Backstory:
Flitter's parents were both changelings in the role of medical ponies who moved to Ponyville some years prior to the MLP show. They had twin foals fifteen years prior to the Nightmare Moon incident. The twins were named Flitter and Cloudchaser, and looked like normal pegasi up until the ages of eight when their changeling transformation systems matured.

Flitter was a happy, yet introverted resident of Ponyville in her youth. Once she was old enough, she began foalsitting some of the local colts and fillies, teaching the older ones topics which she enjoyed such as chess, bug collecting, and astronomy, and taking them on little adventures through the nearby countryside. Over time, Flitter developed reputation as somepony who could be trusted and who was very level headed when it came to the normal predicaments and injuries that children often found themselves having.

She enjoyed putting her natural changeling medical knowledge to good use, and sometimes assisted at the local clinic where her parents worked when somepony had an accident. Her friends thought she was just a bit odd, since her need to spend time in her natural form at night meant that she usually declined sleepover invitations. Her odd eating habits generally meant she preferred to not take part in social dinners very often, and some ponies wondered what in the world she liked to eat.

When Flitter was sixteen and attending Ponyville High School, she had been foalsitting for about two years. Her favorite child to sit for was the colt Rumble, who always amused her with his antics. About this time, Nyx had been taken in by Twilight, and within six months, Flitter was asked if she would like to foalsit Nyx as well. Flitter thought Nyx was the cutest thing, and eagerly accepted, looking forward to spending time with the adorable little black alicorn. She would often take Nyx and Rumble on playtime adventures, pretending that they were off on important quests or solving dangerous mysteries. Twilight especially appreciated Flitter's level-headed approach with the children, and Nyx was eager to learn all she could. When Nyx had been in Ponyville for three years, Flitter pointed out to her that Rumble had a bit more than friendship hopes when it came to the two of them. She didn't push them, but encouraged them to develop it into a much closer friendship over the next three years.

When Flitter was twenty-two and Nyx was sixteen, the Great War began. Equestria's changeling population panicked, and tried to find the best way to remain integrated without letting anyone know who they were and also hopefully without going hungry. Things got difficult for Flitter and her family, and soon they moved away. This was also when Luna had much less influence in Nyx's life, so Nyx gravitated toward her studies and toward Rumble.

As with many changelings, Flitter's family was in desperate times during the famine. They moved from town to town searching for a place where the ponies didn't live in fear and could maintain the love that they needed to survive. Flitter witnessed many changeling friends and relatives die of starvation. Fortunately, she and her sister survived long enough to migrate to the Crystal Empire when she was nearly twenty-eight years old.

After the famine crisis was over, few spent much time outside of the city-state due to the dangers of being away from the Crystal Heart for too long. Packing a supply of nectar sticks, a changeling could spend a week or so venturing out, but for the most part, everyone they knew was already there. It was a safe and happy lifestyle - a far cry from living in desperation for their very survival. Flitter wanted to reconnect with old friends, having been away for five years. She wanted to come clean about what she was, since the changelings were mostly accepted in Equestria at this point. It was thirty-one weeks after the changelings migrated, and Flitter made a trip to Ponyville. She learned that Nyx and Rumble had married just over two years prior. She missed them both, and so she decided to pay them a visit.

Shock was their first reaction. Nyx and Rumble had known Flitter quite well growing up. To learn that their former foalsitter was a changeling was a crazy development. Being kind ponies, Nyx and Rumble listened to her story. They were very sad to hear about all the suffering and death she had witnessed her people go through. It was just more than a little unsettling to learn that their friend and adventure partner growing up was indeed something quite different than what she appeared. They enjoyed a lunch together and parted ways, Flitter leaving to visit some of her other friends in Ponyville.

Not everypony was as accepting of what Flitter had to say. Some of her friends were quite upset at the fact that she essentially lied to them for years pretending to be something she wasn't. Some told her to leave and never talk to them again. After a few of these, Flitter stopped to visit her old friend Fluttershy. The pair had enjoyed a good friendship when Flitter was a teenager. Fluttershy was seven years older, and during their friendship years ago, the pair had often spent time chatting about their mutual interest in medicine. Flitter enjoyed Fluttershy's quiet, undemanding personality as a contrast to her own inquisitive nature while still giving Flitter the personal space to process her own thoughts and feelings.

Flitter hoped that when she broke the news to Fluttershy about her being a changeling that Fluttershy would be gracious about it. She always was a peacemaker, after all. If anyone could forgive, it would be her. At first, Fluttershy didn't believe it. She thought Flitter was playing a joke. Then, when Flitter transformed in front of her, Fluttershy freaked out. She screamed and ran inside her cottage, locking the doors. Flitter took this as a pretty serious rejection, and assumed that Fluttershy felt it was too great an offense to forgive. Over the passing years, the two had strained relations whenever circumstance threw them together. They never could get past their frigid relations though, until three years later.

Flitter was feeling pretty lousy about her attempt to reconnect with old friends. The most accepting ponies were Nyx and Rumble, though even they were clearly uncomfortable about the whole thing. Flitter was feeling very hungry. She was munching on a nectar stick as she went to purchase her train ticket to go back home. The train station was abuzz with talk of something having happened at the Crystal Empire. Flitter's heart sank as she was hoping that there wasn't another zebra attack. It had only been a couple weeks since the Royal Guard ceremony assassination, and she knew it was only a matter of time before something worse happened.

