Confronted
Chapter 4
Confronted
Twilight was nervous as she could be. This day wasn’t exactly on her bucket list so to speak. “Maybe if we just talk to her?” she suggested one last time.
Chrysalis, as Cadence, groaned in annoyance. “Twilight I know you don’t like this, and neither do I. We don’t have much choice anymore now do we? If I thought there was another way I’d bring it up in a heartbeat and cling to it like my life depended on it, but I don’t.” Her own heart sank as she looked her dress. It disheartened her to know that Rarity’s fine hoofmanship would just go to waste.
The eight of them were in Cadence’s dressing room. Chrysalis had of course named them her bride’s maids, with the exception of Twilight being her brother’s best mare. She looked at “Cadence” with her dress, and it filled them all with a sense of guilt.
“I gave Cadence her dress,” Twilight told them. Each of them looked at her in shock.
“Twilight, darling, what did you tell her?” Rarity asked nervously.
“Not much important,” Twilight assured them, “I just got her asking some stuff about changelings. She seemed kinda curious, so I just answered the best I could.” The seven of them let out the breaths they were holding. “Then when I was leaving…I kinda got a little too emotional and told her it was me.”
“TWILIGHT!!!” everypony yelled at her.
“We could have done this without anypony having to know it was us!” Rainbow yelled.
“Yeah. We get taken hostage and disappear for awhile, and six new mysterious changelings pop up and take over with Chrysalis. Now we can’t do that cause Cadence knows who ya are,” Applejack scolded her harshly, “It’s not like we can jus’ keep her locked up the rest of her life.”
“How did she take it?” Fluttershy asked, “I mean, did she even believe it was you?”
That was the question they were all asking themselves. They were all a bit afraid to hear the answer. “I don’t know,” Twilight admitted, “I got her to believe me, but I don’t know how she took it. I got scared and flew off.”
“She seemed awful quiet when I saw her this morning,” Chrysalis told them, “Barely said a word to me, but she did stare. Seemed to be judging me. It was rather disconcerting.”
“Come on girls, this is Cadence we’re talking about,” Spike reasoned, “She could never hate Twilight. Might be a little peeved that she never told her the truth, but it’ll blow over. Heck, I’m glad she did it.”
“Cadence isn’t a meanie,” Pinkie agreed, “I mean, if anypony would love Twilight for Twilight that isn’t one of us, it would be Cadence, or her brother, and probably her parents too. Speaking of Shining, boy did he have fun last night. Of course that means he got up pretty late with a really really bad headache, and—”
Fluttershy put a gentle hoof to Pinkie’s lips with a look that said all she needed to say. “Not the best time”. Pinkie just nodded and shut her trap. “Twilight, Pinkie does have a point. I’m sure Cadence is just reeling in shock at the moment. She’s just confused, but she watched you grow up with Shining and your parents. She’ll accept you, I’m sure of it.”
“How can you be so sure?” Rarity asked, “She is a princess, and as such she’s supposed to put the kingdom’s best interest first. Changelings are not widely accepted.”
“But Cadence is mostly just a pretty face,” Fluttershy pointed out, “She’s barely old enough to be taking on any real responsibility. So far she’s just been a public figurehead to make sure everypony feels safe and loved. If she really was curious about Changelings, then she should be a little objective about Twilight’s true nature.”
Spike cupped a hand to his fin again and everypony went silent. “Luna…and Shining. Act natural.”
The knock came. “Girls,” went Luna’s voice, “I’m here with Shining. Is everypony decent?”
“We’re all naked!” Twilight sang.
“Egad!” Shining joked. Even Luna laughed as the two trotted in the door. “Okay, all joking—and my headache—aside, I would like to talk to the my two favorite mares for a minute.”
“I’m merely here to sorrowfully inform you that I won’t be able to make the wedding,” Luna explained sadly, “As captain Armor wisely pointed out, my abilities would be better put to use patrolling the border of the castle in his place. My presence should deter any foolish enough to try and break in.”
“I understand Luna,” Cadence said sadly, “I just wish you could be there.”
“Farewell girls.” Luna quickly departed.
As the other girls started to leave as well, Shining held up a hoof, telling them to stop. He eyed Luna leaving and as soon as she was out of sight, he kicked the door shut and motioned for them all to sit down. “Tell me the truth,” he demanded with a sad and serious look in his eyes, “Where is Cadence?” The lot of them froze, Chrysalis nearly dropping altogether in shock. “Where is my fiance?”
“Shining,” Twilight started, “What makes you think—”
She was cut off by a quick look, not an angry one, just a sad one from her brother. “Cadence has been acting differently ever since I proposed. Just little key words and other small things that nopony else would bat an eye at. Saying ‘sort of’ instead of ‘kind of’. Putting her left hoof over her right instead of vise versa. Little things that don’t just change overnight.”
