboard,” Edison said. “I’m sorry, my acting captain’s orders are absolute. You are too much of a security threat. We do not know what abilities the Tower has developed since the war. A single…
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As it turned out, Sir Bradley had prepared more than food down here. Without anything better to do, they took the time to open all the crates, revealing bedrolls, tents, basic cookware—an entire camp’s worth of supplies.Of course Sunset and any other Builders there wouldn’t have needed it, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t help. They set up everything, arranging the sleeping bags before making a cooking circle with chunks of crystal and the crates themselves as fuel. While Trixie cooked a batch…
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Jackie began to doubt her decision the instant she saw the starship’s outline behind the trees. It wasn’t as though they had any other choice, and she pointed and started running towards it as though it was an exciting relief. But she’d seen the old Merlin ships before in museum sims about the early history of space, and she was hardly filled with confidence. The distinct hump of its main hydrogen tank rose along its back side like a tumor left to grow untreated for decades.Bree seemed to be thinking…
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Starlight Glimmer was the first out into the open, with Sunset following close behind. A crowd of visiting locals parted around them the instant Sunset emerged, with many staring or even removing cameras to take pictures. But Sunset didn’t slow down, didn’t even think about it.The Crystal Heart floated in the air, well out of reach of even the tallest human. There was no case, no protective shell, and only a handful of guards scattered around, mostly mixed in with the crowd. Plenty of ponies had been…
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Even Sunset Shimmer couldn’t help but admit that the portal was impressive. The formerly-human engineers had been working overtime, sourcing materials from the little bits of machines that they’d dragged over, or even from the city itself. Sunset hadn’t followed the process, but she’d seen dozens of them moving in and out of the city in regular shifts.And now it was assembled. While Luna and her diminishing army fought in the south, the humans had found a way to reinforce in the north. Most…
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They were all assembled on the deck now, every one of the refugee ponies from Motherlode. Jackie kept close to True Silver and Bree, with those not affiliated with them clustered near the other side of the deck. Evening tapped one hoof on the deck for their attention. “Welcome to Excellus,” she said. “Unfortunately we have no way of removing your memory of this place—and it wouldn’t be humane to keep you in a closet with a bag over your head until the war ended. This means it may be……
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“A moment, Natasha,” Starlight called, before Sunset could disperse with the other diplomats. She hesitated under the covered roof. Brad did too, but she waved him away. “Whatever this is, I can tell you about it once I know.”“Come with me, ‘Natasha,’” Starlight said, and together they walked towards the city. Around the meeting area they passed a gathering of ponies, who’d apparently been waiting for Alexi to be finished. “When can they change us back?” someone asked, his voice…
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