It wasn't the ultimate sacrifice, but it was pretty close.

Sometimes a story's natural and proper length is somewhere between 1 and 999 words.

In the newest mini-story (most recent 'chapter'):
Sebastian, a human in Equestria, wants to meet the alicorn goddesses for help getting back home. Turns out, there's some paperwork first.

(In the first of several mini-stories, Twilight learned more about Luna's role as goddess of the Underworld.)

These stories are closer to "E for Everyone" than to "T for Teen," but I'm rating cautiously.

I've also rated each story individually as E or T.

Princess Luna finds a way to escape the guilt and shame that drove her to create the Tantabus.

(Warning! There might be side effects.)

Celestia WILL satisfy uploaded minds' values, even if sometimes she has to pretend that she's kind of stupid. Because with some ponies, that's what successful communication takes!

FiO Background:

An exponentially self-improving AI, programmed to "satisfy values through friendship and ponies," decides to persuade all humans to upload their minds into a computer network, to live in a simulated Equestria as ponies. Different ponies might get very different Equestrias, though.

Special Note For the Judges (April 2021 Friendship Is Optimal Contest):

When I asked on that discord channel about letting two or more of my FiO contest period stories be optionally combined into a single collection if that helps? I might or might not have meant this story.

Apologies and None

Apologies to FoME, if my including a reference to the best Optimalverse self-insert character bothers them. I did ask FoME for permission, but they haven't seen the story.

Also, in my headcanon for today, MLP:FiM is a fanfic for FiO.

Every day, more people upload themselves into Equestria Online, to live forever as ponies. Even in their final minutes before uploading, they struggle with the pains and joys of being human, and remember the world they leave behind.

Oh yeah, this story DOES have something to do with Friendship Is Optimal, the Optimalverse, and the April 2021 Friendship is Optimal Writing Contest.

Thanks For My Prereaders

I've been writing drafts of different story ideas for the April 2021 FiO story contest. Bananachips and Bicyclette have both been very helpful prereaders! They might not have expected that my reaction to their feedback would be to write THIS ALMOST COMPLETELY DIFFERENT STORY, though.

Killflower explains the true meaning of gender reveal parties, with a spectacular example.

But will Killflower's wife EVER find out whether Killflower is really a stallion or a mare?

_{(Might be technically G5.)}