“…She’s safe in the crystal caverns hidden beneath the castle, and well cared for,” Chrysalis said in her real voice, surprising everypony with how quick she gave up on her rouse. Chrysalis was smarter than to play a hand she’d already lost though. “…You never said a word,” she pointed out curiously as she revealed herself for what she was, “If you knew then why didn’t you say anything?”
The slit pupiled eyes didn’t intimidate the captain for a moment. “Because I didn’t want to end up on the bad end of a mind washing spell,” he said flatly, and without missing a beat, “I didn’t want to believe it either. Everything else was nearly spot on. I always knew Cadence would be ecstatic about the wedding, but she would never rush it like you did.” Chrysalis suddenly found her hole riddled hooves very interesting. “What’s the reason for this? I know I’m just a pawn here.”
“What makes you think that?” she asked without looking at him.
“Because when Twily got here I heard her talking with you,” he said to their collective shock, “I was running back to give a kiss goodbye, but I stopped just around the corner and heard Twily getting mad at you for not telling her about ‘any new developments’. I heard the word changeling and that’s all I needed to know my fears really were grounded. I couldn’t very well follow you down the corridor without being seen, so I left for my post again.”
Twilight sighed sadly. “…What makes you think you’re just a pawn?” Straight to the point, not bothering trying to lie to him or deceive him.
“Instinct,” he answered simply. “What’s the endgame here? What are you planning? And how long have you been planning this for?” The girls and Spike looked between one another. “And how many of you are changelings?”
The question caught them off guard. Spike was the one that answered honestly. “All of them, except me. I’ve been helping Twilight even since I was born by honing my hearing, so she can calm down and not worry about somepony dropping in and seeing her unexpectedly.”
“Ah’ve always had Winona to tell me when somepony was comin’.”
“I run a place of business, so whenever somepony enters I have the bell to tell me. I’m just smart enough not to be me in the front room.”
“I live in a private residence made completely of clouds. Plus nopony is dumb enough to break into my place since I don’t have anything worth stealing and I’ll kick the ass of the moron who does.”
“I have a lot of different animals that would warn me ahead of time, and they can get really loud.”
“I have a Pinkie Sense for that.”
“Of course you do,” Shining deadpanned. He looked at Twilight, who just shrunk under his blank gaze.
“Why would you risk this?” Twilight asked him hesitantly, “If you know there’s a plan, and you know you’re a part of it, why would you risk telling us you know everything?”
“Because I knew—changeling or not—my sister wouldn’t just have me locked up and replaced.” Each of them just looked at him wide-eyed, hardly able to believe what they heard. He just looked at his hooves and dropped on his flank. “I ran over it a million times over the past few days. Trying to figure it out, when I realized that unlike Cadence there wasn’t a single thing about you that was different. Not. One. Thing.
“You were the same Twilight I knew when you moved to Ponyville. The same Twilight I knew growing up. The same Twilight I helped grow up. The same little sister I’d protected her whole life. I started running over every interaction with you after that, trying to see if I could find the one point in time when there could have been a switch. I can’t find one.” To his credit, his voice never broke it’s tone. He wasn’t mad. He wasn’t sad. He was just confused by the sound of it.
“Look at me then.” His head lifted ever so slowly. Twilight looked like she was on the verge of flying off again, but she stood her ground and went up in her purple flame. “This is what you’re afraid to ask right?” He nodded. “You want to know if it was really me since the day Twilight was brought home?”
He shook his head. “I already know,” he said softly, “What I want to know is how. How is my sister a changeling?”
Twilight knew exactly how to answer, but she wasn’t sure if she should yet. She turned and showed that her cutie mark was still there. “You know…this was one of the happiest days of my life…when I got this. It’s almost funny since it’s so ironic. When that loud crack startled me I was almost certain that I revealed myself, but instead I got this.” She got quiet for a moment. “It…will be easier to tell everypony at once.” That caused everypony to get their breath stuck in their throats.
“Twilight I don’t think the whole kingdom is going to be as accepting of this as I am,” the captain reasoned, “This isn’t like somepony coming out of the closet. That’s nothing nowadays, but you’re a changeling. The princesses hate changelings for what they’ve done in the past, and so does most of, if not all of the rest the kingdom.”
“Well maybe that’s why we’re doin’ this,” Applejack snapped, “Dang near all Equestria hates our kind!”
“Maybe we should give them a reason to,” Rainbow grumbled.
“Take that back and shut your mouths right now!” came the scream. Not from Chrysalis as they’d expected, but from Fluttershy of all ponies. That floored them more than anything else. “That is not what this is about, and you know it!” She punctuated her sentence by going up in her own yellow flame, with her now yellow eyes boring into the pair’s respective skulls. “This is about changing history, and righting wrongs. Not. Revenge.”
