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.

From the Wasteland Bouquet to a dead city, our dear friends Rose, Lily and Ibis are out and about on an excursion when they literally have their parade rained on. The wasteland is unforgiving, and this eve is no exception. The skies open and the wind howls as the rain falls, sending the trio into an untouched design studio for the night. This is for Cascade Jackal's Hearth Warming Eve event.

Inspired by the heroics of the mysterious mare known as the Stable Dweller, Silver Storm, a guard of the town of Marefort, decides to go on a daring mission to rescue her captured brother. Of course things rarely go as planned and her attempts at heroism drags her into a tangled web of plots and conspiracies as warring factions vie for control over the last great city: Dise.

Spanish Version translated by Spaniard-Kiwi: https://www.deviantart.com/spaniard-kiwi/art/Fallout-Ecuestria-Heroes-996263393

After a mysterious and widespread spell causes ponykind to vanish, Fluttershy is left behind to cope with what the future has in store for her and the remains of Equestria.

In a matter of days, the once-prosperous nation begins to descend into a harsh and unforgiving place. While cities crumble around her, Fluttershy finds herself living in a land rife with dangers and heartbreaking reminders. With nopony to turn to, Fluttershy is forced to learn to fend for herself, discover what happened, and, if possible, find a way to reverse it.

Survivor Shy is an illustrated story following Fluttershy in the weeks after a magical cataclysm. While the last pony relives her past, readers are offered a vivid glimpse into Fluttershy's mind and are led on a harrowing journey through the ruins of Equestria and beyond.

Story branches out before Season 3 Finale.

In-progress Reading by Finish Line available
In-progress Russian translation by Papilion_star available.

An outsider's look into Twilight's mind while she is in the midst of the starry nebula with Princess Celestia, highlighting her thoughts as she discovers what the future has in store for her.

This is a third-person retelling and reinterpretation of the penultimate scene in the Season 3 finale, written to, and directly inspired by, the soundtrack of the So Great and Powerful tribute album, Sori 52. Listening to the whole album at least once before or while reading is recommended, but not required.

A short, on-the-fly one-shot I couldn't stop writing until I was finished.

The way others perceive us can affect how we perceive ourselves, and the results are rarely pretty. When a couple of Canterlot ponies from her past come to Ponyville, Twilight has a difficult time revisiting a traumatic event from her foalhood.

*Now on Equestria Daily! Thanks are in order to the pre-reader(s) who put their time aside for this story. Final scene changed from "alternate ending" to "epilogue", and extended, because sometimes we only think of scenes after things see publish.

Reading by Obabscribbler: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=bitGUNZKNmU

Celestia foresees a ruinous, dystopian future that will ultimately result from the untimely death of the Element of Magic: a future in which the world has become a frozen wasteland, and Discord has taken up uncontested rule of Equestria. Who is sending these visions, and how can Twilight possibly stop a future in which she is dead and gone? The answers will take our heroes on a journey through the streams of time itself, and unlock potential unseen by mortal eyes...

*On temporary hiatus while I re-evaluate the story's pacing. This concept could be far grander and more sweeping than what I've presented thus far, and I don't want to sell it short. Also: with the announcement of It's About Time, apparently time travel or some variant of it is officially canon. Suddenly I don't feel so bizarre writing this thing.

Sometimes life is easy, passive. But sometimes it takes the brink of peril for a pony to realize just how far she'll go for her friends.

Steel Arrow was look to make his own way in Equestria. He decide to move to Ponyville to try out his luck.

This part of story is about his arrival to the town and craziness that ensue. A certain yellow pegasus mare catches his eye. He befriends the local farmer by the name of Big Mac. Big Mac also has his eye on the yellow pegasus too. Will their friendship survive when they learn they are after the same mare. How far will the go to win the war for the love of mare.

Oh, Luna, why? Why does your life have to be so cruel to you? Why are the other ponies, even your sister, too blind to see how much you suffer?

Nightmare Moon... I'm sorry. I'm really sorry it had to come to this. I'm sorry you had to use force to get your message across... I'm so sorry the only thing you've got for that is your banishment.

I wish... I wish I was there to change everything for the better myself...

Ok, so I have to mention that this story is inspired by many things, but mostly by these fanfictions:
My Little Luna
My Little Villains