Because "Origins of Changelings" just wouldn't do, I guess.

Title: An In-Depth Study of the Origins of the Changeling Race
Author: shred1894
Chapters: 9 (incomplete)
Words: 12,996
Tags: Romance, Dark, Adventure, Alternate Universe
Characters: Twilight Sparkle, Trixie, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and the Changelings (duh)
Rating: Teen

Well, some of the longer stories needed to be reviewed, and this looked like it was right up my alley.

First of all, grammar errors! Oh my Celestia, the grammar errors. Particularly in the first chapter, the fic refers to everything in the present tense, which just looks silly. And the fact that I--who makes regular grammar and spelling errors myself--noticed makes it all even worse.

Another thing you might be surprised that I'm not harping on is the fact that the writer refers to Changelings as "insects". I've seen the replies to this fic, saying Changelings are this and that. Fact is that we really don't have enough information to be sure. The head-canon that they are insects is perfectly valid.

However, I will call the writer out for not following through on this head-canon in the fanfic. As the title suggests, Twilight discovers the origins of the Changelings via a journal of the first Changeling, who called herself Queen Monarch (I guess creativity wasn't her special talent), which conflicts directly with this head-canon.

Okay, now let's get to the good stuff. First of all is our "antagonist", for lack of a better term. The reason Chrysalis is my favorite villain is because of how creepy she is, and Monarch has that in spades! Her creepiness is amplified by the fact that she had to explore her powers. What's even creepier is the fact that she wants to be accepted by Equestria, even when she amounts to nothing more than a vampire. Yeah, I think you'll have a few problems, you highness. And, no, the occasional foal-napping isn't going to help your case.

Another thing the fic does wonderfully is build on the Changelings as a people and threat. Chrysalis is not the only royal Changeling in the fic. In fact, there are four more other than Chrysalis and their mother, Monarch. It expands on the Changelings' powers and culture, making them all the more interesting. And gives Chrysalis more elaborate and interesting motivations.

Also, props for making research exciting. It sounded like the most boring idea ever, but the fanfic somehow managed to make it interesting. If research really were this exhilarating, Scootaloo would be much more interested in learning to build a unicycle.

The fic also includes Trixie, but I can't help but criticize the choice. She is dragged into Twilight's research quite ham-hoovedly and does very little that only she could do. While I like the idea of her working with Twilight, she just seems to be there so shred1894 doesn't have to make the Twilight/Trixie shipfic a separate story. If you want to include shipping in your adventure story, that's fine. But you have to try and make it feel like part of the story, rather than a distraction thereof.

So my feelings on this one are rather mixed. I love the concept and it gets rather creepy and interesting. However, the structure--particularly in the first few chapters--is in horrible disarray and there are some clear contrivances here and there. In the end, I enjoy this fic, but I can only give it a tentative recommendation. Some of the more awkward quarks of the fic can be a deal-breaker for some. If you love Trixie...don't expect much. It really doesn't break new ground for the character and there are plenty of other Trixie fics for you. Still, it's a good one, in its own right.

On a final note: Trixie and Luna in the same room are absolutely hilarious.

3.5 out of 5

Wow, I had no idea that my fic was even in this group...

I am aware of a lot of the major issues with it, and I am doing a full rewrite, because I wasn't satisfied with the horrific quality of it the first time through. I mean my lack of quality and planning made me cringe.

In fact, I will put a link to the prologue of the rewrite, so you can see that I am trying to fix my horrible first attempt... Here