She could never have imagined the truth. The Crystal Empire was gone. Home... was gone. Her entire family and everyone she was close to. Her entire species. Simply vanished. Nopony knew why, but several said it was confirmed. The train would never come.

Flitter has always been a very rational pony. She stomached difficult truths and always kept a level head in a crisis. This time, however, she lost it. She stumbled around in shock for a while, wandering about the train station not knowing what to do or who to talk to. Her pony facade vanished, and she appeared in her natural changeling form. She found a corner of the train station, curled up into a ball on the floor, and wept. Ponies gathered around, not knowing what to do about this changeling that had suddenly appeared and was lying on the floor crying. Word quickly spread, and Nyx found out that there was an upset changeling lying on the floor of the train station. She and Rumble flew over quickly to see what was going on.

When they arrived, Flitter was still curled up in a ball, hyperventilating. Nyx approached her carefully, trying to get her attention. She was unresponsive. Rumble had everypony clear the room to give them some privacy. Nyx lay down on the floor and put her wing over Flitter's creepy form. She brushed Flitter's tear soaked teal mane out of her eyes with her hoof, and lifted her chin up so they could make eye contact. Flitter simply said "They're all gone. I have no one." Nyx told her that she was not alone, and that she was with friends. Nyx sat with her for nearly an hour until she was ready to get up and come home with them. The couple fixed up a room in the underground hideout for Flitter to stay in. Nyx understood what Flitter was going through. The combination of widespread rejection and being the only one of her kind had hit close to home. Nyx knew that none of this was Flitter's fault. The right thing - the only thing to do was to be there for her in every way that she could.

Flitter stayed with Nyx & Rumble from that point on and became like family to them. Six weeks later, the three of them began testing prototype equipment for StableTec. Three years after that, they would go on the most dangerous adventure of their lives.

Personality:
Flitter is a very level headed, rational pony. For the most part, she enjoys dry humor and calm living. She's very observant, and can recognize when things are about to go badly because of her talent for deductive reasoning combined with her natural empath ability. She likes watching others and guessing what they might do in a particular situation. Flitter is quick to come up with a creative solution when others are stuck, but she does not often volunteer herself unless there is sufficient need. For the most part, she likes her life uncomplicated, as it allows her to focus without distractions.

Flitter enjoys having a small number of very close friends rather than a large number of casual friends. She appreciates ponies like Pinkie, but cannot quite relate to them. Pinkie understands how she thinks better than almost anyone, because Pinkie understands everybody. But she is too unfocused to form a close relationship. Flitter gets frustrated around ponies like Applejack who don't understand 'out of the box' thinking and who regards theoretical discussions as a waste of time, and so she prefers to just keep her distance. She makes decisions based on a future assessment. If something isn't likely to work, she won't put much energy into it. A little excitement once in a while is a welcome change of pace, but for the most part, she doesn't have much of an urge to get out and do competitive things.

She very much appreciates affection, although she is starved for the companionship of her own kind. She knows that Nyx and Rumble would do anything for her, and that they want her to feel like she is fully one of them, but it doesn't change the simple fact that she is not. Flitter is a realist, so no amount of "untrue comforting statements" will help her feel better when the cold reality remains unchanged. Flitter does not want things sugar coated, and she doesn't sugar coat things with others either.

Flitter spends a lot of time alone, reflecting on life. She may not exhibit her personal feelings much, but they do run very deep. She only opens up to those who are closest to her. Sometimes, the only way to deaden the pain is to get herself distracted with projects and study. Her ability to "see things" like patterns in life that others don't see is one of her most valued traits, but usually that trait only confuses others around her, as they do not see what she does, nor do they understand her thought process. She finds life frustrating at times, but she always holds out hope that it will at some point get better.

Flitter's Role:
Flitter is the voice of reason in her family with Nyx and Rumble. Being the most rational of the three, she is not prone to emotion based reasoning. Because of this, she has developed a reputation for being trusted to cut through the crap that clouds an issue.

Her main role is medical pony. With the war being what it is, injuries happen. Flitter has always done a fantastic job getting right to the problem in a medical situation. She is resourceful, and finds ways to get her patient comfortable and fixed up in the best way possible. This sometimes involves a bit of improvising, but she is creative enough to do exactly that.

Her secondary role is as an infiltrator, or "master of disguise". Whenever active combat is imminent, Flitter's role is to find a way to throw off the enemy through impersonation and misdirection. It's also relatively easy for her to find out what the enemy is up to. Flitter enjoys this role, as it allows her to be an active help, while also being a noncombatant. Flitter doesn't like fighting, although she's willing to do it if there is no other choice. For this reason, Flitter has not avoided training on weapons on occasion, but she hopes that she won't have to use them.

Flitter is a welcome and loved member of the family/team, and she is genuinely grateful for them including her in their lives. Nyx and Rumble in particular are very loving toward each other, which Flitter depends on for her very survival. Ordinarily, two ponies aren't quite enough to sustain one changeling, but these two keep her belly full most of the time.