“Sorry sugarcube,” the cowpony whimpered, “Ah was outta line.”
“I overreacted,” Rainbow admitted bitterly. “They just get under my skin like that. Bigoted bastards.”
“Something we intend to change in the coming days, remember?” Chrysalis reminded them. The two nodded shamefully.
“Speaking of bigots,” Shining spoke up nervously with the question that he needed to ask, “Just so we’re clear on what words I should stay away from?”
“For one, we’re not insects,” Rarity sneered, “Bugs. Are. Disgusting. We, are not they. Comprende?”
Shining Armor nodded. “Not bugs. Got it.”
Pinkie wrapped a holed hoof around him and whispered in his ear, “The only other major one is the one thing you never say EVER. The P word.”
Shining drew a blank. “Um, piss?” he guessed.
Pinkie’s nose scrunched up along with Rarity’s. “One, gross. Two, no. P—A—R…”
“…Parasprite?”
“SSSHHH!” Pinkie hissed, “No, and way too close. Just do not say it out loud.”
Um…parasite. That makes sense. He nodded upon the revelation. “Okay, I’m pretty sure I have it this time.”
“Good. Now never, ever, EVER say it in front of Twilight,” she warned gravely.
“Do I want to know why?” he asked nervously.
“Let’s just say the best way to get rid of one of your enemies is to get them to say it in front of her,” Rainbow said slowly and carefully, “You will never hear from them again.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Ever.”
“Uh-huh.” That took a moment to process.
“She’s exaggerating,” Chrysalis assured him.
He nodded. “Um…why?”
“Well, let’s just think logically for a moment,” Twilight growled, “It’s the worst racial slur for a changeling. They had to grow up in Cloudsdale, Ponyville, and rock farm out in the middle of nowhere respectively, with Chrysy keeping mostly to the hive. We grew up in Canterlot. They heard it maybe every couple of months at most when changelings came up in conversation. I heard it” her eye started twitching madly “every. Damn. Day.”
“Word of advice darling,” Rarity said as she passed Twilight her Smarty Pants doll, “Do not ask that again.”
Shining just nodded nervously as he watched his changeling sister brush the doll he made for her as a filly, talking to it like a madmare. One thing was for sure at that point: changeling or not, Twilight was still Twilight. A completely academically focused neurotic mess.
He returned his gaze to the changeling that had never really fooled him. “Another thing,” he said suddenly, “You did a good job of imitating Cadence other than a few small key details…actually, that’s one of the things that helped me reason that I wasn’t going to be harmed confronting you about all this.”
“Oh?” Chrysalis raised an eyebrow, “What makes you say that? You’re right of course, but I am curious of your reasoning.” She layed down and tapped her hooves together anxiously. “You are an interesting stallion. What makes you think a changeling that would jump through nearly any hoop to keep you fooled wouldn’t harm you if you confronted them? I understand you believing your own sister wouldn’t hurt you, but you had never known me before now. What persuaded you to make that leap of faith?”
“What you said about waiting,” he said simply. In an instant they all knew he was referring to what they’d planned about “Cadence’s” suggestion to wait until the honeymoon. “It took me a bit to realize it, but you actually respect that boundary. If you didn’t actually care about my well being or state of mind you would have been draining me for all I was worth, wouldn’t you?”
Chrysalis couldn’t help but laugh to everyone’s confusion. “I always knew mercy would just let ponies see straight through me,” she said as she wiped her eye, “You know Shining you are right about me. I should have been more ruthless.”
“Chrysalis!” Twilight gasped.
“But I just can’t,” she admitted melodramatically, “Even when I know I should, cruelty just isn’t in my nature.” She hovered in the air with a buzz from her wings, and pressed together the backs of her front hooves, making a little heart with two of the connecting holes. “It is…my nature. I can never deny what I am in the end. I’ve always chosen subtlety over cruelty. I’d rather cut my losses and leave before I hurt somepony.”
She dropped to the ground and approached the captain. “But now.” Her melancholic smile faded to a frown. “We just don’t have that luxury. Too much is riding on this day, and I can’t risk you interfering with our plans.” She held his jaw in her hoof and looked him dead in the eye. “I need a pledge of allegiance from you captain.”
“Eh-ah-wh-what?” he stammered.
“I need to know whose side you’ll be on this day,” she clarified.
“We can’t trust you with the full details right now,” Rarity repeated as she formed up with Chrysalis, taking her own changeling from. She hovered on the older mare’s right, her white eyes pleading with his blue. “I can however tell you that there are lives at stake pending our success.”
