Twilight Sparkle is a successful mare - it's hard to do better than a pair of alicorn wings and a crown! Which leads her to wonder - why is she still single? Perhaps Rarity, connoisseur of all things romantic, will hold the answer?

Now has a reading thanks to StraightToThePointStudios!
Now has a reading thanks to Cloud 9!
Now translated into Chinese thanks to xieyuesanxing!
Now translated into Russian thanks to GreatDragonLord!
Now translated into Spanish thanks to SPANIARD KIWI!

Lovely cover art by VladiVoices commissioned by Cloud 9 for their reading (link above).

Top spot in the Featured box 1/2/20 - 1/5/20!

Everyone wears a mask. For the rulers of Equestria, that mask must be impeccable for their subjects. Only around their guards can the two Princesses relax ever so slightly, occasionally showing that they are just as fallible as any other creature. For one Princess, the burdens of her own mind begin to make the mask crack. However, when Private Steel Heart notices that it is, in fact, the pony underneath the mask that is beginning to splinter, he offers to help.

He had no idea such help would first involve getting attacked with a large brush.

Warning: Involves slow-burn romances, lots of feelings, comforting moments, adorable affectionate gestures, lethal amounts of fluff, feel-good auras, and a deadly combing implement.
Takes place around Season 8-9 (ish)

Cover art used with permission by the talented Yakovlev-Vad, seriously, check out his art. He's fantastic!
https://www.deviantart.com/yakovlev-vad/art/Oops-Sketch-743917791
*Edit. Featured on the first day? WHAT IS HAPPENING?

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.

Prince Noctis did everything he could. He went through hell collecting the royal arms, fought freaking gods, watched his fiance die, went to a coma for ten years, fought Ardyn to take back the kingdom, correction, ruins of the kingdom, sacrificing himself and his ascention to free the world from the darkness. He sacrificed everything and, in the end, what did he get? A rewardless death!

Luckily, a certain equestrian goddess thinks this isn't fair.

So now, Noctis, reborn as an earth pony, have another chance to prove himself worthy of ascention in the magical land of Equestria! (NOW FULLY EDITED)

This story is a sequel to Necromancy For Foals

Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash find themselves drawn by the call of the cutie map to a jungle in the middle of nowhere. Drawn further by the knowledge of an ancient temple, they are confronted with icy cold and a sense of dread.

A Necromancer was sealed away in this temple a thousand years ago.

Now, he is waking up...

((Sequel to Necromancy for Foals. Artwork by The-Minuscule-Task on Tumblr.))

Set only a week after the banishment of Princess Luna to the moon, the realm of Equestria is in a state of upheaval. Celestia's royal guard attempt to regain control over the vast empire once ruled by dual monarchs, and the young alicorn's actions as a ruler have become a subject of scrutiny after her sister's attempted coup. Two factions have risen in the turmoil: The Knights of the Sun and The Bright Moon.

Far away from the political infighting and sword rattling exists a small mining town on the outskirts of Equestrian territory. Where once the royal guard would have no trouble fending off raids from bandits or other criminals, the panic of the capitol has caused a withdrawal of military forces to more essential cities and trading ports. Completely undefended and without a spell or sword amongst them, this town was soon overrun by a band of bi-pedal canines calling themselves the Diamond Dogs. As brutal as they are lazy, the Diamond Dogs have forced the local population to work until collapse to collect gems from the town mine.

Outraged by his inability to fend off these bandits and thieves, a young unicorn named Bone Marrow tries with all of his might to find his purpose in life - his cutie mark - and hopes that it will be enough to drive off the invaders of his home. He will soon discover that his special talent is far more than he bargained for.

((A Sequel will begin for this story as soon as I finish I Am a Pet Changeling. Stay tuned on Discord! https://discord.gg/nDXd3AB ))

Ever since the return of Nightmare Moon, Princess Celestia has noticed that her student and her friends have been getting into a lot of trouble, so, naturally, she worries that they may end up getting hurt while they're unable to protect themselves. Thus, she assigns a very special guard to keep watch over them, without them knowing, of course.

Ever since he'd met the Princess, he'd been serving her faithfully, how could he not? But when she tells him to head down to Ponyville to keep her student and her friends safe, he can't help but wonder if this is the best use of his time.

Unfortunately for Emerald Skies, a job is a job, and he'd be loathe to ignore an order from his Princess.

Baked Bean is but one of the thousands of tourists in Canterlot, and he's looking for some inspiration to help launch his writing career. To this end, he pays a visit to the Royal Gardens, but while there he quickly and quite accidentally invokes a long-forgotten law that will completely upend his life and thrust him into the spotlight...

As Celestia's husband.

And all this because of noses.

As seen on Equestria Daily!

With an audio reading by Fire Hearth Studios!

Cover art graciously provided by the Right Most Awesome Backlash91!
Original cover art provided the Right Most Awesome Sipioc!

Proofreading and prereading services provided by Georg, Sipioc, and Moon Fire!

Fan Art for this story can be found right here!

A most worthy review by Cyonix!

A changeling gets a very risky and clever idea.
Pretending to be an advanced magic doll left as an anonymous gift in front of Twilight Sparkle's home.
It's so audaciously stupid there is no way it's not going to work.

(Set after Season 6, completely disregards season 7 when that comes around, due to the nature of this story.)

It has been several months since Queen Chrysalis retreated from her hive, disappearing into the horizon of the badlands. Relations between Equestria and the Changeling Kingdom have improved dramatically in that time. But Chrysalis is still on the loose, likely playing it safe and quiet, feeding on scraps wherever she can.
It is on one night, at the edge of Ponyville that Tone Shift, an earth pony she had snacked on before, finds her. She is wounded, starving and weak. Despite not remembering their previous encounter, Tone Shift decides to help her anyway, taking the former Changeling Queen into his home to nurse her back to health. With little other choice, Chrysalis accepts his offer to help, wondering what fate has in store for her.

Check out my reading of this story over on YouTube: LINK HERE!

(Sex tag is mostly for suggestive dialogue and jokes, as well as maybe mild sexual content later on.)