4342636 First things first... you do realize the pic you show for her changeling form is Queen Chrysalis right? Just saying. I understand the lack of Flitter changeling art tho.

often taking part in various helpful activities.

Too vague.

She enjoyed being around others,

As do all ponies/people? I don't get why this is important to mention. I mean you could have mentioned it any other ways by saying she likes "X" activities, team play games, e.t.c.

she began foalsitting the local colts and fillies,

This seems particularly out of the blue. What made her want to do that? Did she like children? Did she like her teacher that taught children? Did she have much love about her own foalsitter and the tales that it brought with being one? For example foalsitters may raise more than one child in their lives... what experiences does this bring? And oh... ooooh... OOOOH!! I just got an idea... but... maybe I will mention this in private.

teaching them science and taking them on little adventures through the nearby countryside.

Science? On kids? You sure? I dunno most kids are bored with science unless it comes in the form a tale.

To be honest I have a mother that was a kindergarden teacher and my father was at elementary school. It's safe to say that despite my mother trying to teach them a lot I wouldn't call it... "science". If you want to say that she shows them nature, the flora, the fauna e.t.c. or tells them tales then yes go for it.

However do be careful... she'd have to earn a lot of trust from the parents to take them "out" of the house. Or they'd have to be really liberal and all I think.

She enjoyed putting her medical knowledge to good use,

Medical knowledge out of the blue... How and why? Where did she learn it? You say she has all those skills and that's fine and dandy but you never say where or how she acquired them. I realize being a babysitter requires knowledge of such stuff but the how and the why is important in ANY character.

and sometimes assisted at the local clinic when somepony had an accident.

Do you realize the level of expertise that one would need to assist in a clinic? It depends on the position of course but still... My aunt was ((and as far as I know is still...)) a nurse and unless Flitter had had the chance of delivering a baby so it's a birthing clinic or whatever they call em.... Unless it's that then we've got ourselves kiiiind of a problem. Based on what you've told me right now she can't be much of a doctor but rather something like a nurse.

Her friends thought she was just a bit odd, since she usually declined sleepover invitations

I know this might be explained somewhere but... for the life of me here and now I don't know it. I'd love to learn if it doesn't spoil anything.

About this time, Nyx had been taken in by Twilight, and within six months, Flitter was asked if she would like to foalsit Nyx as well.

At this point I would like to ask... how much is Nyx like from Pen Stroke's fics?

the other two

Other two? Who? You m ean the two of them? As in Flitter and Nyx? Cause that's an expression.

calm, level-headed approach

Again calm, level-head but... why? I mean she clearly sounds like sort of an enthusiastic one... you need to tell me how she is calm. What makes her calm? Does she face dangerous situations with a calm mind? Does she "bridle" child-like enthusiasm and channel it productively? Does she take care there are no risk and calculates? These would show a calm ((more like safe/secure)), level-headed individual. Level headed means ((usually)) serious... but she clearly looks like she can have fun and stuff. So... calm maybe... level headed? I don't know.

After a few of these, Flitter stopped to visit her old friend Fluttershy.

How are these two events even connected? And why her? I mean I get it she's a good friend but did she do similarly before Flitter was there? Was she more open to Fluttershy and why was she more open? Was Fluttershy equally open as well? Did they find mutual interest in caring for newborn whether they were animals or otherwise?

Now that I think about it if she grew up in Ponyville she couldn't have learned much about medicine... at least by anyone else other than Nurse Redheart. There's certainly not any medical school or university. Her best knowledge sources would be Redheart or other nannies.

They would often go for flights across the countryside or take trips to Cloudsdale together to visit the weather production center.

Here's a question... I get the flights... but Cloudsdale? The weather production center? Why? I mean why these places in specific what do they mean to them? Also don't forget that Cloudsdale has essentially been proven to be a moving city... which means that it's never in the same place each time ((as proven by Tanks for the memories)). Now that I think about it a moving fortress city might likely survive if they don't get hit by a nuke and might even become a sanctuary for most. Real strategic advantage for Pegasi I say.

Six weeks later, the three of them began testing prototype equipment for StableTec.

Wasn't the Empire vanishing a part of stable tech stuff? Wouldn't the residents of Crystal Empire be informed? *shrug*

Three years after that, they would go on the most dangerous adventure of their lives.

I imagine that's when our adventure begins? Or no? How further into the future was the Empire sent?

spot patterns

Again this is a wee bit too vague. Anyone can "spot patterns" in a way. What matters is what patterns they spot, and why, and how they learned to spot such patterns.

Pinkie understands how she thinks better than almost anyone,

Why does she understand? How does she come to that understanding? What has happened to Pinkie Pie that leads to that? I mean you could say that Cranky had to do something with it but this bears elaboration.

Flitter gets frustrated around ponies like Applejack who don't understand 'out of the box' thinking, and so she prefers to just keep her distance.

But she would appreciate Applejack being level headed and calm as well. I mean... she's calmer than the rest of the mane 6 I would say.

She always tries to treat others how she would want to be treated. What she has trouble remembering is that not everypony wants to be treated like she does.

