Chapters
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Four minutes until detonation.Mossy could do nothing about the timer, just as she could do nothing about a great deal of things in her life. But in this case, it was a decision she'd made—either she would succeed in this mission, or they wouldn't bring her in alive. There would be no switching off the bomb.Before her was the municipal adjunct relay—a structure so vast and complex that she could imagine no creature from Equestria building it. And indeed, none had.A construction of vast metal spires…-
26.8 K •
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Lightning Dust wandered through the strange halls of the place her daughter had called “Transit.” She had been here twice before, though both times she had seen the place only tangentially. Once from outside, in the great shaft that had almost burned them to death. Then, when she had learned of the princess’s kidnapping, she had discovered Lucky’s note and waited for her basically right inside the doorway.She would have explored it further, if Lucky hadn’t come back, or so she told herself. In…-
515.2 K •
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Olivia had enough hardware to kill an army of primitives. How she had brought it all here, she didn’t well understand, but in many ways, that didn’t matter. Mounted guns, automatic repeating rifles, IFF-drawn seeking grenades. Everything the new Forerunner refused to make for her, the old one had fabricated in great quantity.And yet…She could’ve killed this army thrice over. There was no strategy to the way they attacked the castle, no order in their lines. They surged in through every opening all…
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515.2 K •
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“It’s just too much for a pony to take in at once, that’s all.” Pear Butter led Olivia up a charming country road, through a patch of fruit orchards. Olivia found herself slowing as she walked, as she was assaulted with memories of her past. Between Pear’s accent, the village, the orchards.How do I know Harmony isn’t attacking me now? Trying to… make it so I can’t fight. She had stood bravely before Celestia even when she knew she would die. She had fought an army on her own while…
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515.2 K •
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It might be the last meeting of Lucky’s civilization.This time, it wasn’t the major leading them—there were no higher authority figures for her to go begging to. The success or failure of this entire mission rested squarely on her shoulders.They used the same conference room they had before, where Olivia had lied to them about their mission to Dragon’s Folly. The same gathering was here now—every soldier, every native pony, everyone still alive.Lei made them some refreshments—muffins this time,…
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515.2 K •
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The “Database” proved to be extremely like the Temple of the Infinite Self in a few respects. They appeared somewhere apparently isolated, with no one else around. In this case, they were in the middle of a huge, vaguely Arabian-looking city, with desert sands in the distance and a constant wind blowing. They stepped off the pad into a library made of cream-colored stone, with books and scrolls and ancient wisdom piled higher than she could see.Fortunately, Olivia could fly, though their route…
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515.2 K •
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Melody felt useless.This wasn’t the first time—feeling useless had been the basic state of her existence since her first breath in her new body. She felt more useless than usual, this time.They had named the massive zeppelin the Speed of Thought, after nothing Melody could guess at. Its sleek shape still would’ve dwarfed the Cyclops, were it not fading into the sunrise. Melody wasn’t the only pony up here on the tarmac—the other members of Othar’s “human” population were here to see off the…
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515.2 K •
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Lightning Dust stared down at the screen, eyes wide with shock and wonder. Some part of her longed for the innocence of months ago, when she had thought the things she saw on devices like this were fanciful dreams. But living in Othar had taught her many things, and she knew that Forerunner would not show them lies. He might be a machine, but he had never lied to her.But she wished he could have. She watched a blast of fire so intense that the screen was momentarily filled with white. When it faded, the…
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515.2 K •
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“How’re you feeling, sweetheart?” Lucky heard Lightning Dust’s words behind her, and she half-turned, though she didn’t look up. They were supposed to be so much more prepared than this. But what choice did they have? Equestria and Othar’s futures both hovered here, unresolved. What they did with Harmony in the next few hours would decide the future for both races. We must not fail.Lucky was sitting on the empty edge of the railway platform, sitting almost like a human might, with her hind legs…
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515.2 K •
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The jumper was not an entertainment craft, with dozens of screens hidden everywhere. It did apparently have a projector, which could aim at the ceiling of the passenger area and display tactical information. Forerunner switched that screen on as they began firing back, and Lucky got her first good look at the fleet.She knew instantly why Forerunner hadn’t shown them this at first—these ships were so large, so powerful, she felt herself start to shake. Ponies used lighter-than-air technology for flight,…
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515.2 K •
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