The heartwarming story about a young couple's first time together. Well, the mare is actually a disguised changeling princess preparing to gain enough love to enact her plans to take over large parts of Equestria. That might be important.
oh dear, there is a big flaw in carapce's plan. even IF she manages to create a hive, the moment she exposes herself is the moment she is beaten. she is clever to be starting to make a hive there, under cleestia's nose, but celestai and luna are FAR too powerful to withstand. she is obviously also very young, making her all the more vulnerable to their powers. Chrysalis herself admitted that she stood no real chance against the regal sisters, and her victory was a fluke of consuming enough energy from the lovestruck Shining Armor. if luna had made herself present at that time, her defeat would have been assured.
interesting story but I can only see it ending badly for carapace in some manner.
And just like that, I went from disgusted by Carapace and horrified by this situation to feeling incredibly sad for her. She went to all this effort to "improve" her coltfriend, start a family with him, and she's run full-tilt into the realization that she threw out the baby with the bathwater.
>>>Normally, it took two weeks of isolation and constant maintenance for a pony to transform into a changeling, which was the main reason why there were even any ponies left. >>>
That, and the fact that if all the ponies were converted to changelings they'd starve.
No one who does this sort of fic ever stops to think about that one simple fact.
Yup, the situation that she envisioned for herself isn't what she thought it would be. Their former relationship was based somewhat on reciprocation, but now she's very clearly in control of everything. This pretty much destroys what their relationship was, which is what she's actually missing, and I think she's going to be slapped in the face by that shortly.
The question is whether she - or any of them - can recover.
Especially since she seems to be drifting down the path that this setup was supposed to allow her to avoid. (Not having the mentality of a Queen.)
Carapace, after some careful thought, dropped the form the drone was more comfortable with, the form of a Trotsylvanian peasent she personally found garnish but ponies seemed to find vaguly attractive, before shuddering and getting off the bed.
"Peasant" two spaces between 'peasent' and 'she' "Garish" "Vaguely"
I might actually reword this whole sentence a bit: "Carapace, after some careful thought, dropped the form of the Trotsylvanian peasant that ponies seemed to find vaguely attractive but she personally found garish - the one the drone was more comfortable with - before shuddering and getting off the bed."
4202878 It is the author's choice on how powerful the characters in the story will be Admittedly, though, that would require the AU tag if you modify a canon character and who the victor is isn't always as clear-cut as who is the stronger.
4204308 normally true. however it depends if your minions can actually keep disance between you and the more powerful enemy. if they cannot all is for not. i would vote the cannot for dealing with regal sisters. kinda cna blast through castle walls. changeling bodies likely not a third as durable.
perhaps if they have enough they could drive out and keep out the regal sisters, but still they would be a continued threat.
4204347 If you're going for strictly canon, the changelings are durable enough to put a crater in the ground.
And all it really takes is a good shot or two to take out one of the princesses. Sure, they can deflect many shots but swarm tactics are notorious for taking out even the strongest of enemies.
4203217 kay i might have missed some of that. it does create a differing dynamic here. she is sympathetic in her inability to understand what she wants. perhaps she is not doomed.
4204366 most opponents don't have a reprtour of a thousand years worth of magical experience and likely combat experience. swarm tactics only work if the enemy cannot reposition herself at will. aka, teleportation and then releasing magical blsat into the swarm and reducing numbes and causing confusion.
still the alicorns cannot defeat an army by themselves. though they would probably be able to escape an army relatively easily if they realize they must escape.
Oohhh, sad Carapace is sad She only wanted to 'improve' her boyfriend, but in the end she ruined him and killed of personality. But on the other hand, it seems like there is still a part of him left... Hopefully it will turn out good for them
4213256 Oh! your talking about the changlings! I thought you were talking about those being changed! Well, they wouldn't covert all of them, Changelings would probably control them not unlike cattle, so they can convert them to drones if need be. Also the entire reason that she is doing this is so she can lay her eggs while keeping her 'princesshood', so converting ponies to drones isn't the only form of reproduction.
4213835 And you have just outlined the issue with pony-to-changeling transformation: as with most, these changelings lay eggs.
Meaning, they are pretty typical biological organisms at heart.
They use the ponies to feed upon, and tend to keep them unconscious in pods of goo.
Which makes one wonder why they would bother with transformation in the first place.
Internal plausibility is a big issue with this particular pony trope. There is no good reason other than the transformation fetishism of the whole thing.
4213937 Well, transforming would help with the Replacing somepony. Assumably, they still have previous memories, so the Canterlot Wedding kind of thing wouldn't go down if there was A. No trait that makes them seem different, and B. No possible loose end for someone to rescue and expose the changeling.
4214016 And that's another problem. The Canterlot Wedding 'thing' DID happen.
If the changelings can transform ponies, an open invasion is both useless AND counterproductive, in that exposure is the worst possible thing they could do to themselves.
If transformation works and is flawless... then really they couldn't possibly lose if they simply infiltrated quietly. It makes Chrysalis' invasion look both incredibly stupid and completely insane.
