The world is a strange and wonderful place, particularly if you are a child of Ponyville. Pound and Pumpkin Cake explore their tiny corner of Equestria.

Cup Cake knows what the pegasus mare is doing. She can see the way the filly is swaying her flawless body around Sugar Cube Corner. She can hear the flirty tones in the perfect voice as the mare sings her siren song to Carrot...

Once upon a time, everypony spoke the same language.

Then came Discord, and everything changed. Was it a malicious prank? Boredom? An attempt to teach everypony a lesson? We can't ask him, because he's gone, and who knows when he'll be back.

If language is the glue that holds society together, what happens when it turns to sand?

Winner of the October Writeoff competition, "Illusion of Choice."

After the rousing success of her first party, bringing joy to her parents and sisters, Pinkie Pie left her home to teach that joy to others. On her first day in Ponyville she stumbles across a struggling Sugarcube Corner, and resolves to help out the business.

The Cakes have received a special commission: making some of the desserts for a global conference which will be hosted by the Diarchy themselves. As such, they're a little nervous about creating the right dish. And so after consulting a very old book, they're going to make something which nopony has seen (or smelled) for a very long time, a cake which requires one extremely special filling.

A very old book, the Princess, and a certain fruit.

Combine, then bake recipe for disaster for one day on low simmer.

(Now with author Patreon and Ko-Fi pages.)

Yesterday, the Cakes put Pumpkin and Pound on the train to head off to their first year at college.

Yesterday had been a very, very hard day.

Today will be worse.

Marriage is the hardest thing Carrot Cake has ever done, second only to being a father to his two foals.

Woken by a chill and finding himself quite bereft of blankets, he finds himself pondering the canyon that has appeared between he and his wife.

As the Cakes make a very special gingerbread house the act reminds them of their lives together; hinting at those they loved, challenges they faced, and the struggles that continue even after lovers say "I do"...

Inspired by the image "Artist Training Ground Day 22" by Egophiliac. Used with permission.

Is Mr Cake literally a cake? Pinkie Pie seems to think so – but will her investigations really reveal that Mr Cake is made solely from delicious margarine, sugar and flour, or is something else afoot? One thing is certain – the Cakes are hiding something from her, and Pinkie will expose the truth no matter the cost!

Most changelings only want to feed on love and serve their queen, defending her with their lives. But Scales the changeling has never seen eye-to-eye with the others. All he wanted to do was cook. He leaves the hive and finds himself in Ponyville as a baker. He finds peace, but will that peace stay?

((Being rewritten starting from chapter twelve))