Everyone says they love how I write Pinkie so here's a guide on how I do that. (Note: This is just how I do it. There's nothing wrong with how other people write her. I'll be speaking like what I'm saying is an objective fact but it's actually just my style. Just to... to get that out of the way.)
Halfway through last month I signed up for not one but two holiday gift exchanges. I was on a writing kick! I was feeling great and signing up for everything under the sun.
First off, lemme tell you how Nano is going! As of writing this I'm at 44 thousand words which means I only have to do three thousand the next two days and I will have written a whole novel. Heck, I think I'll even finish the novel since I seem to be at a good wrapping up point. Soon my name will be in published lights!
This week's rules: 1. Gotta be a full changeling OC. It can't be Derpy as a changeling. That's just Derpy. I want changeling drone #729 and their story. 2. Doesn't have to be complete. I am strange in that an unfinished story doesn't bother me at all. 3. Has to be rated T or below. I'm a family friendly pussy. 4. The OC doesn't have to be the main character but it has to be prominent enough to get a vibe from them.
Ebony, or ~Ebony~ as the main character calls her, has been through a heckin’ lot. She wants to be a rough and tough changeling that don’t care for no one but her bleeding heart keeps getting her into situations she’d rather not have to face. She should just take the weird human she found and run. But that might make her human friend sad and we just can’t have that no way no how. Her snarky attitude in contrast with her softer tendencies, as well as the brain she must have to come up with so many escape plans, makes her a character that you can root for at the end of the day.
“Even so, [Ebony] found herself smiling. It was, in some strange way actually cute watching [the human] consume the apple with gusto before realising how she had been eating.”
It’s cute! Gosh it’s so cute how fond she grows of this weird human thing.
Most ‘exiled changeling’ stories have the character exiled because they just don’t follow the standard changeling model and somehow break the rules. Not Traveler, he’s the rough and tough kind of hard hitter any hive would kill to have. He’s so good, in fact, he’s in charge of a whole secret operation! And when it fails he’s got purpose and direction to drive the plot! He’s an outcast, he’s a grump, and he’s gotta do anything in his power to steal this artifact thing back. He’d do anything to get back into the hive’s good graces and that’s what keeps you reading with gusto.
“I’ll make one thing clear,” Traveler said, “and it’s that I’m only doing this out of necessity. You’re insane, and I don’t want to work with you, but you’re forcing me.”
This is pretty much his response to anything that happens to him in Equestria. Ever. He is so done.
Max is a heckin’ nerd horse bug who hoards daring do books and writes fanfictions of her smoking hot OC to collect the love of her adoring fans. Apparently, that’s so lame that all her siblings accuse her of anti-changeling behavior and she, in return, thinks they’re all incredibly stupid. What’s not to love?
“Scrape cackled triumphantly as he grabbed one of the volumes. “Fourteen Daring Do novels, seven issues of Power Ponies, tickets to a Star Trot convention, several hundred pages’ worth of writing – secret messages, no doubt – and two posters of Shining Armour.” He tossed the book back onto the pile and sneered. “These were all found hidden behind a loose rock in one of the abandoned air shafts, and you’ve been seen regularly going in and out there during your breaks.”
“Th—those aren’t mine,” Max stammered as she fought to maintain her nonchalant grin. “I don’t even know what half of those things are.”
“Is that so?” Scrape levitated up the one-of-a-kind, very rare and very irreplaceable first edition of Daring Do and the Temple of Dune. His smirk then grew as he placed it cover-first on the ground and dangled a dirty hoof over the pages. “Then you probably won’t mind if I just do a little dance right over here.”
Gritting her teeth, Max just about managed a shrug. “Eh, I don’t care.”
Scrape’s hoof slammed onto the open pages, and he twisted it this way and that, grinding dirt into the pristine paper.
“Okay, okay, stop! I do care, just leave my stuff alone!” Max yelped. She dropped from the ceiling and dashed to save her collection.”
If that ain’t the most of relatable thing I’ve ever read I don’t know what is.
Leech’s defining character trait is that he’s dumb. Like super dumb.
“Fortunately, Leech had not been badly injured (his head had broken his fall).”
