There are many axioms in Equestria. "Go with the grain." "Count your blessings." "Strive to be happy with what you have."

And, though left unsaid, the most important one of all: "Know your place."

Although Flash Sentry loves Twilight, she can never know of his love. She can never return the feelings. It wouldn't be proper. After all, social order is more important than fulfilling one's own wishes.

Alternate Universe tag is due to the existence of a caste system in this story. Please keep that in mind as you read.

Thanks to Sir Rustbucket, Draconian Soul, Regidar, and Loopy Legend for editing.

Now Featured on Equestria Daily!

Now with a poem by Fiend from the Darkness!

Now with a YouTube reading by BlackIrisBalloon (and multiple voice actors)!

Now with a Korean translation by Kianoke!

Followed by What Hath Joined Together.

Rated Teen for mild violence and thematic elements.

Canterlot has had a few peaceful weeks of nothing happening, no chaos, no monsters attacking no nothing. that is until a changeling wonders into the kingdom and changes it forever.

'this was made quickly and just as a random story not meant to be taken seriously at all and was made mostly due to random dreams'
cover by the great Lomeo

This story is a sequel to "I want to be an uncle...THAT'S AN ORDER, PRIVATE!"

Flash is pretty sure he's not ready to have a foal to look after yet,
but he's also not ready for Shining beating him to a pulp if he went against his orders.
So, he tries reasoning with the princess, perhaps she has a different view on this topic,
and she does...in all the wrong ways.

Aawthorz noatz: People wanted a sequel, and like it or not, here it is.

This story is a sequel to "I want to be an uncle...THAT'S AN ORDER, PRIVATE!"

With an order from Shining, and no help from Cadance, Flash sets of on his "mission" to go to Twilight's.
Unfortunately, the situation goes in a completely different direction than he thought.

Authors regrets: Here it is. The "Threequil" that I'm sure many (or no one) wanted.
At first, I didn't really want to write this fic, seeing as how this is probably frowned upon, but I knew others wanted to see some conclusion to all of this, and it was kinda fun writing, so here it is. The last of the "I want to be a" Series...hopefully.

Shining doesn't feel very keen on having a foal or filly to look after.
He'd much rather have a niece or a nephew.
So, with Twilight being his only sibling,
and the only pony she seems to have a thing for is Flash,
(at least, that's what Shining thinks.)
The captain puts two and two together and comes up with one simple solution.
"PRIVATE! I order you to buck my sister!"

~And to this day, Atlas still regrets ever writing this fan fic~

Sometimes, when I look at fanart... things happen.
This was one of them.
I'm sorry.

Shining Armor has everything - the wife, the house, the life. So when he rolls over to find the creature that crashed his wedding and nearly wrecked his chance at happiness snuggled oh-so-sweetly at his side, with his darling Cadance at his other, it's all he can do to keep it together and try to assemble the missing pieces.

Orchid Mantis, a changeling, has come to the Crystal Empire, hoping to retire in peace. However, a terrible curse set by King Sombra as revenge for his defeat threatens the city, summoning monsters to raze everything to the ground... and only the power of love can stop them. The changeling, being able to tap into that power at will, has been drafted to help fight these monsters when they appear...

However, for a dedicated martial artist, defeating monsters is easy. For a changeling, raising a child is a much greater challenge. And building a meaningful relationship? Harder still...

Part of the the rebooted Cricket-verse, aka The Nonsense-Verse.

Long Path, an earth pony living in Canterlot, and his best friend, a griffon named Free Agent, set out in the company of Twilight Sparkle to visit various places and species to look into what makes them different, and hopefully learn how to get along with them better. Things rarely go to plan though, and along the way, they discover things about themselves, and find love, drama, and laughter. Then Chrysalis changes everything, and the fate of the whole world might be at stake. Their lives will never be the same!

This story is set mostly after the events of Conversations in a Canterlot Cafe and builds on the fanon of the series, especially changelings, so you might want to read those stories first for background material.

Once a year, the Night Guards of Canterlot receive a very important shipment, much to the distress of their peers. Flash Sentry has no idea what the fuss is all about.

(Submission for EqD's Friend Off event.)

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.