Chapters
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For the months leading up to the first battle in Icefalls, Hayden had imagined what it might be like on the day the Grand Fleet arrived at her gates. Somewhere subconsciously she had been imagining her own experience in war—a few dozen insurgents at a time, never clearly seen. They would man some defenses, hide behind some sandbags and occasionally return mortar fire.This wasn’t Icefalls, but even so it wasn’t anything close to what she had pictured. Glancing at long-distance radar images could not…-
141.3 K •
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Twilight was nearing the bottom of a long, winding ramp when she felt the first flickers of magic from far below. The soldiers escorting them had no idea what was happening, didn't even react.Applejack and Rainbow Dash were a bit more sensitive. Both looked down, and Applejack pawed nervously at the floor. "Bit far down to be living, don't you think?" she asked, turning to look back at their escort. "Couldn't we stay up top, where we can see the sky?"Twilight had a spell prepared by then, a stun that would…-
129.9 K •
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Harlequin sat in an impossibly beautiful space, furnished more like a pony than any bug could’ve created. “The answer to your question is simple, Harlequin. I understand what creatures value. This is the secret that even our queen never mastered—the way to control ponies without conquering them.”He set his empty glass down, then reached below his desk again. He dropped a bundle on the desk between them, wrapped in brown cloth and sounding like it was full of metal.Harlequin reached down, pulling at…-
102.0 K •
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Jackie could feel the eyes of dream on her as she passed through the sleeping world, as tight as the promised bond she had paid to make this road. Where before she had been free to drift between worlds, now she was tethered by the debt. She could feel herself straining against it, entirely in vain. Jackie would have to be careful how many promises she made, or else find herself as much a slave to her oaths as she would’ve been to the supernal.She brought up the rear down the astral road, keeping her eyes…-
99.8 K •
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Whitewater was burning. She could still smell the smoke, and other smells she only knew from the time her father had taken her to the county fair. Homestead had warned her then that many visited the market--and so she hadn't vomited when she smelled it. She would've done so now, except that her body lacked the strength. Meadow Sweet was dying. This did not bother her much--not after what she had seen.They had come from the sea. Fish that walked, fish that fought with spears and swords and set fire to every…-
187.6 K •
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Time passed in the secret swarm hidden beneath Canterlot. Harlequin couldn’t be sure exactly how long it was—time wasn’t something that bugs cared much about, even with the sun and the moon visible briefly through the crystals over her head.Every day she learned a little more about how to read and write—it wasn’t nearly as hard as she thought. Each letter just stood for a sound, one she could replace in her mind to figure out what the word was supposed to be. Learning how to write was much…
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102.0 K •
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They had been underway for nearly an hour before Hayden heard something she hadn’t before—a voice from the ship, speaking in clinical English. “We are receiving an incoming message from the HMS Neptune.”Guards and ponies all over immediately stopped what they were doing, staring off in all directions for the speaker. Except Skylark, who looked to Hayden instead.“What’s that? Is that… bad?”“No.” Hayden reached out, pressing the “message accept” icon that had just lit up.She was…
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141.3 K •
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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,…-
68.0 K •
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“Will the child of no reflection sing the song of seven strings?” asked the voice in her dreams.“Why should I? What do I have to sing about? The joy was stolen from my life when I was small.”“That is the most important reason to sing.”Harlequin woke with a start, rising from their tiny sleeping area with a scattering of blankets and pillows. For a few seconds she just lay there, clutching at her racing heart and trying to remember the significance of what she’d been seeing.There had been…
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102.0 K •
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Lotus stared down at Luna's response, turning over the magical letter in the air. She could hold it there now, so long as she stayed focused. That focus took total concentration, and shattered the instant she looked away. But it was all the proof she needed—she could learn this. She could get better. Once she mastered this new skill, she could return him to reality.Of course that wasn't what her new pen-pal seemed to want. She wanted Lotus to find the way back into another world, so they could be saved…-
133.2 K •
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