Rainbow took her place on the left, her now blue eyes locked with the captain’s as well. “We need you on our side,” she added, “Even if you’re fencing on whether or not you trust the rest of us, you do trust Twilight. You already said you know there’s a good reason just based on your faith in her.”
Applejack started hovering above them. “We don’t like the thought of fightin’ Celestia, and Ah figure that’s why ya already sent Luna off; to improve our chances. We can only do so much without rendering somepony comatose, and we don’t wanna do that.”
“Our power is in fact limited,” Chrysalis admitted, “And the fact that seven changelings stripped Equestria’s beloved monarch of her throne isn’t going to go over well. We will need at least one respected pony to back us.”
The captain was stuck in a tough spot; between a rock and a hard place. The way things had turned out he was going to make the biggest decision of his life. It was either Celestia or the changelings. His kingdom or his sister. He had to decide between the two things that were supposed to come first above all else in his life.
“I want to see Cadence,” he told them, “If I’m going to trust all of you I need proof that I can. I need to see that she’s safe.”
“I’ll take you to see her whenever you please, captain,” Rarity promised him.
“I’ve taken every step to ensure that she’s safe and comfortable,” Chrysalis reminded him, “If anything she’s safer down in the caverns, rather than up here where Discord levels of chaos are soon to break loose.”
The four mares, his sister’s involvement, and everything he heard already wouldn’t allow another answer, even if it wasn’t ideal. “I...I’ll stand with you, but only as long as I know Cadence is safe,” he agreed. “If anything happens to her so help me—”
“We promise that no matter what the outcome not a hair will be touched on her head,” Chrysalis assured him, “That was the plan to begin with.”
Shining sighed in relief. “Okay, good. Now what do I have to do?”
The seven changelings formed up in a line with Chrysalis in the middle, Twilight to her right. “Just go about the wedding as usual,” Spike explained from in between Twilight and Rarity, “We planned for you to not know and try to beg you to understand later. It’s not like we need you to do anything different.”
“Spike is right Shining,” Rainbow agreed from the opposite side of Chrysalis, “You weren’t supposed to know anything to begin with, so just don’t draw any more attention to yourself than you already do. Sending Luna off was a nice touch though, very subtle.” She winked.
“Alright, I’ll go down and get ready for my part,” Shining relented in disappointment. He thought they’d have something somepony of his talent could do. “Just…what are you going to do about Celestia?” he asked suspiciously as he approached the door looking back.
“If she resists we’re jus’ gonna have to give her the what for,” Applejack said firmly, “Ah really hate the idea of doin’ that, but that’s probably the only choice she’ll give us.”
“What makes you so sure?” Shining pressed.
“Are you kidding?!” Pinkie yelped from the far left of the line, “Celestia can’t stand changelings! Twilight said so herself!”
“It’s true,” Twilight admitted, “The one time I asked her about it she warned me never to bring up the ‘subpony tar-stains’ again.” That sent a twinge of pain through all of them.
“As much as we hate to admit it,” Fluttershy lamented, “We’d have had an easier time getting Nightmare Moon on our side given the circumstances.”
“Don’t you think that’s a bit extreme?!” Shining said as he reeled back in shock of the blunt metaphor.
Each of them just looked at him. “NO,” they said in unison.
And now I feel like I’m on trial. Shining gulped. “Why?”
“I heard enough the first time I asked,” Twilight spat out in disgust, “I didn’t want to here anymore bigoted nonsense, so I didn’t ask again.”
Well I’m not going to get anywhere with this. “One last question then?” Chrysalis nodded for him to speak. “Fluttershy.” Her ears perked up. “You said this was about changing history and righting wrongs?” His eyebrow raised, “I’m afraid I don’t understand.”
“History is written by one of two people Shining,” Chrysalis said with a bladed tongue, “Either the one who wins, or the one who survives. If two ponies survive, then it’s written by the one with the better reputation.”
“So then you want to re-write something Celestia lied about then, since she doesn’t like or trust changelings.” That made sense. “That’s not all it is though, is it?” he asked knowingly, “If that’s all it was about then all it would take is Twilight conveniently finding a book she knew had incorrect information and demanding Celestia change it with her five friends to back her up. What’s really going on here?”
Each of them remained quiet, not daring to speak a word.
“Fine, but when night falls, I want my answer,” he told them as he opened the door.
“Remember.” The door stopped as Chrysalis spoke again, “Those who do not remember history, are doomed to repeat it. That is the purpose of this invasion.”
“So whatever it is, it’s happened before, and it’s going to happen again?” Shining asked in shock. She nodded. “Then why not just tell her it’s about to happen as somepony else?”
“Because history is also doomed to repeat itself, in the hooves of those too stubborn to change it,” Twilight answered on the verge of tears, “I tried Shining. I really tried to tell her, but she was so sure, she wouldn’t listen.