The invasion itself only makes sense as a) a desperation move, which from Chrysalis' villain rant doesn't seem to be the case, or b) megalomania... which fits Chrysalis to a tee.
But if Chrysalis could transform ponies, she certainly would have done so with Cadance. It would have delighted her to erase the will of an alicorn and turn her into a mindlessly obedient slave. And, unlike Shining Armor who needed to be present in his normal form and magic to create the shield, Cadance was trapped alone in a cavern. A perfect victim.
We saw no sign at all that the changelings could transform ponies, nor does is there any pressing reason for them to do so.
The narrative of a story in which transformation is a method used by changelings must present a plausible rationale for it, since deliberately losing ponies they need for their food is irrational.
The same goes for the stories in which the changelings begin slaughtering ponies left and right. That makes even less sense.
4214472 Changelings are, first and foremost, parasites. The 'normal' queens typically only convert ponies if they, eh, feel like it. It's impractical and time consuming and most ponies are better used as love slaves.
However, it's also just another option for them. Changelings already have ponies as part of the basic reproduction process, with middle- management drones (think the helmed ones) being the result of pony/changeling crossbreeding. Transformed ponies are good for the general gene pool for the hive as well, because the would either breed with the queen and contribute to good batches of eggs or...well, that's about it.
Also, that bit about why all the ponies are not converted is simply Carapaces view on the subject.
4215598 But... if they transform the ponies so completely that they can't transform them back doesn't that just change the pony genes into changeling genes? The template for which I would presume is based upon the changeling performing the transformation? Since you'd need a template upon which to augment the genetic structure enough to make it compatible with such physiologically dissimilar species as ponies and changelings?
(Alondro is a biologist. This sort of thing 'bugs' the heck out of him. See what he did there?)
4215852 Twilight Sparkle created a living orange-frog abomination out of a perfectly normal frog with magic, and the creatures we are talking about right now have holes in their limbs and feed on love.
No disrespect to the study of biology, but I am of the opinon that throwing in discussion of genetics in a world where bears made of stars exist and potions that can heal broken teeth exists is a silly, silly thing. Besides, this is a fantastical world and evil beings converting other creatures into their own is a tried and true thing that works on a thematic level, and is pretty much a staple for fantasy. I mean, a pony could probably make a spell that would turn a changeling into a pony, or make wings grow from a pig, but there's no reason for either or to be brought up in this fic.
oh dear, there is a big flaw in carapce's plan. even IF she manages to create a hive, the moment she exposes herself is the moment she is beaten.
she is clever to be starting to make a hive there, under cleestia's nose, but celestai and luna are FAR too powerful to withstand. she is obviously also very young, making her all the more vulnerable to their powers. Chrysalis herself admitted that she stood no real chance against the regal sisters, and her victory was a fluke of consuming enough energy from the lovestruck Shining Armor. if luna had made herself present at that time, her defeat would have been assured.
interesting story but I can only see it ending badly for carapace in some manner.
And just like that, I went from disgusted by Carapace and horrified by this situation to feeling incredibly sad for her. She went to all this effort to "improve" her coltfriend, start a family with him, and she's run full-tilt into the realization that she threw out the baby with the bathwater.
Well played, sir, well played.
Carapace has regrets.
>>>Normally, it took two weeks of isolation and constant maintenance for a pony to transform into a changeling, which was the main reason why there were even any ponies left. >>>
That, and the fact that if all the ponies were converted to changelings they'd starve.
No one who does this sort of fic ever stops to think about that one simple fact.
Yup, the situation that she envisioned for herself isn't what she thought it would be. Their former relationship was based somewhat on reciprocation, but now she's very clearly in control of everything. This pretty much destroys what their relationship was, which is what she's actually missing, and I think she's going to be slapped in the face by that shortly.
The question is whether she - or any of them - can recover.
Especially since she seems to be drifting down the path that this setup was supposed to allow her to avoid. (Not having the mentality of a Queen.)
"Peasant"
two spaces between 'peasent' and 'she'
"Garish"
"Vaguely"
I might actually reword this whole sentence a bit:
"Carapace, after some careful thought, dropped the form of the Trotsylvanian peasant that ponies seemed to find vaguely attractive but she personally found garish - the one the drone was more comfortable with - before shuddering and getting off the bed."
4202878
It is the author's choice on how powerful the characters in the story will be Admittedly, though, that would require the AU tag if you modify a canon character and who the victor is isn't always as clear-cut as who is the stronger.
4204308 normally true. however it depends if your minions can actually keep disance between you and the more powerful enemy. if they cannot all is for not.
i would vote the cannot for dealing with regal sisters. kinda cna blast through castle walls. changeling bodies likely not a third as durable.
perhaps if they have enough they could drive out and keep out the regal sisters, but still they would be a continued threat.
4204347
If you're going for strictly canon, the changelings are durable enough to put a crater in the ground.
And all it really takes is a good shot or two to take out one of the princesses. Sure, they can deflect many shots but swarm tactics are notorious for taking out even the strongest of enemies.
