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.

Everyone wears a mask. For the rulers of Equestria, that mask must be impeccable for their subjects. Only around their guards can the two Princesses relax ever so slightly, occasionally showing that they are just as fallible as any other creature. For one Princess, the burdens of her own mind begin to make the mask crack. However, when Private Steel Heart notices that it is, in fact, the pony underneath the mask that is beginning to splinter, he offers to help.

He had no idea such help would first involve getting attacked with a large brush.

Warning: Involves slow-burn romances, lots of feelings, comforting moments, adorable affectionate gestures, lethal amounts of fluff, feel-good auras, and a deadly combing implement.
Takes place around Season 8-9 (ish)

Cover art used with permission by the talented Yakovlev-Vad, seriously, check out his art. He's fantastic!
https://www.deviantart.com/yakovlev-vad/art/Oops-Sketch-743917791
*Edit. Featured on the first day? WHAT IS HAPPENING?

Trixie and Starlight discover witchcraft is real, and do the obvious thing about it.

A commission for R5h, who deserves the world and is more patient than I deserve. Edited by MrNumbers.

Patreon. Ko-fi. Picture of me looking handsome.

Spike wakes up to no memory of himself or why he's missing an arm. Someone sleeps against his chest, an angel of white, an apparently formal friend. What does a dragon, forgetting his past, do with his future?

[Self-induglent Sparity riddled with purple prose to cheer me up]

Diamond Tiara enters the Running of the Leaves. She wants Rainbow Dash to coach her. She gets Discord instead.

Set a year or two after the main series, but contains no spoilers. An entry to the Season 10 Bingo Contest. Prompt is in the author's note at the end.

Big thanks to RCharge for editing and Gingerquill for a pre-read!

Awarded a "Judge's Choice" in the contest! Hype!

Out Of The Running really expands on The Running Of The Leaves... Add that with kirin beginning to mingle in Ponyville, Diamond Tiara wanting to run, a drought, and Discord, and you have a winning formula... Overall, I absolutely adored this story and I'm glad that it was entered in this contest.

—MyLittleBronyDude

Cover art: https://derpibooru.org/images/1944253

A few years after Luna's return it seems that Equestria will finally know an era of peace and appears to be on the verge of a new renaissance. Ponies are blithely happy, as they are often.

Luna is recovering, and happier than she's been a long, long time.

Celestia is miserable. She's faced with unexpected changes, like always. It never really mattered until she was faced with something (or rather somepony) she wasn't sure if she could cope with, and everything that came with him.

Now, it feels like she is watching the world fall apart. Her world.

Book One of the Strange Future arc. Thanks to NorrisThePony for proofreading and editing help! There are also unmarked spoilers in the comments. Content warnings are for discussions, themes, and 'off-screen' events. Contribute to the TVTropes page! The lovely art is by Rocket Lawn Chair but it has been edited by me. Old cover art by Alumx may be found here. Find the previous arc here!

All Sunset Shimmer ever wanted was a place to belong, a place where she felt loved. Though, who would love a defiant sixteen years old? No one has ever wanted her. Can Vice Principal Luna show her the love and care she so greatly desires?

Cover art - Dusk Melody
Editor - FreeHomeBrew

Sex tag - for jokes, and mention of sexual relationships, but nothing too obscene. ChrysXLuna is for the romance tag.

This story is a sequel to Cozy Glow: FIENDship is Magic

Four Equestrian teenagers. One human mall. Predictable results.

Takes place during Season 8!
Rated Teen for a few small scenes of non-sexual nudity

An entry into The Discovery — A Young Six Writing Contest

"And here you'll see the statue of the Lord of Chaos, Discord, imprisoned in stone..."

A group of students from the School for Gifted Unicorns are given a chance to visit Celestia's royal garden and a curious filly decides to ask about a statue that's in their tour, where they all hear the story of how the spirit of chaos fell into a stone imprisonment for the third and final time.

Art by: Kabudragon

Lyra thinks Discord is an idiot for not thinking to dodge when the Elements of Harmony were about to strike him. Discord thinks this is the perfect opportunity for a game.

Part of the Borderworld.

Now with audio reading by Dreamless Portal. Chinese and Spanish translations also available.