Well... this is the first piece I've ever written! And surprisingly quickly, too - I literally only got the idea for the melody when messing around after a practice session last Friday (23rd). I have to say I'm *really* pleased with how this came out; I've attempted composing numerous times in the past, but nothing has ever come of it. This is the first time I've had a finished product.

So, the context for this piece - this was actually inspired by Billy Colt's My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic fan fiction, "This Nearly Was Mine". It tells the sad tale of Frederic Horseshoepin as he wishes fervently for the heart of his fellow musician and friend, Octavia, but her heart is already captivated by another - the eccentric and immature Vinyl Scratch, almost a complete polar opposite in personality to the two upper-class classical ponies. It is difficult and painful for Frederic to reconcile his feelings, knowing that the mare he loves has fallen for one so... uncouth.

This piece was borne of the fifth chapter and epilogue, where Frederic is faced with the crushing realisation that, despite all his hopes, Octavia will, in fact, never be his. In addition, he has to compete with other burdens, such as financial difficulties and one of his concerts being cancelled. Indeed, I wrote my own addition that takes place immediately between chapter five and the epilogue; if you will humour me for a moment, you can find it here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Eyz2BLH-ZHEqsB6x7UrFoS2U-L36Oon2EVDnILyP9Ak/edit

And you can find the whole story here: http://www.fimfiction.net/story/5161/This-Nearly-Was-Mine

I recorded this easily a dozen times, and then some. Every time there was a slight error or mistake that was simply unacceptable. Indeed, while this is satisfactory, there is much room for improvement. I would very much liked to have stayed longer to continue re-shooting it until I got the right one (or until security kicked me out), but unfortunately my sister needed the car to get to work and my iPhone was dangerously low on battery (the latter being more of an aside, as I did have my charger with me).

A little more on the piece itself: as said above, it was inspired by Billy Colt's "This Nearly Was Mine" (which had concluded only a few days before I wrote this), and also as said above, the final chapter and epilogue provided the main influence. It is written in ternary form, with the first section being in D minor, the second section in the relative major key of F, and then back to D minor. With that said, I modelled it very much after Chopin's famous Nocturne op. 9, no. 2, in particular the bass in the first and third sections, but many similarities can be drawn between the two melodies as well. The second section, however, was entirely my own creation - any resemblance to other pieces, Chopin or otherwise, is coincidental.

Fitting, that a piece about Frederic Horseshoepin is inspired heavily after a piece by Frédéric Chopin, is it not?

In addition, this piece is an indirect tribute to one of my friends, who requested that I learn the aforementioned Nocturne no. 2, but which I have not got around to learning yet. I hope this serves as an apology of sorts, and tides him over until I learn the requested piece, as it were.