Yeah, that dumb. Now, usually dumb characters are not my bread and butter. In fact a lot of changeling OCs didn’t make the top ten because of how boring I find the ‘stupid for comedy’ trope. But! Leech takes it to such an extreme with his clumsiness and hero worship of Trixie you just can’t help but laugh. He’s paired with Trixie, and their collective stupidity is so very very entertaining. Not to mention them both being outcasts makes the plot intriguing amidst the comedy. Leech is fun to watch bumble around and fun to see succeed.
Cricket is so nice! And smart! He’s the nicest smartest ‘ling I’ve ever seen. He sees Fluttershy with some fangs and thinks she’s a changeling so he goes out of his way to help her out. Then, when she’s not a changeling, he just like… tries to flee the country. Understandably. He thinks of every move, he uses every skill, he’s calculated to the finest detail. But dang he’s just so nice his ‘seven tricks’ don’t end up panning out. Seeing him think in such detail is an entertaining adventure that you want to see more of. Thankfully there’s a sequel so you can!
“Trick Three: Chirping
The common cricket, and even the mole cricket, is able to create an incredibly loud (for relative size) sound through stridulation, rubbing their wings together. A tiny cricket can make a noise loud enough to be heard miles away. Imagine the racket that could be made by one the size of a horse. No, wait, don't imagine, because here it comes.
The resulting burst of sound was one that was not so much heard as felt, throughout the entire city and beyond, and at point blank range, was sufficient to shatter glass. Mole rushed into the room, grabbed his emergency escape pack (Lesson Five, hatchlings: always, Always, ALWAYS have a kit packed and ready in case you have to leave town in a hurry... because nine times out of ten, you WILL be leaving town in a hurry, usually with an angry mob in hot pursuit), grabbed a pack of carrots out of his fridge (it came with the apartment. Ah, the fridge, not the carrots. Those he bought), grabbed Miss Bunny Wunny Cuddlewumpus (his pet rabbit: best investment he ever made, she freely traded love for carrots. Carrots are cheap, and love without coercion is hard to come by. And no, he didn't name her, so shut up), who was a little bit dazed. He managed it all in one go, without having to change direction, and hit the wall opposite the window, hooves first.”
Plus! He’s got a bunny named Miss Cuddlewumpus! Is that not the cutest thing you’ve ever seen? Cricket is adorable.
This silent nameless bug really tugs on your heartstrings. He rescues Trixie from the cold without knowing if she'll survive or if he’ll end up getting killed for helping a pony. He cares for her seemingly without any strong emotions but more out of a sense of duty to help others. He’s there for this complete stranger enough that she grows so attached to him and he knows it’ll only bring him pain in the long run. It’s beautiful and tragic and I think about it every single day.
“He reckoned there was a fifty-fifty shot the Queen would let him off with his life. Were those odds worth saving this mare? After a moment of indecision, he decided the answer was yes. Nopony deserved to die alone in the cold. If their positions had been swapped, he would have wanted her to do the same.”
Hnnnnn the loyalty to this random pony he found in the snow! He’s gonna do what’s right even if it kills him gosh darn it!
Bob is not the main character of this story but that doesn’t really affect his impact on you. He’s mute, he’s the owner of a pub in a small town at the edge of Equestria, and he throws the main character on his butt one or two times. You never see anything from Bob’s perspective or even hear his thoughts, but you really come to like him through his backstory and the way every other character in the story loves him. This story, this town, feels like home, and Bob is a big part of that homely feeling.
“Twilight didn’t think she would ever get over just how terrifying a changeling was up close, and Bob was no exception. It also didn’t help that he had half of his head wrapped up in bandages from their… altercation earlier. Twilight couldn’t look him in the eyes. She could feel her ears drooping down as she withered under his gaze. Bob didn’t seem to be offended in any way, but stepped around the mare to look over the railings. His discerning sigh told her all she needed to know.”
Twilight beats this poor changeling up and he just brushes it off to worry about his friends! He’s such a pal, such a bro. Bob’s gone through hell and back and yet… good on ya Bob. Good on ya.
