After over a hundred years of ruling, Princesses Celestia and Luna are finally getting around to having their capital city built. For head mason Gabion, it's a once-in-numerous-lifetimes opportunity. Canterlot can only be built once, and he's the one overseeing it.

But there's a snag. The design of the castle is eye-poppingly impractical, ready to fall over the cliff at a moment's notice. It's a sin against good architectural practices everywhere. Even Celestia's assurance that she'll personally lend her magic to help build it does little to reassure him.

...And now he'll be giving orders to Princess Celestia herself for the duration of construction. This is going to be a weird job. Maybe he can get to know her a bit, if only to make things a tad less bizarre.

Beneath the blistering blizzard and the freezing frost that swallowed the world, a group of ponies cling desperately to existence. They are the last of ponykind, and the future of their species, if one even remains, rests solely on their shoulders. Hidden in a crater from the worst of the wind, Rarity and the other ponies who managed to find shelter struggle to eke out an existence in a life governed by one rule, and one rule only:

The City Must Survive.

Cover art by Ruirik.
Editing by Solidfire.
Inspired by the wonderful game of Frostpunk.

This story is a sequel to Changeling Space Program

Twilight Sparkle's experimental interplanetary drive has malfunctioned, stranding Starlight Glimmer, Spitfire, Cherry Berry, a changeling and a dragon on a hostile planet in another universe. With limited food supplies, very little magic, no communications with home, and no way to leave the planet, they must survive until somepony rescues them.

Fortunately they crashed right next door to another creature with the exact same problem- a creature named Mark Watney.

They're going to science the buck out of everything- and do whatever it takes to survive Mars and get everybody home.

TVTropes page here! Thanks to GymQuirk for making it!

Commissioned art and fan works from the readers! Thanks, everybody!

This experiment in an updates-daily story was made possible by a generous grant from Canary in the Coal Mine and viewers like you.

(Sex tag for crude talk about sex, but no actual sex in the story.)

Twilight has a brand new theory. She has theorized that it is possible to create pocket dimensions and a way to enter them. Facing the ridicule of the rest of the theoretical magic community she has set forth to prove them wrong. She will construct a portal and enter it.

She does. Inside, she finds a field of empty white.

The story now has a dramatic reading by MrSnarky. Visit his channel on youtube.

Ponies are like those weird experimental dishes my broodmother sometimes makes: really interesting and probably good for a story, but never the type of thing I’d want to poke, for fear it might take off my hoof. I already learned my lesson the first time something I ate came back to haunt me. Sure, they're flavorful, but I’d like to be a bit more discerning when I’m trying to distinguish “edible” and “by-the-queen-it’s-looking-at-me.”

C-can I please leave the table?

I’m Nymph, and I'm now a changeling infiltrator.

Special shout-out to Georg for giving my chapters a final passover before publication! He is equal parts terrible and wonderful, and I am thankful for every bit of it.