For centuries, ponykind thought Princess Platinum's splendorous silver crown lost for all time, but it has been found. Twilight Sparkle, the self-proclaimed Princess of Thieves, has tracked it down to the long-fallen Diamond Dog kingdom of Erebark, and means to enter the mountain to retrieve her kin's lost heirloom and settle scores with Princess Celestia.

Unfortunately, there are one or two details she didn't realize going into this mess. Namely, that she'll need to steal from the gilded gallery of one of the mightiest dragons ever to walk the land.

Oops.

Preread by RossbyWaves, Cynewulf, Timaeus, Undome Tinwe, Brasta Septim, and Beltorn.
Special thanks to the aforementioned six for enabling and encouraging this story, along with a few other friends in the most exalted and dedicated purple girlfriends chat server.
Artwork brilliantly done by Lilfunkman.

This story is a sequel to A Total Eclipse Of The Fun

Following the events of the second Return Day, Celestia and Luna made a pair of agreements. The second is that it's finally time to correct for a thousand years and more of almost totally nonexistent cooking skills. However, that's going to require teachers. And two very lucky ponies, the recently cross-promoted Solar head chef Anise Verum and her junior sous, Blending Stock, get to be the ones who instruct them.

There are lessons to be learned in that kitchen.

The first concerns how to survive explosions.

(Part of the Triptych Continuum, which has its own TVTropes page and FIMFiction group: new members and trope edits welcome. This story is a sequel to A Total Eclipse Of The Fun, but it's not necessary to have read that one first.)

Now with author Patreon and Ko-Fi pages.

Idol Hooves holds a special place in Equestria. He's probably the only exiled changeling to serve in the Royal Guard, or at least, that's what he expects, as exiles don't really broadcast that fact. However, it's well known that Princess Celestia loves all of her little ponies, and her guards perhaps more so, and that makes it one of the best ways for a changeling to discreetly feed.

But how does a changeling even get there, let alone get exiled in the first place? For that matter, why would it ever go to Canterlot? Set a number of years before the series proper, before Luna’s redemption, Idol details how he was exiled, the ponies he’s met, and the series of misadventures that led him to joining the Royal Guard, and should continue a good ways into the series, as something of an alternate perspective.

Soon, he’ll have to deal with a boisterous new princess to serve and a royal wedding in the works bringing a third to power. Will his old instincts bring this new life crashing down around him? What precipitates Chrysalis’s ill-fated assault on Canterlot? Is it really so wrong for a changeling to enjoy good craftsmanship to an obsessive degree?

New cover art provided by the fantastic Carnifex

And a TVTropes page here.

And an Ask Blog of questionable canonity!
Out of Idol Curiosity

Fanart by Norad2! Major thanks! Short For a Royal Guard

Art by Egophiliac of Idol and his Daring Duckie Please don't tell him what that brush is meant for.

Rating updated to (T), it's a bit darker than (E)
Comedy Tag added as well
And changed the character tags a bit.

Twilight Sparkle is an expert in unicorn magic, but earth pony magic remains a mystery to her. The books in her library have very little information about the earth tribe's abilities, other than their famous strength. Twilight is determined to uncover their secrets.

What she learns will change her life.

And it just might change Applejack's life as well.

Featured on Equestria Daily.

They fell from the sky, only to have their landing broken by flowers carefully tended to by a crystal pony. The pony was scared away. They were scared stiff, but there was no running. The pony world they found themselves in was very real. Their choices would count against them...

I will try to keep it interesting and amusing. Think I did a good or bad job? Let me know! I love comments, loving or scathing, just speak.

Hollow Shades is a small farming and lumberjacking community, a tiny bubble of Equestria smack in the middle of the Everfree Forest. Things have been hard-going since the lumber mill was closed down by its aristocratic owner, and the town is slowly dying. The fate of the town weighs heavily even on the town's youth, with young filly Corn Crib of the Harvests being intimately aware of the fact things aren't going well for her family and friends. And then, a ray of hope comes into her life when she encounters a most unusual figure on the road nearby; a talking scarecrow, one that claims to be Lord Barleycorn, the King of Autumn, who promises to help her however he can. Can the two of them succeed in breathing life back into Hollow Shades?

This is a lighthearted story that contains lots of OCs and an original setting. The mane six will appear, but not until later chapters.

First time featured was May 23, 2014! I can't believe it! Thank you everyone! =3
Now with its own TVTropes page!
Picture was made by my friend Escopeto. He did a fantastic job of representing my story.

Twilight Sparkle's family reunion is finally over.

Now all that is left is the cleanup. And the apologies.

Until next year.

Placed Second in the Best Laid Plans Writeoff.me contest.
Expanded to reach the Fimfiction minimum chapter length.
With a wonderful reading by Scribbler Productions on YouTube

I am Ovrik Stonebreaker, son of Urdin Stonebreaker and seventh in line to the throne of the Stonebreaker mountainhome. I was forged from the stone itself, born with an axe in hand. I have been compared to our heroes of old! And I'm trapped in a land of colorful ponies.

May the Gods of the Stone have mercy upon me.

Human tag is solely for the dwarf of the story. There is no dwarf tag, after all.
Image borrowed from silleras941 of DeviantArt.

Princess Celestia has decided, rather abruptly, that Twilight Sparkle needs to learn some of the minutae of running a government. Specifically, dealing with certain... noble entitlements, and the need to check in on their lands every once in a while. There is, in fact, one particular old family that needs, shall we say, just a little check in to be reminded, in a way, that they are purely technically speaking sworn to serve the crown. All Twilight needs to do is run a teensy little survey, which should only take a few days, and maybe befriend the ponies living there.

Her friends decide to come along as emotional support. But really, Twilight isn't that worried. It's just a name, after all. And they've faced down monsters before. It's incredibly unlikely to be dangerous, in any way whatsoever.

When Twilight Sparkle was given an invitation to a special event hosted by Discord, she was more than a little apprehensive. However, despite her best judgement, she decided to attend for the sake of being a good friend for the reformed Draconequus.

However, when she arrives, she realizes two very big things that Discord has done for this "party"...

One: Twilight is the only pony here.
And Two: There are quesadillas everywhere.

EVERYWHERE

I want to give a special thanks to my Boo Storm Butt for proofreading this for me.