History Fanfic / TheChangelingOfTheGuard

As of September 2015, ''The Changeling of the Guard'' is #1 on Website/FimfictionDotNet!

Idol and Topaz have a CharacterBlog, [[JustForPun "Out of Idol Curiosity"]], which can be found [[http://out-of-idol-curiosity.tumblr.com/ here]].

* ExtremeOmnivore: Idol Hooves naturally. Besides the fact that he [[EmotionEater feeds on emotions]] he has no problem eating meat as well as vegetation and he's not picky about the meat either, whether it be snakes, scorpions or insects. During his guard training he eats six [[MasochistsMeal MREs]] and asked for more, to the sheer disbelief of his commanding officers and fellow trainees. Later still he eats a stew that Topaz made for him that had crushed egg shells in it by mistake without seeing any problems with it and in the morning is shown to have no problem drinking said stew while it was boiling hot ([[HilarityEnsues Topaz, on the other hoof...]]). [[spoiler: Then of course there's him suggesting that he and Shining Armor ''eat'' a timber woof's "heart" to keep it from regenerating (noted to taste almost like meat with the texture of wood)]]. When he's questioned on the subject by Topaz he admits that his only standard for food is that it's edible and doesn't make him ill.

* AccidentalHarem: Through sheer cluelessness, Idol Hooves unwittingly manages to attract the romantic attentions of Mothchaser (a thestral in the Night Guard), and even ''Maud Pie''. At the least, Pinkie Pie believes Maud's interest in Idol goes beyond "pen pals", and she ''did'' apply pumice perfume to her latest letter to him...

** Idol straight up tells [[spoiler: [[MadGod Discord]], upon him being freed ]]to behave himself, and unintentionally applies ReversePsychology to get him to agree.

* LiteralMinded: Sort of like a Changeling version of [[Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy Drax]], Idol tends to have trouble understanding metaphors and figures of speech. There are quite a few [[ExpospeakGag Expospeak Gags]] relating to phrases he finds confusing, some of which are very subtle. There are hints that, even by changeling standards, he's pretty literal-minded.

* PaperThinDisguise: Chapter 1 of "Changeling Perspectives", "The Nurse", reveals that Idol Hooves' personalized pony form maintains the ''exact same color scheme'' as his normal changeling form. The only differences are, of course, the physical traits - presence or absence of holes, horn shape, wings and so forth. [[JustifiedTrope Its justified]] in that most ponies believe Changelings are a myth and wouldn't spot the comparison, and it means that a quick glance at Idol undisguised can be excused as their eyes playing tricks on them

** Upon a visit to Manehatten, he fails to realize that the apple souvenirs are actually made of wood and not supposed to be eaten... even ''after'' taking bite out of one and finding it thoroughly inedible. [[spoiler:Then again, it is [[CallBack not the first time]] he [[AlienLunch ate something wooden]].]]

* AlienLunch: The [[spoiler:giant timberwolf heart]], of which Shining reluctantly admits he kind of wants seconds.

* IsThatWhatTheyreCallingItNow: "Manticore attack".

* CriticalResearchFailure: An in-universe version of this explains why Chrysalis did such a ''bad'' job of impersonating Cadence during the invasion of Canterlot -- she essentially knew absolutely ''nothing'' about Cadence and was doing her best to wing it until she could just overrun Canterlot with her drones, as the entire invasion was mostly an act of impulse. She didn't even know Cadence was the ''bride'' at first; she originally believed Cadence was just going to officiate at a wedding!

* EmptyShell: What happens when a Changeling feeds on somepony's emotions too much. [[spoiler:Idol does this to poor Topaz by ''accident'', just by feeding on her interest. She can barely walk, speak, or eat until he manages to snap her out of it. He also mentions that this has happened on occasion to the parents of hatchlings in TheHive... [[AdultFear their own children can consume them if they feed them too much love]].]]

