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.

This story is a sequel to Rise of the Titans

After being accidently bitten by their respective lovers, The cutie mark crusaders, Silver spoon, Dinky, and Twist are all turning into anthromorphic ponies (by that, I mean turning into humans with pony ears and tails). The princesses strive to find a cure for the fillies. But after seeing their coltfriends hilarious reactions to seeing them in teenager outfits, the fillies asked to call of the search. How will the boys cope with their fillyfriends turning into what they are becoming?

Based on Night of the Werepony, so click here to see where I got the idea from.

Warning: This story contains ponies of young age turning into humanoid ponies, human boys saying "HELLO NURSE!", and cute antics, such as snuggling, petting, and tail wagging.

A few years have passed since Princess Luna was purged of the evil known as Nightmare Moon by the Elements of Harmony. She took back her rightful place on the throne of Equestria at her sisters side.
On a sunny day, a couple of seemingly mundane events trigger memories long forgotten. Memories of a secret Luna hast kept to herself for far too long. Facing Celestia won't be easy. But she has no choice. It is her duty to care for her subjects, and she has to retake the responsibility she could not fulfill while banished to the moon.

In terms of full disclosure, the story got a review by TheifofZ.

What has happened since her disappearance? What will she find? A joyful reunion or devastation? What happened to her Children of the Night?

Inspired by Children of the Night. Cover art is a screenshot from the video. I do not know if there is an "official" story for the Children of the Night and I do not claim mine to be "canon" in the context of the video. These are just my thoughts on what might have happened back in the days.

This story takes place right before the season 4 finale.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders decide they need to expand their numbers, but things quickly go awry when their first target begins sobbing on the spot. Sweetie Belle soon finds herself roped into hanging out with the young colt.

Can Sweetie Belle see past the young colts weirdness and allow friendship to bloom? Can Button Mash fake enough normal behavior to make at least one friend? Will these two hit it off, or are Button’s only friends destined to be the ones in his video games, forever?

Cover art by users Vallis and Novel-Idea

Life is full of surprises. That is a known fact. However, you always expect some kind of minor surprise, like your train arriving a little too late, or your ice-cream having vanilla taste rather than strawberry. But sometimes, life will give you surprises you could never predict. For Fluttershy, it was three little foals. But not her own foals, or even orphans. Three little foals that used to be her and her friends' most fearsome and dreaded foes.

Sombra, Chrysalis and Nightmare Moon.

Will Fluttershy's nerves survive this onslaught of misadventures? Will she keep the three villains hidden? Will she even become friends with them? Why do I sound like a narrator to a bad criminal drama? Don't think or try to answer those questions, just go ahead and read!

Edited by: MessoriaAQ, Cerulean Voice, Gidget_TheGear, Twilight Fashion

Cover art by amazing Missangest!

Cover art got featured on Drawfriend in EqD!
The story itself got proudly rejected by EqD!

Little Mac has always had a hard time in school. While reading and writing just seemed to come easy to other ponies, he had to struggle constantly and even then he didn't get it. Was he doomed to forever not be able to learn like the other ponies, or was it because he had never been taught the right way?

Thank you so much to Biker Dash,jszellmer, CptBrony, and Masked Ferret for the edits! Also thank you to Allonso Bronyguy and Shrapmo for reading it!

"Tirek tricked me into believing that he could offer me something more valuable than friendship. But there is nothing worth more. I see that now. He lied when he said that this medallion was given as a sign of gratitude and loyalty. But when I say that it is a sign of our true friendship, I am telling the truth."

The minute Ah heard those words, somethin' budded deep in my heart. Ah knew then that he was speakin' the truth, the entire truth, and he was talkin' from deep in his heart. Ah had always thought of Discord as a nuisance; a draconequus who was just bidin' his time by playin' along with this friendship gig, then strikin' when we let our guard down. But when he said those sentences, even though they weren't directed at me, they took root, down at the bottom o' my heart. O' course, Ah didn't know it then, but that was love Ah was feelin'.

Honest, crazy love.

Featured August 17-19th! A dream come true! I owe it all to all of you wonderful people! I honestly don't deserve this. Celestia bless you all!

Being the ever-helpful assistant that he is, Spike has made reservations at the Far-Afield Tavern for himself and his friends. Unbeknownst to him, however, fate had other ideas. So while Rarity is busy turning her hotel room into a sweatshop, Spike is sitting around in the tavern wondering where everypony is.

It eventually gets to the point when the restaurant cannot hold onto his reservations anymore. But just when he's about to head back to the hotel and write this off as a crummy day, he receives an invitation to join some famous ponies for dinner. Even more bizarre, the pony extending this invitation is someone he hasn't spoken to in ages (in fact, they barely talked at all). Normally, he'd be skeptical about this, but after a long day of hauling luggage and chasing birds, he figures it's best not to look this gift horse in the mouth. After all, business partners can be friends too, right? Right.

Inspired in part by xjuggernaughtx's fantastic fic, The Carrot Dog Fight.

Fluttershy, feeling that motherly need, secures herself a mail order orphan. Will she be up for the challenge of mothering one of Equestria's most unique creatures that defies classification or description? Will her friends be there for her as they always have? And what about Discord, Fluttershy's long time friend and the one indirectly responsible for all of this confusion... Will he find something that he wasn't aware he was looking for? Will Spike finally find somebody he can relate to? All of this and more...

An important note. The stories in the sidebar all tie in with this story, providing background elements and filling in characters and settings. Reading those will cause a number of things to make a lot more sense.

This is mostly going to be a slice of life story, with elements of fitting in, finding your place in the world, and the need for unconditional positive regard.

This takes place in an alternate verse, at some point in the near future. It is going to start out rated "E" for everyone, but might get some interesting humour in there later, which may require a "T" rating. We'll see. Tags will be added as the story progresses.

Beware when checking a box that states "other."

I'd love for some feedback. Thanks! And I don't have a good cover image. I'm sorry.

Edit: There is now a side story. Delivery Interrupted.

Once upon a lonely afternoon, Spike and Silver Spoon had a talk. This is how it went.

Written for this contest.