This changeling, just ‘I’, is an interesting character because of just how torn up he is at every moment of the story. He’s transforming into ponies to give his ‘clients’ a chance to get over their problems and cares enough about them to stop them when it’s obviously hurting them. But the irony is that he’s just running away from his own problems. And you can feel that in his thoughts. The way he cares. The way he cares so much that it’s eating him up inside. I’ve never felt so unironically bad for a nameless OC before. I hope he finds forgiveness within himself.
“At the moment I am her son, four or five years old at most. It is clear that I am dead and have been dead for some time. Over the course of many sessions, I put the pieces together and realize I have drowned at a friend’s lake, unsupervised and alone. A part of her blames herself. She could’ve been there. She could’ve been watching me—saving me. Why does she work so much? she wonders. Why didn’t she make time for me yet again?
But it’s become clear she will not find closure here. Not once has she said goodbye to her son—asked forgiveness for what she failed to prevent from happening. No. She believes her son is back amongst the living, but I know I can never be such a thing for her. I am only a copy of what she wants. I am only a means to an end; a facilitator of emotions for others. And that’s all I want to be right now.
The happiness and love I taste off her as I play with her son’s never-opened birthday gift is some of the sweetest nourishment I have ever had and it is a pity to let it go. But I must.
I have ruined enough lives already.”
I’m crying. Are you crying? Cause I’m sobbing on the floor.
Making an Old Lady Cry is a very short story but the changeling, Nichts, is amazing in it. He fakes his own death to get out of being captured by the ponies (hard core) and then un-fakes it because he feels so bad about making Celestia upset (daaaww). His realization that the sun goddess loves him and that he, begrudgingly, loves her (in a “she’s a sweet old grandma” kind of way) is so very tender and sweet. More people should think of Celestia as their grandmother. You’re left with such respect for this changeling after only a couple thousand words I think it’s amazing.
“She thought you’d died.
I know that. That was the point! What I want to know is why she cared so much.
That’s just her way.
Her way doesn’t make any sense. If I had been in her position I’d…
Would you have just shrugged it off so easily?
… Maybe not, I guess. Still… it’s not what we’d been trained to expect, and I just didn’t know what to do. She starts calling for the guard to get help and I just don’t know what to do. I mean, here I am, having pulled one over on the Sun Herself and all I can do is lull around in her hooves and feel bad for making the old lady cry. She’s put me down and gone to wash herself when Moonbutt shows up—”
This is how you pull at my heartstrings! Nichts you soft sap you’re making an old lady cry how dare you?
The Changeling of the Guard is 200k words of one (1) dumb changeling just trying to live his life in pony society. And you are on the edge of your seat every moment of it. Idol is a joy to watch and it does not matter what he’s doing, you are invested because it’s him doing. He’s so unique in how he views the world with his personal moral code of greatly respecting authority and desire to fit in clashing most of the time. You aren’t even surprised that he’s BFFs with Shining and Cadence because who wouldn’t want to be friends with Idol? He’s smart and dumb at the same time. He’s stoic and goofy. Rigid and caring and none of these things feel like contradictions. You read this story and you completely fall in love with this changeling and every update you can’t wait to see what he does next. I would die for Idol Hooves.
"When Princess Cadance first stood before me and was introduced, I knew the truth of how insignificant I truly am. This was no mere sunny warmth from Celestia, it was a molten inferno of raw, unimaginable might. Power poured forth from her like a tsunami, and it was all I could do to weather the storm that was she. My body hurt from the pressure around it, and none of the others so much as noticed. When I was told she would be performing this surprise inspection to allow her to choose two ponies to have the privilege of escorting her around Canterlot for the day, I knew terror. I would be found wanting, must be found wanting, and had never had any right to stand in her presence. I was no warrior drone, no defender of the realm by blood, and-
She stopped beside me, staring at Shining Armor imperiously. Amusement wafted from him. Amusement. He’d been driven mad by her presence. I would attempt to put his mind together again later, when it would not displease her or draw her attention.
“You. And you.” Her rosy hoof lifted at Shining, and then myself. Ah. We were clearly inadequate, and to be destroyed."