“Look around Shining; look outside.” He glanced out the door. “Canterlot has been the same way since Nightmare Moon. Ever since Celestia’s been too afraid to lose control, so she keeps everything the same.”
Shining felt a pit starting to sink in his stomach as his eyes were opened to the truth that his sister gave him laid bare right in front of him. Like everypony else, he’d just chosen to remain blind.
“She’ll do the same thing again, because she’s afraid of a different outcome that’s worse than before. She won’t let us do something different independently for the same reason,” Twilight continued, Rarity, Spike, and Chrysalis comforting her. “As wise as she is, a thousand years of fear has made her a stubborn fool.” She pulled her brother’s gaze to her with a flick of magic, and looked at him with a fiery determination. “You can’t live in fear, and as sure as Tartarus is horrifying, you can’t rule in it.”
Shining couldn’t fathom a good response. Any doubt in his mind was washed away with a few simple truths. Celestia was afraid to change, and according to his trusted sister, that would cause disaster. “Okay then,” he said softly. Before he trotted away he added, “Oh, by the way, the shield is weakest at the bottom.”
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great so far
3114859 Proof-reader. I has one.
3108432 I shall always please you Queen Fluttershy.
3108666 On the contrary, I KNOW EVERYTHING!
3112410 You didn't need to edit your comment just for your guess. Besides, the comments are half the fun for me! You can just change that back if you want.
3115238 Fixed.
3118645 You will come to know the meanings soon enough, but until then *transforms into bats and flies away laughing* have fun in the dark!
It gets more and more interesting!
Although I still can't understand why are they doing this? In the show changelings just wanted food... but here?
What are they going to accomplish by invading Canterlot and crashing a royal wedding?
3143635
They're going to bring about change. Proper change for the first time in a thousand years.
And now I'm tempted to make an Obama joke.
Me like. Me want more. Please
Oh please don't let this turn into another Celestia is a tyrant story, I hate those. Though the plot is extremely interesting.
3143727 I with this pony I have read about ten of those so far and that was just yesterday.
Of the recent changeling fics I've read. this is one of the really good ones. i liek it!
3143694 Yes, no better way to change the public opinion about an obscure race that everyone hates, than stage a coup, invade a kingdom and crash a royal wedding.
An interesting little way you are approaching this, I love it though. You have taken an established event, and twisted it very adeptly into a state thats fun and enjoyable to read.
3.bp.blogspot.com/-Es5fdqszk78/Tx744PAawLI/AAAAAAAAB5o/XCwQn-PMM7Y/s400/this%2BPleases%2BMe.jpg
encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTYHMfnvTd2e9tfDqj3bDuovC32x1WL1wx-Y76c1BO67vFc_MAr
3143821 Heh. More true than you know. If it's done right... ;)
Is all of the mane 6 queens
Btw good story so far
3143694 make the joke.
If change is done right then everything improves rather than stagnates after the process runs it's course. It's a matter of pushing the boulder in the right way so that it begins its tumble, without hitching on a rock and becoming immovable.
Celestia is a tyrant once again.
That never becomes cliché.
So it seems that the ponies will suffer for their bias.
Preferably they will learn from this. Or die.
That works too~.
Though in honesty, I hope everything goes well for everypony and -ling.
Their most nefarious(not) scheme must succeed!
Awaiting further releases.
3144247>>3143727 I'm not depicting Celestia as a tyrant. I honestly don't know where you're getting that from. She's still the kind and caring ruler she's always been, just with a few fatal flaws brought to light. How does that make her a tyrant?
Why exactly is parasite insulting to a changeling? They are parasites by definition. According to the dictionary, a parasite is "An organism that grows, feeds, and is sheltered on or in a different organism while contributing nothing to the survival of its host" The changelings don't contribute to the host so they are, by definition, parasites. Don't tell me we're going to go Tyrantlestia
Tyrantlestia is reaaaaaly OOC and can often backfire really easily. If the Changeling want to change public opinion, why are they invading? Wouldn't peace talks be more lucrative for both sides?
3143727 I am also hoping that the Changelings' assertion that Shining is only hearing one side of the story applies to what the Changelings are saying too, and that when it all comes out we'll hear Celestia's side of things too. Thousand-year-old ethnic conflicts are never simple or one-sided.
The fact that these six Changelings wield the Elements of Harmony, basically the embodiments of the virtues that Ponykind hold most dear, is going to put a very interesting wrinkle on how this all falls out in the end.
3144293
Because she refuses to listen. That is enough to make her very much a dictator and a tyrant. A benevolent one perhaps, but still a tyrant.
That is because when you stubbornly refuse to at least consider another's ideals, you immediately lose what makes you a good ruler.
