Chapters
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"Sorry about your scooter," Cerulean said, apparently from just beside her. Vera turned, and the seapony was there on the deck, sprawled out in the sun like she was. She looked a little like a seal when she did it, the lively muscle of her body flattening out under the unexpected load of gravity. She could still see through the fish to her boat on the other side. It was easier to see through the illusion. "If it was connected, I could've warned you not to use it. But it was way too old to be integrated. I…-
21.7 K •
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It was possible, though it turned out to be less necessary than she might've expected. She gave the remedial dive that weekend, and two of her students had their ponies ask her for dive-computers of their own. That pattern repeated itself in the following weeks. And some of her more frequent customers already had Equestrian devices of their own that would serve the same purpose, even if they weren't exactly designed as dive-computers.Vera didn't just salvage the rest of the season, but things became even…
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21.7 K •
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Bennie and Roderick arrived at the dock early that morning, in that silly pink minivan covered with rust-spots. Vera watched them from the dock, leaning against the railing to help support her weight.She could've sworn that every time she saw that old beater Bennie found some way to make it crazier. Were those seats zebra-striped?Bennie practically leapt from the passenger-seat, crossing straight to her. "Hey Vera. How're you feeling?"They exchanged cheerful hugs. Her eyes settled on the fish that circled…
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21.7 K •
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Vera had a bad leg, not bad arms. She heaved herself out of the water, raising the safety-line with revenant care. Good thing too, the spool was just about out of cord. She flopped onto her chest on the rocky floor, which had mercifully worn smooth by the passage of water over it. She spat out the regulator, then took a few cautious breaths. The air was damp and strange, but she felt nothing unusual from it. "Is this safe to breathe?" she asked, glancing back down at the water's surface. "Cerulean?"The…
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21.7 K •
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Vera drifted.At first she hardly noticed anything was different—the water here was the perfect temperature, and there was no pesky brace or harness to weigh her down. The sound of distant surf was hardly unusual to her ears. It was the soothing sound of returning to shore after a long dive. Or just wading out into the surf and letting it carry her away from shore, where the world hadn't ended and her family weren't dead.She didn't really want to move, or even open her eyes. She was so unbelievably…
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21.7 K •
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Sweetie Belle dragged her hooves through Carousel Boutique. It didn't matter how long it had been since she'd woken to the smell of steaming hotcakes. She could drench them with syrup, and tell her big sister about the plans for her next adventure this lazy summer day.Rarity wasn't in the kitchen, though. Her sister had more important things to do. Sweetie passed the pantry without a second glance. She didn't feel much like breakfast anyway.Sand and bits of broken glass rubbed painfully against her hooves…-
2.8 K •
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Charlie wasn't sure what he had expected to find in this trip. An opportunity to bring his increasingly-distant best friend back down to earth, maybe. A nice Saturday away from the pressure of the city and the vicarious stress of his patients. Sure. But evidence, even fleeting circumstantial evidence, that his friend was right, that hadn't been on the agenda. Charlie sat and watched as his friend prepared for his “ritual.” Of course he'd seen most of this crazy stuff before. Pretty rocks, bits of rare…-
170.4 K •
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For days, or maybe hours, or maybe minutes, Derek dreamed. Dreamed of pain unrealized, of agonies unfulfilled. Dreamed of shadows that swam in distant places, and emerged to strike him down. Dreamed of small spaces, and small creatures that fled forever and never found relief.Then the dreaming ended, and Derek wasn't Derek anymore.There was cold first, liquid that soaked into a tight mat of cloth, or maybe something else. There were sensations, but none that made sense. The ground was rough, and smells of…
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170.4 K •
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Derek could barely think through the aching in her head long enough to focus on the world around her. If she relaxed for even a second, the incongruous feelings of her body would return to assault her, with legs that were too long, hands that weren't there when she expected them, ears that somehow moved her hair around when her emotions grew a little too strong.Even worse, she had Charlie right beside her, putting constant pressure on her to solve this. She was the one who had got them into this mess, she…
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170.4 K •
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Charlie wasn't going to cry, she wasn't going to cry, she wasn't going to cry. She was too big for that, too old for that, too brave. The last time she had cried, it was because there was bone poking through her skin from a devastating compound fracture. Yet the horse's words cut even deeper than any broken leg. Bones could be reset, legs stitched, and muscles mended. But what if she never got to see her home again?"I have a..." She tried to form words, but her tongue tripped over itself. Some of them hurt…
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170.4 K •
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