Twilight's clone barely escaped her grisly end, and is seeking refuge in the large city of Manehattan. She's quite fine with going it alone, until she spots somepony just like her.

Inspired by the Cover Art by Badumsquish

With the memory stone crisis behind her, it's time for Sunset to deal with an even bigger challenge:

A caring Princess Celestia interested in seeing how Sunset lives on Earth.

* Takes place right after Forgotten Friendship, Teen for some tame Sun x Sci-Twi Romance Fluff
* Helps to have seen the two minute short Rarity's Display of Affection
* Cover From a Picture by akainu7
* Editing help by Clancrusher
* Featured on Equestria Daily's 2018 Sunset Day 50 Fic list!
* Translated into Chinese on Fimtale by Cyber Poison

Recommended - PresentPerfect

Vinyl Scratch is alone. Her parents are gone and she's estranged herself from the rest of her family years ago. Now she's fallen on hard times; she spends her days drinking, her nights partying and the intervening time in trouble with the guards.

After one too many run-ins with the authorities she is assigned a personal guard to help her get her life back on track. The only question is: can she truly be helped, or is she far too gone at this point?

Proof-reading provided by Shrink Laureate.

Cover art by Mytho.

On the eve of the Summer Sun Celebration, Spike discovers all of Ponyville has been trapped in a deep sleep by an unknown enemy. What's more, even he himself is falling victim to the spell. Fortunately, the Princess of the Night is wide awake, even when she sleeps.

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.

Twilight Sparkle receives a new book from Discord chock-full of interesting and unknown facts about draconequi. How fascinating!

Nothing sinister about that, right?

Equestria's history is like a swan on a lake, seemingly graceful motion hiding the furious effort beneath the surface. Whose effort? Twilight is about to find out.

An expanded version of an entry in the June 2015 Writeoff Competition. Prompt: A Matter of Perspective
Rated Teen for death, undeath, and mutation without consent.

If Zap apples make such phenomenal jam, why aren’t they used for the Apple family’s other famed delicacy: cider? Apple Bloom wants to know, and dooms all of Ponyville into finding out.

Featured on Equestria Daily
Pre-read by bookplayer

Minuette sits outside, sipping tea and waiting for something. This is about to become the best day of her life. She knows it, and yet she doesn't.

Twilight's got a pretty good life going in Ponyville. Her days are full of friendship, studying, and the studying of friendship. On top of that, she's a princess in a fancy crystal castle in Ponyville. Her life is as close to perfect as she can imagine it...

Except for that weird noise that has suddenly started keeping her up at night.

Click here for an audio reading by Emogak