Chapters
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Sweetie was on her back in the sand. She wasn't sure exactly how long she had been out there—hours, maybe days? This world had many of the same truths about it as her body in the real one—she never got tired, never got worn out or sick, never needed a break. She never needed to eat or use the restroom either, though both of those things were still available in her new virtual home.Even if her mind didn't feel any different after a few hours straight of calls and interviews, some subconscious part of…-
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There was much to say to Scootaloo—many words to exchange, friendship to renew, and tears to be shed. Sweetie told her as little as she could about the events of her escape, painful as they were to contemplate. She was grateful that so few memories of that experience survived—all she really had to know was that it was difficult and painful.But that conversation was the easy one—the one that would've happened to any two friends reuniting after a difficult experience. The much harder part was what…
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Sweetie continued up an endless, grinding slope towards the surface. With each step, she slogged her way upward, always moving towards her memory of the surface. Sometimes she dragged herself along so harshly that her body scratched and scraped in the process. Better her than the injured mare she carried—her parts could always be replaced. Her friend, not so much.She couldn't say exactly how long it took. She diverted whatever power she had towards the simple task of climbing out. One more step in front…
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Sweetie Belle lay somewhere dark. She wasn't sure exactly how she'd gotten there. At first she knew nothing at all—then a distant, background panic joined her, pressing in on her from all sides. Whatever was going on, Scootaloo was in danger! She had to find her friend!Sweetie struggled, willing her horn to light—and it came on. The fear was far too sharp for her to notice or even care what kind of magic it was.She was in a dark room, with shiny floors, white walls, and a curtain just beside her. The…
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Before Sweetie stood an impossible choice.She could save the data stored on this brain—data that was somehow also her, in a way that did not exactly make sense to her. But doing so would require her to change the mind there, without their knowledge or consent."I assume... I can't wake them up and ask?" she prompted Capacitor, looking up hopefully. "If I turned them on, I mean. The brain is intact, so..."Capacitor looked away from her, shaking his head with a mixture of regret and guilt. "With the right…
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It was a good thing Sweetie Belle had the entire night to think about what she would say next. She'd known this conversation would happen sooner or later. If she tried to make it later, her friend might just die of anxiety. Her little hummingbird heart could only take so much stress."If you can let me go at my own pace—and if you can be okay with being with a mechanical pony. And... if you can be okay with not knowing if it will work out. Nopony has ever tried to have a special somepony who was made of…
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Just like that, the comparison was finished. She looked up from her other desk, setting down the library books that had occupied her attention during the intervening time. Outside her room, the sun was fully up, lighting the town beyond with creamy yellow. If she wanted, she could go out into that warmth and explore it, without having to be constantly watching for where she would find her next charger. It was almost as good as being alive. But she wouldn't be going out just then, not with something much…
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They didn't stay together much longer that night. Scootaloo insisted on walking her home, in a constant state of awkward silence. She had plenty of opportunities to test her new ability to smell and feel.Eventually they were back at the Boutique. They just looked at each other, with neither daring to speak. Sweetie reached for the handle, then pulled back. She ought to say something after a night like that."I hope I didn't go too far," her friend finally said. "If you were uncomfortable, you can tell me.…
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Sweetie Belle could get used to her new body. It wasn't the kind of lesson she could learn in a day, or even a week. There was no magic switch she could flip and suddenly be comfortable with her greater height, strength, and grace. All that took the adaptation circuits Lucid had told her about, and that hardware took a long time to work. But it did work.As the days passed, she became far less overwhelmed by the return of two old but familiar senses. Touch and smell were back, far stronger than she had…
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Sweetie Belle had a bevy of strange experiences since she woke up. It was unnatural to come back from the dead, both for her and everyone around her. But nothing quite prepared her for what it was like to circle her own body—a mechanical corpse, waiting to be born.Lucid was there of course, wearing a lab coat laundered and starched for the cameras. Just as the first moment she woke up, this was as big a moment for him as it was for her. With the activation of that body, he would make another step to…
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