Chrysalis was certain that it was the time to birth a successor to the throne after capturing all of her enemies. But her reign came to a swift end and she could no longer abstain the birth when she had finally begun. Her child was born under her sole protection. No changeling army to ward off her foes, no secure hive to leave her child in with complete safety.

But then she established a truce with Tirek and Cozy Glow and together they had attained the power of Grogar from the legends. Before her successor would hatch from its egg, she will attain a kingdom that is befitting of the next queen...But in the end, she failed yet again.

Peace was struck amongst many creatures in Equestria and they have lived plentifully of years of harmony and happiness. But what of the egg that only Chrysalis knew of? The egg that was now orphaned due to the power of friendship.

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Chapter 15: Monster Brawl

Cover art commissioned by Doodle-Mark

Editors:

• Sweetolebob18
  (7, 8, 9, 10...)
• Faded Echoes
  (7, ...)

Magic, the most forbidden art. Only nobles are allowed to learn from the great wizards and witches, and only from special schools set up by the state. For commoners, learning the mystic arts is nothing but a dream, a fantasy that many strive for but none achieve.

With one exception: Stalliongrad. The great, northern city boasted more magic schools than any other, and among them, the only one that accepts low born ponies. It's a dangerous trek to get there, and even more dangerous to simply stay in the frozen city.

Twilight Sparkle, however, will not be stopped. Destined to become the archmage, destined to sit at Princess Luna's side, she will not be stopped.

After all, Archmage Twilight Sparkle has a nice ring to it.

The relics from a distant age, long forgotten by the pony kind. Twilight Sparkle is now tasked with retrieving them. Is this task proven too much for her? Is the Princess of Friendship ready for this challenge?

Twilight Sparkle has always respected the laws of science and magic. It's a respect that got her a scholarship to SGU, where she formed a small but comfortable group of friends and has received top grades in her two years there. It's a life that makes sense.

With her final year beginning and a special instruction from the Princess to bond with a fellow pupil, Twilight has enough to fill her life and her mind. It doesn't make sense that she should have recurring dreams about a mysterious mare, that this mare seems eerily familiar despite being a total stranger, or that she can recall the dreams with unusual clarity.

Twilight has questions about Equestria and about herself, and the answers could reshape her perception of both. She begins her research with a central question:

What lies beyond the edge of a dream?

Featured on Equestria Daily

Leaving home meant losing many of Orson's old friends, separated by time and distance. But they weren't willing to give up one thing: their old tabletop game. After trying and rejecting each of the online tools for roleplaying games, they stumbled on a novel solution: Equestria Online.

The game was unlike everything else on the market, an entire procedural generated world ran by a mysterious curator artificial intelligence. But Orson and the others didn't care about any of that--they just needed somewhere with a game table and some dice. The AI happily obliged, and soon they transitioned all their games to E.O. Equestria Online had its own host of benefits, bringing the GM's images to realistic life before their eyes, and even letting them visit and interact with the characters between sessions.

That was only the beginning...

A Friendship is Optimal story. I suggest any readers who are unfamiliar with that universe read the Original first, or FiO: Futile Resistance before reading this one. None of my other optimalverse stories are required to understand this one.

Written as a Patreon reward for Sparktail, though we stole the idea from Silver Wing.

Edited by Two Bit and Sparktail, cover by Zutcha.

Updates weekly on Wednesdays.

When it turns out you were born with a dual nature that made you a monster in the eyes of some, in need of strict control by others, and miserable to yourself, what do you do when you finally are free to be you again, and all your friends turn on you?

Find someone to vent to who understands your pain.

This came into my head today. I had to put it into text. No, I'm not actually that badly depressed today. Just kinda sick and cold medicine hit me hard. Might end up expanding on the universe in another story.

Thad was the editor for this.

I have no idea what happened. One second, I'm sitting at my desk, working. The next second, I'm Sombra. Or rather, I'm in his body. And nobody seems to believe me about it...

Now with (amazing!) cover art by Mix Up. You can find their work here.

"Long ago, this crown rested on the head of those who would rule, and still it seeks the true liege." Spike thought it looked neat and put it on. Things happened, and he's not entirely unhappy with the result. Twilight does not approve.

Done as a one-off commission, enjoy!

When I agreed to be sent to Equestria I didn't read the fine print. I'm the wrong age, the wrong sex, and lost in the wilderness.

New Cover art commissioned from Lunar Froxy.

In the beginning, The Great Weaver brought together the world, from the mountains to the forests. Stitching it together, the Great Tapestry connects all living and nonliving things.

The Changelings found themselves especially connected to this Tapestry. Legend says that the first Changelings fell through the world as it was woven together, only to be caught on the First Weave beneath it all.

But what happens when something else is caught in the Weave?

Prince Phasmatodea, son of Queen Chrysalis, remembers what it was like before he hatched. He remembers being a human. He remembers dying. And he fully intends on avoiding another death.

But being gifted a new life does not matter when one failure, one false step, will lead to your untimely demise in the Changeling hive, for Prince Phasma must survive his toughest adversary from the start: Mother Dearest.

Cover art as of 1/18/21 by Nixworld