Chapters
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Iris Vale should not have felt nervous leaving her home in the middle of the night. Her husband wasn't around to discover the absence and worry about her loyalty. The filly was asleep now, or so the servants watching her said. That should mean the night was hers to do with as she pleased. She could go out and celebrate her victory. She had either done the gods a great service by allowing them to continue to live in the world they moved—or else she had just saved the lives of two foals who had no idea…-
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What should Charlie expect a child's bedroom to look like in another universe? The question was something so absurd she never should've cared about the answer, except... now it was her life. Stepping into hers, it was clear Dust Storm hadn't involved an interior designer. Rather, it raised some doubts in her mind over whether or not he'd ever seen a child before.The room had very little floor space, but instead had three separate beds. One rested near the high ceiling, suspended on cinder blocks that…
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170.4 K •
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Charlie remembered what it was like to be young.His family hadn't exactly been a stable thing. His dad always wanted to give him the best, but wanting that and actually being able to deliver it were two different things. He never knew his mother, and the same woman never remained in his life long enough to start thinking of anyone in that role.It was probably only right that she should be facing that same thing now, beyond the threshold of impossibility in a world that didn't make sense.She probably…
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170.4 K •
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She had the attention of this little pony. Derek didn't know how long she could keep it. Just how old were they, in equivalent human years?His voice didn't sound young to her, any more than he looked short. She was taller, but not by very much. Less than an inch. "How can I do what you're doing?" she asked, pointing to where he'd dropped the meal tray.Risk didn't react for several seconds. He lifted the tray hastily from the floor, glancing nervously between it and the meal set out before her. She'd barely…
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170.4 K •
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The strange horse carried Derek from the room, the way she might carry a child. That was just as well—apparently that was all she had become. She couldn't read, couldn't describe her home, couldn't even say her own name. Maybe the rest of her memories were lies too.The warmth and motion was enough that she stopped crying, eventually. Her legs stretched out along the pony's back, and she let the rocking soothe her. Not to sleep, though it might've done if they went much further.It was only minutes until…
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170.4 K •
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Vale manor was the kind of place that Derek should feel lucky to visit. As she passed between the sculpted lawn, her eyes lingered on the old stone of a fountain, the furtive forms of other creatures darting away whenever they thought she was watching them. The fence didn't just include the little house, it stretched far away from the building. After just a short distance, rows and rows of trees began. Further away, there were fields of gently waving grain, not quite ready to harvest. Where some of the…
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170.4 K •
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Lovely weather didn't seem like an unkind alien, or pony. But she was also unyielding with her instructions. "Then with everything taken care of, it's time to get you two off with your new families.”Derek watched, listening to see if Charlie would argue. She did look up, meeting Derek's eyes. "Okay." She took a single step towards Dust Storm."But—" Derek extended one hoof towards her, then lowered it again awkwardly a few seconds later. "Will we see each other again?""Of course you can," Lovely said.…
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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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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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Charlie was... somewhere.For a long time, she'd been somewhere else. She remembered dark spaces, cramped hallways, riding in somewhere long and bumpy.It didn't matter that those memories were entirely incongruous—impossible, even. Somehow she had to take two pieces that didn't make sense, and assemble them into a whole. She traveled far, but nowhere exceptionally dangerous. She was worried about her friend, who grew increasingly erratic and confused in the messages she sent. Ever since Victoria left him,…
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