My Little Adventurer, Loathing is Magic.

"Whatcha doing, Twilight?"

Twilight turned her attention away from the whiteboard, and greeting the pony who had just entered the room. "Oh, hello Pinkie dear. I was just adding the finishing touches to this spell matrix," She gestured to the diagrams and notes scribbled across the board.

Pinkie hopped over and stared intently at one of the diagrams for a moment. After a period of silence, she looked over to her marefriend. "So what's it for?"

Twilight chuckled, levitating a lecture stick. "I'm very glad you asked that. The principle is that same as the matrix that Marevel uses on their graphic novel lines. It allows ponies to enter a small universe based upon the book's setting." Pinkie nodded a few times during the explanation. Once Twilight finished, she held a hoof up. "You have a question?" The unicorn asked.

"So how do you back out of the book?" Pinkie queried.

"Normally, the return spell is activated at the completion of the story, but I think I can tweak that part," Twilight replied. "Maybe keying it to a command word or phrase. Something like, ohhh, I don't know, 'Marzipan Mascarpone Meringue Madness.'" She gave Pinkie a lopsided grin.

The pink pony giggled. "Silly Twilight, that'd take too long to say. Maybe 'chimmycherrychanga,' or 'willow wisp.'"

Twilight took a black marker and wrote another note on the board. 'Connect return spell to word trigger: will o' the wisp.' "Alright. Now I just need to find a book to cast it on. Why don't you go gather the others while I cast the spell."

"Okie Dokie Lokie." Pinkie replied as she hopped away.

A short time later, the six ponies had gathered around a spellcircle. "Y'mind tellin' me what this is about?" Applejack asked.

"You remember the adventure we had with Spikes' enchanted comic books?" Twilight began. "I've found a way to replicate the spell."

"Ah'd rather not go back into Maretropolis," Applejack replied. "Even though we defeated the Mane-iac, bein' Mistress Mare-velous was jes frustratin'."

"I understand completely," Twilight said. "Which is why I had Spike help me pick out a good book to test it out on." She turned to the dragon that was seated next to her. "Spike?"

Spike placed a hard-cover tome on the table. "We decided to use an R.P.G. book. That way, we don't have to rush through a story, and we can explore."

"Right, so we'll be able to visit another world, interact with it how we choose, and leave whenever we want." Twilight finished. "Think of it as a step up from Live action role-playing."

"Ah get the basic idea," Applejack replied. "Bloom an' her friends play those games in the clubhouse often."

"I've seen those kinds of games at the Treasure Trove," Rainbow Dash added. "What's this one, Spike?" She reached for the book.

"It's kind of a parody game," Spike replied, passing the book to Dash. "It pokes fun at what it calls 'Serious RPGs,' and encourages references to pop culture, and making your own jokes."

"So how do we get into the book, and what happens when we get there?" Dash asked, and she began paging through it. "Last time it was some kind of spell that Spike-WHOA!" She stared at two page photo that took up the center of the book. "It's moving!? How'd you do that, Egghead?"

Twilight chuckled as the other four ponies crowded around Dash to look at the picture. "It's an idea I borrowed from another media series, but here's the short version. You just touch the picture to trigger the portal, then you can enter the books' pocket world." Dash eagerly pressed her hoof onto the picture. A sudden burst of light emanated from the picture, obscuring it. "Wait!, I'm not finished!" Twilight protested, raising a hoof.

"Sorry, can't wait," Dash smirked, then dove into the portal, vanishing with a crackle of electrical energy.

"Consarnit Dash!" AJ snapped.

"I was planning to test it anyways," Twilight stated. "So we might as well go in after her."

"Do we all have to go?" Fluttershy asked timidly. "I mean, somepony should stay behind and look after the library."

"Great idea." Twilight said. "Spike?"

"Sure. You and I can explore it later," Spike answered. "Just be careful in there." He waved. Rarity walked over and gave him a brief hug.

"Let me just grab my notes," Twilight said, as a purple aura appeared around a notebook. "Everypony ready?"

Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie each entered the portal without hesitation. Fluttershy looked to Twilight. "Could we maybe enter the portal together?"

"I don't see why not." Twilight held out a hoof. Fluttershy placed her own over it, then allowed herself to be lead by Twilight. They entered the portal, and found themselves in a bright swirling void...