This is somewhat confusing in phrasing.

She feels deeply, but most of it is kept private.

The wording is off a bit here. Please rephrase/explain.

Her ability to "see things" like patterns in life that others don't see is one of her most valued traits,

Again that is... too vague. You could say that she empathizes with others and thus can often provide useful insight on them.

but usually that trait only confuses others around her,

Around her? Again how much use would a skill like this be if it's only for her? I mean you said earlier that she used such a skill with others and others value it.

she is not prone to emotion based reasoning.

Funny how she's calm and level head and doesn't do emotion-based reasoning even though she's a changeling, one of the creatures that are to their core emotional creatures.

Flitter has always done a fantastic job getting right to the problem in a medical situation.

You did however mention in the other thread that changeling don't do well in war where fear thrives. How good would she be or any changeling be in such situations?

and fixed up in the best way possible.

Too vague. I don't even know if it needs to be mentioned here since we already have it established that she's good at her job. In fact you could mention that and scratch this vague stuff.

Her secondary role is as an infiltrator, or "master of disguise". Whenever active combat is imminent, Flitter's role is to find a way to throw off the enemy through impersonation and misdirection. It's also relatively easy for her to find out what the enemy is up to. Flitter enjoys this role, as it allows her to be an active help, while also being a noncombatant. Flitter doesn't like fighting, although she's willing to do it if there is no other choice. For this reason, Flitter has not avoided training on weapons on occasion, but she hopes that she won't have to use them.

This comes off as odd to Flitter. I suppose that all changelings would have this in their bones. Why is it relatively easy for her to find what the enemy is up to? Is it her kindness? Her ability to gain trust with her smile? The sweetness of her voice? The ability she uses to comfort the patients but reversed in the enemy?

Here's a thing. Such "masters of disguise" don't go too far from the role of "assasins". Espionage often calls for it. You could say that through medicine she learned to be precise, knows vital spots, and seeks to avoid bloodshed by finishing her enemies in one blow or knocking them out and stuff. *shrug* Your choice.

Also... critical thing. What is her flaw? Add a flaw. A big one... if she doesn't have flaws she can't progress as a character. And she desperately needs to do that if she's going to be interesting.

4355435

First things first... you do realize the pic you show for her changeling form is Queen Chrysalis right? Just saying. I understand the lack of Flitter changeling art tho.

Yeah, pretty much any changeling art with eyes that have pupils is going to be Chrysalis. That particular one I'm using looks different enough from her though, that it could be anybody.

MOAR Detail!!!11

Okay, yes I admittedly glossed over the origins of a lot of Flitter's interests and skills. This was mostly because I figured we wouldn't be going that deep into her past in the story. When might these things come to light in the narrative? I'm not sure; maybe never. However, it doesn't hurt to flesh these things out some more, so I'll give it a shot.

What does teenage Flitter do in Ponyville? Probably attends high school (wherever that is) and does some foalsitting on the side. She helps out at the clinic where her parents work, and she hangs out with a couple friends or gets into her personal hobbies in her free time. As a Ponyville pegasus, she would be occasionally on the weather team (as seen in Hurricane Fluttershy and also the Breezies episode). Flitter has an interest in how things work although she prefers medicine to engineering. The science behind weather control would be fascinating, but again, it isn't her chosen area of specialty.

Foalsitting?

Yeah, this is MLP-canon, although to be honest, her personality is not conducive to want to foalsit. I'd say she got into it mostly because that's something which teenagers tend to be able to do to raise a few extra bits. Or maybe it's just that her sister has the hots for Rumble's older brother, so she's spent time with Rumble and enjoyed hanging out teaching him how things work - which would fit his personality quite well too because Rumble is definitely more of the mechanical minded pony.

Science?

Not quantum physics or electrical engineering... Simple science that CMC age kids would enjoy. Astronomy, bug collecting, basic how-things-work lessons, etc. I would totally expect Flitter to have a butterfly collection at home, for example.

she'd have to earn a lot of trust from the parents to take them "out" of the house.

Depends on the age. We're talking about pre-war utopian Equestria here. The era that the MLP show depicts. Mrs. Cake trusted Pinkie with her two foals, though that incident begs the question why the entirety of Ponyville was evacuated that day apart from the mane six. Flitter's already established as a foalsitter. Why not ask her?? Also, I would say that how adventurous Flitter could be with the kids that she looked after would likely depended on their age. Very young children would stay home of course.

Also, and I think this is more to the point, Flitter could have developed legitimate friendships with the oldest of the kids she looked after. In my story, she's only five years older than Rumble. I definitely wouldn't portray foalsitting as something Flitter does full time or as a primary job. This is just a casual thing she does in her spare time. I have Flitter being sixteen years old during the events of Past Sins.

Medical knowledge out of the blue.

I attribute this to her natural changeling ability, possessing a full working knowledge of pony anatomy. She would have had to be careful to not let the ponies know too much about her knowledge. She could easily have said that her parents were medical ponies though, and that's why she knows so much about it. Maybe her parents were official medical ponies in Ponyville by profession! That would cover the issue nicely and also be very consistent with my changeling headcanon.

Do you realize the level of expertise that one would need to assist in a clinic?

