Twilight Sparkle has a lot of difficulty getting a good night's sleep. She has to keep it a secret from the ponies who care about her, because they might disown her. Worse, they might try to help...

WARNING: The first five or so chapters are, on reflection, properly grimdark. If this makes you run away like a puppy that just laid a brown egg on the new carpet, that's your prerogative entirely. Please don't tell me that I'm objectionable for having written it, though, because that's not very nice. Or accurate. At all.

The shiny new art is a commission by this lovely person, so do feel free to check her out for all your creepy-pony needs.

When a freak reading accident causes Twilight to be admitted to the Ponyville hospital, Rainbow Dash is right by her side. Compelled by a sense of duty and repayment, she takes it upon herself to cheer up her friend.

Stoic. Calm. Unflappable. And above all, Professional. These are attributes that the pianist Frederic Horseshoepin likes to pride himself on.

But sometimes it's difficult to stay professional. Frederic finds it difficult to maintain a veneer of stoicism when he has to deal with his own feelings. What can he do when he's in love with a mare that he cannot hope to have?

No one expects to go to sleep and never wake up. There's always tomorrow, or the next day. There was always time. So, when a young life is extinguished before its time, it becomes especially difficult to handle. When the spirit of that life is forced to face and accept her death, what will become of her afterlife? Scootaloo will soon be faced with this tragedy, and this is her story.