This story is a sequel to A War of Words - The Opening of the Guard

For centuries, the stallions of the Royal Guard have protected Equestria from every danger imaginable.
Now they face a new threat to their position that will not be so easy to defeat.

Mares.

The story of four mares who answer the call to guard Princess Luna, and the troubles they go through to gain acceptance and respect in their new jobs. Or it could be considered to be the story of four interlopers into a traditionally male role and the underhanded tricks used to secure their position despite their obvious unsuitability for the job. Pick one.

Cover photo credit to the fantastic MuffinExplosion at DeviantArt.

Thanks to my editors: Peter, MSPiper, Featherprop, Seether00, GameKnut and Tek

Author's notes on the development of the story and characters may be found here.
This is a sequel to A War of Words - The Opening of the Guard which is featured on Equestria Daily

Feather Hoof might be barely able to remember her past and had only been apart of the royal guard for a month when the changelings hit. But in the ensuing chaos those six days had brought she had distinguished herself despite her lack of experience. So much so that she was appointed as one of the newly weds new personal guards. Of course the days ahead remain a little uncertain in the aftermath of the invasion but it must be looking up for the better now. At least that was the hope.

Set right after the aftermath of a much more prolonged changeling invasion.

The history of war may be written by the winner, but the Royal Historian is the one who provides the notes and background to the writer. The recent events that some have called ‘Mare Wars’ or ‘The Invasion of the Barracks’ are no exception. The Royal Historian has painstakingly compiled this folder of notes and background material on what should more accurately be called, ‘The Opening of the Guard.’

Please remember to return the folder back to the Royal Historian when you have completed reading, in the event we gather more material that needs to be included.

Musty Pages, Royal Historian

Source for inside photo
Featured on Equestria Daily and the Royal Canterlot Library
With sequel, The Night Guard - Night Mares
And an interview by Benman

Legend has it that on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape.

After one-thousand years of being bound in the celestial body, Nightmare Moon is free! Right alongside the poor sap that got bound with her.

Thrust into an unfamiliar world, with scars and memories that are now drastically out of place, this is the story of the former guard captain, Magic Barrier.

Do the words above sound familiar? If they do, then you've probably read my other story, A Pony Displaced. This tale isn't a sequel. It isn't a rewrite, though you might consider it a re-imagining of sorts. It is a tale of progression, one that I hope will show my development as a writer in both skill and quality. But more importantly, it is a story that offers exploration into one simple question. What if Magic Barrier had trotted down another path?

As always, thanks go out to everyone who helped me get to this point. In particular, thank you to Alticron, for editing, proofreading, co-writing, being my idea-wall, and arguably the single biggest reason this story saw the light the day, and thank you to Word Worthy, formerly Izanagi, who also edited, proofread, and threw ideas around with us. It wouldn't be possible without these two. In addition to those two I'd like to thank the newest member of the group Omnicron25 for his efforts in proofing/editing as well. Damn glad to have you on board mate.

Additional thanks to Wing for keeping me company late nights and for being a wordsmith when I needed one.

Captain Magic Barrier is far from home. Almost everything he once held dear is gone—except for a pair of alicorns, the country for which he fought, and his skills as a competent military officer. And it’s all thanks to a certain legend regarding the longest day on the thousandth year.

Professor Tail has got something to prove. A sharp mind and a quick wit in the world of academia, this pegasus is harboring a state secret that could change Equestria’s defenses forever. She just needs to survive basic training first.

Now, a common ally has played her royal hoof to bring these two together. Perhaps she knows that once training is all said and done, the physicist caught in the unfamiliar world of guard service and the captain dragged through the ages will find themselves a bit less displaced.

So, this was a super fun one to write. Well, sorta-write. In truth, I wrote very little. This story is a collaborative effort between myself and this sexy topless Wingly fellow here, and it is based quite heavily off of our characters and their intertwined stories. The amount of work he put into this is staggering, and words can not express how bloody impressive it is/was. I mean, I was there supervising, but he bloody brought it.

Cover art by the amazing dream--chan!
We have a bunch of folks who helped Wing edit that deserve thanks. These are our editors, proofreaders, and coffee slaves!
Editing Slave Word Worthy, Coffee Slave Iryerris, rebellious slave that has to be beaten into submission regularly Doccular, to Shady's Slave Floofy, because typos can suck a knob, and to the Overcute Pet, Sixkiller5, because print runs need typo slaying.

Special thanks to Discount Slave Alticron, for letting us use a certain earth pony we want to crucify.

Wing's magical comments about various story timelines can be found here, but the gist is that NLD and its coming sequels exist in a separate continuity from APD.

Lastly, if you find any typos, please PM them to Wing You should also totally follow him too.

One thousand years ago there were six pony races: The Earth, the Pegasi, the Unicorns, the Crystal, the Shadhavar... and the Dragonponies, the Longma. With bat wings, draconic eyes, and reptillain frills these creatures were told about in myth and legend as tricksters and monsters. The demonic minions of the bogeymare Nightmare Moon. But this lost race has returned, a menacing force appearing far to the north. Twilight Sparkle decides to investigate and ask the Princesses about the details, but she soon finds herself responsible for an empire of monsters, worshipping Twilight as the successor to the Mare in the Moon. How will she handle the pressure?

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.

Gilda only wanted the humble things in life. Cheap rent, copious bits, the respect of her peers, the occasional juicy field-mouse.

Being captured by the Equestrians and dragooned into the Territorials wasn't quite what she'd dreamed of, but at least the rent was free.

And the rats were nice and plump.

This story is a sequel to Good Trooper Gilda

Gilda has been a fugitive, a refugee, a prisoner of war, and a bat-hen to Equestria's fussiest unicorn. But it wasn't until she took 'the Princess's bit', that she began to know something about what it meant to be responsible for the welfare of others, even if the others in question happened to be the pack of imbeciles, blackguards, con-ponies, and bat-ponies who had been fool enough to answer her captain's call to the standard.

A crystalline standard which had not been seen in the living world for over a thousand years.

And although Captain Gleaming Shield and her motley band of raw recruits and shifty bat-ponies aimed to do nothing more exotic and dangerous than put a foreign princess on her proper throne, there are other things stirring in the shadows.

Like calls to like, and the revival of ancient battle-colors may lead to the revival of other, darker memories upon which the rays of Celestia's sun lay lightly and infrequently.

After Canterlot Castle is blown up, Twilight, Luna, and Celestia realized something that they should have noticed long ago.

The Royal Guard SUCKS.

(Takes place right before the MLP movie, when the castle was changed.)

Featured from April 3rd to April 5th!