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    When everything seems dark, don't be.

    Chapters

    • Chapter 3: Broken Chain Cover
      by Starscribe Flynn’s friends hadn’t been lying to him when they said the new Ponypads were the best they’d ever made. Maybe not as nice as the augmented reality headsets, but… impressive nonetheless. He marveled at the immersive sound-projection, which seemed to fill the entire room when he was playing alone, but got quiet whenever he looked away or someone else came in. Even more impressive was the passive 3D, like Nintendo’s old handhelds but far more effective. The effect was so natural he hadn’t even…
    • Chapter 3: Blood Cover
      by Starscribe H held still as noises sounded from the other side, coming from the door. There was something mechanical to them, but she didn’t actually know what let some doors open and kept others closed. Maybe they’re giving up? Her promotion was coming for sure.The door opened in a crack, and H got her first look at the other side. There were three ponies just as she had sensed, an adult mare in some fancy cloth that had been torn in ways that didn’t look intentional. A much smaller filly, even smaller than she…
    • Chapter 3: Audience Cover
      by Starscribe The ground shook with the force of distant thunder, though there were no clouds in the sky and no inclement weather scheduled. Each blast brought distant flashes of light from below, accompanied by a sound that could only be distant screaming. Chance did not know how an enemy could have penetrated this far into Equestrian territory, didn't know for sure who was even attacking or why. But it didn't matter. She had to do something."Spike!" She called, breaking their stunned silence. "Get close to me! You're…
    • Chapter 3: Aquila Cover
      by Starscribe For all that she had just done, the princess seemed unchanged from her usual self. Star followed close behind, clipboard of interview notes still levitating along beside her.The princess took them behind the throne, to where the castle was built not of shining crystal but reinforced stone. There were occasional cracks in the low hallway, or bits of metal stuck into the wall from ancient weapons. Equestria had not always been so pleased to serve under the princess’s rule.“With that failure, Equestria is…
    • Chapter 3 Cover
      by Starscribe I had a few days to prepare, rushing around the city to arrange my affairs. Needless to say, the dean of Twilight’s own school was more than accepting of my absence under the circumstances, and wished me good luck. I didn’t really own much, so it wasn’t hard to gather all I had into a single set of saddlebags to wear up to the dock.Canterlot’s drydock has remained an important place for innovation ever since the Migration War, with much of it sealed from civilian ponies like me. Not that Canterlot…
    • Chapter 3 Cover
      by Starscribe “You’re making a mistake,” Harley said, her voice quiet, pained. She stopped tugging on her sleeve, turning away. “Good luck! When they interrogate you, tell them whatever you want. If it will keep you alive.” She gestured urgently away, and Bruce gave them one last, backward glance.Then he turned to run as well. Katie looked between Jackie and the two of them, as though completely frozen by her indecision. The expression didn’t last long. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”“Always.”…
    • Chapter 3 Cover
      by Starscribe Ocellus kept in the air another moment longer, hoping that her friends would understand. This disguise had passed an initial test—this was the phase of any operation where she could make observations of the culture she was about to infiltrate, learning everything she needed about their customs. Well that was what her mother probably would’ve suggested. She didn’t think they’d be here long enough for that—and she wasn’t leading a changeling expedition. But she circled up and over the boardwalk,…
    • Chapter 3 Cover
      by Starscribe There were seven queens of any consequence in the former United States. Not that most who lived there now had ever heard that name, and certainly none of them would be willing to admit it. Those queens knew each other by many names over the years, Evoli included. Over time, their suicide pact had ensured stability in many of their domains, such that the primacy of names no longer mattered.They had come to use titles instead, and to recognize each other’s territories by those names. To Evoli, or Ajna, as…
    • Chapter 3 Cover
      by Starscribe Eric was only a few minutes late to work that morning. Who could blame him—he'd been in an accident the day before, leaving his torso covered with a blossoming bouquet of black bruises. Then instead of getting any rest, he'd stayed up to care for the animal he hit. He thought, anyway.Kent could blame him, as it turned out. He'd barely made it out onto the line, gloves and safety-goggles in place, before Kent came marching down from the breakroom steps, past the three other packaging lines. He ignored the…
    • Chapter 3 Cover
      by Starscribe Scrap the WeaponsWaking from stasis was a painful process. Twilight remembered the awful discomfort she’d felt after a few training freezes. But now it was real, and she had to watch chunks of her mane crumble away from her face into the water washed of her pod. Her veins burned, and she knew a slurry of chemistry and spells blasted her from the inside. How long have we been moving? As the light gradually came up in her tiny pod, she watched the water draining away carry an awful lot of purple fur.The…
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