A refined mare fresh out of high school and a dropout following her dreams find themselves forced to spend a lot of time together.

With the help of a meddling psychology tutor and their new classmates, can they find what they've been looking for?

French Translation!

Fan Stuff!

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.

==Originally written spring 2011== Equestria Daily Post==
GLaDOS is free of Chell, free to continue testing, when she discovers a portal gun Wheatley tried to repair with duct tape. When the portal gun catastrophically fails, the enrichment center, GLaDOS, and Chell are literally dropped in the middle of Equestria. The mute test subject soon finds the world of ponies far more welcoming than the human world. But GLaDOS sees possibilities. Let the testing begin... for science.

When your life is as dull a gray as the world that surrounds you, the mundanities can make it all seem meaningless. Sometimes all we need is a little color -- or six -- to reintroduce us to what truly makes life worth living.

*6-16-2017 Edit, added Rainbow Dash tag because it triggered knighty.*

The grinding gears of fate have been set into motion. One by one, the mane six have been plucked from their lives in Equestria and cast into the unknown. All except for Applejack and Rainbow Dash, that is. Now it's up to the only two remaining Elements of Harmony to uncover the dark machinations behind their friends' disappearances. Will they put aside their differences and work together?

Originally co-Written by Alex Nuage (now Ludicrous Lycan) and MerlosTheMad

This story runs parallel to the other stories in the "Madverse." Those stories are A Twilight Landing, My Little Marriage So Many Wonders, and Abhorsen by MerlosTheMad

Cover Art done by AeronJVL

'I looked at the reflection, and the beast looked back.'

Viktoria had never seen the mirror before, now she wishes she had never examined it. With her body twisted into a strange and unsettling new shape she must become accustomed to her new equine form before finding a way home, and along the way also return her body to normal. Her body betrays her with each movement, muscle memory working against her. Will the newly encountered Flitter and Cloudchaser be able to help her?

Even with the new addition of wings to grant her flight and escape, Viktoria has never felt more confined.

'Others see me for what I am. I only wish for them to see me for who I am.'

( Thanks go to AkuOreo for such a lovely cover art! )

( Also, seems to have a Tv tropes page in the making! )

Discord has a problem. He has a tendency to not think through his actions all that well, poor impulse control, and no ability to figure out how others will feel about what he does. Even with a friend helping him, sooner or later he's going to do something that'll get him stoned or hit with a reforming spell or whatnot. So what's he to do? Ask the smartest pony in Equestria for a solution, of course!

He probably wasn't expecting to get "Have Celestia let you rule Equestria again" for a response.

No one else was probably expecting to enjoy it.

Now with a reading by Crafty Arts!
And a Spanish translation!

Prince Blueblood thought the Grand Galloping Gala was over. He thought he could just go to sleep and put it behind him. He never expected to be reliving the same disaster of a day, over and over... and over.

TV tropes page here:
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/FanFic/TheBestNightEver

Thanks to all the people who wrote the page and all the people who gave me a little wakeup call and comment to become aware of that fact! You can't see it, but you guys put a real smile on my face tonight.

Also, recently, extra thanks to RD Dash for giving TBNE a thorough editing. I've updated the fic accordingly (7.11.12)