Proud Mother of a... Dapper?

Proud Mother of a... Changeling?

It's always said the miracle of birth is something no one can understand until you yourself experience it. Do you call shenanigans on that when you find out the citizens of the empire you've 'inherited' give birth to the creatures that nearly took over Equestria and ruined your wedding? Also, how exactly did Cadance does have any power to rule the Crystal Empire anyway?

Learning that one of officers in the Crystal Empire is about to become a father, Empress Cadance wishes to see a newborn foal. Due to the overall lack of any kind of babies, naturally the Princess of Love desires to learn about her subjects and to gush over. What she comes to find out is that her domain holds a secret, one that was lost with time and kept away from all prying eyes. Kudos to the newly christened empress for keeping her composure at seeing a newly born changeling and losing her mind. While the rest of the ponies act nonchalant about a infant changeling, this certainly sent Cadance's mind into a tailspin. Kind of a big oversight on both parties fault but its not something one brings up in conversation. "Hey princess, you freed us from an evil, tyrant that cursed us for a millennia. We so grateful, we're giving you full of the place. By the way, the crystal tribe shares the same genetics as the bug ponies that came close to destroying the best day of your life. Nothing to worry about."

It would seem that the Crystal Heart, that magical artifact that can repel and purify evil, has a small side effect on the populace. Like living near power lines. Fun fact, one out of every twenty odd pony was naturally born a changeling. Not some evil force corrupting ponies or some mad unicorn's science experiment. Nope, regular ponies that were altered due to some unknown power caused by the empire's defense system. Apparently, they were kept quiet and remained out of sight up until Sombra usurped the throne. What little documents remain were obscure references.

This does give credence as to why they decided to attack Canterlot but not entirely. The Crystal Heart is powred and generates love, which in turn kept the changelings placid. Once their food was gone, it was only natural for them to follow their base instinct to seek out a new source. Attacking Canterlot seemed like a hastily drawn plan. Exposing yourself to the world and trying to conquer the city where two powerful alicorns that control celestial bodies? Not to mention it was filled with guards and magic users that are well versed in arcane studies? Shortsighted.

Cadance decides at that exact moment that this can't stand and she know exactly how to fix all of this. Can't honestly call her a slouch, that's for sure. I can fault her for execution of her plan. Exposing the news that the existence of changelings would be welcomed to the Crystal Empire but it may not go over as well for others. One pony in particular, Twilight Sparkle. Can't break the ice faster than sending your sister-in-law a cordial invitation to a banquet honoring the matriarch that nearly stole away her brother.

The major fault I find with this story is how the thought process of Cadance. She wants to lift the fog of fear that's clouding pony's judgement of changeling, which I'm all for. Deciding to throw a party and inviting all of Equestria to see it? Don't expect everypony to jump on the Love & Tolerate bus, just yet. Cadance's expectations are absurdly high for ponies to just forgive and forget what happened to their capital city. This is the only critical fault I can find in all of this.

Final Verdict: 8.5/10. While remaining a one shot, this does an immense amount of world building for a short story. Changelings remain a mystery and with how the author wrote their history, all the pieces fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. Changeling fans, give this a look.