Fluttershy has been called away on an adventure. An adventure without Rainbow Dash.

My entry into The 3rd Flutterdash Writing Contest.
Thanks to alt-tap for editing and feedback.

“When writing gurus talk about ‘show, don’t tell,’ this is the sort of thing they mean.”

“This felt like the literary equivalent of a well-painted landscape ... Its biggest strength is in the way it chooses tones and contrasts to create depth. But all of the characters are also individually great, especially Spike, and their concerns are so real and wide-ranging that this piece is bursting with life.”

— Royal Canterlot Library

Only fools, madmen, and adventuring parties go into the Malpheggi, the swamp beyond the Everfree Forest. It can be left as an exercise for the reader as to which of these categories Samus Marcus (a Thyatian swordsman, or so he says) and Ivan (his companion in trouble) fall into. When they are rescued by the registered adventuring party, the Elements of Harmony, a grand quest across the D&D world of Mystara begins. Together they face culture shock, international politics, romance, dungeons, and a dragon with a grudge as Marcus learns how to trust his new friends and make up for his past mistakes while the Elements of Harmony try to save Equestria from a threat which proves more... complicated... than they originally thought. Also, pie. And hats. A D&D (Mystara)/MLP Crossover.

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.

I'm willing to bet that a lot of Bronies would love to visit the land of Equestria; if only to see it. I sorta got that wish... instead I find myself in a human variant of it known as Arcania in the Krystal Kingdom. Not that I'm complaining of course, the day I got raptured over here was a College day anyway.

(My first foray into fan fiction and probably my only one, let me know what you think and how I can improve! Unsure about the rating, I'll leave it teen for now. I eventually plan to turn this into an Epic, so hopefully my storytelling skills will improve significantly before then. Also I use a lot of pictures in my story to offset my sucky descriptive skills, so props to the artists and what not!)

In the far reaches of Canterlot Castle, high above in the towers lived the archmage. Everypony knew her, yet few had met her.

Twilight Sparkle sighed, having teleported away another noble seeking favors before reaching the top of the stairs for the second time today. They never learned. As the archmage, she already dealt with political squabbles far too often without inviting them into her home. Aside from personal favors for Celestia, she did what was required of her position and then returned to seclusion and research.

The nobility grumbled that no archmage should be a commoner, and Twilight’s disrespect toward them proved it. Each and every time they were forced to bow to her, they hated what they saw: the position, the status, the deference.

Was she not powerful? Was she not great?

Twilight, now reading through dusty scrolls and long forgotten tales, wrote in her notes — notes gathering dust of their own. A brief thought flashed through her mind.

Am I not powerful? Am I not great?

And then Twilight picked up The Tale of the Royal Pony Sisters.

Defunct side stories told in Across the Boundary. They can still provide a little context, but when in doubt, the main story here is canon.

Cover art provided by Lafiir

Equestria stands on the brink of ruin. A necromancer has raised an army of the dead and is poised to plunge the world into darkness. Monsters and brigands roam freely across the land, preying upon the innocent.

Only one hope remains. Armed with swords, spells, snacks, and a bag of dice, five heroes band together to defeat the forces of evil… if their rolls are good enough.

Welcome to gaming night in Ponyville.

Dramatic reading by Goombasa.

Cover image by Elosande used with permission.

Pinkie Pie was so curious about human games that I decided to re-theme one of them and introduce it to the Mane Six using an adventure story, starring themselves.

My first house warming party in Equestria should be the ideal moment for this.

A short, first-person story about, well... a story and a game. And a wobbly banana yellow table.

Edit (2014-06-25): I have expanded the last chapter quite a bit. Thanks for the feedback!

A slightly more realistic take on the "Human in Equestria" story concept.

... For a given value of "realistic."

Okay, it's barely realistic but it is a hell of a lot of fun...

Now with an image graciously provided by Page Turner, and an audiobook version narrated by multifanficaday and if you prefer it in German, FrankyDoodle has got you covered!

And a TVTropes Page!

Last Featured: 11/26/2019! Thank you so much!

Main Course is a successful chef and restaurant owner. Or he was, anyway, until a fire tore up his life's work and left him adrift. When he visits his sister in the rural backwater town of Ponyville, he discovers an abandoned building that's perfect for a quick fix-up so he can flip it for a profit. But the building comes with an unforeseen tenant, and when he lets her stick around he discovers that maybe, just maybe, there's something out there more important than wealth and fame.

"Knowing all you've seen through that man's eyes, all his powers all but forced him to do... would you still strive to all but become him?"

Knowing what I know now, and what creepy sense that strange peddler's words now make to me...

I'd still say hell yes, of course. Come on. Magic. That's like the best thing that ever happened to me.

Becoming enemy number one of a country with demi-gods at the top just because my snark has gone into overdrive? Not so much.

For the League of Humans Acting Villainous group. Edited by Ranakastrasz, newbiedoodle, and Xanathar.

Will contain spoilers for the whole of The Dresden Files up to Cold Days, but can be read without knowledge of the series.

Thanks to the Dresden files wiki for making this easier and everybody that's made this bandwagon worth jumping onto.