This story is a side story to Crystal's Wishes

Being the pony everypony should know comes at a cost, but Au is willing to pay that price. She'll pay any price to stay in the spotlight.

If only the spotlight weren't so fickle.

Captain Magic Barrier is far from home. Almost everything he once held dear is gone—except for a pair of alicorns, the country for which he fought, and his skills as a competent military officer. And it’s all thanks to a certain legend regarding the longest day on the thousandth year.

Professor Tail has got something to prove. A sharp mind and a quick wit in the world of academia, this pegasus is harboring a state secret that could change Equestria’s defenses forever. She just needs to survive basic training first.

Now, a common ally has played her royal hoof to bring these two together. Perhaps she knows that once training is all said and done, the physicist caught in the unfamiliar world of guard service and the captain dragged through the ages will find themselves a bit less displaced.

So, this was a super fun one to write. Well, sorta-write. In truth, I wrote very little. This story is a collaborative effort between myself and this sexy topless Wingly fellow here, and it is based quite heavily off of our characters and their intertwined stories. The amount of work he put into this is staggering, and words can not express how bloody impressive it is/was. I mean, I was there supervising, but he bloody brought it.

Cover art by the amazing dream--chan!
We have a bunch of folks who helped Wing edit that deserve thanks. These are our editors, proofreaders, and coffee slaves!
Editing Slave Word Worthy, Coffee Slave Iryerris, rebellious slave that has to be beaten into submission regularly Doccular, to Shady's Slave Floofy, because typos can suck a knob, and to the Overcute Pet, Sixkiller5, because print runs need typo slaying.

Special thanks to Discount Slave Alticron, for letting us use a certain earth pony we want to crucify.

Wing's magical comments about various story timelines can be found here, but the gist is that NLD and its coming sequels exist in a separate continuity from APD.

Lastly, if you find any typos, please PM them to Wing You should also totally follow him too.

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.

Spike's eleven year nap is interrupted by a little filly in his treehouse...

Third place winner in The Writeoff Association's June event, "A Matter of Perspective"

Now with a Spanish Translation, by SPANIARD KIWI.

Trying to patrol the dreams of every pony in Equestria can be stressful. To ease her burden, Luna retools the Tantabus to turn nightmares into good dreams instead of vice versa. Aware of her mistakes from last time, she tests it out thoroughly, making sure there are no unexpected behaviors. And as far as she can tell, there are none.

Except that it's started calling her "Mom".

Faced with the prospect of possibly creating life, Luna seeks out Twilight's advice and assistance. With a little luck, they can get this all sorted out before the sun rises.

This story is a sequel to Seven Years

Family had always been a strange notion to Princess Skyla, and anypony who knew her history would never wonder why the filly had such a vague grasp of the concept. Every memory she had of her family was tainted and dark, the photographs of her life smeared and marred by the decisions made by her mother and father, and she couldn't remember a time when she could even think about the word "family" without a black veil of disgust and sadness drawing over her heart. As such, family was never something that Skyla had ever given much thought, unless it was how she was going to get away from them.

Now, however, family is all Skyla can think about. Princess Cadence and Shining Armor have welcomed her with open hooves into their home, and their daughter, Princess Flurry Heart, is overjoyed to suddenly have a "big sister" to learn about and play with. She hasn't been officially crowned a Princess yet, but despite that the whole of the Kingdom is abuzz with news of her, and all of the Princesses of Equestria have all set aside time to come and see her for themselves...

...but try as she might, Skyla can't shake the feeling that something is wrong. Not with anypony else... but with her. She doesn't know how family is supposed to act around each other when they're not trying to scheme and stab you in the back; she has no earthly idea how sisters are supposed to behave around one another, or how a mother and daughter are actually supposed to talk to one another in normal, every day situations. She's a mess, with her heart and head all tangled up in knots that may never come undone -- and that's even before the nightmares start.

Flurry Heart, however, isn't about to give up on her, and with a little bit of help from a lot of different ponies, she'll work hard to show Skyla that a family isn't about the blood that you share, but about the bonds that you forge.

This story is a sequel to Distorted Fate

After enduring the task of adapting to being a filly and helping to stop a potential disaster from occurring, one would think that things are finally turning around for me. Sadly... fate will never be that nice to me. Now I have deal with ponies knowing that I was originally an alien, Twilight's desire to learn everything I know, as well as training a team of ponies to handle any interdimensional issues that could come to Equus thanks to Celestia's recklessness. My life just keeps getting worse.

Oh, and everypony said I'm also going to have to go through something else, but I didn't understand the word. Just give me a moment as I look it up. I think it started with a p.

Note: It is recommended to read Distorted Fate first. Also may contain some gore.
Updates Tuesdays and Fridays.

Art: WildSoulWS
Editors: FourponyChapters I-XXXV), Hyari(Chapters I-XIV) PersonalGamer (Chapters XXIX and onward) RockstarRaccoon (Chapters XXXVIII and onward), PinkieThePrankster (Chapters Chapter LVIII and onward)

This story is a side story to Memoirs of a Royal Guard and begins years in advance of it.

Sunny Day doesn't take much seriously. As long as she makes a little money, spends time with her friends, and ends her evening with a cute pony she tends to be happy. The universe, however, seems to have other ideas as Sunny pushes to graduate from the prestigious School for Gifted Unicorns, understand her powerful magic, and start her life as an adult pony.

Quill & Blade Universe

The Earth is still reeling from the effects of the Collision Wars against Xenolestia and her hordes of Newfoals, humanity having emerged victorious but a few million citizens fewer. Then yet another Equestria appears, but this time the humans are quick to cut off the head of the snake, capturing the evil Princess Celestia and imprisoning her. But something seems different about this Celestia...something almost friendly.

Can the Harmony and Friendship that Celestia has treasured all her life heal some of the scars left by her wicked counterpart, or do some wounds just run too deep?

Cover modified with permission from: KP-Shadowsquirrel

Also, because people have been asking for it, the original WW2 poster can be found here

Pre reading done by DJK. So go give him some wuv.

This story is a sequel to Past Sins

When pursuing Starlight, Twilight and Spike experienced variances of Equestria, and saw how the river of time could have been different. Now, Starlight has moved in with Twilight, Nyx, and Spike and has begun her studies in friendship. To thank those who have helped her embrace friendship once more, Starlight has created an enchantment that allows the castle’s map table to let anyone glimpse other variances of reality.

The power to ask “what if,” can be a source of great amusement… but for some, the hypotheticals are haunting reminders of what could have been.