This story is a sequel to Changing Expectations

When ages are segmented and divided in the annals of history, it is done so with great events as breakpoints. The Second Age of Heroes was unanimously declared to have started with the return of Princess Luna and the changeling Invasion of Canterlot.

For thousands of years, the changelings survived beneath The Great Tapestry, that which connects all living and nonliving things. Hundreds of generations worked endlessly to keep their existence a secret. With one command from Queen Chrysalis, the Masquerade was broken.

In a single night, the changelings waged war against Equestria and took the Kingdom by storm. Months later, the war between changelings and ponies has ended. A new tapestry, a new story, must be woven between the two species. Equestria and the Fifth Hive have gone through a dark chapter and have emerged stronger for it.

One war ends and another begins.

As The Sword of Damocles hangs above the heads of the formerly-human King Phasma and his Equestrian counterparts, the forces of light must work on an ever-shortening window before war once again brings Hell to Equus. Dark powers grow in the places that the light does not reach, and they bring one irrefutable truth.

Epitaph is coming.

Cover art by Nixworld.

Special thanks to my pre-readers!

It's simple really.

I get Isekai'd into the body of magical Genghis Khan moments before he begins his conquest for world domination.

Universe, Say hello to the new and improved STORM KING!!! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA *cough cough* ow... my throat...

Warning: This story contains anthropomorphic animal people, an evil king building an evil empire, the power of friendship, not so evil plans for world domination, boring magic rainbow sunshine world politics, and a protagonist who really doesn't want to die.

Enjoy ;)

PS- This story is being cross-posted over from my Wattpad to here, so the editing might be crappy :/

First Feature: February 9th 2023

This story is a sequel to The Dusk Guard Saga: Beyond the Borderlands

"With ever-excellent action sequences, steady and effective character growth for our two leads, and constantly high stakes, the viking once again delivers an exciting and memorable adventure." —PaulAsaran

Long ago, a city of great magical power and ability was beset by evil and sealed away beyond the scope of time. Now that seal has begun to fray.

First Lieutenant Hunter and the rest of the Dusk Guard have been dispatched. At face value, their mission seems straightforward: Secure the city. Hold until reinforced.

But nothing for the Dusk Guard is ever quite that simple, and this mission is no exception. As the city nears its return so does its ancient king, a shade who once wielded enough power to bring even immortals to their knees. And if he is allowed to regain his throne, will once more. Worse, the city may very well be under the iron hoof of his own followers, a ruthless order who will stop at nothing to see their king regain his former glory.

Dark magics. Cities lost to time. Ancient evil.

The Dusk Guard's first official mission has begun.

Book III of The Dusk Guard Saga
Epic Fantasy
Official Series Timeline at TDG Group Forums
Can be found on TV Tropes at The Dusk Guard Saga’s page (Page outdated)
Cover art by ... well, I don't know. I was unable to find any credit whatsoever on the hosting site or by searching. If you know, please PM and pass it on so it can be properly attributed!
Alpha and Beta read by Halusm, Seirs, Bugsydor, and son_of_heaven176. Many thanks for your help!
If you encounter what you think are typos in the story, PM them rather than clogging the comments feed with them.

Author’s note: From time to time you may encounter a hotlink in the text. These hotlinks are background themes I listened to when writing the fic and can be clicked or passed over at your own choice. It is recommended that for maximum enjoyment beforehand if you do wish to follow them, make sure that your volume settings on YouTube are at a comfortable level and make use of Ctrl+Shft+Clicking or the middle mouse button to open the song in a new tab. Be aware that there may be ads if you do not have an adblocker.

Or just don’t click on them until later. They are an entirely optional experience, and can be passed over without incident.

Fragmented tales from the frontlines, starring or about Sergeant Reckless.

My tribute and gift to an oft unsung hero.

On that fateful night on the moon, the princess of night is truly no more, and from those ashes, rises a new entity that is forced to take over her mantle, all her good and her sin.

Destiny weaved by the harmony itself laid before her. A part of the grand story, to be a tutorial villain, to be an exposition giver's sidekick, and to be slaved away beside the golden throne, then retired to a hut in god knows where, lost in history.

"Fuck that I'm out"

And so begin a new tale.

1. Half of "dark" tags are there as precaution because i will skimps over a bit but very rarely. for example Non-consensual will be use one time on no-name one-time oc character in a flashback. as far as i planned currently.
2. This is my first time writing a long novel. I promised to post the full plot outline somewhere if I somehow unable to finish it.

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.

Nearly a year after arriving in Equestria, Anon has been turned into a bat-pony by accident. Now one of the general populace Anon will go on adventures causing mayhem wherever he goes.

So basically the same thing he did before becoming a horse.

Anonymous doesn't ask for much in life. Good friends, a place to sleep, and of course, the snoots of ponies to boop. There's nothing he won't do to boop those snootles, and he has traveled far and wide to experience the snoots of all known nations, races, and creeds. Yet there is one kind of snoot that he has been unable to boop: that of an alicorn.
That changes today.

A quick bit of silliness whipped up in a few hours. No, I don't know why, either.

The earth farmer that previously lived in a corner of Equestria, mysteriously finds himself waking up inside a forest he didn't recognize.

So, he does what he has done his entire life.

Keep living in the present.

It's worked for long enough, why wouldn't it work now?

Also why are so many ponies with life problems coming to him?

And why is the number just constantly increasing?

What’s a mare with a dolphin cutie mark doing out in the middle of Equestria?

Whatever the answer, Sea Swirl is one of Ponyville’s own. For all her quirks, ponies around don’t mind; they’ve seen and are stranger. And for as strange as her friends ‘Sergeant Reckless’ and ‘Screwy’ can be, Ponyville knows better.

They’re a little out of place. But it’s the right place.

Reckless is a tribute to the mare of the same name.
Cover art by the lovely 28GoodDays.

”A pairing of three characters that I wouldn't think of in a hundred years, but somehow they all fit together...”
—NorrisThePony