Chapters
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Lotus trotted along behind Iron, keeping pace with him despite the debris. She kept her horn at a low, constant light, the same as she would've done for a flashlight if she still had batteries. Even after all this time on four legs, she wasn't quite coordinated enough to trust herself with a gallop, not in such close quarters. The last thing she needed right now was to faceplant her horn into a wall."He thinks it's the police?" she prompted. Somehow, she managed to keep from losing her breath. But then she…-
133.2 K •
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Lotus watched the flashing lights speed past outside. They came much more frequently now, at least a dozen she had counted so far. The police zipped down the highway from both directions, converged on the gas station—then split up again. Some shot down the farm road connecting the old asylum, others weaved their way down its other tributaries.Gus snored away in the other room now, content that “someone has to be awake, but it doesn't have to be me.” So, it fell to Lotus to pace back and forth next to…
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133.2 K •
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I still can't believe I'm doing this. Lotus stared out the shadowy windows of her old pickup. As insane as this plan was, they'd still made it all the way out here, a short run from the gas station.Now the QuikTrip lights glowed against a foggy night, joined only by the occasional flash of headlights blazing along the highway. Almost no one stopped, and seconds turned into minutes of relatively uninterrupted peace. "The longer we sit here, the more time for somebody to roll up," Gus said. The truck was off…
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133.2 K •
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Cold water washed around Lotus, taking with it the heat of many bad decisions. Once even a few seconds in such an uncomfortable space would've driven her to finish cleaning up as quickly as possible, before stumbling out of the shower with desperate, insatiable shivering.No longer. Something about the kirin's disposition, or maybe the supernatural heat boiling in her belly, kept her from feeling anything but a pleasant coolness against her skin and scales. With every passing second, calm and confidence…
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133.2 K •
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Lotus had all kinds of ways to keep herself busy. But of them all, the most important labor waiting for her was the spell back to Equestria. They were truly living on borrowed time now, hunted by more than a few uneasy feelings and eyes that seemed to watch from the pages of her book.Searing Gale could animate servants to fight them. She still felt the ache of the wounds they inflicted, and the sure knowledge that much worse could follow. Servants made of wood don't seem too useful to a fire creature.…
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133.2 K •
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It was incredibly rare for Lotus to feel lucky that she was hurt. The wound was probably not so bad that she wouldn't be able to help if she really had to—but if they didn't make her, then she would take the chance to rest.Eventually they asked her to get into the car, assuring her that Iron could handle the pedals that time. She was too exhausted from the day to argue, so didn't try.The next thing she knew, they were pulling into the old parking lot. The space was overgrown with grass and small shrubs,…
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133.2 K •
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Eric had broken his leg once. Those memories of pain were some of his first, when he was too small to understand the world and his sister could still walk. Being bitten by a wolf of wood and fury wasn't quite as bad, but it was definitely similar. But there could be no trip to a hospital for skilled doctors to tend to her wounds—instead, she had to make do with the best ministrations a horse could provide.She could do worse than Iron Feather to look after her. The stallion seemed to know what to do—how…
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133.2 K •
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Gus was the first to emerge from cover. Despite the trees, his feathers and fur still looked a little scorched around the edges. Some part of Lotus still remembered what it was like to feel pain from heat, but that was a distant memory now. As distant as being human, and a dude."I was going to say you did that without blowing up," Gus began. "But you dropped the ball on that part, right at the end."She scooped the spell book up into her magic, then stomped out the embers burning on what was left of her…
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133.2 K •
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Lotus had been on extended camping trips before. Or more accurately, Eric had. He had always enjoyed a chance to be in nature and get away from the stress of a modern life. Getting out into the wild meant there was no one around to judge, no one whose standards he could fail to meet. Lotus could enjoy many of those same things. There was no fear of neighbors noticing her through an accidental gap in the blinds. If the police or some shady government organizations were going to find her, they would have a…
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133.2 K •
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Lotus woke to the birds, whistling and singing to each other from the other side of her tent. The shiny blue fabric did nothing to mute the sound, and almost nothing to keep the light from shining in and blinding her.Lotus crawled a little lower into her sleeping bag, sinking past its edges. The birds were as loud as ever from that angle, but at least the bag did something about the light. The light couldn't get her inside, but the shame was just as strong inside as out. She remembered…
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133.2 K •
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