She could have "assisted" by cleaning wounds, changing dressings, fetching supplies, or any other thing that doesn't require a lot of training. I'm not saying she assisted in brain surgery here. The most common injuries don't require much for qualifications to treat. And we can assume that Equestria isn't the bureaucratic nightmare we have in real life which makes getting into the medical profession extremely difficult.

Her friends thought she was just a bit odd, since she usually declined sleepover invitations

I know this might be explained somewhere but... for the life of me here and now I don't know it. I'd love to learn if it doesn't spoil anything.

Heh - well, spoilers are gonna flow freely in this forum, since this is where the story is developed.

While not necessary every night, changelings use their sleep time to let their bodies rest in their natural form. Hence "usually" because it would make her feel pretty tired the next morning and she didn't feel like trying to explain why. Sometimes it's simpler to just avoid certain things. She's a social introvert anyway, though this is not to be confused with "avoids people" - I'm not saying that at all. She needs her alone time to recharge. So she's got a bit of a dichotomy going on of course. As a changeling, she recharges during the day by being around loving ponies, but then she takes personal time in the evening/night to recharge from social stresses and to rest her transformation mechanism.

About this time, Nyx had been taken in by Twilight, and within six months, Flitter was asked if she would like to foalsit Nyx as well.

At this point I would like to ask... how much is Nyx like from Pen Stroke's fics?

Exactly the same. Although, I can't guarantee canon compliance with his current story since it takes place during MLP season 5, and the crystal castle isn't canon in my story.

Other two? Who? You mean the two of them? As in Flitter and Nyx? Cause that's an expression.

Oh, I meant Rumble and Nyx, who were Flitter's two favorite kids to foalsit for.

Again calm, level-head but... why? I mean she clearly sounds like sort of an enthusiastic one

Hmm, I did explain that rather poorly. Maybe I made her sound too enthusiastic somewhere. How to explain this... Well, Flitter is a rational pony above all. She's a planner, and a strategist. She's socially introverted, but also a people watcher. She hates the spotlight, avoiding being the center of attention whenever possible. More or less the opposite to Rainbow Dash. She is "enthusiastic" about her areas of interest, and medicine/science are interesting to her. She's not dull or monotone by any means. No Maud Pie here. She loves some good humor, but prefers it dry. She likes adventure to a degree, but also likes to know all about a thing before getting involved. If she fears anything, it's being unprepared to handle a situation.

Does she face dangerous situations with a calm mind? Does she "bridle" child-like enthusiasm and channel it productively? Does she take care there are no risk and calculates?

She can be caught way off guard if the scenario is one she had never anticipated. She sees things how they are and can anticipate the results from multiple courses of action very quickly. If a situation is legitimately frightening, she'll be legitimately frightened. But she won't get into crazy "what ifs" letting imagination and fear lead her away from what is actually happening.

Definitely, she is the type to take care to reduce risk and calculate. She's an analyst, so risk assessment is second nature when she's going into a situation. This is not to say that everything is serious and she doesn't have fun. But the kinds of things she finds fun might be different than others. The competitive stuff Rainbow Dash or Applejack enjoy are likely not interesting at all to Flitter. The random stuff Pinkie gets into isn't interesting either, though Flitter would find it fascinating to watch Pinkie. The image conscious stuff Rarity gets into would also be dull to her. Of any of the mane-six, Flitter would definitely get along best with Twilight or Fluttershy.

How are these two events even connected? And why her? I mean I get it she's a good friend but did she do similarly before Flitter was there? Was she more open to Fluttershy and why was she more open? Was Fluttershy equally open as well? Did they find mutual interest in caring for newborn whether they were animals or otherwise?

I'm not sure what your question is here. What "two events"?

Okay, Fluttershy would be the one that is also a pegasus and loving but not overbearing. As an introverted changeling, Flitter's preference is peace and calm socially. Fluttershy is all about that. Plus, she's the bearer of the Element of Kindness anyway. Fluttershy has her veterinary practice, and later on gets into a full-blown medical career with her Ministry of Peace. Her focus is in healing, and so she does have that kind of thing already in common with Flitter. She would also get along great with Twilight, but that mare is spread too thin as it is.

Now that I think about it if she grew up in Ponyville she couldn't have learned much about medicine... at least by anyone else other than Nurse Redheart. There's certainly not any medical school or university. Her best knowledge sources would be Redheart or other nannies.

Mmm, yeah parents. She can just say her parents (who are medical ponies) are the reason she has this knowledge.

Here's a question... I get the flights... but Cloudsdale? The weather production center? Why? I mean why these places in specific what do they mean to them?

Well, Fluttershy is from Cloudsdale originally, so she'd go back to visit family. Flitter likely is fascinated with the weather production facility because she's the type who enjoys seeing how things work. It's not really any more complicated than that.

Now that I think about it a moving fortress city might likely survive if they don't get hit by a nuke and might even become a sanctuary for most. Real strategic advantage for Pegasi I say.

Yeah, Cloudsdale was the very first city to get nuked. Surprise attack. That was a real sore spot for the pegasi. They responded by retreating into the clouds and creating a permanent cloud barrier so that nobody from the ground could see where any of their other cities were.

