Chapters
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Elliot glanced nervously in both directions, just to be sure there was no one watching. There were a handful of small cars on the road now, and there would be more with every minute. As Aurora woke, so too did its residents. Within the hour, there would be dozens of people moving in either direction, making anything even remotely like stealth completely impossible.The best place to read would be home, obviously. But if he didn't know what was inside, he couldn't bring it back to Ruby's apartment! His…-
132.5 K •
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It was another late shift.Many of Elliot's coworkers loathed the overnight, with its long stretches of nothing broken only rarely by the occasional trucker or weirdo. Far from avoiding it, Elliot often volunteered.There was something honest about only a few tables at a time, delivering bizarre orders to those customers who rolled in when honest folk were asleep. Overnights were the shift for long conversations, for wild tangents and getting on a first-name basis with the regulars.Ruby wasn't as fond of…
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132.5 K •
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They didn't go home right away, or even that month.As it turned out, liberating a nation from years of occupation was a messy affair, with an awful lot of loose ends and rough edges. Kidnapped or not, none of Golden's fellow players were quite mad enough to demand someone help them instead of feeding starving people, rebuilding critical water supply, or getting the power back on.There were fires to extinguish, prisons to empty, and the guilty to punish. With the princesses occupied on such important tasks,…-
49.0 K •
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The Storm King loomed over the room like an awful shadow, holding the staff firmly in both hands. Pale blue light radiated from a crystal at its tip, as though a single bolt of lightning was held back from striking perpetually. He seemed to ignore Golden completely, his attention focused mostly on Starlight."You're the one who defeated the crystal prison? I did wonder if somepony would manage it sooner or later. Not that it does you any good." He walked right past her, up to where the tallest princess…
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49.0 K •
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The Storm King's decision to occupy an Equestrian castle instead of building his own came with a powerful disadvantage—it meant that ponies knew more about the land underneath it than his own troops.Golden Wind and his brave “warriors” didn't have to scale the castle walls, or overcome siege weapons and waiting soldiers. They arrived already inside, with alarms blaring and troops rushing out of the castle to reinforce against a pony advance on the city armory.They were hardly a stealth force, though.…
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49.0 K •
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Their advance had not liberated Ponyville, despite using its train station. As Golden Wind led his small group through the town, ponies remained in their hovels, watching through windows with huddled, defeated expressions. But the attack had done its work. No security checkpoints stood in their way—not after their walls were broken down and their gates were crushed by advancing hooves. He turned and saw several burly, furred ogres, who were now bound by rope, their weapons and armor taken from them and…
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49.0 K •
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Golden Wind had never seen real war before—unless the occasional rewatch of Gladiator or Hurt Locker counted. Perhaps it was inevitable that his next few days would feel like preparing for a championship game instead of a battle. But even in the most intense games, no opponent he'd ever faced had actually wanted to kill him. No matter what the ponies said to the contrary, no matter how barbaric they claimed it would be for one warrior to kill another in battle, Golden knew the truth. He'd felt it in the…
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49.0 K •
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Golden Wind wanted to get a few private minutes with Starlight Glimmer. He still didn't know where he stood with the mare—whether their night together was a product of stress, or if it reflected some deeper feelings she might share. But as so many times before, Golden Wind's personal desires had to bow to the urgency of their rebellion. Rainbow Dash and Rarity met them on the steps, and soon he was together with the rebellion's leaders in the castle's largest meeting room.Each took a cushion around a…
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49.0 K •
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Golden Wind did sleep eventually. But his morning proved far less relaxing than he could've imagined. There was no quiet bedside conversation, or even angry shouting—instead, he heard loud banging, muffled by several walls and locked doors.He rolled to his hooves, shambling awkwardly towards the door. Some deep-buried instinct made him check the ground for his discarded pants, without success. He didn't wear much of anything, save for the illusion crystal sitting on the bedside, and the saddlebags tossed…
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49.0 K •
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The door opened a crack, barely wide enough to see a gray unicorn with a single blue eye. Seemed strange that a horse could grow such a large beard. "Go away. I already paid my tax for this month."The door glowed faintly as the unicorn moved to stop it, but Golden stuck his hoof into the gap. "Wait. We're not who you think."Starlight squeezed in just behind him, so they could both look through the opening. That mare clearly didn't care much about his personal space anymore. "Please let us in! Equestria…
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