[[caption-width-right:350:Not your ordinary [[VoluntaryShapeshifting Change]][[BeePeople ling]].]]

* OhMyGods: Idol Hooves has a tendency to invoke Order as a higher-power when making oaths or cursing. Shining Armor lampshades it at one point in chapter 38, and notes that it's quite unusual; ponies swear by Harmony or Celestia ([[ContinuityNod which they have been doing throughout the fic]]), griffons by deity, minotaurs by land, and dragons by the dragonlord. [[spoiler:In chapter 62, one of the minor oddities of Idol's behavior is that he swears by Harmony.]]

-->'''Idol Hooves:''' You ''broke into the castle?!''

[[caption-width-right:350:Not your ordinary [[VoltunaryShapeshifting Change]][[BeePeople ling]].]]

''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/174129/the-changeling-of-the-guard The Changeling of the Guard]]'' is a ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' fanfic by [=VDrake77=]. It is the story of Idol Hooves, a very unusual [[VoltunaryShapeshifting changeling]].

[[caption-width-right:350:Not your ordinary [[ShapeShifter Change]][[BeePeople ling]].]]

''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/174129/the-changeling-of-the-guard The Changeling of the Guard]]'' is a ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' fanfic by [=VDrake77=]. It is the story of Idol Hooves, a very unusual [[ShapeShifter changeling]].

* AlcoholInducedStupidity: During Idol's pub crawl after becoming a full-fledged royal guard, a drunk Idol shows his {{Shapeshifting}} powers in public to the patrons and his fellow guards... who fortunately are all just as drunk as he is.

* {{Shapeshifter}}s: The changelings, obviously. Idol explains the mechanics and technical aspects of shapeshifting quite thoroughly. [[spoiler:He can even take on the form of an alicorn, though not without rather serious consequences... see WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity below.]]

* HeroOfAnotherStory: If WordOfGod is to be believed, when the story catches up to [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E25ACanterlotWeddingPart1 A Canterlot Wedding]], we'll see what happens in that episode from Idol's perspective. He might even visible in the episode as one of the background Royal Guards...

* BreakingTheFellowship: [[spoiler: A few chapters after the WhamEpisode of chapters 62 and 63, Shining is sent to the Crystal Empire and Mothchaser is reassigned to Shady Oaks]].

* BrickJoke: During chapter 29 [[spoiler: Shining Armor says that if Idol could find a just cause to jump off a bridge he'd join him. In the next chapter he attempts to go through with his word, when Idol jumps off a bridge to arrest a thief.]]

Initially set a number of years before [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E1MareInTheMoon Luna's redemption]], the author promises that the story will eventually catch up to the events of [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E25ACanterlotWeddingPart1 A Canterlot Wedding]] and beyond.

* CastFromHitPoints: A psychological variant. [[spoiler:Per WordOfGod, Idol's [[DangerousForbiddenTechnique alicorn transformation]] in chapter 61 is fueled by his platonic love for Cadence... as in, he literally ''burns up'' his feelings for her to fuel the transformation. The side effects of this become apparent in chapter 65: Idol still remembers everything he and Cadence have ever experienced together, but all of the emotional background to those memories is ''gone''. He feels '''nothing''' for her that he should -- emotionally, she's a complete stranger to him, and all he finds himself feeling around here is simply hunger and a dash of awe. The disconnect between intellectual and emotional connections doesn't do much for Idol's stability.]]

* CrazyAwesome: In chapter 24, Idol comes up with a suggestion for dealing with a [[{{Planimal}} Timber Wolf]] that falls squarely into this: to stop it constantly [[HealingFactor reassembling itself]], [[spoiler: he and Shining Armor smash it to pieces and ''eat its heart'']]. InUniverse, everyone can't believe Idol actually managed to think up something like this.

** Upon a visit to Manehatten, he fails to realize that the apple souvenirs are actually made of wood and not supposed to be eaten... even ''after'' taking bite out of one and finding it thoroughly inedible.