I have a question to ask you, everypony.

So the new changeling designs. Everybody hates them (for good reason), but I find myself wondering...why are they even a thing? Now, in my heart, I know what the real answer is. I know it's an over-used meme by now, but those things basically scream 'BUY OUR TOYS'. Seriously, I'm just waiting for dolls of the new changeling forms. I swear it's going to happen.

But anyway, what I'm wondering is why those new forms exist in-universe. Why, when the changelings share love, does their appearance change completely? What do you think everypony?

In my head any way I see the new form to be a prufied version of their old one.
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5968836 well first of all, i don't hate them. in fact i dislike the existence of EQG designs (obvious remarketing of their less popular human dolls of a different name) more than the changed-lings.

the new designs (although admittedly they could have done a bit better) i think are meant to represent sated hunger (lack of holes) and colourful "iridescent" that some insects have.

whether they are the original changelings or the changed-lings (we really need a new name for these versions), i rather like both designs.

5968836 I have been WAITING for someone to ask this! I've been theorizing since I first saw them!

Okay, so, you know how basically everything evil in the MLP universe uses darker colors? (With the exception of the Sirens.) Even Discord's colors seem hyper saturated where every other pony's colors are desaturated in some way (similar to how Sunset Shimmer's hair was desaturated after the second equestria girls movie).

Well, because the changelings are creatures that take, and in friendship is magic taking is worse than sharing, they are evil, they have darker colors, almost pitch black, actually. In order to show that the changelings have turned over a new leaf and are willing to be good, they needed to be as opposite from their dark forms as possible, meaning bright colors, full beautiful wings, looking more mammal than bug, and being an absolute eye sore instead of easy to ignore.

Not only that, but their former looks could easily hide in the shadows and gather information, which is what bad people do, so these new forms are hard to miss.

Any thoughts?

5968917 A wonderful theory! Thanks for your insight!

5968836 Theory time!
In MLP, love is magical and is normally a force of good. But if it's stolen, it becomes tainted. Because Changelings feed on stolen love, they become tainted as well. Thus the very thing keeping them alive was also affecting their bodies, leading to their corrupted forms.
It was only when they chose to give up the love they'd gathered through deception that it was made pure again, and their bodies were changed as a result.

Either that or we have a case of, Beauty Equals Goodness for simplicity's sake. This show was originally aimed at kids after all.

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Most people seem to lean towards purified forms theory, I'm in that camp as well. If we assume that nothing is born inherently evil, it makes sense that the changelings were originally happy multicolored hippies living in peace and harmony somewhere. Something happened and they were either cursed or regressed somehow.

They remind me of elves being corrupted into orcs in Lord of the Rings somewhat now when I think about it. Since changelings still have their magic and ability to change forms in their new forms, we know that feeding on love was never necessary for them to stay alive, all it did was give them a power boost. From that standpoint their new forms make more sense as their natural one too.

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I don't mind the designs that much, (I actually kind of like them) but what bothers me is their transformation in the first place as is it seems to unintentionally send the wrong message that creatures who look creepy, weird, or unsettling aren't usually good, and that creatures who look nice and colorful typically are. (also the fact that we won't see anymore of the old changeling design is kind of a bummer as well) For this reason I wish that they would have kept the aesthetics of changelings the same, or at the very least tweaked the plot of the finale a bit to make sure they don't send the wrong message.