Am I the only one who thinks that the reason the changeling in Slice of Life showed up was because the writers couldn't find a better way to implement changelings into the episode?

And knowing them, they're most likely not going to expand on why he's there, so yeah.

4465741

No, he's clearly more important. HE. SAT. ON. A. CHAIR.

He even has his own group.

4465748 And two of those stories in that group got featured. I sense an incoming onslaught of changeling fics.

4465754

4465748

He even has his own group.

Did something so unimportant and pointless reeeeeaally need a group? A random changeling that showed up for two seconds and will probably never be highlighted in a later episode? Really?

4465748 What the hell, that Changeling is already on the cover of 5 stories, that is getting out of control

4465741 Originally they planned to have a sort of ending where the Changeling swarm flys towards the wedding and the mane 6 have to stop them right after the bugbear, insted they put in Twilight talking about how lucky she is to have her friends jadajada

4465771

He has 6 stories, 2 of which are featured.

And besides, he could be the next Lyra, Bon Bon, or Dr. Whooves. You never know. He'll even get his own toy, I bet.

4465771
Well a grey pegasus with an animation error got more than one group, lots of fan made items and stories, and then was made official and has her own line of merchandise.

So one can never know how far something goes.

Also we do know from Larson that he is there because of Matilda but of course this could be him trolling us. Guess we will have to find out.

4465741

He was there for the free food. That's it, nothing more.

4465806 Anyone who suggests anything other than "the writers were lazy and slapped a changeling in there" is looking too far into it.

4465829

Come on, you know this fandom. They'll freak out over anything.

As someone who enjoyed the episode, I'd imagine that we don't necessarily need to take everything that happened in "Slice of Life" as exactly canon. This episode struck me as more of a kindly nod to us. It was pandering, and they don't shy from the that fact. More than anything, I would take this episode as more of a thank you card to the fans.

4465841 There were many new canons introduced in that episode, almost none of which were a good idea, including Vinyl Scratch being mute and Sweetie Drops Bon Bon's new secret career as a member of some ponified SCP Foundation.

4465865 Well, that's precisely my point. I think, rather than being meant for establishing a bunch of canon-facts about the background characters, this episode was meant purely for fun. If you don't like an idea that they tossed out, you don't really have to take it as canon. It was a zany episode, that was just for acknowledging the fan community. A big nod of thanks to us bronies.

One could even take the closing speech by Mayor Mare, about everyone being the hero of their own story and so forth, as being spoken more to the fans than anything. It basically struck me as a nod to the fans to keep enjoying the fandom, and keep coming up with our own ideas for stories and the characters.

4465893 And that's a fine view to take too.

It's like, how I don't really bother to take the official comics as being pure canon. We all have our lines for what we can consider canon/

If nothing else, this episode might have let them get all their pandering inclinations out of both their systems and ours.

4465914 Exactly.

4465892 Actually, you do have to take it as canon, because anything you write in fanfics that goes against the episode will be contradicted by the show itself. That's why it's called canon.

Do you think we can just throw aside the new fact that Bon Bon isn't actually Bon Bon, for example? Because we can't.

4465901 How about the fact that she had a large amount of screen time and didn't even open her mouth, even when she very clearly reacted to Time Turner's request for help by taking him to a tailor?

4465950 Why not? There's a scene during one of the CMC's songs where they run into a giant squid in the town pond. I don't take that as canon.

4465957 That will never have any effect on the story and does not restrict the fanon theories in any way, so that's reasonable. Ignoring the fact that there is a changeling in Ponyville or that Bon Bon has a secret identity isn't, because as I've said before, writing otherwise will, in fact, be contradicted by the show.

4466041 *Shrugs* As Jinxie Umbra said, to each their own.

I honestly think that was a major message for this episode anyway, and that's why the writers took so many liberties with making things zany. That's one of the reasons the background characters get so much love anyway. They're so open to interpretation, and less bound up by the strictures of canon than the main characters.

4466074 The phrase "To each their own" doesn't actually apply to this. If you don't want to add an AU tag to your stories, you have to take the canon as canon, otherwise it doesn't make sense. It'll just make people go, "Why the hell didn't the Royal Guard find any changelings? They used a lot of detection spells, and the 100th episode clearly showed that there was a changeling in Ponyville."

4465806

4466187 Your point stands on what?

If Vinyl was able to speak to Time Turner, then she would've said something like "Yeah, think there's a tailor at the bowling alley.". It would've been easier for Vinyl to just do that rather than go all the way to the bowling alley when she needs to get somewhere, and easier for the show animators because they wouldn't have to add the work of Vinyl walking to the bowling alley, however minute of an effort it is. And even if she still decided to lead Time Turner to the alley, she should've at least said "Follow me." But she didn't. Not to mention that she definitely would've exchanged a few words with Octaiva.

4466253 How did she express herself, pray tell? She didn't use music, and the only body language she used was a nod to Doctor Whooves. Besides, that wasn't even expressing oneself—that was basic communication.

4466366 By "everyone around her" you mean Time Turner, right?

I will, say, though, thank you for the correction. I'm using an iPad possessed by the evil demon Autocorrect.

4466398 It was so intense. HNNNNNNNNNNNG

4466228 Actually, it seemed to me like she didn't hear him at all through her music and just assumed when he made the ball motion that he wanted to go to the bowling alley.

4466554 Even so, if she merely intended to direct Time Turner to the bowling alley, she could've given Whooves directions or, once again, at least said, "Follow me." As a matter of fact, that's what she intended to do either way.

4465741 He must be important... BECAUSE I SAID SO! ((joking))

4466135 Eh, to each their own, works for me.

4466702 All bow down to the mighty nionios4b!!

4466162

Hey, you know how I am about changelings. The more, the merrier.

