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.
72 Chapters:
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Making The Wrong Choice [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
2,369
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Good Intentions [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
2,073
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Lying By Omission [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
2,705
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Digging the Hole Deeper [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
2,247
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Bad Faith [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
2,528
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Being Economical With The Truth [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
3,058
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Shoddy Workmanship [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
3,263
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Self-Deception [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
2,419
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Polite Fictions [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
2,940
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Tabula Rasa [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
2,806
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Ignorance and Apathy [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
1,690
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Shock Therapy [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
2,093
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Trust Exercise [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
2,092
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Cover Stories [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
3,151
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Catching More Flies [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
2,144
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But They Don't Check Out [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
2,209
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Business Ethics [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
2,440
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Falling Into Step [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
2,278
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A Pyle of Ponies [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
2,836
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Fall In [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
4,329
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Spit and Polish [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
3,590
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Under Armor [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
4,506
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Mourning Woods [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
2,844
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A Fibrous Diet [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
6,338
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Military Cadance [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
2,997
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Hot Dam [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
3,611
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Final Boarding Call [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
3,865
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Crawl of Duty: Black Hops [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
4,203
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Keep It Simple, Stupid [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
2,632
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Abridged Version [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
3,053
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On the Rocks [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
3,797
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Shining Martyr [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
2,654
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A Knight with Princess Cadance [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
2,498
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Tone Deaf [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
2,328
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Vignette 1 - Clandestine Offerings [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
918
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The Kin of a Skiller [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
4,414
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Tail as Old as Thyme [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
2,858
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Fruitful Conversation [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
3,236
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A Broken Clock [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
3,877
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The Clock Strikes Moon [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
2,204
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Moonlighting [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
2,256
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Bard at the Moon [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
3,090
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Musical Notation, Piano and Polka [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
2,788
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Second Verse; Strings and Stripes [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
3,317
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Chorus, Bells and Woodwinds [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
3,710
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Guitars, Conductors, and Coda [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
2,573
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Encore [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
4,347
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A Flu Moon and an Empty Heart [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
2,819
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Cold Brew [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
3,817
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A Slow Roast [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
2,655
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Galavanting [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
3,330
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pɹɐnפ ǝɥʇ ɟo ƃuᴉlǝƃuɐɥƆ ǝɥ┴ [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
2,919
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After Math [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
3,038
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In the Still of the Night [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
3,662
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Moonshine Down On Me [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
5,160
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Out of Her Shell [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
4,670
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Hark, the Lady Moonstone Returns [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
4,209
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Hooves On First [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
4,427
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With My Compound Eye [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
3,706
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Creative Differences [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
4,070
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Royalty [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
6,880
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Chapter 62 [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
1,623
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Everything Crumbles [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
2,432
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Vignette 2 - Cer Sus [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
5,399
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Incomplete Sentence [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
4,135
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Tried or True [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
3,673
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The Real McCoy [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
3,744
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Anti Lock Breaks [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
6,029
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Nopony Impersonates Celestia, Ever [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
7,359
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Rune-acy [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
4,999
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Rune-escape [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
2,316
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The Heart of Winter [Fimfiction.net] [Cache]
Mar 8th, 2014
3,734