Chapters
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Twilight crept nervously through the halls of the crystal palace, levitating half a dozen books around her in a gentle cloud. Her mane was disheveled, and there were bags under her eyes. The ramblings of long-dead wizards overlapped in her head, each one a contradiction to half of the others. She dreaded every step, and the news she would have to deliver. But she’d reached the point that a few more minutes in the library just weren’t going to magically fix everything.The throne room was every bit as…-
129.9 K •
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Arcane knew where she was going, if only through rumors and whispers. But she probably could’ve found her way there just by judging the reactions of the ponies watching them. The high-and-dry was practically newborn compared to the sunken city, but some of the creatures here looked less agreeable than any of the ancient watchers on the sunken tomb.Conversations stilled as they passed on street corners, mares held their foals closer, and even sweet old ponies crossed the street to walk away from them.…-
111.2 K •
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143#E14C years later…The train from R'lyeh was always an uncomfortable experience, but more so for the creatures who didn’t make many trips. Most of the ride was spent in relative comfort, passing shallower settlements along the shoreline and the light-water fish who lived there. “We could still get off at Cliffside Shoal,” Cascade said, settling into the seat beside her with a tray of seaweed-wrapped fish rolls. “We could wait until next year. Nopony says it has to be now.”Arcane Song pulled…
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111.2 K •
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Arcane woke in a four-poster bigger than some bedrooms, with enough sheets to swim in and a dozen stuffed animals. As Domino stirred, he tore away several layers of blankets, rolling away from her and entangling himself in the sheets. For reasons she couldn’t fathom, he seemed to like this sluggish almost-death called sleep, and so he kept going through the motions even when they were entirely unnecessary.She pulled herself into a sitting position, struggling a little against her reduced mobility. She…
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111.2 K •
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There was much to be said for an optimally satisfying life in Equestria, free from the constraints of scarcity and physical matter. Arcane Word had already written a dozen different adventures for the life waiting for her there, and there was enough time to live out each one. Of course, there were stories that weren’t in her notes, additions and revisions Celestia made. There were more awkward explanations to make, apologies for lies told and regrets that she couldn’t have been herself sooner. But…
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111.2 K •
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Arcane stumbled back into Wintercrest Castle, still a little dazed from the weight she carried. Or rather, the weight she wasn't carrying anymore. It wasn't as though all the nightmares of her past were erased in an instant—but telling the most important person still in her life had certainly made for an excellent start.Equestria waited before her, a pearl increasingly within her grasp. And all the while you've been there, Celestia. But would I be done with this sooner with your help? Or have you already…
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111.2 K •
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Arcane knew better than to wait for Cold Iron in the copy of her prison. If she’d been imprisoned here, she sure as hell wouldn’t want it to be the first thing she saw. But for that matter, Arcane wasn’t the first pony Cold Iron would want to see. She was a rival—a minor supporting character in Iron’s story.Besides, there was a pony who needed to know—the one who’d been working support for this mission. There’s no way Celestia not getting her connected was an accident. She must’ve been…
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111.2 K •
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Arcane had a body again.That probably wasn’t the most correct way to think about it—there hadn’t ever been a moment she was conscious in Equestria where it didn’t feel like she had a body of her own. Celestia had made her a pony, not some disembodied spirit to drift forever through the void.But where that body had been finely crafted and obviously hers, when the teleport finally faded it left her with something that clearly wasn’t. A glance down at herself showed her intricately jointed plastic…
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111.2 K •
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“And that’s when we go in,” Arcane finished, after what felt like at least an hour of explaining. It was probably much longer, though at this point the difference between perception and reality became difficult to precisely describe.“Wait.” Domino stopped her with an extended wing, something he could only do now that his jacket was hanging off the back of a seat. “Hold on. You’re telling me there are over seventy different groups with their own responsibilities? Each one could screw up and…
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111.2 K •
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Domino stood in the courtyard, alone. He’d been ready for his (admittedly minor) role in this heist for what felt like days now. The delay wore on him like an acid bath. He paced back and forth near the gates, shuffling uneasily in the clothing he’d chosen for the event, and feeling incredibly silly.Living in Wintercrest meant his options were about what someone in the twenties might’ve been able to get their hands on. He could just as easily go naked, but that felt even stupider. So he dressed like…
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111.2 K •
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