For a thousand years, there was just Celestia. Then Cadance appeared, Luna returned -- and now Twilight has ascended. There are ponies who are very curious about just what happened, why -- and how. Especially the how. Twilight herself is on that list, a freshly-minted princess with far more questions than answers, about to face a brand new one: what truly makes an alicorn?

And what happens if it goes wrong?

(Part of the Triptych Continuum, which has its own TVTropes page and FIMFiction group. New members and trope edits welcome.)

Now with author Patreon and Ko-Fi pages.

Cover art by Harwick.

It wasn't Eric's fault he hit the alien with his truck. How was he supposed to see a dog-sized horse walking down the highway in the pouring rain? His life would've been simpler if he just left the animal like any other roadkill. But in his injured delirium, the horse spoke.

This accident soon ends with an intimate personal knowledge of just how dangerous magic can be. An ancient rises, tied to a mysterious tome the pegasus was protecting on the night of the accident. A malevolent force grows within those pages, whispering louder and louder about the cleansing flame. But without the spells inside that cursed tome, Eric's humanity will be gone forever.

He has no choice but to master the words of power contained within, before his life is turned to ashes around him

A commission for Muziki. Edited by Two Bit and Sparktail. Cover by Zutcha.

The various artistic works created for this story are credited to their artists within the chapter they appear.

Luna's return and Twilight's ascension to rulership of Equestria helped usher in an age of scientific and magical innovation. She and her slow-aging and long-lived friends lived through tumultous times of discovery and progress, and now Equestria is beginning its first true forays into deep space.

But someone has to be out there, representing Twilight and speaking on her behalf. She can't go herself--FTL travel is still primitive and time consuming. She needs someone out there trekking the stars, keeping up with the growing network of colonies. Someone with diplomatic chops, a vivid imagination, impeccable manners, and a lot of charisma. Rarity is eager to help her wife out in a once in a lifetime opportunity to see the worlds, literally.

Twilight Sparkle's coronation as the sole ruler of Equestria is right around the corner. To not disappoint her, Sunset Shimmer decides to come back to Equestria for the first time since her theft of the Princess's crown to attend.

Said Princess's student, Starlight, is there to greet her, but the two of them are surprised to find that Sunset is a princess herself - or at least an alicorn, and her arrival may have unintended consequences for a trio of recently imprisoned villains.

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.

A series of strange and singular stories picked properly from a proliferation of perplexing and pleasing prompts now audaciously authored into an annotated anthology by a meticulous, methodical man in a high, haughty hat.

...Or, to put it simply, this is a collection of tasty, bite-sized stories typically written for speed-writing contests or just because the fancy took me!

I hope you enjoy them! Kindly consider adding it to a bookshelf as stories will be ongoing.

Cover art by Colby Green at Snailbunny Designs.

Have you ever had a dream that just seemed so real, that it was impossible to say for certain that it was even a dream at all? A dream that, despite all of its impossibilities, seemed to re-write your entire perception of reality, re-writing your sense of what—and indeed, who—you are? Accepting change is hard enough as it is. But when you're a somebody who wakes up as a somepony, how do you cope with the impact such a drastic change has on your mind and body? With changes like these, it must surely just be a lucid dream—albeit a suspiciously accurate one—just brimming with potential and ripe for exploration. So you might as well suck it up and make the most of these distressingly…unusual circumstances, and seize this psychological adventure before you wake up and the dream ends.
After all, this couldn't possibly be real, so the dream must come to an end eventually…right?

Princess Cadance and Queen Chrysalis find themselves trapped in a dangerous dream world, and must work together if they want to survive. As they travel through a shared nightmare, can they come to understand each other, or will this all end in tears?

Set after Thorax ousts Chrysalis from the changeling hive, this story explores the past and present of the former queen as she survives alone among the ponies. Princess Cadance shares the spotlight with the exiled changeling queen, as she fights to stay afloat under the weight of her duties as a princess, and her own past comes back to haunt her.

Inspired by the lack of clear canon backstories for both Cadance and Chrysalis, and a hoof-ful of dubiously canon stories from material outside of the show, as well as all the beautiful Chrysalis x Cadance shipping art out in the wider internet, which I can never get enough of, and the song Lovefool, by the Cardigans.

<<< Updates monthly on the 11th >>>

Proofread by TemporalReverie and Avery Day (Thank you!) Cover art by AbbyTabby on tumblr, used with permission.

The storm is breaking on the Horizon.

It's been two months since the battle against Nightmare Moon. Luna is recovering, Celestia is busy turning the government back into a diarchy, and the Mane Six have returned to their lives. All seems well, but when Celestia discovers that half of the power of the Elements of Harmony have been transferred to each of the Bearers, she decides to send thirteen mysterious members of the Royal Guard to monitor them as they manifest and develop their new abilities.

The sins of a forgotten war still linger, and an ancient evil lurks in the shadows, just waiting for the right time to strike. The Mane Six suddenly find themselves once again at the heart of a conspiracy to bring about Eternal Night, and only by awakening their powers and realizing their full potential can they do anything to stop it. Friends both old and new will help them along the way, and an unseen force will guide them as it seeks to right a wrong made thousands of years ago. The Bearer's journeys will take them outside the borders of Equestria and into the world beyond, and when they return, they'll have the power and experience necessary to save the world and bring about balance in all things.

The Powers of Harmony TV Tropes Page (SPOILERS)
The Powers of Harmony Art

Thanks to Wildy71090 for the cover pic.

It has been nearly sixty years since humanity witnessed the devastation of a World War, or any other kind of large-scale conflict. Equestria's abstinence has been even longer, with battles that rage across the entire land not being seen for centuries. Though both have seen their share of small-scale skirmishes, a duel of total annihilation across a large scale has been avoided by both sides time and again.

But peace is never lasting. For both sides, it lies on a cliff, requiring only one good push to send the participants into a plunge of death. Equestria's unexpected appearance may turn into that final push, as alliances, deception, and distrust threaten to launch a conflict that will lead both worlds to utter ruin.

CREDITS:
This work contains characters and parts created and written by other authors. I am grateful to have become friends with each of them.
Captain Jack R. Williams of the U.S.S. Boxer (LHD-4) created and written by An A10 Warthog
Captain Wilbur Hart and the U.S.S. Tippecanoe (CG-74) created and written by Totallynotabrony
Captain Starry Skies and the R.E.S. Horseshoe Bay (CSG-2) created and written by The Grey Pegasus
H.M.A.S. Sydney created and written by An Iowa Class Battleship
H.M.C.S. Presence created by Sockeye101 and written by The Rainbow Brony
USAF Pararescue team Prancer Two created and written by CptBrony
Carter Jones of the 130th Engineer Brigade written by Routine Blast
1st LT. Silverglow and the Karalian Army created and written by Silverstein.
Sergeant Jeff Thompson of C Troop, Royal Canadian Dragoons created and written by Goldenarbiter
Junior Sergeant Korrector and the 115th Motor-Rifle Division created and written by Kalash93
(More may be added over time)

NOTES:
Rated T for violence and language.
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic created by Lauren Faust and owned by Hasbro.
Any and all other works belong to their respective creators.