Chapters
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"Are you sure I have to dress like this?" Lilac stared at her reflection, ears folding and tail tucked between her legs. It didn't matter how formal the clothing looked, how close the family tailor had made it to her actual body—it was far from anything she would ever be willing to wear.But Iris Vale and her family were not the sort of ponies to ask whether she wanted something or not. Lilac would do it because it was expected, and her complaint would mean nothing. "We used the same style as the ancient…-
8.5 K •
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Firefly didn't usually take the stairs up to her apartment anymore. It wasn't just that the climb was long and inconvenient, though it certainly was. But the instant she learned how to fly, why would she ever waste her time trudging up step after step.She had a painful reminder of just how miserable that process could be, now that she had heavy bags weighing her down.There was simply no chance she could fly with that much weight. As she got higher in her building, even the apartment seemed to struggle to…
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8.5 K •
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Lilac Empathy listened to the words of the strange hymn, moving her mouth along to each verse. Her school had so many students that one little pony in the back who wasn't singing could hardly be noticed.The other students each sang along as though it were music they’d heard for a lifetime, as familiar in their way as the old Christmas tunes that came back onto the radio year after year. They sang with much of that same energy that a child's choir ought to.But the words they sang—that was where she…
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8.5 K •
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Bonnie did not like to dream. When she slept, she remembered the world as it once was—a simpler world, when she was young, and the monsters hiding in the dark were the fears of a child. But then she grew up, and she saw how strong they were. She watched them take away the people she loved. Her father first, then her childhood love. Even when she managed to fight something back, her victories were always short-lived. The monsters won in the end.The ones she lived with now were not monsters in the same…-
98.0 K •
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Lyra kept still under Rainbow's boot. This was less about the deception—she had no illusions about her ability to prove she was too weak to fight. But if she struck out too soon, or too powerfully, she might prompt Rainbow to kill her.These vampires have other powers too. I can't think they only have their strength to turn on me. She had felt some of that during the fight—strikes that hit her friends, or that their armor deflected. Someone had used blood as a weapon at one point, ripping through cloth…
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98.0 K •
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Lyra braced for an attack she knew might be coming with any second. Her limbs tensed, but Rainbow's grip was so strong If she tried to make a single concerted push, would the vampire decide she wasn't worth the risk and break her neck? Lyra had only seconds to think, maybe less.Not enough for her human self to consider some rational calculation of her situation and her odds—but her animal instincts could. She had months of time as different creatures now, enough to know how to manipulate those…
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98.0 K •
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Volita worked in relative silence, crouched beside the door. Lyra couldn't see what she was doing exactly, but it couldn't be very much. She made almost no sound, let alone any other dramatic displays. Maybe she had to get into the right state of mind?While she worked, the members of her cabal all gathered in a group about twenty feet away, where they watched with growing tension visible in their stance and behavior.It would seem like it from the outside anyway, thanks to Akiko's little spell.“I don't…
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98.0 K •
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They spent the next ten minutes in one of the most awkward, unpleasant positions Lyra had ever experienced. While Reagan worked, the others shuffled nervously around in a circle just beside her, while Volita and Rainbow watched.The Kindred didn't move like people do—no subtle shifting while they breathed or adjusting to be more comfortable in their seat. They didn't have to lean against the wall for support, or otherwise seemed to tire the way living people did. They didn't even blink, unless Lyra or one…
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98.0 K •
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Lyra met the second time with the “civilized” vampires while carrying a little black cat in her mouth. She deposited the creature on Volita's lap with all the pride any feline could demonstrate.That close, her animal senses betrayed even greater discomfort than she felt while human. Humans were big and intimidating, but at least they were alive. Nothing should smell like that; no fingers should feel so cold and stiff in her fur.“If I thought you would obey my instructions in this manner, I…
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98.0 K •
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Lyra waited while the stranger finished eating. She’d never known hunger that desperate in her life—but she’d felt that craving from plenty of animals. While she ate, that strange spirit watched Lyra with the same curiosity. It flowed closer to her, circling her in the narrow confines of the cave. Even if they never touched, she felt the awful creeping of death following behind it. Her Spirit magic wouldn’t affect this creature, not without more knowledge of Death. What would she do if it attacked…
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98.0 K •
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