Six weeks later, the three of them began testing prototype equipment for StableTec.

Wasn't the Empire vanishing a part of stable tech stuff? Wouldn't the residents of Crystal Empire be informed? *shrug*

The Crystal Empire isn't featured in Fallout: Equestria at all. As for my story, the vanishing was strictly between Cadence and Twilight. StableTec is a corporation founded by the CMC.

Three years after that, they would go on the most dangerous adventure of their lives.

I imagine that's when our adventure begins? Or no? How further into the future was the Empire sent?

Yep, that's where my story picks up. Three years after all that stuff.
The Crystal Empire was sent forward 500 years.

Again this is a wee bit too vague. Anyone can "spot patterns" in a way. What matters is what patterns they spot, and why, and how they learned to spot such patterns.

Okay, I could be more specific. What I'm getting at is her powers of deductive reasoning. A sort of Sherlock Holmes type of pattern recognition, but not quite so savant. Just a conventional "above average intuition".

Why does she understand? How does she come to that understanding? What has happened to Pinkie Pie that leads to that? I mean you could say that Cranky had to do something with it but this bears elaboration.

What I mean here is that Pinkie understands everyone. So she's someone who understands Flitter when maybe few others do. This could make for some interesting conversations between the two, although Pinkie's random loss of focus would be annoying to Flitter. The two might try to watch a movie together and Flitter would want her to sit and watch the whole thing start to finish for the experience of it all, but Pinkie would go take a shower during the first five minutes, and then chat on the phone at random times during the movie, or get up and make some snacks, come back to the movie, text her friends, and then finish, all while not feeling like she's missed out on anything. Flitter meanwhile, would be quietly irritated at Pinkie's choice to multitask during the movie rather than just dedicate the time to it. Still, they'd be decent casual friends and Flitter could express herself to Pinkie, and Pinkie would understand everything because she's just that intuitive when it comes to other people.

But she would appreciate Applejack being level headed and calm as well. I mean... she's calmer than the rest of the mane 6 I would say.

Oh, no, that's not what I mean. Yes, Flitter would appreciate AJ's calm, honest demeanor. But that's about it. This isn't about seeking calm friends. This is about relatability. And AJ is very, very much not relatable to Flitter. She's simple, doesn't like change, doesn't think out of the box, adheres to habits and traditions "because I've always done it that way", and is a bit too bossy. What's her quote? "Don't you use your fancy mathematics to muddy the issue". *cough* Flitter is the opposite of all these. People who are content living their whole lives doing one thing the same exact way would be incredibly frustrating for Flitter to spend too much time around. Their ways of thinking would be too opposite and clashes would happen.

She always tries to treat others how she would want to be treated. What she has trouble remembering is that not everypony wants to be treated like she does.

This is somewhat confusing in phrasing.

Hmm... What I mean is that Flitter's way of thinking is a lot different than most others, but she may be blind to realizing that others don't have the same motivations and desires. So, if Flitter is trying to be considerate in the way she would like others to be toward her, that might actually be taken badly by others. This is a really minor thing - I'm just being thorough. Probably wouldn't even show up in the story.

She feels deeply, but most of it is kept private.

The wording is off a bit here. Please rephrase/explain.

What this means is that Flitter may not exhibit her personal feelings much, but they do run very deep. She only opens up to those who are closest to her.

but usually that trait only confuses others around her,

Around her? Again how much use would a skill like this be if it's only for her? I mean you said earlier that she used such a skill with others and others value it.

No, what I'm referring to here is her personality trait, not her skill. Her way of seeing things seems odd to others who don't go quite so deep with their analysis of the world or of life.

Funny how she's calm and level head and doesn't do emotion-based reasoning even though she's a changeling, one of the creatures that are to their core emotional creatures.

Well, as I was saying, her internal emotions run very deep. She's really in touch with her own feelings. Her rational decision making process would override any personal feelings though. This is entirely separate from her physical need/ability to sense the emotions of others. She may have the ability to tell that you're upset, but that doesn't necessarily make her a good counselor. Not necessarily a bad one either. As for her own external appearance, again, she's primarily rational. If someone is hurt, she's going to want to fix the problem in the most efficient manner possible. She's not likely going to panic or focus on the emotional aspects of the emergency.

You did however mention in the other thread that changeling don't do well in war where fear thrives. How good would she be or any changeling be in such situations?

I really need to draw a clear distinction between an acute situation and a chronic situation. Flitter's immediate reaction to fear, hatred, panic, and any other assortment of strong negative emotions is that she would be aware of it. Within an hour or so, she'll feel very hungry. If she's forced to be around that kind of feeling constantly for a 24 hours without a break, and without nectar sticks, she is going to be quite distracted and unable to focus very well from being too hungry. For the most part, the danger to changelings from negative emotions is due to the supply (or lack thereof) of love in the Lifestream. Love goes up and down in clusters that a changeling can take advantage of, and short term problems are no worse than minor hunger pains. It's the long term chronic love balance problems that lead to danger. That's when changelings start starving to death. You can't hurt a changeling by being intensely angry or fearful around them. But you can hurt them by forcing them to be stuck in a dystopian society for a long time.

