The holidays are fast approaching for the city of Canterlot. Snow is on the ground, carols fill the air, and the students of Canterlot High await release for winter vacation. However, its never peaceful in Canterlot for long. Right when things are looking calm, secrets start spilling around the school. With more being revealed each day, all eyes turn to Sunset Shimmer, the former bully of CHS. With the school turning against her and no clues to follow, can she possibly figure out the culprit and clear her name?

Of course she can. You know this story. At least, I assume you do. You're probably here because you want to see an alternate take on the event after all. A timeline can be altered drastically with nothing more than a single decision, just one choice, at the right place and time. So the proper question is: Can Sunset make it to her happy ending...and will the choice even be hers to start with?

TvTropes Page: Here

Co-writer: SunnyDays

So I'd like to give two quick shout-outs.
First one goes to Dainn for his wonderful tale, 'Anon-a-Miss'. It was the base inspiration for this little drabble of mine.
Second one to cerealkiller78 for her branching story, 'Silent Night', for more or less creating a sub-genre of a sub-genre and for the Dark tag on this story.

Featured: 3/21/17, 3/26/17, 4/23/17, 5/13/17, 6/2/17, 7/11/17, 8/6/17, 9/16/17, 12/2/17, 12/20/17, 2/25/18, 6/3/18

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 Fangs

Octavia finally managed to get what she wanted, someone to fill the gap of loneliness that lingered on the edges of her mind, but it seems like her conflicts are just beginning.

(I'd really recommend reading the first story. Or else the first chapter probably won't make a shred of sense.)

Credits to roker12 for editing.

This story is a sequel to A Moment in the Sun

Sunset Shimmer is on the run. It's been six months since she left her life as Princess Celestia's student behind, but she can't escape her own past. Her parents are offering a reward for her safe return home, and Celestia's agents are watching her every step. She might have gotten out of Canterlot, but the runaway student is still a long way from freedom. Especially since her education with the Princess of Equestria didn’t cover things like how to make a living wage with her magical skills.

However, there might still be one place where she can escape all of them. The infamous island nation of Freeport has long had a reputation as a haven for pirates, criminals, and exiles, but there's no better place in the world for somepony who wants to disappear. The only question is whether Sunset will live long enough to pull it off.