Brand is a step above his brothers and sisters, vassal to the youngest lady of one of the most renown changeling noble houses and trained infiltrator and bodyguard. He travels to Edgewood to deliver news to his lady charge while she is undercover, and retrieve her report for her elder sisters. Along the way, he reflects upon the ponies he is surrounded by, and grabs a snack or two along the way...
Occurs concurrently with Chapter 4 of The Wardens of Edgewood.
Entry into the Equestria Daily "Outside Insight" fanfic contest.
Chapters (1)
Interesting little side story. Can't wait for the latest chapter of Wardens.
Well this was fascinating. I'd like to read more about this story.
(Specifically if anything happened about the sister.)
Confession time: this story is the first I've heard of Wardens. So, without having read that (yet, at least), this story's plot feels somewhat in the background. It still works as a stand-alone feature, but the missing overarching details keeps me from getting fully involved. I can't help but feel it needs more build-up, but that might just be the nature of a side story.
That being said, what is here carries its message well. Ponies aren't perfect, changlings aren't evil; everyone is just trying to survive with their own little shade of grey. That there's different opinions and viewpoints even with characters on the same side helps humanize them, if the word still fits. I'd say my favorite part is the focus on the little details the changlings pick up that aren't just magical emotion reading, as if they were champion poker players reading tells. It really gives it that extra bit of depth.
So a solid plus from me, and you've raised my interest in this Wardens story. Kudos and well done! I'm off to do some story searching.
-Hack
4782833 Thanks for the feedback! That's honestly the most thorough anyone has bothered to be when commenting on one of my pieces. I wish I got that kind of feedback more often
However, the point of this piece was less about plot and more about perspective, so from what I gleaned from you I hit that mark pretty well. I came at this with the intent of presenting a different perspective on what already exists, as well as raise more questions than I answer, both independently and as it relates to Wardens. It was meant to be short, sweet, and to the point without bogging down perception with too much exposition.
I do wish I'd been able to develop a more thorough plot for it, but as it was not an explicit objective for myself when I began writing it, nor did I consider myself devoted enough to this piece to come up with a story that didn't feel forced, I opted for brevity.
Writing a side story for a contest entry is never a good idea. A large portion of this went over my head, though it does at least present a well thought-out view of changelings.
And so my Vermillion Prose adventures begin. :3