Octavia has finally been promoted to first chair, unfortunately for her, that chair is in the new (and as of yet unformed) Royal Ponyville Orchestra. Now, the best cellist in Equestria (Her words) is being sent to the cultural gulag of Ponyville (Also her words) to form and lead the Royal Ponyville Orchestra to greatness (Princess Luna's words).

Now has a sequel, Princess Luna's Academy of the Arts and Sciences.

And an online reading.

Credit goes to jlm123hi for arranging the cover art
Vectors used:
The stage
Vinyl
Lyra
Fiddlesticks
Octavia

Bonus: Have some fan art made by GamingMelody I found when I accidentally typed my username into Deviant Art's search tool instead of logging in. It's cool someone liked my words enough to draw them, and I hope anyone who does so in the future will send me a link so I can plug them in whatever way I can.

Sweetie Belle had never really considered how so many ponies contributed to the mosaic of her life. At least until she thought she might not get another chance for one of them.

Expanded version of the fifth-place winner in the /fic/ write-off "Just Over the Horizon."

Featured on Equestria Daily!

Rarity, Twilight, and their friends are eating lunch, when AJ notices Twilight staring at a stallion. In the ensuing conversation, Twilight soon learns that her friends are all crazy ponies and have somehow gotten it into their heads that she is in a relationship with her mentor and idol Princess Celestia.

[Now with a parody version!]
Sunset Shimmer: Ex-Queen bee of CHS. Ex-She-deamon. Ex-villain. Overall bad-ass.

However, as the hair 5 are learning, Sunset isn't all she may seem to be. This confident girl may just have a secret or two that she doesn't want out.

((Edited and altered 5/8/15))

Rainbow Dash walks into Carousel Boutique and asks Rarity out to breakfast.

Only...Rainbow Dash is acting somewhat...odd.

Concerned for her friend, Rarity spends the day with Rainbow Dash. But the bizarre new habit Rainbow Dash has developed quickly wears on Rarity's nerves...

A flip of a coin. A twist of fate.

Twilight Sparkle, younger sister of Princess Celestia's personal student, Shining Armor, grew up listening to her brother's bygone dreams of joining the elite of the elite: The Royal Guard.

Now, fresh out of the Academy, this young mare is ready to prove herself equal to the deeds of the great soldiers she read about as a filly. Too bad the princess she ends up protecting isn't Celestia.

Twilight Sparkle is a happy pony. With the help of her friends she defeated Tirek. She has a shiny new castle, the kingdom is safe, and she knows the reason behind her ascension. What more could a young princess want?

She is happy, she tells herself as she digs through the ruins of her home. She is so happy she can barely smell the ashes any more.

But in those ashes she finds something unexpected: a small porcelain vase, and with it a decade's worth of unspoken questions. A mystery hiding beneath her hooves, waiting to be put to rest.

Winner of the November Writeoff event.

She's been assured by her sister a thousand times that they are equals, so where the hay is her throne?

Caramel is tired of his cousins ragging on him for having a pegasus marefriend, so he proposes a drinking game for the three of them to play.

Edited by Noble Thought.

Everypony daydreams.

Some ponies daydream about becoming rich and famous. Other ponies daydream about meeting their one true love. Still others daydream about becoming great heroes.

Celestia's daydreams are nothing like that. Indeed, when her mind wanders, she imagines what her life would be like if she was an ordinary mare. No tiara, no wings, no castle. Just an ordinary mare living an ordinary life in an ordinary town.

What would those daydreams look like?

Note: Special thanks to Justin for proofreading and editing!

Note 2: Electric Boogaloo: FEATURE!!!