I. Would. Die. For. Idol. Hooves.
Disclaimer: While I have read a whole heckin lot of stories I, unfortunately, am only mortal and haven’t read all of them. If your favorite buggy boy didn’t make the list please feel free to yell at me about it in the comments. Who knows, maybe I just haven’t read it. Or maybe I have and we can argu--I mean passionately debate the magic horse fanfiction. I know I’ll have fun either way.
Personal honorable mentions for me go to Sky and Nictis from "A New Way" and their respective prequel stories. On one end, you have a character who's hopelessly optimistic, but you can't help but love em for trying to make things better for everyone involved, and on the other spectrum you have a character that's just so *broken* by their upbringing and what they did to survive that you can't help but hope he'll get a good ending in the end, despite all he's done. I have a LOT of other favorite changeling characters, but those two and that story just stuck with me, and I can't quite say for any other reason that they just pull you along and won't let you stop reading their story until it reaches its conclusion. At least, that's how it was for me. Just thought I'd throw in my two cents :D https://www.fimfiction.net/story/145158/a-new-way
Other than that, I'd prolly say the characters from "The Village Called Respite", because dear LORD the society those Changelings have is just so neat, and the two main bugs featured, that being Aspire and Esalen, just have a quality to them that makes them so endearing, especially considering the lengths they travel to just understand the new resident and make them feel more comfortable...even if their motives might have been just slightly less than altruistic :P https://www.fimfiction.net/story/291019/the-village-called-respite
I could probably think of more given time, but then I'd be here all day. Regardless, at least now I have a couple stories featuring some bugs I can check out now!
5262452 Kevin is so canon they could have changed the show name to My Little Kevin: Kevin is Kevin (jk I honestly haven't read yours yet but it's time to put it on the list!)
5262475 Kuno defiantly would have been spot number 11! The Affliction of the Heart series was some of the first fanfics I ever read and really made me like the idea of changeling ocs in general
5262481 I haven't read A New Way but I've read both of the prequels! Fragments and Without a Hive were both really really good stories and strong contenders not going to lie. They defiantly deserve some honorable mentions. Never read The Village Called Respite but now I really want to...
Does mine not count because I used Kevin?
yey Idle Hooves :D
Also, shout out to Kuno, from An Affliction Of The Heart
https://www.fimfiction.net/story/60491/an-affliction-of-the-heart
Personal honorable mentions for me go to Sky and Nictis from "A New Way" and their respective prequel stories. On one end, you have a character who's hopelessly optimistic, but you can't help but love em for trying to make things better for everyone involved, and on the other spectrum you have a character that's just so *broken* by their upbringing and what they did to survive that you can't help but hope he'll get a good ending in the end, despite all he's done. I have a LOT of other favorite changeling characters, but those two and that story just stuck with me, and I can't quite say for any other reason that they just pull you along and won't let you stop reading their story until it reaches its conclusion. At least, that's how it was for me. Just thought I'd throw in my two cents :D
https://www.fimfiction.net/story/145158/a-new-way
Other than that, I'd prolly say the characters from "The Village Called Respite", because dear LORD the society those Changelings have is just so neat, and the two main bugs featured, that being Aspire and Esalen, just have a quality to them that makes them so endearing, especially considering the lengths they travel to just understand the new resident and make them feel more comfortable...even if their motives might have been just slightly less than altruistic :P
https://www.fimfiction.net/story/291019/the-village-called-respite
I could probably think of more given time, but then I'd be here all day. Regardless, at least now I have a couple stories featuring some bugs I can check out now!
5262452
Kevin is so canon they could have changed the show name to My Little Kevin: Kevin is Kevin
(jk I honestly haven't read yours yet but it's time to put it on the list!)
5262475
Kuno defiantly would have been spot number 11! The Affliction of the Heart series was some of the first fanfics I ever read and really made me like the idea of changeling ocs in general
5262481
I haven't read A New Way but I've read both of the prequels! Fragments and Without a Hive were both really really good stories and strong contenders not going to lie. They defiantly deserve some honorable mentions. Never read The Village Called Respite but now I really want to...
5263070
- MLP: FiM
- Sad
- Slice of Life
Princess Luna says goodbye to a very special student.Is teeny story.