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.

Equestria is still picking up the pieces after the defeat of Tirek, and everypony is helping out with the paperwork, even Rainbow Dash. Things change when Princess Celestia arrives, bringing with her a letter with some very stunning accusations of the exploits of a resident in the town of Oasis. Now, the main six are tasked with finding out if the letter was truth or fiction. Did this Mister Baker really do what they claim? Only one way to find out.

However, Mister Baker is not who, or what they expected.

Rated Teen for occasional language. Additional tags added for more dark themes.

Proof read and edited by the amazing SunnyPack , Snakeskin Ducktape, and Tyrannosaurus Tux.

I got dragged to Equestria by pure accident due to an experiment gone 'wrong', roughly forty years before Nightmare Moons' arrival.
No matter what I do, as a pony-changeling hybrid, something will change with Equestria. I just hope I don't doom the country before Nightmare Moon even arrives... Or worse.

This is the first story I ever tried to write professionally, so there WILL be errors, for that, I apologize in advance.
I'm editing and proofreading it on my own because I literally suck when it comes to using this site competently.
Lastly, I am a slow writer due to IRL getting in the way but I will try my hardest to settle the story down whether it's popular or not.

Fair warning, there may be spoilers in the comments.

Thank you to Little Tigress for the fantastic cover art.

Accessing Files... Accessing...
File Found.

Name: Anton Ilario
Troop Number: #35863756-878
Location of Birth: Elysia Secundus, Elysia Prime
Date of Birth: 2.456.922.M41
Unit: 158th Elysian Drop Troopers
Rank: Trooper (Field Chirurgeon)
Previous Campaign: N/A
Current Campaign: Second Offensive against House Lysimicus forces on Veyland Sinestre.
Status: MIA (Believed KIA)

Leaving File...
Imperial Thought of the Day: Suffer Not the Alien to Live.

Rainbow Dash is gone.
Two Years ago she performed a trick to eclipse all others, and vanished without a trace. Everypony has started to get over it, although for five ponies the loss is to great even now. In respect the Wonderbolts do a performance for her at the site of her death. However, a certain Cyan mare is hard to kill, and is loyal to the ends of the universe, she can say that with certainty now, she’s been, and now she’s back. But what is she wearing, and where did she go for two years? Buckle up, for in Equestria there may be peace, but in the 41st Millennium, there is only war.

Now with a sequel: The Descent into Madness

Featured: 06/05/2014. Thanks so much to you guys.

Rated Teen for Violence and Grim dark references

This story is similar in ideas to Into the Black: A mares tale, Diamond of the Capital Wasteland and Halo: On the wings of Angels

New cover art done by Reapers Inc

WARNING: Comments contain spoilers. Proceed into that section at your own risk.

Elias Bright is a survivor. He has survived the end of the world. He has survived the deaths of his family. He has survived the death of all that he has built. On the run from a past that haunts him to his core, he finds himself in Equestria, a land of tranquility and peace. Elias now has a choice. Does he give up the only life he has known, that of a survivor, and settle with the ponies of Equestria, or will his past deeds come to drag him back into the dark past he has tried to bury?