4203217 kay i might have missed some of that. it does create a differing dynamic here. she is sympathetic in her inability to understand what she wants. perhaps she is not doomed.
4204366 most opponents don't have a reprtour of a thousand years worth of magical experience and likely combat experience. swarm tactics only work if the enemy cannot reposition herself at will. aka, teleportation and then releasing magical blsat into the swarm and reducing numbes and causing confusion.
still the alicorns cannot defeat an army by themselves. though they would probably be able to escape an army relatively easily if they realize they must escape.
4204366 ..........i just noticed that your avatar icon is......... i could nto tear my eyes away for several seconds.
durable enough to impact the gbround surrounded by energy not quite equal to blsats that punch through stone.
4204403
D'aaaawwwww.
She might regret in the future turning her true love into a drone that is subservient to her.
Oohhh, sad Carapace is sad
She only wanted to 'improve' her boyfriend, but in the end she ruined him and killed of personality.
But on the other hand, it seems like there is still a part of him left...
Hopefully it will turn out good for them
4203636
Well, You can go much longer than two weeks before dying from starvation.
4211408 But ponies can't reproduce in two weeks...
So if they converted all the ponies, they'd kinda starve.
Converting ponies into changelings only makes sense if they have no other method of reproducing.
4213256
Oh! your talking about the changlings! I thought you were talking about those being changed! Well, they wouldn't covert all of them, Changelings would probably control them not unlike cattle, so they can convert them to drones if need be. Also the entire reason that she is doing this is so she can lay her eggs while keeping her 'princesshood', so converting ponies to drones isn't the only form of reproduction.
4213835 And you have just outlined the issue with pony-to-changeling transformation: as with most, these changelings lay eggs.
Meaning, they are pretty typical biological organisms at heart.
They use the ponies to feed upon, and tend to keep them unconscious in pods of goo.
Which makes one wonder why they would bother with transformation in the first place.
Internal plausibility is a big issue with this particular pony trope. There is no good reason other than the transformation fetishism of the whole thing.
4213937
Well, transforming would help with the Replacing somepony. Assumably, they still have previous memories, so the Canterlot Wedding kind of thing wouldn't go down if there was A. No trait that makes them seem different, and B. No possible loose end for someone to rescue and expose the changeling.
4214016 And that's another problem. The Canterlot Wedding 'thing' DID happen.
If the changelings can transform ponies, an open invasion is both useless AND counterproductive, in that exposure is the worst possible thing they could do to themselves.
If transformation works and is flawless... then really they couldn't possibly lose if they simply infiltrated quietly. It makes Chrysalis' invasion look both incredibly stupid and completely insane.
The invasion itself only makes sense as a) a desperation move, which from Chrysalis' villain rant doesn't seem to be the case, or b) megalomania... which fits Chrysalis to a tee.
But if Chrysalis could transform ponies, she certainly would have done so with Cadance. It would have delighted her to erase the will of an alicorn and turn her into a mindlessly obedient slave. And, unlike Shining Armor who needed to be present in his normal form and magic to create the shield, Cadance was trapped alone in a cavern. A perfect victim.
We saw no sign at all that the changelings could transform ponies, nor does is there any pressing reason for them to do so.
The narrative of a story in which transformation is a method used by changelings must present a plausible rationale for it, since deliberately losing ponies they need for their food is irrational.
The same goes for the stories in which the changelings begin slaughtering ponies left and right. That makes even less sense.
4214472 Changelings are, first and foremost, parasites. The 'normal' queens typically only convert ponies if they, eh, feel like it. It's impractical and time consuming and most ponies are better used as love slaves.
However, it's also just another option for them. Changelings already have ponies as part of the basic reproduction process, with middle- management drones (think the helmed ones) being the result of pony/changeling crossbreeding. Transformed ponies are good for the general gene pool for the hive as well, because the would either breed with the queen and contribute to good batches of eggs or...well, that's about it.
Also, that bit about why all the ponies are not converted is simply Carapaces view on the subject.
4215598 But... if they transform the ponies so completely that they can't transform them back doesn't that just change the pony genes into changeling genes? The template for which I would presume is based upon the changeling performing the transformation? Since you'd need a template upon which to augment the genetic structure enough to make it compatible with such physiologically dissimilar species as ponies and changelings?
(Alondro is a biologist. This sort of thing 'bugs' the heck out of him. See what he did there?)
4215852 Twilight Sparkle created a living orange-frog abomination out of a perfectly normal frog with magic, and the creatures we are talking about right now have holes in their limbs and feed on love.
No disrespect to the study of biology, but I am of the opinon that throwing in discussion of genetics in a world where bears made of stars exist and potions that can heal broken teeth exists is a silly, silly thing. Besides, this is a fantastical world and evil beings converting other creatures into their own is a tried and true thing that works on a thematic level, and is pretty much a staple for fantasy. I mean, a pony could probably make a spell that would turn a changeling into a pony, or make wings grow from a pig, but there's no reason for either or to be brought up in this fic.