My muse is nagging me. · 4:17am March 7th
I've done very little writing the past five months, partly due to being busy, but mostly due to recurring headaches when it's writing time.
I have a couple weeks off, and I'm going to try to make time to get back on my projects (the Octavia story and novelizing Peter is the Wolf). But my mind... well... it's trying to jump ahead, or possibly back.
At one point in my dreams last night, for whatever reason, I was being congratulated for my three epic-length changeling-related stories, but especially the one where (as much as I remember it) changelings were operating fantasy dungeons for some purpose or other, and Chrysalis was the bureaucrat in charge of dungeon-making.
As you probably know, I never wrote that story, but it took me fifteen minutes of being awake to realize I never did.
I think the dream is my brain trying to go back to my glory days, when I was productive and new chapters of some gargantuan story would get four-figure hits per day. And it's conjuring up ideas which only seem workable in dreams- because I sure as hell don't know why changelings would pretend to be dungeon monsters and get slain by adventurers, for one thing. (Also, right now I don't feel like writing more Affably Evil Chrysalis. I've done that.)
Anyway, productivity may be on the way. Crossed fingers...
That is a very workable idea
instead of dying, their "death" is portrayed by them being de-disguised back into their natural form. It is a game for the drones ( who get a free meal) and Chrysalis get both bits AND praise for being creative with layouts and obstacles (to the point the Royal Guard use them as a training exercise).
That premise essentially sounds like the Dungeons games; Evil theme parks where you try to satisfy the adventurism of the invading heroes, then kill them once they have achieved satisfaction with their delve to reap soul energy.
Obviously, an equestrian variant would be a little different...
Ninja'd. Dungeon-themed Amusement Park/Magical LARP, where the dangers are illusions/minor-reality bending. We see it happen with the Power Ponies' Enchanted Comic and Discord's O&O game. The guests chose an Adventuring Class Item which illusions/minor-hypnoses them into belief, and proceed to enter a theme park with puzzles, trap/escape rooms and encounters 'monsters' (illusioned animatronics and/or Changelings) and 'safe areas' (foodcourt/rest area). You could also have a regular Themepark separate from the 'DungeonZone!', with rides and 'old timey' events.
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The problem with all of this is, those are short-story ideas. For some reason my dream had this as being a story on par with Changeling Space Program for length and depth. There would have to be some deeper reason for the lings to make a dungeon than "harvest more love" to sustain that kind of storyline, and that's what I have nothing in my head for.
Sorry you're having to deal with those health difficulties; good luck!
Hmm. Turn it inside out and invert it.
Chrysalis has secretly found a treasure of the ponies, or has kidnapped Twilight or something, and is hiding her actual security behind a guise of a fake dungeon amusement attraction. She keeps upping the security, inventing new traps and basically playing Evil Genius.
But none of that is actually true.
In reality she is trapped by the reformed changelings as they attempt to reform her in the name of love and harmony. Possibly assisted by Twilight. They have her in a magical simulated reality where they throw scenarios at her which need her to interact with ponies and reformed changelings in ways that are supposed to slowly teach her things can be different.
However there are still loyalist changelings out there that are trying to free Chrysalis, so all of the security and trap design she is doing in the simulation is actually being used to guard where she is being kept in reality, in effect using her to keep herself contained.
In order for that to be effective though she needs to be given some semblance of real information on the break-in attempts. Which eventually leads to her seeing something that makes her question things . . . .
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Halfass Idea: The Old Queen has died without a 'princess' nor a princess-egg. The Hive eventually (after much panic/despair) find (deep in the ancient archives) an ancient/powerful ritual to Ascend a normal Changeling into a Royal. This requires a MASSIVE amount of positive energy, not just love but joy and other emotions. One 'ling worked at an Amusement park and pushed forward the idea to make there own. Something... something... Not!Cherry helps build Dungeon Land. Basically it would be like CSP without Chrissy and as an Amusement Park.