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.

Sunset Shimmer is having the worst day of her life. She used to be important. She was the personal student of Princess Celestia. She was a future leader of Equestria. She was the kind of mare that everypony envied.

Today, it's all crashing down around her.

Alternate Universe: What if Sunset Shimmer hadn't gone through the mirror?

This story is a sequel to Trouble in Tiatarta

Reading Trouble in Tiatarta is not necessary to enjoy this story, but you should probably read Queen Chrysalis Reforms (Accidentally)

Rainbow Dash is certain she's about to have the best week ever! She's gotten a letter from her idol Daring Do, inviting her to an expedition to the ancient Centaurian ruin of Midnight Castle to retrieve a lost Equestrian artifact! A daring adventure with Daring Do? What could go wrong?

Well, for one thing, Doctor Caballeron could show up, chasing after the same artifact. For another, Lord Tirek and Cozy Glow could show up too, with their own nefarious plans. Wait, but they're supposed to be in Tartarus!

Maybe this isn't going to be such a great week after all...

Advances in science and magic had detected the Anomaly – a star in the heavens that was unlike all the others in the night sky. Intense research had only served to deepen the mystery. Although Equus had a vibrant space program, going forty-two light years to investigate had been considered impossible until now. The Cosmic Lotus program was born, and over a hundred crew-members of multiple species were sent into the void to discover the unknown. After a journey of years, what they would find would both amaze and terrify them.

The prequel to this story is the "Ad Astra" arc in the story – "Life, Love, and Death in the House of Path".

This will be a crossover story with my "Chakat Universe".

How would things be different if Twilight had never made it to Ponyville? Twilight Sparkle finds out just how different things could be when she is forced to travel to her own past while chasing down a mystery; a plot to erase Princess Twilight Sparkle from history.

Landing in a time just weeks after the one thousandth Summer Sun Celebration, she finds a world shrouded in an eternal night, where the Elements of Harmony were never recovered. Can she fix the things that should have, but didn't happen? Or is this Equestria destined to head down a different path?

Chinese Translation by Hell Organist

My name is Kadie, and when I was eight years old, my people, the griffins, went to war with the ponies of Equestria. My mother never wanted me to think about that, so she never talked about it. The Emperor told my father that he had to go off and fight the ponies, though, so I know that she thought about it a lot.

A few months after I turned ten, a messenger came into our town and told us that our emperor didn't want to fight anymore, so the ponies won, and we lost. Mother said that since we lived so close to our capital, we needed to go see the pony army meet our emperor.

I did not like that.

Edited wonderfully by Prak

When a well placed conversation sparks the throes of adventure within a mare like Daring Do she finds herself once again flying the high skies in search of great treasure! The Legendary Ruby Knight.

When a mishap occurs with Celestia's bathroom scale, an ancient protocol that may just doom Equestria is set into motion. With the entire palace staff now conspiring against her, the sun goddess must not only contend mountains of paper work, dancing celery sticks, and steroid pumped stallions, but a sister who will take this chance to torture Celestia any way she can as payback for her banishment. Lock the cupboards and barricade the fridge! It's the Royal Diet!

Now with TVTropes page! :http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Fanfic/ASliceOfLife

A visitor arrives in Equestria, bearing a wealth of knowledge and a troubled past. The Mane 6 are quick to befriend the stranger, who helps them to discover what they truly value in life, and how to achieve it.

But learning to overcome their fears and achieve their desires comes at a steep price, paid by their innocence.

Lyra teleports a human to Equestria to learn more about their culture. Some SF concepts in the first two chapters, but probably going to delve into slice-of-life and some platonic romance.

My first foray into fiction after a ton of essay writing. C&C welcome!

Please also check out Nethelli's Far From Home, which has a similar premise and came first.

Story image courtesy Steeve.