Chapters
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It had been nearly two months since James had felt solid ground under her hooves. When they finally landed, she practically fell off Dust's back, spreading her hooves and embracing the ground like an old friend. Lightning Dust rolled her eyes, muttering something James couldn't quite hear. It took her several repetitions before James finally looked up."Since you can't fly, we need to kapti trajnon. Dodge Junction is close, malmulta distanco if we hurry. I don't know if the ponies who came for you were the…-
515.2 K •
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The next alien to open the door came in the evening. James recognized her for a nurse from the cart she was pushing.“I need to talk to someone in charge. And I need my things back. Can you return them to me?”The alien looked up from her cart, which James could now see had a metal tray of food resting on the top. "Mi bedaŭras, ĉevalidino, sed mi ne komprenas vin. Ĉu vi ne ŝatus iun manĝaĵon? Kreskantaj knabinoj kiel vi bezonas manĝaĵon."The nurse lifted the lid off her tray, showing it to…
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515.2 K •
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Lucky stared down at her hooves. “You want… me to… true things? Not lies?”“That’s what I want,” Dust said. “Whatever you tell me, I’ll listen. Doesn’t mean I’ll believe you, if it’s a pile of broken feathers and cloudless skies, but I’ll listen.” Dust was certain she’d be able to tell an honest explanation from an invention, even from a pony who could barely speak the language. She was too young to be a good liar.“Okay.” Lucky leaned back for a second, her face deep in…
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515.2 K •
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Many miles away, the Forerunner Probe was hard at work. The standard living quarters it had fabricated would not suffice for the needs of this next team, given every previous failure. But information it had gained from its last attempt, along with significant increases in the availability of resources as its infrastructure grew meant it had the power to be more ambitious.In the central hall, five biofabricators still hummed. Their occupants were far from completely formed, though much of the skeletal…
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515.2 K •
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James jerked awake with a violent start, looking up and around and blinking away the bleariness of sleep. “啊! 我醒了!” she exclaimed, pushing away from whatever had just touched her. Then her vision cleared, and she saw who was looming over her. It was Lightning Dust, her rescuer, looking concerned. She felt herself relax immediately.The pony reached down, gently prying the pages of the book away from her face, and pushing it out of the way. She said some words, most of which James couldn’t make…
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515.2 K •
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“You want to what?” Mayor Capital Ledger stared at her from across his desk, eyes widening with shock.“Exactly what it says.” Lightning Dust pushed the form a little closer to Ledger with one outstretched wing. “I’m applying to be a temporary foster parent. I know Stormshire has a pony in need.”“That’s…” Ledger glanced down at the form, flipping it over and reading over all the information she’d scribbled there. Lightning Dust had everything in order, she’d made sure of it.…
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515.2 K •
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James Irwin knew something was wrong from her very first breath. Knew it from the strange numbness in her limbs, the unusual roominess of the bioreactor’s gestation pod, from how furry she felt. She ignored the instinct to panic, still buried deep inside despite her lifetime of training.Whatever it is, it’s okay, James told herself. I would not be waking up if there were any critical errors with my body. Implanting the mind is always the last step. This was obviously intentional… for some…
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515.2 K •
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The wasteland continued as far as she could see.James had seen the maps, so she had a fair idea how long it would take to reach the alien settlement. Even so, knowing she had sixty kilometers to cross and walking that distance were two very different things.James was nowhere near as young as her body appeared. She had been fifty-three years old at the moment her training had finally been certified as complete and her Mindprint had been taken. Being changed so completely was therefore an extremely jarring…
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515.2 K •
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James slept uneasily, feeling as though she was constantly being watched. Occasionally she would wake, catching a brief glimpse of cloudy white rooms and hearing muttering voices. Everything hurt—one of her back legs so badly that she was certain it was broken. It was so much easier just to sleep.You have a mission, she could almost hear her old self saying, in that mature, deep voice. The voice of an astronaut who had trained his entire life to be an explorer, who had mastered the principles of…
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515.2 K •
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Alex knocked lightly on the door with the edge of one hoof. She wasn’t wearing any regalia today, not even a crown. She wasn’t even wearing her old saddlebags, but a fresh pair made from sturdy white cloth.The manor was one of the finest in the city, built from the ruins of an old skyscraper. The door opened only seconds after she knocked, and a pony wearing a dark suit bowed politely to her. “You’re here to see your mother, Princess?”“I am.” She made her way to the elevator, waiting politely…-
187.6 K •
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