My unicorn parents called me a worthless mud pony. They pushed me every day to overcome my lowly status. When I woke up one morning with my cutie mark, I thought they would love me. I couldn’t have been farther from the truth.

It was not destiny or enjoyment that led me to discover the cello and composing. My parents made that decision, deciding before I was born I would continue their family legacy of famous musicians.

They did not realize what that decision would cost them.

Special Thanks and Links:

Cover Art: Dreampaw. The inspiration for the story.
Dramatic reading of Act I-III by Malao567. June 2013
Reading with music by ObabScribbler. June 2014
Song: Hooks and Strings by Reverb Brony. May 2014

Style inspired by H.P. Lovecraft
TypeWriterError: Editor & Rating Board
Gage of Grandiloquence: Editor
The11thWonder: Pre-reader
Nharctic: Pre-reader
Breath of Plagues: My Pinch Editor.
ArgonMatrix: Bad Grammar Exterminator
Daemon of Decay: Advice, also inspired me to write fan fiction. Blame him!

During a blissfully rare calm in the hectic storm of Ponyville life, a disturbance in the Everfree Forest goes undetected. After receiving a summons from the Princess, Twilight and her friends are led into a curious task, one that they find themselves ill-prepared to handle - managing their stallion double! As each of the girls meets their very own carbon-copy-colt, they learn that dealing with themselves can be much more frustrating than they first thought.

Annoyingly, irritatingly, intoxicatingly frustrating.

http://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/10/story-giving-love-helping-hoof.html

Lyra's public performances continue to fail to draw the crowds she needs to kickstart her career. It takes the love and care of a certain earth pony to snap her out of her rut once more.

Featured at Equestria Daily on August 26, 2011.
Featured at Canterlot's Finest on November 8, 2013.

This story is Complete!

The first time I saw her eyes, they struck a chord within my soul. One that I have never experienced before. It was like I was coming alive for the first time.

But it was only a glimpse, and then she was gone. I am not going to let this go, though. I will discover who she is, why she is here... and why fate almost brought us together.

My name is Octavia, and I will stop at nothing to find her.

[Rejected by Equestria Daily on 12 December 2012. Now featured on Canterlot's Finest.]

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?

Octavia has hit rock bottom. After the Gala and being forced to play that song, she was cast out by high society. Now she must gather the shreds of her pride, only to have to swallow them to work under the only pony that seems willing to hire her. Now it's time for her to make a name for herself all over again, and she's determined to make it no matter what, even if she has to start over from Scratch.

Octavia’s life in Canterlot has not gone as planned.

Now feeling alienated and alone, her despair has reached a new low point. But in her darkest hour, the earth pony devoid of confidence and hiding a shameful secret is confronted by her deepest fears when an old friend visits.

Young Nictis had one dream: to serve his hive by becoming an Infiltrator, the most vital and vaunted role a changeling could aspire to. To hide in plain sight among the other species, blending in, while gathering the vital emotional energies that fueled his people. Few were deemed worthy of the dangerous job. He was one of the few nymphs selected for training, in the hopes that one of them would develop the skills needed to be entrusted with such a treacherous task.

But when a training expedition ends in tragedy, Nictis finds himself thrust into the role not to serve his hive and people, but to preserve his own life. Separated from the hive, alone, he must put what little training he has to the test. He must blend in with the hive's greatest source of food, and its most dangerous enemy: the ponies of Equestria.

(This story takes place in the same continuity as Fragments, but stands on its own. Reading that story isn't necessary for this one.)

TV Tropes page

Book cover art by viwrastupr

Dash gets what she always wanted: a spot in the Wonderbolts and Spitfire by her side. Their relationship is all speed, all adrenaline, all passion, and absolutely, positively doomed.

A trainwreck of a romance in an ongoing series of slice-of-life snapshots, clop-free.

Restraint, or Lack Thereof - Spitfire knows what she wants, knows how to get it, and knows exactly how wrong this could all go.

Day In, Day Out - Soarin needs to know why Spitfire's been distracted and out of sorts lately, and there's a good chance he already knows the answer.

Been a While - Spitfire isn't the only one in this relationship who's been nursing a crush on her idol for years. Difference is, Dash has been doing something about it.

Burden - It isn't easy being a hero, especially if you're not the hero you thought you'd be.

Forgive and Forget- Dash makes a terrible mistake. Making it won't get her in trouble; trying to fix it could be disastrous.

Wings - Sometimes you get your dreams handed to you on a silver platter. Sometimes that's the last thing you want.

Touchdown and Takeoff - Somepony's gotta put out fires for the Wonderbolts before the team implodes, and Soarin' just drew the short straw.

Shattered - Spitfire is royally ticked off at Rainbow, and RD has no idea why.

Unscheduled - Spitfire gives the Wonderbolts the week off only to find that Dash left a few things unfinished.

What Has Been Seen - The Wonderbolts are taking bets on Spitfire and Dash self-destructing, and Soarin' just wants a nap.

Now featuring beautiful new cover art courtesy of Celebi-Yoshi!

These stories are in continuity with Luna's Librarian and The Rustic & The Romantic.

All chapters originally written as separate entries for flash-fic blog Thirty Minute Pony Stories (TMP). I highly recommend a visit to TMP if you're looking for some of the best 1000-word gems in pony fiction. Many thanks to TMP for inspiring me to write!

Braeburn Apple has always been raised in a conservative household, as a member of the Apple family.
Throughout his life, he's been taught what's 'wrong' and what's 'right', who he was allowed to love, and who he wasn't. Above all, he was told what to be, and how to be it.
When he meets a certain blue Pegasus stallion buying pies at Sweet Apple Acres while he just so happens to be staying there, he discovers feelings he never knew he had.
Unfortunately, they happen to be the same ones he was always taught to suppress.
Can Soarin convince him that it's not wrong to be in love, and that, sometimes, in order to be happy, you need to break out of your comfort zone?
A story about discovering who you are, and being that person, no matter what others tell you to be.

WARNING: M/M, SoarinxBraeburn Coltcuddling! Touches up on some serious social issues in the real world, but with ponies, and at least 20% cooler.
If you don't like it, please do not read it.

Featured on EqD!

Cross-posted to FanFiction.NET.

Rated T for alcohol references, crude humour, and slight language.

Cover image is by Mn27 on DeviantART.

Edited by many people, included Carcer, LunaUsesCaps, and Diexna, but none have contributed more than the amazing Smayds, who has been my main editor for almost every chapter.