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.

The Changeling Hive is rigid, its ranks and rules unbending. There is one law that stands above all others; the Hive speaks with one voice.

But two changelings dare to speak with their own voices. They dare to defy the Hive in the most incredible way possible.

They crave freedom. Whatever comes next, live or die, they will do it as free changelings.

Framed as a guidebook for humans trapped in the bodies of evil overlords, here lies the tale of a human in the body of Grogar, locked in an alternate timeline dominated by Nightmare Moon. How will he survive, and perhaps even thrive, in such bleak circumstances? Read on to find out.

Part of The Ocean Of Time series.

John is alone on this world and has not seen a single soul in a long time. His only companions have been the ghosts only he can hear. Driven by guilt, he goes from town to town, searching and doing the only thing he can do:

Give the dead their final rest.

Discord once gave him a gift. It was given in grief. John has yet to understand what this gift means. He has lost track of time and madness and sanity wage a constant war in his mind.

For John, the greatest terror in his heart is facing the Goddesses.

He's about to meet one of them.

In a parallel universe, there exists an Equestria where the Princess of the Sun is not a pony, but one of the most advanced war machines ever created.

Featured on the front page! Thanks, everyone!

Check out an audio reading of this story by No One and Nobody here!

Parents tell their foals that they can be anything that they want.
For me, however, it's a bit more literal.
At least it would be if my parents had said that.
Or if I knew them at all!
So what do you do when you can become anypony?
You become a spy, of course.

BEWARE: SPOILERS IN THE COMMENTS

King Sombra’s dark influence was obliterated by the Crystal Heart, and the villain is well and truly dead. But when he attempts to steal the afterlife of an innocent victim, a human spirit is left hurtling towards Equestria, where this unfortunate soul is revived into the only vessel available: the reconstituted body of King Sombra himself.

Thus, a cheerfully oblivious alien is crammed into the form of the most evil and malicious being Equestria has ever known. Not that Shining Armor and Cadence know this, of course. As far as they are concerned, the King is back and he’s lost his fricking mind.

Click here for the TV Tropes page!

200 years after zebra megaspells ravaged Equestria, a pony wakes up in an odd facility. The bad news is that he's confused, without memory, and hears voices in his head. The other bad news is that everything around him wants to kill him.

There is no good news.

Fallout: Equestria created by Kkat. Thanks for the great story!
Cover by Drawponies! Thanks for the amazing picture!

What if Discord had not been turned to stone by the Mane 6? What if he had escaped?
It is three years later and the Mane 6 have moved on with their lives, all except Fluttershy, who cannot get the draconequus out of her mind. The others are happy in their new and comfortable lives, until their enemy returns and will only relieve Equestria of his havoc in exchange for a bride.

This has been adapted into an audio series.

Also, here's a dramatic reading by Pablo Didonna, and one by 666HellGirl1

Cover Art by Nstone53

French: http://www.deviantart.com/art/Une-Mariee-pour-Discord-La-fuite-440318295
Spanish: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10203187/1/La-Novia-de-Discord

*Bronyland Pony Awards Nominee 2013

I am a United States Air Force fighter pilot. I'm supposed to be a fearless, balls to the wall man of unfathomable feats. But somehow, I was taken from my world during a simple, routine flight. Now that I'm stuck here, part of me wishes I could have done things differently... The other part wants to stay here in this peaceful land, surrounded by serenity. Only time will tell where my road leads. I just hope I can find a way to cope in the mean time.

Awesome cover art by Balthasar999