That said, if they even dare reform Chrissy and not keep her deliciously evil, I'll flip tables from here to Hasbro HQ.

4466798 How dare you call Chryssi evil!

And spell her pet name wrong!

That counts shut up!

4467731

My pet name is better than your pet name, so there!

And evil is hot, Crankalis best waifu!

4469009 Your pet name is a shittily-spelled version of mine!

And evil is bad! Chrysalis is not bad!

4469027
Your bloody pet-name sounds like some English chaff pronouncing it.

Tiffany (Tiff-an-e): "Ay', let's mug those posh bastards, wat u' say, Chryssi?"

Chryssi (Chris-eye): Fuckin' let's go, ay' bitch! Those rich whores won't know what Fuckin' hit 'em!"

And evil is bad! Chrysalis is not bad!

Chrysalis is evil, and delights in it.

Female + Evil x capacity for maniacal laughter = levels of hotness.

Chrysalis is evil-hot, deal with it.

4469926 I'm not even going to bother making a joke about you pronouncing words and acting like a stereotypical Irishman and question how you can possibly find literal evilness hot.

And no I won't deal with it because there's nothing hot about being evil nor is CHRYSSI (spell it right m10) evil.

4469933

4465741
Eh. Honestly, I think the writers were just throwing out a few plot bunnies for the fandom to use, for kicks.

Sort of like with Amethyst Star/Sparkler.
Does her being the town organizer pre-Twi mean anything for the episode? No.
But do we have something more to play around with, with her? Yes.

Or with Doctor Whooves' childhood trauma.
Do they detail what it is? Nope.
Does it open a wealth of fictionable material? Yes.

4469962 Evil laughs are the polar opposite of attractive, sir.

4470669
Just for that I'm gonna write a scene where all my girls compete for most evil laugh.

4470821 I have made a

mistake.

4471545 You disgust my facial features.

4470824
Here we go, evil laugh scene! (I know the tenses need cleaning, but this is rough draft.)

Dear Princess Celestia,

Internal combustion engine vehicles are crude, disgusting, and barbaric.

When I said as much to Flash, back in the day, he looked at me as if I just called you a 2-bit whore. I mean, if he's an Equestrian. And I never would or did, not even after you banished me.

Anyways. He demanded I take off the leather jacket and never wear it again. Why? He gave it to me, it's mine. What's cowhide got to do with a flawed and deviant technological doctrine? They're using the finite corpse juices of long-dead animals to power a low-performance low-efficiency high-noise high-pollutant-byproduct machine older than his great grandfather. Humanity's turns of science for the past few centuries has led it astray in more ways than one, not just in the abandonment of magic.

Don't have magic? Fine. Use electricity. I wouldn't mind an electric neon-lit motorcycle, like in sci-fi movies.

If Flash didn't know I could punch above my weight class, I think he would have tried to forcibly strip me right there (of my jacket) after I said that. The look on his face.

Getting off track. It's my diary, but still.

So the bunch of us are riding in the van Casey stole, and he's driving us towards Selina's old master. Acheron. If we fail this night, fates worse than Tartarus await us all.

The vehicle is loud, rumbles, and smells of invisible death (humans call it exhaust). And we're listening to Casey's stupid stories.

In spite of all that, I think I practically oozed contentment. For this little slice of time, there was nowhere else I'd rather be. And I wasn't afraid to let it show.
Maybe... it's the new sensations, the coziness of it all, the metaphorical validation of what we've accomplished? 6 talented souls, knit together by threads of blood and fire. In our own little world, rushing forward into death and destination. Remember when I put sails on my bed? I'm once again the captain of my tempest-tossed bedship (don't laugh), except this time I have shipmates.

And our stalwart helmsman, the only man stupid enough to take us through the storm, comes pre-packaged with hours of man-stories guaranteed to lower the listener's IQ. I think the first symptom of your brain melting is the sound of your own laughter. First you start doing chuckles. Then snorts sneak in there. Next thing you know, guffaws. Congratulations, you can now marry your own cousin.

And now Casey's looking at me funny. No, he's not telepathic. Pfft, that'll be the day. I answered his look with one of my own. Not a mean look.

"That's the worst evil laugh I've ever heard," Casey said. "Shouldn't that be the first thing they teach you in witch school?"

"There is no 'witch school'," I said, my laugh cut short. I don't know about stallions, but human males have this annoying proclivity. I think they're instinctively hardwired to ruin a girl's mood, whenever they notice they're accidentally doing something right.

"Um, yes there is." And then Selina smiles at me, as if she was being helpful. Thanks, buddy.

"Glad to know I'm not the only one formally educated," Kassandra said. Bedrock of the coven, right there. Always ready to roll over the leader's toes. I could expound to Kass just what kind of school Celestia's School For Gifted Unicorns is, and put her in her place. I could also stupidly volunteer my own best-kept secret. Right.

"When your family's the master of its domain, homeschooling is the obvious choice," Cyclonis said in her whispery hiss. Charm nodded.

While I appreciate the rescue, I really don't want a spontaneous spat ruining the mood. "I can laugh evil if I want," I said. Loud. Change of subject.

"Only sexy voices can laugh evil, and you ain't got the voice," Casey said. "Ouch," Charm whispered, then sucked a breath through her teeth, "Burn..."

Why. Why do I let him live?

Because he can drive this crude, disgusting, barbaric machine.

"Ooh! Ooh, OOH!" At the back of the van, Medusa is practically hopping on her seat using her butt, waving her arm as if she's in class.

"No Doozy, we're not doing evil laughs in the car," I said with a sigh.

"Why not? The squirt's probably got a better one than you."

This guy just doesn't quit. Okay, fine. It's on.

4472558 I can't even even right now

I am literally literallying you don't even know