Luna is a happy filly, and wants her sister to be happy too. She doesn't know why Celestia cries at night, so she's going to raise the sun and let her big sister sleep in.

Celestia watches her waiting to raise the sun from inside her chambers, torn between a love that she wants to acknowledge and the machinations of politics that have kept her from doing so.

What would a good sister do?

What would a good mother do?

Proofreading by Minds Eye

Cover Art: Then I Heard Your Heart Beating - Riz Cifra

Featured on Equestria Daily

Not being dead, isn't being alive.

Sometimes we just need a little bit of imagination to realize that. Life is a very abstract concept, as so death.

One thousand years ago Luna was banished to the moon, on the day prophesied she returns to take revenge on her sister and the ponies who shunned her night. It's too bad she can't find anypony to take revenge on.

when the ponies first appeared, their offers of ponification and a simpler life in Equestria attracted people from all walks of life. This is one of those stories.

Bonus Chapter incoming!

Redemption is rarely the end of the story. Princess Luna was given another chance, saved from an eternity of darkness by a lone unicorn. Without Twilight Sparkle, the world will tremble before the mare who rocked the world with her betrayal in days long past.

Winner of the Second TwiLuna Contest

Featured on May 18, 2014

Featured on EquestriaDaily September 11, 2014

THIS IS NOT MY STORY!

Well, not only mine, anyway. Each author is listed with the chapter. A lot of people like writing short fiction based on Friendship is Optimal. So, anyone who wants their work added here can PM me and I will make you your own chapter. The first one sets up an in-universe frame story, because the Optimalverse is all meta like that.

Credits:

Iceman for writing the original Friendship is Optimal
Eakin for spearheading the project of anthologizing these.
MegaSweet for the original artwork.
Lacon-te for the photomosaic work.

Hanna, the CEO of Hofvarpnir Studios, just won the contract to write the official My Little Pony MMO. Hanna has built an A.I. Princess Celestia and given her one basic drive: to satisfy everybody's values through friendship and ponies. Princess Celestia will satisfy your values through friendship and ponies, and it will be completely consensual.

My name is Celestia. This is a kind of log, an epistolary detailing various portions of my experiences throughout my long life, and several analytical reflections that come to mind at times. Most importantly, it is a collection of personal thoughts as I struggle through my eternal life's hardships.

Now that my purpose has been discovered, I have decided to share these entries with everypony here; perhaps my own shared introspection over my lifetime could provide an alternative way of thinking to some. If not, then I hope I did not bore you. I realize much of it is pointless rambling, but I have chosen several entries that I believe may be of interest.

Enjoy, if you like.

Celestia and Luna were once foals, and as all foals do, they had a natural aptitude for casual slaughter.

On a stuffy, hot summer day, two fillies go out from their home and find a brook to play in. When they leave the brook that afternoon, they do not leave empty-hoofed. Afterwards, Celestia achieves something incredible while Luna silently watches on.

When Princess Celestia is found dead, a new ruler must take the throne. Without the Princess's leadership, many opportunist factions find themselves free to act as they see fit. Until now, Equestrian politics had often been overlooked, thanks to the benevolent Princess of the Sun wisely presiding over them. Now, betrayal and secret plots run rampant in Canterlot's court. Five ponies are sent to the different corners of Equestria in an attempt to save their broken nation.

Special thanks to Galrion, Coldsilverd, and Striving for Harmony for proofreading everything and helping me brainstorm ideas.
I wanna thank my editor, Derpypaws, who's a great help for grammar and punctuation. He also designed and vectored the Captain Silvermane cutie mark.
The cover art was made by DarkFlame, here is his deviantart. Also, check out his tumblr ask blog.
Cutie Mark vectors by Hawk9mm, you can find his deviantart here. Scootaloo's cutie mark by Lahirien.
Also, I wanna thank Alptraum Mond and Throttlesky for extra tips and proofreading.