This comes off as odd to Flitter. I suppose that all changelings would have this in their bones. Why is it relatively easy for her to find what the enemy is up to? Is it her kindness? Her ability to gain trust with her smile? The sweetness of her voice? The ability she uses to comfort the patients but reversed in the enemy?

Here's a thing. Such "masters of disguise" don't go too far from the role of "assasins". Espionage often calls for it. You could say that through medicine she learned to be precise, knows vital spots, and seeks to avoid bloodshed by finishing her enemies in one blow or knocking them out and stuff. *shrug* Your choice.

Yes, her role as infiltrator is due to her physical ability more than her personality. She's not particularly good at "deep cover" espionage or anything like that. In her role, it mostly boils down to misdirection and discovering enemy intentions, then GTFO. The less direct interactions with the enemy, the better.

Also... critical thing. What is her flaw? Add a flaw. A big one... if she doesn't have flaws she can't progress as a character. And she desperately needs to do that if she's going to be interesting.

Hmm. well, let's see...

She could be arrogant, carrying her confidence too far. Not being open to hearing the opinions of others when it comes to solving a problem because she thinks she's covered all the bases. She would be irreverent to social conventions, being brutally insensitive if what someone else is doing seems pointless to her. She could be judgmental, believing that only rational arguments make sense, and therefore people making decisions based on emotions would be labeled as illogical and maybe even dismissed. She could be overly analytical. Just because she possesses logical prowess does not mean she would be particularly good at relationships. She would be a perfectionist, holding others to a standard higher than they can achieve. This would not be conducive for making lots of friends, but her closest friends would be treasured. She could loathe highly structured environments. She needs to understand everything before she is willing to follow along with something. Any sort of call to blind compliance would be abhorrent to her. Anyone who prefers the status quo for its own sake, or who values stability and safety over self-determination, is likely to clash with Flitter. She could be clueless in romance. Desperately lonely, and yet somehow not able to bridge that gap which kindles new relationships.

As for specific things having to do with my story: She has an aversion to fighting. She gets nervous if confronted with the prospect of physical combat because she is not confident in her own ability to win the engagement. Too many unknown variables. She strongly prefers to stick with what she has experience in, or new ideas which she has invented to solve a problem. Another weakness is her emotional susceptibility to the acute negative emotions of the situation. What I mean by that is if someone is feeling intensely negative, Flitter is susceptible to temporarily being irritable for no reason. Because this is out of character for her, it is a good indication that there's an external influence at work. I depict this in chapter one when she detects the hidden zebras. She gets irritable and doesn't even realize why. Another major weakness is that she is desperately lonely for her own kind and suffers from depression but hides it well. Also, while she is very intelligent, she is not in any sort of leadership role or position of power. It's a good role for her, and she is happy being with Nyx and Rumble. She feels loved and she has her personal thoughts when she is alone, but doesn't really have the pressures of having to make tough decisions most of the time. She could probably handle leadership in short bursts, but she prefers to take the back seat when possible.

4356840

Yeah, pretty much any changeling art with eyes that have pupils is going to be Chrysalis. That particular one I'm using looks different enough from her though, that it could be anybody.

Right... figures.

Okay, yes I admittedly glossed over the origins of a lot of Flitter's interests and skills. This was mostly because I figured we wouldn't be going that deep into her past in the story. When might these things come to light in the narrative? I'm not sure; maybe never. However, it doesn't hurt to flesh these things out some more, so I'll give it a shot.

If this serves as a character profile then well... you need to scratch the scene of Flitter having a shock and focus more on the overview of it. But each thing you put must have a justification.

Probably attends high school (wherever that is)

I suppose we're further into the future where Ponyville actually has one?

and does some foalsitting on the side.

To earn allowance?

She helps out at the clinic where her parents work,

This is important. It should be mentioned. Every character has begginings so every relative she has should be mentioned at least once if possible and relevant ((At least in the profile)).

r gets into her personal hobbies in her free time.

Which are?

Flitter has an interest in how things work

Maybe because she has an analytical mind? Or a natural curiosity? Otherwise this matters little.

Simple science that CMC age kids would enjoy. Astronomy, bug collecting, basic how-things-work lessons, etc. I would totally expect Flitter to have a butterfly collection at home, for example.

Mention those a few sectors of relevance in specific and not the vague "science" thing.

already established as a foalsitter. Why not ask her??

Ah I see. But that raises another question about you not knowing that this was mentioned in her trading card in the mlp card game as mentioned in the comments below lel derp.

I attribute this to her natural changeling ability, possessing a full working knowledge of pony anatomy. She would have had to be careful to not let the ponies know too much about her knowledge. She could easily have said that her parents were medical ponies though, and that's why she knows so much about it. Maybe her parents were official medical ponies in Ponyville by profession! That would cover the issue nicely and also be very consistent with my changeling headcanon.

Either way it should be mentioned.

but prefers it dry.

It might just be me being Greek but... for the life of me I don't know what you mean by "dry humor".

Definitely, she is the type to take care to reduce risk and calculate. She's an analyst, so risk assessment is second nature when she's going into a situation. This is not to say that everything is serious and she doesn't have fun. But the kinds of things she finds fun might be different than others.

