Chapters
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Of course it would be house Vengeance.Gina realized there was a little bias there. Vengeance was the clan that took in many of her former house. They had been the ones always at odds with Virtue. From the point of view of a civil servant like herself, who was privy to the machinations of the empress and her husband, it seemed as though the world might be peaceful and prosperous forever if only Vengeance would just submit to imperial authority and do what they were told.Of course the assassin would’ve…-
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The next few hours of travel were less eventful for Velar than he would have expected. Once the doctor had arrived and inspected his wounds, Starlight explained that she would take some much-needed rest. She would return here once they arrived in Canterlot, to help with his transfer to the hospital there.“How long am I going to be like this?” he asked, to the pony he trusted, not the doctor.Starlight only shrugged. “I’ve never seen someone get a bullet in the chest before. Not until the doctors say…
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Velar hadn’t expected he would ever wake again. Once he made it clear to Zoya that he would not accept any life in exchange for his own, even those that were offered willingly, he had expected a painful end.Anesthetics put an end to the first of those—modern chemistry had become very good at suppressing pain, even terrible pain. Less so about putting the mess of his guts back together. His parents had come to see him off, though he couldn’t stay awake for most of the ritual. He could barely even talk…
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Starlight Glimmer stared down in horror as the coliseum floor exploded into activity. The smoke from a single gunshot still lingered in the air, obscuring the mob that was taking place below.She’d been worried enough for Velar’s fate as he began a duel without real weapons or flight against an enemy that was far larger and stronger than himself. But the not-prince hadn’t even seemed to hear her objections, or notice his mother’s terrified eyes.Then the slave he’d volunteered to save had shot him…
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Velar didn’t think it was all that strange for a bird of courage and bravery to volunteer to assist a noble cause in the Tournament of Freedom. He’d spent his childhood sleeping in war camps and listening to stories of Gavin the Just, and the loyal friend he made in the minotaur Mel’darak, when he volunteered to assist the creature in just such an event as this. Griffins were creatures of superior moral character, that was where their right to rule came from in the first place. If the former wasn’t…
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Starlight Glimmer was unsurprised to see a scroll waiting for her when she rose. She had slept longer than she probably should have—long enough that she could hear the distant shouts of the tournament. She had been so happy to hear the tournament wouldn’t involve any dead, as the ancient stories of griffons recorded. But there was a greater atrocity hidden in plain sight.And it was her fault.Starlight Glimmer didn’t want to get up. But she had put things off long enough. She had to read the Crown’s…
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Starlight Glimmer knew she wasn’t going to enjoy the tournament.She hadn’t intended to go at first—some parts of Accipian culture just weren’t meant to be appreciated by ponies. They weren’t the only nation like that. Thanks to her connection with Twilight, she’d visited Yakyakistan at least once, and been thoroughly appalled by the time she left. But the yaks enjoyed it, so who was she to judge?This was different, though. This wasn’t just slavery, something that deeply upset most ponies who…
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Velar wished very much that Starlight Glimmer hadn’t insisted on attending the tournament today. He'd tried to convince her it wasn't worth seeing, tried luring her away with promises of the library or trips to tour the other cities. But she'd somehow heard just how important the tournament was. Once placed on the path, Starlight Glimmer could not be persuaded to give it up.If she could've been, she probably wouldn't have been as interesting to him.He could still remember the last time he had sat with…
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The so-called “Tournament of Freedom” was one of the most important civic events in Accipio. Even when tensions between the great clans were highest, even when the clan lords would’ve attacked each other rather than speak publicly, the Tournament went on. That truism proved accurate even now, where the land of Accipio and all that had been accomplished there was buried under feet of ash.Gina of the Office of Imperial Enforcement, 2nd Seal, had not been kept abreast of developments in the Homeland. As…
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It was as though Gilda had spent an entire lifetime blind. The monastery was an assault on her senses—so many strange and interesting things that she was unable to process them at once.It was divided into several buildings, built much more sturdily than many of the makeshift houses outside. There were no tents here, only sturdy wooden fortifications and burrows that were deeper and wider than most earth ponies could dig.Her escort took her first to a small outbuilding, where she left all her clothing and…
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