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.

Having a pony roommate was an adjustment; there was a lot about Earth she had to get used to . . . and a lot of ideas she'd brought with her that you had to get used to.

She was a heck of a cook, though, and didn't mind sharing, so you were more than willing to let her have the kitchen.

And then you came home and discovered that she was making butter. Which she must have known she could buy at the grocery store if she wanted butter.

Now with a Russian translation by Mordaneus!
Ficbook
Ponyfiction

Dylan is a dedicated UPS worker. Yes, dedicated UPS workers exist.

When a box arrives at the local UPS office containing a small pony, the staff tries everything they can to deal with it until somebody picks it up.

Rated R for package gore.

This story is a sequel to Mark My Words

When the Triarchy of Princess Trixie, Princess Twilight, and Prince Mark took over from the missing Royal Sisters, they made many changes. Most were for Equestria as a whole, but some were in Canterlot Castle itself. Under their more informal manner of ruling, unusual characters and events livened up the Royal Castle behind the scenes for the most part. These are vignettes of some of those people and their effect on those around them.

In which the mane six end up at the battle of Pelenor fields, and we see how even the littlest pony can change the course of destiny. (Art by Koboldasylum on Deviantart)

Ponyville is a special town. Its ambulance requires special equipment.

A collaboration between Samey90 and Sockpuppet!

Authors' notes.

Audio reading (quite excellent).

I had a pretty good life. They called me Spit Shine, I worked in the palace, cleaning this, doing that. Hell, I even got to talk to the Princess, and learned all sorts of interesting stuff. It was stimulating, prestigious, and hey, call me weird, but I liked the work.

Shame I was also secretly a changeling infiltrator with a name too annoying to pronounce in polite society trying to observe and potentially subvert your nation state.

I mean, these things happen.

Of course, you'd be surprised what you can learn about a pony when you have a different perspective.

------

Original Concept by SoloBrony

Grammar-Less-Suckification by CarcinoGeneticist

Vector by Ackdari

Brand new Spanish Translation by Spaniard Kiwi!

Minty is going to have a Shamrock Shake and nothing's going to stop her. She’s not about to let a silly thing like the fourth wall stand in her way. Is she?

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

John Doe gets invited to the castle. A new piece of technology has come from the latest attempt at opening a portal to Earth. It's a pair of noise-canceling headphones. After an explanation from John, Celestia excitedly tries them on.

I'm sure nothing will go wrong.
***

A silly little idea I had.

Cover art by me.
***

3/8/2023
Wow! My first feature! Thanks!

Autumn Blaze takes a human history class. The professor deserves a pay raise.

I thank the pre-readers, but won't implicate them by name.

Audio reading!