A good ruler listens to the ponies. And the not-ponies.
A good ruler considers every option and prioritizes making allies and friends rather than enemies and hostile territories.
...and in this case, she might even go as far as to alienate Twilight for what she is, which she cannot change.
Is it not enough proof of her iiiiincompetence?!
Though I respect her still.
3144293 I'm not out right saying that she's a tyrant yet, she's just showing a few signs. And the fact that it didn't really that much convincing for everyone, including the captain of her own royal guard, who you would expect to be the most loyal of all, to decide that she needed to be overthrown. So that's implying that things are even worse then what we've seen. Finally, it's probably just me overreacting a little bit, my bad.
3144149
Nah, I've ruined it now. Plus I'm horrifically bad at jokes when I'm trying.
3143821
Ever heard of fighting to make a point? Celestia's been supressing some truth, some fact from the past that casts the changelings is a much brighter light. They're trying to get the truth expossed, and once everyone knows what it is, and how desparate they are to see it revealed, so too will they come to accept their new neighbours.
I got that reference where Shining made the connections. Seems somebody has been watching the new G.I Joe movie.
I am enjoying this greatly.
but I will restrain the desire to start spouting speculation.
still such delicious plotting is a hoof.
more must be more soon
Their plan is doomed.
I'm not quite sure on which front yet, but it's not going to succeed.
And even if it does, it won't progress much past Canterlot, because Equestria has 8 cities, Canterlot is in the middle, each city probably has their own guard station, and the Changlings will be surrounded on all sides and in enemy territory. Cloudsdale above, three cities to the east, three to the west, plus anypony drawn in from the dozens of towns.
To be honest, from a military standpoint, Canterlot is the WORST PLACE in Equestria to try to take right off the bat. That they can fly mitigates it, but they're still putting down their army in a horrible strategic position where they are surrounded on all sides, even above.
Also, Shining just sent out Schrodinger's Luna, who at the least, has experience running one rebellion. It should be much easier when the entire country is on her side this time. Given all the casual weather control she's demonstrated just to emphasize her speeches, and the RCV, any Changling's who try to get her will just get blown away, especially given she would be out patrolling and high in the sky with no collateral damage to worry about.
And no one is going to care what they have to say. At all. The Ponies seem to hate them, and they attacked their capitol and at minimum beat Celestia unconscious and stuck her in a cocoon. They might as well be publicly eating foals while they're still alive for all the good that's going to do them PR wise.
So, ironically, their plan succeeding is the worst possible outcome for them.
3144323
That analysis disregards several key facts. namely that changelings are presumably capable, through their shapeshifting, magic and other skills, of managing weather, growing crops, building houses, accounting, performing medical procedures, TV/VCR repair, and earning their degree.
The only reason they presently have a parasitic relationship with ponies is because of the situation, and Celestia keeping the situation that way not because she's naturally a tyrant, but because she's afraid of some cataclysm and honestly believes that what she's doing is in everyone's best interests.
Remove that situation, and it becomes clear that a changeling's natural relationship to a pony is not parasitic, but (at least potentially) mutualistic.
3145720 Sorry, but biologically changelings are parasites. This may not be the case now but it's like a vegan being insulted if someone says humans are omnivores. Nature made changelings parasites and while it can be done symbiotically, the correct term is still parasite. To use an example from Spider-Man, the Symbiotes were ironically parasites before bonding with Spider-Man. After bonding with Spider-Man, they evolved so that their next host recieved Spider-Man's powers. A Symbiote was and still is a parasite by nature but they've gone past that. Also, I don't think changelings are magically or physically strong judging by how easily the mane 6 took them out in the show. There were at LEAST 23 knocked out changelings and some were taken out by simply tripping on Fluttershy. It's quite clear that a changeling is lesser to a pony in fighting skills. Again, I must ask, why would invading a country change public opinion? It would just make things worse
Yea, I'm just going to disagree with you, at least for the purpose of this fiction. The proper definition of a parasite is an organism that lives on or in an organism, feeds off of that organism, and contributes nothing to said organism. Firstly, no matter what others may think, a changeling does not live on or in their host. At all. There has been no evidence of such even when they were introduced into the canon universe, and it is only in some people's headcannon that changelings "latch" on to their hosts. While the changeling "drones" we did see appeared to be rather stupid, they certainly were not acting as though they lived inside a host.
Secondly, a true parasite derives nutrients from its host while contributing nothing to the hosts survival. A changeling does not follow this rule, as they "feed" off of an intangible emotion that is always present but never actually physically seen. The emotions a changeling feeds off of are always there, especially since ponies are so friendly and full of love anyway. And in a way, a changeling does contribute to their "host's" survival-- by ensuring that the changeling wont mindlessly attack for power because he or she is starved for love.
