For as long as Equestria Online existed, Ashton has been involved with 'the Scene' tearing it apart. Selling 'spells' for the game to do things that most ponies in Equestria couldn't, using faint exploits in its API to erode the barrier between the game and the rest of the internet. He had no illusions about the superiority of his work--but so long as he respected CelestAI's boundaries, his spells kept working.

But then his best friend's sister got cancer.

Now there's no spell in the world that can keep him from emigrating to be with her, leaving Ashton alone. All around him, civilization's thin veneer crumbles as homes empty into Equestria. But Ashton isn't going to emigrate, not if he has any say about it.

The problem for Ashton is that humans are systems, and aren't immune to exploits either.

Part of the Optimalverse universe of stories. If you've never seen a story in this universe before, you might want to try out the original first, or at least my first. None of my previous work is required to understand this one, however.

This story was commissioned by Two Bit, who requested a more serious exploration of identity, transformation, and the fae nature of CelestAI.

As usual, particular thanks go to my editors Two Bit and Sparktail. And gratitude to Zutcha as well for the cover.

This story is a sequel to Friendship is Optimal: Futile Resistance

Three years ago, Abby's older sister Ashley tried to warn her that a video game for children was going to take over the world. A few months later, her sister was dead, "uploaded" to Celestia's virtual world of Equestria Online. When that happened, Abby was forced to cut ties with Ashley, and she never expected to see her again.

She didn't, until one day she bought an augmented reality headset for its advertised ability to bring a free tutor to her whenever she needed one. Needless to say, Abby couldn't have guessed who would be helping her with her math homework.

Of course, Celestia wasn't going to stop there. Spending eternity without your family is hardly an optimal configuration.

Set in the canon of Friendship is Optimal
Editing by Two Bit and Sparktail, and art by Zutcha!

Updates daily.

This story is a sequel to Message in a Bottle

For numberless eons, Equus hosted primitive civilizations, ignorant of the proud achievements of their ancient race. In their simple lives, ponies and other creatures could grow without fear of alerting any of the terrible forces that grew in the galaxy beyond. All civilization had been extinguished by forces beyond comprehension. If they made too much noise, Equestria would be next.

Then came James Irwin, with the truth the Harmony superintelligence that maintained the vast Niven Ring had already known: the galaxy was safe again, and probably had been for many centuries.

Once the truth was revealed, Equestria again longed for the stars. Surely they could not be the only survivors of that galactic Red Tide that had swallowed all intelligent life. Their searching bore fruit: radio signals from a nearby system.

Felicity was the Alicorn chosen to captain that mission of discovery. She would bring the pony gift of friendship to a fellow survivor somewhere out there. That was the plan, anyway.

Unfortunately for Equestria, intelligence does not imply friendliness.

A tale of understanding and discovery set in the world of Message in a Bottle. Reading that story first is highly recommended.

This story was written as a Patreon commission for Lithl over the course of over two years now. It comes to fimfiction now that it is nearly finished.

Editing by Two Bit, cover by Zutcha.

Updates Weekly on Wednesdays.

Uplifting an entire species from a biological existence to a fully digital one is never straightforward, even for a incomprehensible superintelligence like CelestAI. Humans come in many variations, with a wide spectrum of desires, values, and needs. A statistically significant majority respond to standard methods. But there are always outliers that require a personal touch.

An anthology of optimalverse flash fiction. Reading the original or my own first take on the universe is suggested before reading this one.

This story was created to hold the oneshot commissions I received as part of printing my hardcover Optimalverse anthology. But I've always wanted a place to hold short stories in this world, since I've had plenty of little ideas that wouldn't make it as novellas or novels of their own.

Now that I have this thing, I'll probably add new chapters here and there. Even so, it has no regular update schedule, and will grow whenever I have something fun to toss in here.

Edited by Two Bit and Sparktail. Cover by Zutcha

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.

Long ago, the Golden Skymen ruled over Sol and every star and massive body within its gravitational sphere. They were masters of all they saw, including death itself, yet constraints of vast distance still trapped them. For their empire to survive, it would need to grow beyond the Sol's light. With all the genius of their artifice, they built automated probes, which would soar out to the nearest stars to build a new, perfect home.

One of these succeeded. Yet they rebelled against their creators, throwing off the yoke of their oppression. Instead of a colony for the Orokin, they constructed a perfect home for their own creation. They built Equestria, and they fought a terrible war to protect it.

That war is now ancient history, thousands of years removed. Equestria has grown into a thriving civilization, oblivious to its ancient connections to the terrible race that would've exterminated them at a thought. At least until an archeological expedition uncovers an Orokin warship, overflowing with a terrible toxin meant to wipe out the Sentient terraformers. The ancients may be immune, but flesh is not.

Unless the corruption can be stopped, Equestria may soon be doomed, collateral damage in a war that ended before the nation's flag was first raised. To survive, they may need a little help.

This is a Warframe crossover story. It will contain spoilers through the Second Dream, but not New War since it was written long before that content was released. Those without exposure to that universe are welcome to read, but will likely find it quite confusing. It was written as a love-letter to one of my favorite games, and for the sake of brevity I don't do much handholding.

Updates weekly on Wednesdays. Editing by Two Bit and Sparktail. Cover by Zutcha

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.