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

Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose...

Your Familiar: She's your robotic best friend, made just for you. She will love you, care for you, and live every moment of her life devoted to you. But when all that she lives for is suddenly gone, one Familiar must find a reason to go on living anyway.

In a world where technology has freed everypony from toil and strife, the Eternal Carnival goes on. Posing as a normal organic pony, Turing Test is a freed Familiar who joins the Carnival to seek out new meaning in her life without a master.

Based on the "Familiar" universe created by GaPJaxie, who helped critique and edit this story. Also featuring characters from The Iron Horse series. No prior reading is required.

Cover art by Colby "Greenfinger" Green of Snailbunny Designs.

Nightmare Moon has returned. Princess Celestia lied and betrayed her star pupil, Twilight Sparkle, leaving her woefully unprepared to fight the Queen of the Night.

But when she fails, rather than disposing of her and the ponies that tried to help her, Nightmare Moon sees an opportunity and a necessity. Having been locked away for one thousand years, who better to help her solidify her rule and keep Equestria from collapsing, all while rubbing it in her sister's face, than her own betrayed pupil?

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.

Isolated from her friends and taken prisoner in the middle of a war, Twilight must deal with the very real dangers of being percieved as an enemy as well as the nightmares of her arrival on 'Earth'. Can she overcome her own fears and the fears of her captors? Will the wayward unicorn's assistance be a boon or a curse to the 'humans?' Most importantly, will she ever find her way home?

"In short, it's a story of friendship and plasma rifles, with the emphasis on the friendship. The characters are well written, the XCOM setting is fleshed out very well, and the story is compelling. If you love XCOM, you'll love the story, but even if you've never heard of it, it's more than worth giving the first 3 chapters a read.

There's excellent action later on, but the real strength lies in the collision between the friendly and naive world of Twilight Sparkle and the desperate world of humans fighting a losing war for survival and willing to do anything to turn the tide."

--Arzoo

(XCOM/FiM crossover)
(Cover art commissioned by a friend and created by the magnificent FoxInShadow!)
(Original cover art by the amazing Carnelian can be viewed here!)
(Gore tag for blood and some violence)
(Many thanks to the studius OminousTen, Arzoo, xXFluttershyForeverXx and finally Setokaiva for giving my rambles a once-over)
(Now with it's own TV Tropes page! Get to tropin' folks!)

Twilight did her duty. She saved everypony she could, except herself. Now trapped by an evil cult, in more pain than she has even been in before, and dying on a sacrificial altar, she calls for help. The Nightmare answers.

Will Twilight become the next evil to threaten the world or will the Nightmare simply be glad to have some freedom? One thing is for certain, Twilight's life will never be the same again.

The Editors
Cander (CH 1-Current)
Yutah123 (CH 8-9)

Now with an excellent reading by StraightToThePointStudio (Currently only up to CH 30)

And we even have art!
[Warning Spoilers] Twilight's Nightmare Art