This story is a sequel to Looking Glass

Page is stuck. He never wanted to be a Prince. But he can't just... stop. Ponies are depending on him now and he's feeling the pressure.

Being a Prince isn't all that it's cracked up to be. It's all work and so much responsibility. Ponies plot against you constantly. Luckily, sometimes it's for your own good.

Other times... not.

Big thanks to Arratra for betaing this one.

Everyone knows the story of how the Mane Six came together to defeat Nightmare Moon, right? Nnnope! At least, not in this alternate universe where Harmony had other ideas.

Equestria's history is full of wonders, both magical and mechanical. But only twice has it succeeded in implementing AI.

The latest iteration is an apple farmer whose resurrection is celebrated by everypony except herself. Because really, once every part has been replaced, what is left that can measure a mare?

An entry for the 2023 Sci-Fi Contest, where it nabbed a respectable fourth place. Yay, existential robot ponies!

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.

A refined mare fresh out of high school and a dropout following her dreams find themselves forced to spend a lot of time together.

With the help of a meddling psychology tutor and their new classmates, can they find what they've been looking for?

French Translation!

Fan Stuff!

Sunset Shimmer's life was good, she had plenty of friends and greatly enjoyed where she had eventually ended up in life. It's a shame then that reality had a different opinion on where she belonged. Now stuck in the past prior to first leaving for the human world, Sunset will have to figure out what kind of direction she wants to take in life this time around.

After all, the future she herself lived with her friends was not reachable without doing things that she now found appalling. Even so, she knows that staying in Equestria could very well doom the world to a much darker future. If she had time to draft a plan she could probably figure out something that would keep herself out of the way while also not affecting the timeline, it's a shame then that the two princesses of Canterlot would just not leave her alone!

Apparently this thing got feature mere days after publishing... somehow.

This story is a sequel to A Very Batty Hearth's Warming

The small village of Nocturnis is growing, things are peaceful, the magical dome to protect the town is close to completion, the train is once more working to connect to the rest of Equestria and Princess Luna is coming to visit. Things are looking good for Prince Page!

He really should have known better than that.

Cover image by DALL-E AI.

This story is a sequel to A Noble Death

For the former Spartan Noble Six, life after death no longer holds any mysteries. Finding herself in the aftermath of a war against the changelings that she had brutally finished, Six has to contend with one of the greatest challenges a soldier can face: walking away from war.

Only a month after the Changeling-Pony War ended, another changeling monarch appears in Canterlot. King Phasmatodea of the Fifth Hive, a complete unknown to pony and changeling alike. Battleworn and rich with mysteries, knowledge, and artifacts, King Phasma catches the eye of both the Princesses of Equestria and Six. To the Princesses, he is the ticket to preventing a future war with the changelings. To Six, this King Phasma seems to be more important than any native she has met, for he claims to be something that Six swore she would never see again: another human.

Cover art by Frazy#1225
Written in collaboration with K.K. Slider
Warning this story contains spoilers for the two stories A Noble Death and Changing Expectations
Edited by AlwaysTired and UnamusedWaffle

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

For centuries, the galaxy has burned in an eternal war. Wielding their magical might, the Enti sweep across space, slaughtering and enslaving all they encounter. A loose alliance of the remaining intelligence races, without magic of their own, can barely even slow them down.

Scouting on a remote edge of the galactic rim, humanity discovers a trump card: Equus. This planet overflows with magic, and has a culture inherently friendly and receptive to diplomacy. First contact was made, and soon all of Equus took a giant leap into the space age. Despite their incredible magic, Equestria is a minor power, with very little to offer the war. Instead of giving ships, Equus volunteer their diplomatic aptitude. They can't save the galaxy by force of arms, but maybe they can find the free people of the galaxy some powerful new friends.

Princess Twilight nominates six of her most loyal and trustworthy students to perform this incredible task. Armed with powerful artifacts of protection, they set out to meet with the only powerful neutral party in the war, and win them over to the Stellar Compact.

If they fail, all nonmagical life in the galaxy may be doomed to conquest and death. No pressure, Ocellus.

Cover by Zutcha. Edited by Two Bit and Sparktail
Commissioned by Vilken666 on my Patreon