The world ended.

That, at least, is what it sounded like. Screaming, howling, and then deathly silence.

A month later, Cheerilee and Scootaloo emerge from their shelter in search of food. As they search among the dead bodies of their friends, only one question comes to mind:

Where are the unicorns?

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Written for the Quills and Sofas Cheerilee contest.

Featured on May 18th, 2021!

This story is a sequel to The Poisoned Barb

Prequel reading is recommended to enjoy, as well as a steady reading pace.

I was once a woman in her twilight. I was once a mother and a wife. I was once a respected human being. I was once unquestionably happy.

Now I am Barbara The Dragoness; property of House Shine, Squire to Prince Solaris, Assistant to Apprentice Dusk Shine... and master of my own fate.

This is the story of my second childhood, and how I found the strength to keep moving forward.

Welcome to my new life.
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Cover Art by Koviry!

~Completely Re-edited as of 06/13/2021~

I was once a woman in her twilight, my children both old and fresh.

Now I am the child.

I was once a mother and a wife, my family held importance above even my own well-being in my heart.

Now I am orphaned.

I was once a respected human being, a woman to treat as an equal.

Now I am simply an assistant.

I was once happy.

Now...

... Now I am Barbara The Dragoness.

Barbara the assistant.

Barbara the child.

Barbara the widow.

Barbara...

The Lost Soul.

This is the story of my second childhood, and how I found the strength to keep moving forward.

Twilight Sparkle is undeniably a prodigy and has the skill and knowledge of a unicorn five years her elder as well as the power of one as well. This knowledge and power has drawn Princess Celestia's attention, with the alicorn beginning to wonder if the young unicorn will be the one to fulfill an ancient prophecy that would save her sister. A prophecy that would have come to fruition, had the alicorn's own checkered past not come back to doom the filly to a life of fire and brimstone.

Go check out this story's sister story!
Updates twice a month!

Story So Far (Been awhile? Get up to speed by checking out this blog!)

In the far reaches of Canterlot Castle, high above in the towers lived the archmage. Everypony knew her, yet few had met her.

Twilight Sparkle sighed, having teleported away another noble seeking favors before reaching the top of the stairs for the second time today. They never learned. As the archmage, she already dealt with political squabbles far too often without inviting them into her home. Aside from personal favors for Celestia, she did what was required of her position and then returned to seclusion and research.

The nobility grumbled that no archmage should be a commoner, and Twilight’s disrespect toward them proved it. Each and every time they were forced to bow to her, they hated what they saw: the position, the status, the deference.

Was she not powerful? Was she not great?

Twilight, now reading through dusty scrolls and long forgotten tales, wrote in her notes — notes gathering dust of their own. A brief thought flashed through her mind.

Am I not powerful? Am I not great?

And then Twilight picked up The Tale of the Royal Pony Sisters.

Defunct side stories told in Across the Boundary. They can still provide a little context, but when in doubt, the main story here is canon.

Cover art provided by Lafiir

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.

Luna was always alone on the moon, and it was obvious why. It was a banishment, but...

Sometimes she swore she heard a voice, a low and rough voice that could sound like crashing waves or gentle tides. She assumed she was hallucinating, because who would be connected enough to the moon to speak to her? Who would care enough to speak to her?

The Sea finds himself in a body he hadn't donned in over a thousand years. With only a vague guess as to why, he ventures out to right the wrongs his subjects had committed over the course of his incorporeality. Surely, he'll be able to accomplish it with no orphan-pegasi-related complications, right?

...Right?

Edit: Featured on 3/24/21! Thank you all, I'm over the moon about that!

Strumming Heartstrings of the Equestrian Intelligence Services is on a mission. A mission from ... well, actually she just made one up for herself. Sure, she has her actual job of keeping an eye on Celestia's ex-student Sunset Shimmer, but that's not enough to occupy all her time. After all, Sunset seems to have gotten a bit better about not getting herself into too much trouble. Sometimes. Occasionally.

Thus, when Strumming encounters a mad zebra seemingly obsessed with getting revenge against the gryphons who injured him years ago, it seems like it might be an interesting diversion. Little does she know there's more to this case than meets the eye...

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