Right... Do be specific about these things if you can.

Some told her to leave and never talk to them again. After a few of these, Flitter stopped to visit her old friend Fluttershy.

I'm not sure what your question is here. What "two events"?

This. How come she chooses to see Fluttershy.

he would also get along great with Twilight, but that mare is spread too thin as it is.

Right... understandable.

StableTec is a corporation founded by the CMC.

How old are the CMC, what age did they found it? Who funded them? What did each of them do?

Still, they'd be decent casual friends and Flitter could express herself to Pinkie, and Pinkie would understand everything because she's just that intuitive when it comes to other people.

Right... again bring the justification for this into the light with short sentences.

This is about relatability.

I bet Flitter is not relateable with Celestia but she likes her right?

I get what you mean but it's not exactly the word I'd use.

Hmm... What I mean is that Flitter's way of thinking is a lot different than most others, but she may be blind to realizing that others don't have the same motivations and desires.

So... she's kind of naive? Too good hearted? Trusting?

Within an hour or so, she'll feel very hungry.

Three words. WAY TOO QUICK!

you need to scratch the scene of Flitter having a shock and focus more on the overview of it. But each thing you put must have a justification.

Sorry, what? What shock are you referring to? I referred to Nyx and Rumble having a shock from discovering that their childhood friend has been a changeling all this time. That's pretty justifiable. While the changelings were granted amnesty by Celestia, it would still be a difficult process to come clean with their friends about what they actually are. Public statements from the Palace could help to mitigate this, but not much can truly eliminate the feeling that you were deceived.

Probably attends high school (wherever that is)

I suppose we're further into the future where Ponyville actually has one?

Nope, I'm talking about MLP Season 2 there.

I think it's safe to assume it always had one, but that it's just not depicted in the show. See my post about Ponyville Education in the Children of Equestria forum. Just like the variations between depicted population and likely population. The show's depiction of a lot of things are only a caricature of what would likely be the case in a realistic setting. Things like how tiny Canterlot appears on the side of that mountain in the show, when it probably would have to look more like this. (or bigger)

Point being, where do kids go to school after they are say... 15 years old? All of the kids in Cheerilee's class seem about the same age.

and does some foalsitting on the side.

To earn allowance?

Hm? No, to earn spending bits. "Allowance" isn't earned, by definition. Kids babysit in real life for cash.

gets into her personal hobbies in her free time.

Which are?

I haven't decided. I guess it depends on what characters in Equestria have available for hobbies. Probably wouldn't be the same ones we have.

Flitter has an interest in how things work

Maybe because she has an analytical mind? Or a natural curiosity?

Yes, and yes.

already established as a foalsitter. Why not ask her??

Ah I see. But that raises another question about you not knowing that this was mentioned in her trading card in the mlp card game as mentioned in the comments below lel derp.

I haven't seen the trading card game, but I got that info from the MLP wiki.

but prefers it dry.

It might just be me being Greek but... for the life of me I don't know what you mean by "dry humor".

Decent definition can be found here.
Essentially the opposite of clown or slapstick humor. It's where something looks like it's not meant to be funny, but the irony or circumstances of what happens makes it quite funny. Often involves sarcasm. If you've seen the show Firefly, it's filled with quality dry humor.

This. How come she chooses to see Fluttershy.

Because she is visiting Ponyville to connect with old friends and come clean about being a changeling. So, if Fluttershy was one of her old friends, then that is the reason for going to see her.

How old are the CMC, what age did they found it? Who funded them? What did each of them do?

The CMC are roughly 25 years old during my story.
Stable-Tec has a wiki page here.
I'm not sure how it was funded. I don't think that was mentioned, although I could ask Seraphem - he's the resident walking-Fo:E-encyclopedia in the community. This is analogous to Vault-Tec in the Fallout games.

I bet Flitter is not relateable with Celestia but she likes her right?
...
I get what you mean but it's not exactly the word I'd use.

Whew. Well... I... guess I've not heard before that relatable is a bad word to use. Some types of people are just naturally irritating or frustrating to other types of people. "Relatable" simply means that you naturally get along with someone. Yes, it's an ambiguous term, as are many English words. Context helps in understanding what it means. In a more specific sense, it means that you can identify with how another person thinks or feels because of your shared traits.

And holy cow, that video used one of the worst written sci-fi shows of all time as an example of "good character to aspire to be like?" Yikes! Admiral Adama from BSG would have been infinitely better, and one could use the exact same arguments given in the video.

So... she's kind of naive? Too good hearted? Trusting?

It's not what I was getting at, but yes, I can see that being a factor. Not naive in areas she is an expert in, and not generally naive. More like naive in terms of social relationships specifically. Too trusting, I can see that happening. And after getting burned a bunch of times for being too trusting, maybe developing a case of cynicism.

Within an hour or so, she'll feel very hungry.

Three words. WAY TOO QUICK!

Why too quick? People normally get hungry after ~4 hrs without anything to eat anyway. To suggest that when in an emotional void or emotionally negative environment for an hour could cause hunger doesn't seem too far out. I'm talking about like during a battle and such. During "neutral" times, she could go several hours before getting hungry.