REVIEW: Lyra and Bon Bon and The Mares from S.M.I.L.E. · 11:41am Aug 5th, 2016
next week is the Discord book, I promise.
Lyra and Bon Bon and The Mares from S.M.I.L.E.
by G. M. Berrow
Hey look, it's got custom vector art for the cover, not just the usual clipart. 
In case you forgot, this is based off that Secret Agent Sweetie Drops bit from episode 100, "Slice of Life." I'm still amazed they were allowed to do that episode. I'm even more surprised they allowed this chapter book. I mean, 2 background ponies who were only developed in one episode... are the children gonna be familiar with this? Is it secretly aimed at the older fans?
In this case I think it's actually aimed more at the children. The selling point isn't the fandom-favorite background characters, but that it's a silly adventure story about secret agent ponies. I'd give the younger audience some credit and assume that they're not gonna be too upset about the choice of main characters. As long as the core story works, they'll roll with it.
Bon Bon is forced out of retirement back into S.M.I.L.E., and Lyra signs up too to avoid losing her best friend from her life entirely. this has a lot of obvious influence from Men in Black, such as the magical mirrors that can wipe memories of the organization's existence. it's cute as a reference, but not as funny as the hilarious parody world in M.I.B.
the mission is given to stop a changeling threat, and our pair of agents is sent to Appleloosa. if you're a Braeburn fan, you get to read about him a little. they investigate around for changelings! they save the day! 
what? it's an adventure thriller, I can't spoil the twists. well actually, over a certain age, none of the twists will surprise you at all. everything gets resolved a little too quickly, probably because so many pages had to be spent to set up the characters and the S.M.I.L.E. agency and the changeling plot. maybe for young children it might be just about right, a little bit of mystery but nothing too intense. for older readers, you'll probably be wishing you could read a fanfic instead, one that goes more in-depth with the characters and has more surprises for this genre.
there was an interesting scene where Bon Bon gets mad at Lyra for being more into this secret agent job than she is, and storms off in a huff. I thought that conflict had potential, but it also gets resolved in a hurry. it was a neat little hint of character conflict, which fits well into most fanon interpretations of the two ponies, but not entirely satisfying. well, still more satisfying than the randomness they went through in ep 100.
I suppose adventure stories suffer more from this format than the slice-of-life tales, due to the target audience and the short book length, as well as the setup -- using less-familiar characters and introducing new outside elements.
So the book wasn't great, but it did get me thinking. partly on the Lyra & Bon Bon dynamic, because I do love those characters. but mostly on the idea of CHANGELING STORIES.
What makes a good changeling story? ..... not a rhetorical question this time -- I'm really not sure myself. I need others to help me out with this one. What do you like in changeling fics?
Actually, what IS a changeling, anyway?
I know they're mostly based on the traditional faerie changeling myth, though that has so little pop culture exposure (besides White Wolf's RPG). In fanfics, it seems like changelings can be whatever the author wants them to be. The animators included hints of other monsters for that episode, and any of them can be latched on. let's see....
* a hive mind (because they're bugs. also zerglings)
* xenomorphs (because of the coccoon?)
* vampires (Shining got drained like Lucy Westenra, sorta)
* Succubus (see above)
* parasites (either real or fantasy types. they appear to strengthen their magical powers by draining love)
* body snatchers (like in the first issue of the IDW comics)
* mind-controllers (like in the first issue of.... hey wait a minute. why were they turning ponies into mindless zombies, if they were already abducting them to be replaced by changelings? doing both makes no sense! 
)
* shapeshifters/doppelgangers (Chrysalis only copied Cadance, because she replaced her. but the lesser changelings imitated the Mane 6 just by looking at them. that's departing from the original myth.)
* an invading army (because there's a thousand of them attacking Canterlot's shield by ramming into it)
* spies ("someone please switch to Pyro")
* Cylons / Terminators (more of an assassin than a spy)
* trickster devils (kind of a stretch, maybe)
* and more?
much like their shapeshifting powers, they're versatile. but maybe a little too versatile. 
the Lyra & Bon Bon book did remind me of something I think is important. Changelings should be rare. if they're too common, they completely lose the element of surprise. everybody's gonna be watching out for them! Twilight will just cast a detection spell on everypony she meets! all of their advantages become cancelled out! then they just become a swarm of bugs in a frontal assault (which is what some authors want anyway, because the other races in MLP's world are too cute).
I mentioned White Wolf earlier, they had an entire RPG about vampires hiding themselves from humanity. their society had a limit of about 1 vampire per 10k humans; any more and the mortals start noticing too much supernatural stuff going on.
personally I enjoy that kind of suspense and paranoia. is somepony acting different because they've been replaced by a changeling? or is there another plausible explanation? is there even a changeling in the first place? is this a crazy witch hunt where innocent ponies are being punished? it can be like Battlestar Galactica, or maybe even Reservoir Dogs. see how different characters react to each other with this threat.
and for years I've been a huge fan of these types of boardgames as well. The Battlestar Galactica boardgame, Shadows Over Camelot, The Resistance. you might be familiar with casual party games like Mafia or Secret Hitler. maybe this is getting a little off-topic, but I think these games work better when finding the CHANGELING is not the ultimate goal, but just one useful method towards accomplishing the real goal. in Battlestar, you must cooperate with others to get things done, but that paranoia is always in the atmosphere. it can result in being forced to take interesting risks, and make regretful mistakes. even if you find the cylons, the damage might already be done! meanwhile, in Mafia, it's you vs the world... everyone else is guilty until proven innocent. taking risks is frowned upon, because it's much more likely to lead to complete failure. ah well. I think the former structure also makes for more interesting stories.
I have just one pet peeve on FimFic. I'll tolerate (or even enjoy) all the "bad" story concepts, but there's exactly one that drives me nutty. it's a certain kind of changeling story. the one where the changeling wants to be a good guy, if only somepony would be so accepting and also generously donate LOVE so the changeling won't starve. ughghgh. it's like vampire angst but even worse. it's always implied that the changeling isn't responsible for Chrysalis's invasion, so it's not even a proper villain gone rogue story. seems like such a waste of potential. 
we'll get a changeling episode in a few weeks that may or may not clarify what the creatures are. if that happens, this post will be obsolete! but I'd still like to hear what other people think about changeling stories. for years I avoided most of them because of that one pet peeve, and only recently I'm starting to get interested in how they could be done right. comment if you have something to share!
also I had a Writeoff contest entry about changelings I've been considering expanding, so this is research. sorta.
BONUS:
Lyra and Bon Bon sure are enjoying Pinkie Pie's Hearts & Hooves Day party rather intimately for just being Best Friends. I wonder if they're dating???? 
PREVIOUS ENTRIES:
Book 1 / Twilight Sparkle and The Crystal Heart Spell
Book 8 / Princess Celestia and The Summer of Royal Waves
Book 9 / Princess Luna and The Festival of the Winter Moon
That changeling episode is going to joss more fanon than any episode since..., uh, Twilight's Kingdom?
4132990
that and the "Daring Do is real!" episode.
4133519 Dragon Lord comes close.
I absolutely should not take this opportunity to shill for my latest story, which inverts the whole changelings-and-ponies love structure. Nope. Not gonna do it.
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I liked that one.