[EQD Featured - 10/04/12] Derpy Hooves loses her job and home to personal failures and finds that her life of passivity and reckless indulgence have left her with nothing but an empty void in her heart. When she cries out for help, she receives two answers—one from a concerned Twilight Sparkle who tries to set her life back on track, and the other from a phantom mare who lashes her spirit to that of Silver Cross, traveling warrior and refugee of a destroyed nation.

The clumsy but well-intentioned optimism of the Elements of Harmony and the unshakable death wish of her new "soulmate" are challenging enough, but Derpy will have to contend with overzealous agents of the crown, romantic entanglements, wielders of impossible magic, an outrageously evil despot, and even the dreaded contents of Spike's Secret Stash before all's said and done. Little does Derpy understand that her pursuit of a way to fill the holes in her heart and mind will only draw her ever closer to the forbidden truths of Equestria's Lost History . . .

Cover Art by the talented McLarenF1LM22

The following is supplemental material. Do not read before finishing Episode 03.

APPENDIX

Character Ages
Ponies keep track of their age by seasons, not years. Birthdays are still celebrated annually, but measuring age in years is an unreasonable choice for creatures with a lifespan of roughly 25-30 - there just isn't enough room for demarcations that any reader could relate to. For clarity, the character's ages as of the time of this story are given in three categories below.

MLPL2 Character Age Chart [GDocs Format]

For reference, please note that MLPL2 begins about three years after the Nightmare Moon incident.
More characters will be added as they receive significant roles in the story.

Deleted Scenes

Episode 01, Scene 1 (Draft 4)
Episode 01 [ver. 1]

Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash have been hanging out a lot lately. But that's just because they're such good friends, right?

Applejack and Rainbow Dash knew this would be hard, but a long distance relationship was in their future from the start. A Wonderbolt and an apple farmer don't have a lot of time in the same place, so they do their best with letters and the occasional weekends. But when Applejack finds out that Rainbow Dash is on the cover of Flyers Illustrated: Wet Feathers Edition, it plays on a fear she never mentioned to Dash: Everypony knows that famous ponies are different from normal folks. . .

Right?

"Wet Mane Rainbow Dash," used in the cover image, is by Suikuzu.
Prereading by DbzOrDie, First_Down, Tchernobog, and Jackie

Celestia likes her routine. Tax reforms, grants, laws and construction projects are all a princess needs to be content.

It's just her luck that for Pinkie Pie, "content" is not nearly enough.

An elderly Twilight Sparkle goes back in time to tell herself to stop studying.
What is the point in knowing how life works, if you're not out there understanding why it works?

For almost a year now, Trixie has been sending letters to Twilight. The only problem is, Twilight hasn't gotten a single one... until today. But now that she has, Twilight is left with more questions than she knows how to answer. Fortunately, she has a plan. Unfortunately, she doesn't know if that plan will work.

Featured on Equestria Daily
Reading by: WhoLandon
Reading by: PonyFicsOutLoud

Applejack's got a secret she'd kept hidden for many years. Nopony would ever have guessed what she and Twilight were up to in the library late at night, once Spike had gone to sleep. That is, until a jealous Rainbow Dash decided it was her business to find out just what in the hay was going on.

Frederic Horseshoepin was born to be a pianist.

Frederic Horseshoepin was the most gifted student his instructor had ever taught.

Frederic Horseshoepin was the top of his class in music school.

Frederic Horseshoepin has been chosen to play a concert at Cantergie Hall.

So why has Frederic Horseshoepin never been good enough?

Even though it's late at night, Twilight Sparkle is wide awake and immersed in her... Let's call it work. That is, until a certain earth pony shows up, with a big problem on her hooves.

Warning: Contains some spoilers from episode 19: Putting your Hoof down

Note: As you may have already guessed this is TwiPie fic, but not really a romantic shipping fic (hence no romance tag). It still is a teeny-tiny itty-bitty shippish. Not the “OMG, let's make out and have some magical babies” shippish. Not even “I love her, and she doesn't notice it, sob, sob” shippish. More like “There is some really good air between them, that could lead to future developments, but neither of them notice it yet” shippish. Really, really mild. Or so I think...
But just in case there is someone who absolutely hate anything – and I mean anything – even vaguely considered a ship I'm putting this warning here.

Some accidents are small, and some endow you with the power of a godly ruler. On the opposite end of things, you lose your wings along with your ability to move celestial bodies, and you can't tell anypony. Why, because what would they think if the princess became a librarian? It's going to be "fine". Celestia just needs to switch back with Twilight before either of their true identities are revealed. All Twilight has to do is hold down the castle, fight off scheming villains, run the country, and worst of all... deal with all the noble ponies.

Rated teen for shenanigans and some more serious parts. Takes place at the end of lesson zero. Please tear this apart with comments. I like criticism. Comment if you have issues, don't leave me with a mystery thumbs down.