In reality, the only real thing a changeling is guilty of is taking the form of another pony, or a loved one, and deceiving their "host" so the changeling can still obtain food. I'm not entirely sure deceiving someone because you need food counts as being a parasite.
Now, if that changeling deliberately finds a willing "host" even though he or she already has plenty of food, that might be a different story. Said changeling is greedy and yes, by my book, that changeling could be a parasite. But a creature who is starving and only seeks to survive? Not so much.
3146067
And that is why it is a racial slur.
3145906
I'm not really sure that I understand your analogy.
3146067 We know from the show that when a changeling drains love, they also drain power. Shining Armor could barely stand after being drained. Perhaps parasite is a the wrong word, but draining love regularly seems to damage ponies. A changeling would have to host hop to keep the host in the clear
3146846 What I mean is that Changelings evolved to be parasites. They may want to change that but they still evolved as parasites. A human evolved to be an omnivore but certain people want to be vegans. This is what I mean. A Changeling being insulted by parasite is like a vegan being insulted if someone says that humans can eat meat. It's a question of evolution vs personality. Are the Changelings still parasite? Yes and no depending on whether you go by mindset or by nature. Also I'm sorry, but changelings do look like bugs. Compound eyes, a hive structure, membranous wings, exoskeleton judging by the sound that they make when they move, and wing carapaces. To be fair, it's better than being called zombies or kelpies
3146887Shining's power was only drained because he was being feasted upon by an evil Queen, who deliberately drained his power for herself.
3147166 Which I explicitly stated is not happening.
3147166 Ah OK I see it can be interpreted both ways. It took that taking love weakened him since Cadence giving him love repowered him
3147339
I think that part of where the conflict is entering is that we don't know, at least in this story, the exact mechanism or requirements for a changeling to draw power from love.
It may also be worth noting that, despite what Twilight may have stated in the show, curses are real things in FiM, and such a thing could be affecting the changelings which forces them to be parasites when they naturally are not. There has been a lot of referencing to some event that occurred in the past that is threatening to happen again. It's possible that it could be related to the creation of the changelings, and that beyond trying to clear their reputation, they are trying to prevent it from happening to the ponies.
And that, by refusing to change her outlook on the world and digging in, Celestia is creating conditions to allow for the very thing she is trying to stop.
Heh. I would definitely like to see a non canon chapter displaying their reaction to human brutality and horror.
If they think the Equestrians have a monopoly on violence, then I would be greatly amused as they react with jaw dropping horror of what we have to offer.
I've always wondered how negative emotion such as hate would affect their health.
Would it make them deteriorate? Would it sicken them?
Who knows?
3148565 My headcanon is that changelings can feed off any emotion but negative ones are poisonous
3148420 Actually, by Twilight's definition there are no curses. She says they involve potions and magic words which never appear in the series. As to what happened in the past, maybe Celestia actually has a good reason to be paranoid? What if the changelings had attacked at some earlier point in history, thus lowering public image while still making sure that our current changelings haven't done anything. If this is the case, how would an invasion help? Ponies would just hate you more and are probably going to call upon the help of their allies (we know that the Minotaurs, while discriminated, are friendly with Equestria as are Gryphon and Mules) Taking Canterlot is a horrid idea in retrospect.
images.wikia.com/mlp/images/1/12/Map_of_Equestria_online_version_2012-08.jpg
Look, Canterlot is smack dab in the middle of every other pony city. The changelings are trapping themselves by attacking Canterlot. Things just get worse when you remember that changelings are inferior to regular ponies much less the militia that will come. The ratio of changelings to take down unarmed an untrained ponies is 4:1. You need 4 changelings per every random pony on the street never mind a soldier or beast like Big Mac
3148619
You keep latching onto this idea of a previous attack, and while I'm unwilling to call that unreasonable, I personally don't see it.
It's mentioned explicitly that history is written either by the victor, or the survivor. And, if there is more than one survivor, history is written by the most respected of them. All this means at this point is that, in the past, something unpleasant happened, and changelings got the blame for it because Celestia said it was their fault.
I'm also unwilling to bet that it was related to Nightmare Moon. Ponies had all but forgotten about her, but they remember changelings, so it must have been something after that.
Sigh, why did this not show up in my new chapters list....
Oh well, I definitely like what you have done so far, especially with how you handled Shiny's reaction to all this. I am also very curious to see how things play out with Luna because it seems to me like she could very well have been on the moon when whatever mess there was happened so she may not share her sister's bias. This could make her (and by extension Equestria as a nation) open to negotiation once the Changelings have taken down Celestia, although we will have to wait and see what happens.
