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.

[img]http://oi58.tinypic.com/b3x10k.jpg[/img]

Congratulations on choosing this, the first edition of A Brief History of Equestria!

For far to long, the vitally important role of educating our foals of the history of our nation has been delegated to Folk Lore and word of mouth, while the realities of the past have been documented, stored and educated only to the elite. It is therefore the intent of myself, the Royal Historical Society, and the Royal Ministry of Education to provide the common pony with access to a document that offers as full a history of Equestria as can be practically provided, which is the tome you now hold in your hooves.

Keep in mind that no single book cannot replace a properly structured and scheduled classroom on the subject, and while an Encyclopedia format would give a much more comprehensive narrative, the copious amounts of information would render the exercise counter-productive. As such, this book can only give what amounts to a summary of an abridged version at best. It is my hope that everypony who reads this gains an insatiable thirst for more. Hopefully with further editions, more knowledge can be included, along with a collection of tie-in texts that focus more closely on specific areas of interest.

-Twilight Sparkle, M.B.A., on behalf of the Royal Ministry of Education.

TVTropes Page
MLP Fanart Wiki Page (needs wiki love)
OST

Twilight Sparkle is an expert in unicorn magic, but earth pony magic remains a mystery to her. The books in her library have very little information about the earth tribe's abilities, other than their famous strength. Twilight is determined to uncover their secrets.

What she learns will change her life.

And it just might change Applejack's life as well.

Featured on Equestria Daily.

After a hard day of monster butt kicking, the mane 6 try to enjoy their day off.

Unfortunately for them, Pinkie Pie has forgotten how to use gravity. Now her friends have to suffer her ludicrous claims and logic.

So much for a day off...

It is common knowledge that the two Princesses of Equestria, Celestia and Luna, are sisters. Their lives have been documented since their births, each over 1300 years ago. Both had been raised from birth to lead the three pony tribes, and to guide the two celestial bodies across the sky. They are opposites, they are equal, and they are sisters. It was all going according to plan until a being from their past showed up, trying to take over the city of Canterlot. In the process, revealed a long forgotten secret they had held for over a millennia.

With the secret out, Princess Celestia is forced to reveal her sister's true origins, why the changelings attacked, and where it all went wrong between the two races.

Credit for the new cover art goes to Plainoasis.

Note #2: Well this got submitted quickly. That auto function is no joke. I'm so used to waiting for three to four hours for my story to pass moderation. Thanks I guess.

Note #3: Featured on 2-27-16. Now I'm going to party like its 1699.

Note #4: Reached 100 likes Oct 26th 2016

Twilight Sparkle finds an ancient book in her library about teleportation magic. After an experiement gone wrong she and her friends find themselves in a strange land with new friends and make some new enemies.
She must now try to find a way back to Equestria or face the possibility of being eaten alive by a new threat that lurks in the skies above.

Copyrights go to their respective owners - Hasbro, Bethesda, etc.

Picture provided by DJMoonRay.

I am very biased in the real game so any changes such as sides of Stormcloaks or Imperials are already chosen and will not be changed.

In 2185, during his campaign against the Collectors, Commander Shepard discovered a previously unknown species whose origins predated any other race in the modern galaxy. Following a daring rescue from their ancient sanctuary, the Equestrian Herd was brought back into the galaxy where, for the first time in eons, they must walk their own path.

Knowing full well the terrible threat that lingers on the edge of the galaxy, the leader of this newly freed race fights to secure her people’s future while attempting to prepare for the storm on the horizon.

This is her story.
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The long awaited Sequel to Mass Effect 2: The Equestrian Equation This is a reader directed story. Your choices will shape events.
If you favorite, also like! It's one little button click that makes all the difference.

Also, this series has its own TVTropes page now! (Special thanks to user CrowMagnon for setting it up).

Months of torment without end. Months of going to school, fearing each torturous moment. Rarity, broken and afraid, finds solace in a small clearing in a forest near her school. Her bullies do not come for her there.

Until one day they do.

They make their intentions of beating her up quite plain, and when the leader went to attack her... What she did; she didn't mean for it to happen that way, but it happened.

In the main timeline, she killed all three of her tormentors and went on to become a deadly serial killer. Here, one of them escapes, and Rarity is caught right away...

An alternate universe of The Secret Life of Rarity

Cover art link

Want a print copy? You can get one here!

Something about Lightning Dust just seemed a little 'off'. Sometimes she didn't react the right way to the world around her, and sometimes the way she reacted was positively frightening... but it wasn't until she laughed off nearly killing a couple of ponies that anypony actually realized just how messed up she was.

Cover art is by the amazing and godlike Conicer.

*Not a gluefic.

This is a fic based on the Time Loop Files, the format of which was first codified by Innortal on fanfiction.net.
Here's a brief guide.
The basic idea is, one character (the Anchor, usually the main character of a fictional setting) is looping back to the very first moments of their parent series every time either they die or some kind of time limit expires. They of course end up monumentally stir crazy given enough time.
Eventually others start to loop as well.
The reset is not always perfect. Sometimes a loop's history will be different to the "prime" loop, or canonical plot.
"Crossover" or "Fusion" loops also occur, randomly. These can involve the home loopers having a guest, or the anchor for one universe spending time in another, or replacements of one character by another.
Vacation Loops are where the Anchor (or others) decide/s "buck it" and lets off steam by doing whatever comes to mind. There's little or no attempt to maintain the original timeline.

In addition, and particularly more recently, it should be known that this story has a collaborative element to it - people may submit loop ideas or loops, ideally at the Spacebattles thread (a link to the current version of which is on the Trope page), and they may become included.

There's two page image options, thanks to Filraen - the current page image has been edited by the original creator from this work of theirs.. The other one is here:
http://hourglass-vectors.deviantart.com/art/MLP-Loops-466030169