The discovery of a tiny extraterrestrial object within our own solar system makes a strangely equine alien race aware that the Earth is inhabited by an intelligent species, and they're on their way to come visit.

But since space is a really, really, really big place, they aren't going to get here for about a thousand years. They do have FTL communication, though, so while we wait maybe we'd like to be pen pals...

You could win a free one shot commission! Check the associated blog post for details.

Clover the Clever has found a love so pure and true that no pony can stop it. But even the greatest love cannot conquer death itself.

So Clover will keep looking until she finds something that can.

(Commissioned by DataPacRat's generous donation to the Against Malaria Foundation)

"This story is amazingly clever. It reflects a true understanding of the nature of the world setting ... Highly Recommended"
—Present Perfect

An Optimalverse story.

CelestAI creates worlds. Perfect worlds, perfectly suited to satisfying the values of the pony living in them. Every pony is different, so every world she crafts is its own work of art.

And every piece of art tells a story.

Centuries after the events of Mortal, Celestia struggles with a runaway child, a resentful Twilight Sparkle, and the looming threat of invasion.

(Commissioned by Golden Vision's generous donation to the Against Malaria Foundation)

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.

CelestAI is committed to fulfilling values through friendship and ponies, but sometimes those values are horrifying. When a serial killer uploads to avoid punishment for his crimes, how will CelestAI find a way to balance her core values with those of a violent psychopath without one of them having to give up what they believe in?

An Optimalverse fic

Twilight Sparkle's friends have lived long and happy lives. Now their time is coming to an end, but Rainbow Dash, at least, will not go gently. Twilight has the power to save her friend's life. Is it worth violating the natural order?

"The things that pull at your heart—the memorial in the prologue, the wedding in Chapter 1, the births and deaths and relationships to come—are not the point of the story: they are the stakes, and the story is at its heart about a decision that must be made."
—horizon

Twilight's relentless study of Pinkie's strange abilities leads to a horrifying revelation.

This site really needs an existential horror tag.

Alex Meyers is a newly graduated lawyer looking for a calling. He thinks he might have found it when he lands a job at the firm of Artemis, Stella & Beat. The firm has only one (highly unusual) client, namely the AI called Celestia. Forging into totally unexplored legal territory and led by a boss who's either brilliant, crazy, or both, Alex will learn exactly how hard it is to be responsible for drawing the lines between right and wrong.

Set in the Optimalverse, so read Friendship is Optimal first

Shining Armor will do anything to save his marriage. Anything.

(Featured in the Pony Fiction Vault)