A refined mare fresh out of high school and a dropout following her dreams find themselves forced to spend a lot of time together.

With the help of a meddling psychology tutor and their new classmates, can they find what they've been looking for?

French Translation!

Fan Stuff!

Octavia has a musical history and a side to herself she'd rather not have to explain outside of Ponyville. Inside Ponyville... well, everything was fine until she spotted Vinyl Scratch. What was she doing here?

Don't panic, Octavia! Don't freak out, don't lose your mind, don't....
Oh well.
(And check out Goombasa's excellent dramatic reading!)
Cover by Page Turner.

Octavia and Harmonia Philharmonica were on their way to Manehattan, ready to fulfill their duty as granddaughters and visit Nana. Vinyl Scratch and her brother Long Play were traveling back home from a concert in Canterlot, the first that Vinyl had ever attended. Pure serendipity facilitated these pairs' first meeting.

(Inspired by the pure adorableness that is the cover art)

Every pony in Equestria knows the names Octavia Philharmonica and Vinyl Scratch. Every musician in Equestria knows and reveres their talent and most semi-jokingly complain that Octavia and Vinyl's relationship should count as a monopoly on musical talent. Very few know their early story, years ago when Octavia had only just left Canterlot Conservatory and Vinyl was... well, being Vinyl.

This story is a sequel to Accidental Harmony

Several months after moving to Ponyville, Vinyl and Octavia are planning their upcoming wedding. With help from friends like Lyra and Bon-Bon, what could possibly go wrong?

Two passengers on a train ride toward an uncertain future. One is a pony. The other only pretends to be.

Sex is tame and non-explicit. Don't be afraid to read.

Written expressly for Equestria Daily's Outside Insight Summer Fanfiction Contest.

Now with a dramatic reading by Illya Leonov!

Russian translation courtesy of Arsus.
Chinese translation courtesy of viczhn.
French translation courtesy of BroNie.

Inspired by the artwork of RubleGun and Raddjuret. Musical accompaniment by Patrick Poe.

Featured at Equestria Daily and the Royal Canterlot Library.

Reader Testimonials

"Vinyl + Octavia is one of the fandom's most cliché and mismatched pairs, and yet this is a real romance with genuine depth and emotion." - horizon
"Holy shit this is impressive. Like... Holy shit, man." - Skeeter The Lurker
"You have crafted something wonderful here, a true gem. You should be proud." - Illya Leonov
"Note that I hate this ship when I say this is far and away the best ScratchTavia I've ever read." - PresentPerfect
"Fuuuuck it's so good!" - Luminary

Octavia Melody's love of music has revolved around a single influential and prestigious work of art, the song May Our Sun Shine Forever. Since she was a filly, what has been the Equestrian national anthem for generations has continually inspired Octavia to perform, shaping her into the promising cellist she is today. Though the completed original was lost to the passage of time, the remnants of the final masterpiece composed by the Grand Maestro Glissando has been the cornerstone of not only Octavia's career, but modern music theory in Equestria.

When the tattered remains of an ancient songbook possibly containing the original song in its entirety is found, the Equestrian Society for the Performing Arts and Princess Luna begin planning a concert series to celebrate the work's eventual restoration. However, their meeting screeches to a halt once Princess Celestia vehemently forbids anypony from playing the original in the concert and demands its restoration to cease immediately. Octavia Melody finds herself at a loss, wondering why the princess of the sun would silence such a beautiful song meant to bring light to the world.

Proofread and Edited by TheAncientPolitzanian and various others over the years of trying to fix this thing.
Cover Art Depressing Melody by TertonDA
Updated 02/27/24

After the invention of radio, DJ-P0n3 (aka Vinyl Scratch) holds the first Equestrian talk show with her co-host Octavia. Octavia quickly finds out her superior is very eccentric, leading their broadcast to be constantly derailed, yet somehow remain popular. These episodes were recorded for historical significance and transcribed. These are the Vinyl Scratch Tapes.

[Update 1/25/13]: Fully updated to contain all of season 1 and 2, correcting a vast oversight on the part of the author. Sorry it took so long to update it fully on Fimfiction, guys.

It could have been just another night. Instead, Vinyl Scratch leaves a show to find herself suddenly presented with a chance to make a difference in the life of a filly no one else will look twice at. Now if only she can convince Octavia she's not making a huge mistake...as usual.

Note: This story now has an indirect sequel set several years in the future in The Most Unlikely Places. Cover art by SonicDash777.

Octavia Philharmonica is a desperate mare. Her involvement in the ill-fated "pony pokey" at the prestigious Grand Galloping Gala has left her blacklisted among the elite of Canterlot who form her clientele. Faced with the possibility of being evicted from her apartment for inability to pay rent she decides to take a temporary job at a local nightclub. Of course, she's never set hoof in a club before and has no idea what she's getting involved in . . .