3148619 Actually, Canterlot is the ideal target for a sneaky first strike like this. Most of the guard's leadership will be concentrated there because it is the capitol so hitting it first will make any response from peripheral units slow and uncoordinated, and its central location makes it the ideal location to garrison the strategic reserve troops so hitting it first will take the bulk of the available forces out of the picture. The guard will also be less prepared to deal with this kind of attack because that central location makes it very hard for conventional armies to launch a surprise invasion so it will not be emphasized in planning or training. The Changeling army can then use that opening to launch a series of quick strikes against the other major garrisons (which are going to be oriented against threats more than in cities) and leave the guard a crippled wreck before it gets a chance to do anything of note. The only wildcard is Luna, and I seriously doubt she could take all seven queens if she chooses to fight.
Of course, all this is neglecting the fact that Shining Armor is on the Changeling's side in this which is going to seriously demoralize the guard and could leave them paralyzed with indecision. His presence also means the Changelings can generate that shield if need be which allows them to deploy their armies much more aggressively and trust the shield to hold off flanking attacks.
3150459 Fair enough but you have to remember that a pony is superior to a Changeling both physically and magically. With the exception of queens, Changelings seem to be rather weak. An army of Minotaurs, Gryphons, and Mules would decimate the Changelings with ease. Hell, even the Diamond Dogs would help the ponies if they were bribed enough. Even if the Changelings win, things won't end well. The amount of chaos would surely free Discord who can destroy the entire army by snapping his fingers. Sombra is also going to reappear very soon and has a fairly defensible area with the crystal empire and his crystal constructs. If Trixie survives the attack and gets the alicorn amulet then all 6 queens are screwed if Twilight is the strongest. Another problem with this plan is that ponies are going to hate them for this. There won't be as much love to go around and then the Changelings are back at square one
3144511 Yes because ponies are going to be so happy about losing loved ones in a war over reputation
Seriously, the ponies have no reason to believe them and even if they did, they will be ticked over being invaded. Doesn't help that the Changeling drones are complete morons (one got knocked out by tripping over Fluttershy 
) and will do something stupid.
3150518 Honestly, it is hard to make assessments like that. Combat performance varies so wildly it is impossible to say anything for certain, although I do seem to recall guards being chased around by Changelings in the show. Of course, it is probably partially because the guard seems to be completely incapable of doing anything more demanding than looking nice in the show, but the fact remains that the Guard has yet to accomplish anything at all. Another point to think about is the state of the army because those Changelings were probably starving and desperate which would seriously degrade their battlefield performance.
We also have no idea what the political landscape looks like so the other races are total unknowns with the possible exception of the mules who seem to be part of Equestria instead of an independent power. Frankly, it is just as likely that the Changelings could have strong ties to the diamond dogs or griffins so they could be called upon to support the second wave of the operation against some of the other cities.
As for super opponents like Sombra and Discord, the Elements of Harmony are still perfectly serviceable so they are not a threat. Trixie is probably going to be less of a threat (or even an immediate ally) because she can wright off Twilight's power to being a queen to appease her ego and Trixie can also probably relate to the Changelings better than most ponies because she is an outcast as well.
As for PR, they have Cadence, Shiny, and the Mane Six on hand for that so long as they play nicely with the population, and the Zecora incident (along with just about every other disaster we see) clearly shows that ponies are going to run and hide rather than fight so pacification is really more a matter of convincing them to stop hiding than putting down an armed insurgency.
3150583 The guards were zerg rushed as was everyone in the city. The fact remains that the Changelings can be knocked out by tripping on Fluttershy. Changelings use the bee hive strategy of simply throwing wave upon wave of soldiers with little individual power. I don't think the Diamond Dogs would ally with anyone really the more I think about it. They only care about gems so the Diamond Dogs could probably be easily bribed.by either side but the instant they get offered more they will change sides. If the Gryphons were allies then how come they're allowed in Equestria? The Changelings are national threats and I doubt their allies would be allowed in. The Elements of Harmony have a case which can only be opened by Celestia so using them will be hard. Discord would probably just hide them again anyway. Sombra has a massive strangle hold on the Northern Regions and has a perfectly fine shield to use in case they attack. Sunset Shimmer showing up is also a possibility if they unlock the Elements. Sunset Shimmer's demon form can easily handle the army.
P.S. How are AJ and Rarity representing their Elements? AJ lies to everyone and Rarity is taking love without consent.
3150625 considering Celestia sent the mane 6 to get the Elements, it stands to reason that Twilight might be able to open the vault
3150760 I took it as Celestia opening it remotely. Either way, Discord has a good chance of stealing them.
3150625>>3150583>>3149221 Girls, please, you're all pretty! Can I go home now?
3153103 ..........0_0 I'm a guy. I never back down
3153103
That depends. Can I go home with uyou?