After getting blasted by a wave of happiness, Sombra wakes up months later with a completely different personality and is forced to live with the memories of what he did and what he was. However, with a little patience, and a lot of help, maybe he can change that, and become something a bit better.

Story inspired by the coverart, courtesy the lovely GigaSparkle on DeviantArt.

Fun Fact: This is the first story (and currently one of only three) on this website tagged with Redheart and Sombra.

When the guards find a foal crying in the city streets, they bring him to Celestia's attention. Soon after, It becomes apparent he has fallen through every crack in Equestria's society. Feeling she has failed the colt, Celestia takes him into her own home.

Special thanks to my editors: ersmiller and Rinnaul and to my comrades in crazy ideas Exelzior and BionicBrony.

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.

Dear Discord,

I'm sure you have found yourself rather bored as of late, seeing as you have given up your true nature to stay reformed. So I have a project for you.

I'm awful curious to know what you do in your spare time, so I'd like you to keep a journal from now on and update me weekly. It will be a good way to kill some time, and it will help me keep tabs on you as you adapt to your new lifestyle. Think of it like a sort of Reformative Exercise.

You can send me your letters via dragonfire, which I do believe you are more than capable of doing so with your own magic. (If not, I'm sure Twilight will always let you borrow Spike,)

I'll be expecting your first letter soon!

- Celestia

When new princess Twilight becomes curious of Celestia's history, the elder princess reveals to her a story older than time, and with it surprising secrets and details of their world's past.

Princess Peach Toadstool of the Mushroom Kingdom has come to Equestria on important diplomatic business, bringing with her the superstars of the Mushroom Kingdom, Mario and Luigi. But, when Discord is released, and aids Bowser's forces in invading Equestria and kidnapping Peach, Celestia, and Luna, Twilight and her friends must work together with Mario and Luigi on an adventure spanning two kingdoms, to rescue the princesses, defeat Bowser and Discord, and return Equestria and the Mushroom Kingdom to their former glory.

Pinkie Pie is visited by a strange customer whilst working at Sugarcube Corner. Hilarity ensues.

Cheese Sandwich doesn't consider his own birthday to be more special than the happy faces he encounters. In fact, he usually treats it just like any other day. But after getting a doozy pointing him towards Ponyville on his special day, it might shock everyone with who he happens to share the same birthday with.

This story is a sequel to Project: Sunflower

After the events of Project: Sunflower, Erin Olsen has returned to Ponyville, happy to pursue her studies in magic. After everything that happened the year before, she's looking forward to spending her days studying and having fun with her friends.

Meanwhile, on the newly discovered world of Harmony, humans and ponies work together to study this strange new world. However, their arrival causes something ancient to begin stirring. Something that may end up changing everything.

Erin will need all of her courage, all of her cleverness and, of course, all of her friends to see herself through what happens next.

Cover art by Valkyrie-Girl
Editing provided by:
Brilliant Point, Coandco, Ekevoo, Ludicrous Lycan, Merlos the Mad and Razalon the Lizardman.

Centuries ago, Clover the Clever recorded in her personal diary the events surrounding the origins and early lives of Celestia and Luna. Now, thanks to the princesses' gracious consent and the scholarship of Twilight Sparkle, this account may now be read by modern Equestrians.