In a world without that first fateful Rainboom, Twilight Sparkle is still a blankflank. She spends her youth in a "dumping ground" public school for other ponies deemed unimportant, uninteresting, and without futures by general society.

A chance encounter with the guidance counselor, however, leads Twilight to follow her instincts and travel to Manehattan, where a mysteriously familiar pony now owns a bakery...

Big changes are on the horizon for the both of them.

Like this fic? Here's some jams you may also enjoy (aka, my writing playlist for this fic)

My roommate's name is Octavia, or "Tavi" for short. She likes vintage red wine, soft pillows, and long walks on the beach. But, more than anything, she loves music. She loves it with a passion that radiates with every burning color of the spectrum.

Each day I spend with her... or without her, I learn a little bit more about life, about the sick beat to which we all dance, whether we know it or not. I hope you don't mind if I say a few things about her. Just a few things. One can learn a lot from Tavi.

After all, she saved my life.

Cover Art by Eztp

Playlist - Because Even Original Things Aren't Original

Why do ponies dream? Why do we all seem to dream the same dreams?

What if we started to dream new things?

Discord said he wanted to make our dreams more interesting. Add some spice to our boring nocturnal lives. Nothing dangerous – just a bit of excitement to talk about in the mornings.

"Stop worrying so much, Twilight Sparkle," he said. "After all, dreams never hurt anypony."

How I wish he’d been right.

Gold Medalist in the Under the Sun Writeoff Event.

Now with Russian translation, courtesy of Cloud Ring! https://darkpony.space/the-archetypist-1/

Rainbow Dash has it all: a life of mystery and suspense, ups and downs, adventure and calamity. As time goes by, she finds herself swiftly becoming the most daring, awesome pegasus in all of Equestria.

She would gladly give it all up, though, just for a chance to tell Applejack how much she loves her.

Cover art by DarkFlame