Chapters
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The native pony stared back at the two of them. For a few seconds, Blake was unsure if she was really seeing them—had Janet somehow spoken forbidden words? But no, a few seconds and she went back to her fridge, removing plastic trays of fresh produce from inside.Blake hadn't ever been a big fan of simple salads. But the stuff Rose was pulling out of her fridge was so fresh he could smell it. Maybe he'd give it a chance, even if the mare proceeded to remove ingredients for some kind of sandwich. A…-
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There were lots of things Vesper could do while docked in a friendly town of ponies. The temptation to go out into the world to meet them was almost irresistible, matched by only one thing: her exhaustion.Getting the Bright Hawk away from discovery by griffon pirates was no simple task, no more than staying up the long hours necessary to make sure it happened. So however much she wanted to go down into the little pony town and see the creatures it contained, her need for rest took precedence.So it was that…
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194.6 K •
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Vesper knew on paper that they were traveling to the capital. This was the center of a nation, maybe the largest country in this entire world. It was bound to be impressive. But even knowing this on paper, she was completely unprepared for what they found.As the Bright Hawk approached the city from below, she finally realized what she was looking at. This was a more subdued version of Mount Aris, where the city had been built into incongruous mountainside, somehow able to support itself despite the…
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194.6 K •
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There were probably more important things Ryan could be doing, more productive ways for him to find useful information. But the words "changeling embassy" had cemented themselves in his brain like a brand scoured on his shell. He had to investigate it for himself.It would be so easy to lose himself in a city like this. Here he could vanish into the crowd of ponies, let their incredible emotions sweep over and drown him. With such strong feelings pressing in on him from all sides, it was easy to forget…
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The crew was back by nightfall, wandering back in a few groups. At least the ones who left, anyway. Kaelynn had denied Ryan's request to come with him.For once, he hadn't been insistent, giving her some time to herself. Kaelynn visited her old water prison, floating along in the surface, skimming her book for useful songs. But mostly she was waiting for the return trip.Blake and Vesper made it back first, smelling like fried food and looking like they'd been walking through the city taking all sorts of…
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Blake led the way into the crystal caverns, heavy flashlight resting over one shoulder. It was a local model, with something magical in its guts instead of a battery. More importantly, he could use it hands-free, which was a critical quality for an animal without any hands."We should be past the last of the barricades now!" Ryan called from just behind him. Several other sets of hoofsteps kept pace, or the staggered mix of claws and hooves that were Janet’s and Galena's.Only Vesper's were missing, and he…
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194.6 K •
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Vesper was the first to pass through the Worldgate. This was a fitting reward, since she had been the one to track this one down. With several maps and some educated guesses from a book on the subject, maybe. But if it got them back to Earth, it still counted.By now she was more than prepared for the rush of water and sudden moment of painful transition. She was even expecting the stretching that came when her bat body became something that wasn't a bat anymore. But the water wasn't usually that deep, and…
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Kaelynn was... somewhere. Nowhere she wanted to be, nowhere she ever planned to visit. But it wasn't like she'd been given a choice.She spent an eternity of bumping and jostling around, with the voices of other creatures practically right outside. How many of those others might be able to rescue her, if only they had any idea what was happening? Could she somehow sing them a message?She tried a few tunes, but nothing was louder than the sound of jostling around her.At least her kidnapper had packed her jar…
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Ryan emptied everything he could onto an ancient bench, arranging the relics of Earth that had survived passage through Equestria. He hadn't brought much, considering the length of the trip so far. At least the whole thing had been wrapped firmly in a dry sack, so his passport and stuff had survived. More important than that, of course, was the phone, his voice recorder, and its spare batteries. That machine took so little power that he could probably keep his journal for months more without needing to…
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It was easily the worst hike of Jordan's life. Wearing "shoes" that were really just a few pieces of wood wrapped around his feet with strips of ripped shirt certainly didn't help. There was no trail either, just mud and hillside with briars and thorns. Before they even started he was already shivering with cold, thanks to the water in the Worldgate. By the time they got anywhere near the bottom, he'd acquired a handful of brand-new blisters.He moved roughly beside Galena the whole way down, traveling…
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