As the bright light faded away, the ponies looked about their surroundings. Several buildings surrounded them, designed in a mish-mash of styles straight out of history. The layout of the buildings was more remeniscent of a bazaar than an actual planned city. They noticed other ponies walking among the buildings, as well as the occasional cow and donkey. "Has anypony seen Dash?" Twilight asked.

"Hey everypony!" Dash called from the rooftop of a nearby building. "Glad ya made it." She glided in a lazy spiral. coming in to land next to the other five. "You won't believe how big this city is."

"Fortunately I came prepared to take notes," Twilight said as she retrieved her notepad along with a pencil. "And I think we should stay together, so that nopony gets lost."

"Good thinking, sugarcube," AJ added. "So what's the plan?"

"The first thing I would do is find out whether they have a spa or bathhouse." Rarity chimed in. "After all, the citizens need some way to be clean and well groomed."

"I wanna see if they have a bakery or a pastry shop." Pinkie said as she hopped alongside Twilight. "Doesn't even have to be a big operation. Maybe some home-baked goods."

"Maybe we can ask one o' the locals where the town hall is," Applejack suggested. "There should be some kind of organization here."

Twilight scribbled these suggestions in the notebook. "These are all good ideas. And there's somepony over there who looks like a -"

"Make way!" A mare called out from behind them. "Make way for the Queen!" The six scurried over to a nearby building then turned and watched as a procession began filing past them. "Make way!" The mare in front kept calling, ignoring the ponies who had moved. Next were half a dozen stern looking pegasi dressed in something that looked like polished leather, and wielding halberds forged from a material that looked like small white rocks pressed together. Behind then was an ornate carriage pulled by a pair of stout earth ponies that rivaled Big Macintosh in size. Inside the carriage were a pair of unicorns, one wearing a large volumous robe trimmed with fur, a cape crafted from palm fronds, and a large crown covered in tiny glittering gemstones. The other wore a simple white robe and hat. The ensemble came to a halt shortly after it passed the six. "Make way!" The mare snapped.

The six noticed that a pony clad in black metallic armor was standing in the mares' path. "Art thou hard of hearing? Make wa-oof!" The armor-clad pony backhoofed her, knocking the mare aside. The guards pointed their halberds at the unknown pony. In response, he reached back and retrieved a large hammer, made from the same material as his armor. The guards charged. The armored pony slammed the hammer on the ground, creating a wave of force that knocked the guards aside. Alarmed by this, Twilight creating a magic shield, covering herself and her friends. The Queen and her companion fled the carriage and began scurrying away as the menacing pony approached. Before Twilight could do anything, the pony seemed to dissapear, then reappeared in front of to the queen, startling her.

"Please spare me!" The queen begged as she skidded to a halt.

"Nay!" The stallion replied, his helmet adding an echo to his words. He raised a hoof, then a red aura formed around the Queen, solidifying into a clear gemstone.

"Hold it right there!" Dash shouted, zipping over to the armor-clad pony. "What's the big idea?"

The pony looked over to Dash. "This is the begining of a new order!" He replied, placing the hammer on his back.

"Nopony foalnaps a Queen and gets away with it on my watch!" The armor clad pony made a gesture, then both he and the gemstone containing the queen disappeared. "You coward!" Dash screamed. "Come back and face me!!"

"Dash, calm down." Twilight came over. "It's just a simulation based on probabilities in the games' metaplot."

Dash facehoofed. "Urgh, can we fix it? I can't let somepony get away with that, even if they're not real."

"We're just here as tourists. I suppose that we could become heroes, but we'd have to leave, fill out the character sheets, then add them to the spell matrix."

"So you'll help us?" The Queens' companion replied, approaching the six. "Are you enrolled with the Guilds?"

"Come again?" Applejack asked.

"Oh, Forgive me, I am the Queens' Consort, Bloomheart. And with whom might I have the pleasure of speaking."

"I'm Twilight Sparkle. And these are my friends: Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Rarity."

"Are you registered with the Guilds?" Bloomheart asked.

"No, is it necessary?" Twilight asked. "Shouldn't we rescue the queen right away?"

"I would love for you to do that, but the Guilds would riot if we didn't at least give their members a chance," Bloomheart sighed. "Such is politics. But I have no doubt that capable heroes will rise to the challenge." She smiled.

"So let's find these Guilds and get registered." Dash suggested.

Twilight offered her notebook and pencil to Bloomheart. "It might save some time if you provided us with directions and whatever information you can."

"Of course," The blue unicorn replied, writing rapidly with the pencil. "It would not do to send you on your journey unprepared."