It occurred one peaceful night. Half of Equestria awoke to the sound like a double-shot thunderclap. A percussion heard in the skies and rattling windows from Apploosa, to Canterlot, to Ponyville. Nopony knew what it was or what it heralded for the world as it drew a line across the nation.

For Twilight Sparkle, this isolated incident might have faded from memory after a time, if not for the strange rumors of a creature sitting on the hill on the outskirts of town.

These are her thoughts given written form. These are Sparkle's Notes.

Report EVERYTHING to the Princess.

The star system Omega Centauri was just another oddity on a map to scientists in the not too distant future. However when they found the star was orbiting an earth-sized, earth-like planet instead of a black hole as its motion had suggested, a mission was scrambled to investigate this most unusual of celestial behaviors.

Hamstrung by politics, and nearly crippled before it began, the 'Lone Ranger' mission was reduced to just one crew member and left to his own devices.

These are the logs of Arrow 18 and its lone commander. This information is classified TOP SECRET by the Global Space Agency.

Do NOT tell the princess.

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.

Now a member of the Tournament of Canterlot
Sponsor page : TOC - The Life of a Wanted Changeling Season 1 and 2

You are a changeling lost in the Everfree forest a couple of weeks after the failed invasion attempt at the royal wedding. You're not the brightest changeling out there and you tend to be really clumsy. You only have two goals in your mind right now, one is to get out of this blasted forest, and when you do get out, try not to get captured. Your whole kind is wanted by the royal guard after all.

[New} BY Episode 14 I have a editor, so give thanks by then to Jeray2000 for it, check him out and other stories he's edited for here

lNew]New} Episode 33 was edited by Kersey475. He/she will be substituting for my editor until he gets back from his trip. So give credit to him for awhile ok.

[New]New]New} The cover image belongs to forevertheDoctor, not me.

In a world of peace, magic and harmony, a flawed human presence may not seem necessary. When Simon returns from outer space to find his world inhabited by creatures with an almost innate perfection, he certainly suspects this to be true. As Simon discovers and documents the fate of his species, and learns how Equestria was built on the ruins of man, he fears that he will prove himself irrelevant. But things are not always what they seem, and the life of the last human may still have meaning.

New cover art by jjames10. Much thanks to him for his excellent work. Original cover art here.

Originally intended to be one scene set in one room in which the question, "Why would a human need to be in Equestria?" was answered, my theory to address the question has expanded to the scale of a small epic. I hope it works.

A lot of the concepts and facts introduced here are so vast and academic, they really can't be expressed in dialogue. Instead a number of scenes are in "written document" format to give the reader a thorough information-dump. This is a world-building fic.

I also omit a lot of the Slice-of-life, getting-to-know-you scenes you see a lot in HiE because the focus is on concepts rather than actions.

I wish to achieve the following with this fanfiction:
Create a character whose strengths and weaknesses are clear, or become clear as the story progresses.
Give the human character a compelling reason to be in Equestria based on an interpretation of the themes of the show.
Present a theory about the character of Twilight Sparkle and her intended role in the future of Equestria
Accurately portray existing characters from the show

Sources of Inspiration (This will be very long, some sources will be missed):
"The Stars Will Aid in Her Escape (Cosmic Love)" - PMV by mmmandarinorange
"Rorschach in Equestria" by Ex-Nihilos
"The Planet of the Apes" (1968)
"Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut
"World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War" by Max Brooks (Stylistic influence)
"The Stand" by Stephen King
"Pet Sematary" by Stephen King
"Moon" (2009)
"The Old Man and the Sea" by Ernest Hemingway (Stylistic Influence)
"The Wizard of Oz" (1939)
"King and Lionheart", song and music video by Of Monsters and Men
For some inexplicable reason, this song.
My Little Pony : Friendship is Magic, created by Lauren Faust, property of Hasbro, Inc.

Sources that DID NOT inspire this work:
Arrow 18 Mission Logs: Lone Ranger by Admiraltigerclaw

Feel free to take this premise and make it better.

I feel that this story is either going to be my "Citizen Kane" or my "Plan 9 from Outer Space". Either way it's my masterpiece.

This story is dedicated to Abby, my dog of 14 years who passed away on February 26, 2013