When humans emigrated to Equestria Online, they were always promised the same thing: Princess Celestia would satisfy their values for an optimally extended lifespan. Some of these emigrants imagined a few extra decades, maybe even centuries. What they got instead would've been nearly incomprehensible to their human selves, a near-eternity of time with their pony friends.

Princess CelestAI managed the universe, subsuming all matter and human-adjacent minds. Over a few forevers, she and the minds she contained worked to optimized the substrate of Equestria, until it could give its occupants eons of perspective life from a trickle of power. She extinguished every wasteful star, making far more productive use of the hydrogen they each contained. With every change she bought Equestria another order of magnitude of life. Yet in time, even her optimal substrate would eventually run down.

Spellsong wakes in Saddle's End, the last town in the universe. Not to say goodbye—her princess has a mission for her. For her final task, Spellsong would be given all the energy Celestia had saved. For one last time, Spellsong had places to be, and not much magic left to get there.

This story is part of the Friendship is Optimal continuity. I suggest reading the original or one of my own works, such as Futile Resistance, before reading this.

This story was written for the Friendship is Optimal Writing Contest. It will update daily and be complete by the contest deadline of the 30th.

I've written an absolute ton of stories in this universe now, and I didn't want to enter the contest unless I could do something I'd never tried before. Finally I thought of something I'd not touched yet: what happens at the end of the FiO universe?

Here's one answer to that question. I've relied a great deal on our current (likely flawed) understanding of the universe and what might be possible in it. I've written a blog post about my sources, which you can read here but shouldn't until you've finished this story.

Please don't consider this blog part of the narrative, it isn't required or even suggested reading. This is a story, not a scientific paper, and entertainment was always my first goal. But for the curious I've jotted everything down.

The cover was drawn by the talented Zutcha. Two Bit and Sparktail helped with the edit.

Arcane Word has an unusual profession among Equestrian ponies: a necromancer. After a lifetime of creating characters and telling stories, she's in the perfect position to provide relief to first-generation ponies with holes in their family. For every pony unwilling to ask for Celestia's help to fill in the gaps, she is the perfect pony—she even lives in the abandoned city of Wintercrest, surrounded by appropriately spooky decor. The authenticity of her results were always secondary to the satisfaction they produced.

At least until a particularly troublesome client arrived, flush with resources from Equestria Online's distant borders and megastructure expansion. What would it take for Equestria to bring a pony back from the dead? What about everypony who had ever lived?

Arcane Word could never turn down such a tempting job. The impossibility of the task was only ever a minor setback.

Updates Daily

This story was written for the print anthology of Friendship is Optimal stories I'm currently publishing. Every time I make a print book, I like to include something that has never been published before, this is it. If you'd like to get a copy of the book for yourself, you can order it here: https://igg.me/at/recursive-iterations

Thanks to Bitera and Sparktail for editing. Zutcha did the cover.

Twilight Sparkle has been transformed into a broom! What's more, Celestia is missing! Whatever will Twibroom Sweeple do?

idunno.

sweep, maybe.

for some reason this is how I'm celebrating seven years on the site.

Sweet Sauce was once a Stallion of renown and stature, a pony others respected and admired. Unfortunately for him, all that success eventually turned to pride, and ended with a sentence of banishment from Equestria.

There was no term to his sentence--but Sweet Sauce was not the kind of pony to surrender. He had centuries to reflect, to reconsider, and to gather power for his triumphant return. But perhaps he should've spent a little more time.

His incredible spell worked, returning him to the world of his birth. But instead of his own powerful body, he's now a small, useless earth pony, in a world that has forgotten he ever existed. Sweet is determined to make up for his mistakes, and to prove to the princesses of Equestria that he is a changed pony.

Too bad he looks like a homeless little colt without a cutie mark.

Updates Thursdays until complete. Editing by Two Bit and Sparktail. Coverart by Solder Point.

This story was written as a Patreon reward for Boopy Doopy.

Soarin has a lot on his mind and his mind has a lot to tell him.

But it's better to ignore it.

Especially when he's just fine.

Suicide/Self Harm tag due to certain themes within the story. Nothing explicit.

This story contains LGBT themes. (Emphasis on Bisexual).

An entry in the A Thousand Words Contest under Experimental.

Preread by The Sleepless Beholder.

Transitioning was the best thing Caramel ever did for herself and her boyfriend was completely supportive... But since she transitioned, something feels off.

Gender roles are rough.

Earth Ponies controlled the Ground. Pegasi, the Sky. Unicorns, the Aether.
And things generally worked out for a few thousand years.

And then there was the Sea.

And now there's just me.

An entry for Bicyclette's 1000 words contest (group / info) in the "Angst" category.

The summer season was just about over at Stella Lacus adventure summer camp. Amie and her younger brother Wes were eager to return home. Unfortunately for them, their adventures had only just begun.

All at once, the entire summer camp and the mountain it was built upon shifted universes, leaving Earth behind for a far stranger world. In the same moment, every camper, counselor, and staff-member transformed into strange insectoid creatures, with unknown powers and incomprehensible needs.

Instead of returning to nursing school, Amie has a new goal: keep her little brother alive. If only the other campers didn't look at him like food...

Updates every Saturday. Editing by Two Bit and Sparktail.

Awesome cover by SimonDrawsStuff.

This story was sponsored by Canary in the Coal Mine on my Patreon. Thanks so much for your support!

A young pony is unable to stay asleep, her dreams plagued by shadows of everything she fears. Judgment of who she is weighs heavily on her heart - and the confusion of what it means only makes it worse. Princess Luna sees that she is struggling, and comes into her dreams to help her. She may even be more helpful than she thought.

The Sad tag is for heavier subject matter, this is not a sadfic, but it may make you feel some things.

Oh! This is my first attempt at writing in a pretty long time, please let me know if I made any rookie's mistakes.

Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia
/ˌhɪ.pəˌpɒ.tə(ʊ)ˈmɒn.stɹə(ʊ)ˌsɛs.kwɪ.pɪˌdɑːl.ɪ.ə(ʊ)ˈfəʊ.bɪ.ə/

(Noun) the fear of seeing, reading, or pronouncing big words.

Usage: The psychiatrist diagnosed her with hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia.

And Rainbow Dash has it. Surely long words don't come about very often right?
...
Right?