Loose Leaf Discussion
Monday
“Thank you, Miss Pekoe. That will be all.” It was a shame that even Orange Pekoe was having a difficult time adjusting to their new guest, but Celestia figured it could’ve been worse. She could have fled from the room like Miss Inkwell, just shy of screaming in fear and hiding under the table. Orange Pekoe, on the other hoof, would not have been caught dead engaging in such uncouth behavior.
So instead, she bowed respectfully and backed out of the room. Once she was out of sight, Celestia’s ears twitched at the sound of her fleeing down the hallway at top speed. Celestia sighed. It was going to be a very long, hard road to accomplish this task she’d set upon herself. “Well, at least this one didn’t shriek at my face,” grumbled her guest, the semi-permanent sneer she wore the kind of thing Celestia had been certain only existed in certain superhero comics.
Come to think of it, she does remind me a great deal of the Mane-iac. Perhaps I should ask Spike on how to engage her, Celestia thought with whimsical amusement. Probably not a brilliant idea, much like the notion of making her and Cadence hash out their differences. Though Celestia had decided that, in the end, that would be a bit rough on the masonry.
Whimsy thus dealt with, she returned her full attention to the mare across the table. Hm, now there was another thought she ought to never voice. “Miss Pekoe is nothing if not very courteous...” Celestia began, lifting the steaming china cup to inhale the aroma. Ahh. Her favorite. “But I fear she did not take the invasion well.” That was something of an understatement, actually. “Like most from Neighpon, she is a bit delicate when it comes to violence.”
Her guest merely lifted a brow, lifting her own cup and giving it an uninitiated sniff. Celestia often enjoyed watching neophyte tea drinkers absorb the complex aromas and flavors of her favorite blends, especially when they’d never had a proper cup before. The astonished mixture of emotions that crossed her guest’s face were fascinating in this case. After all, it was not every day one took tea with a changeling, much less the so-called Queen of the Changelings.
She’d called herself ‘Chrysalis’ when Shining Armor’s relentless Royal Guards had dragged her triumphantly into Canterlot. Captured from her hiding hole in the Badlands, Celestia had dutifully taken her into custody and promptly invited her to tea. Likely not what Shining Armor had in mind, but Celestia found she very rarely did what most ponies ‘had in mind’. “What is this?” Chrysalis asked in a suspicious, harsh tone. “This cannot be tea. What poison are you trying to trick me into drinking?”
Celestia wanted to laugh, but merely tutted to her guest instead. “It is good Saddle Arabian spice tea. No trickery involved.” She took another sip, making little effort to hide her smile.
Her guest eyed the cup and took a slow sip. If the taste of cinnamon, cloves, juniper, and candied ginger root was entrancing to normal ponies, Celestia could only imagine what it was like for Chrysalis. “I knew they’d gotten the tea thing completely wrong,” the changeling queen muttered over her cup, carefully cradling it in her forehooves. “That’s the last time I trust drones with something this complex.”
Celestia felt a little spark of hope in her chest. “Perhaps I can talk Miss Pekoe into giving you some lessons?” She was going to find a solution to this problem that did not involve violence. All of her previous attempts to halt threats to Equestria through force had worked for a time. But Discord… Discord had been the proof that she had been taking the wrong direction all along. “She is always happy to express her art.”
Queen Chrysalis stared at her in disbelief. “Lessons? In tea?”
Wednesday
The sight of Queen Chrysalis in a formal tea dress was quite possibly the most adorable thing she’d ever seen. Even better was the mixture of pleasure and absolute annoyance on her face moving with the speed of Rainbow Dash on a caffeine run. “I look ridiculous,” Chrysalis growled at her with a smouldering look.
“Nonsense!” Celestia chided, her smile wholly genuine. Even when angry she was cute! “You look absolutely lovely. Rarity still has an astounding talent for taking anypony’s coloration and accenting it beautifully.”
Chrysalis muttered something under her breath, and Celestia pounced. “What was that? You really ought to speak up, Chrysalis. We’re not going to get anywhere if you just talk to yourself.”
That earned her quite a death glare, but Chrysalis did raise her voice a touch. “At least it’s comfortable to wear.” She paused quite obviously before fixing her with a level stare. “Why are we doing this, Celestia? What in the name of the First Egg are you trying to accomplish with this nonsense?”
“Talking with somepony is nonsense?” Celestia asked, wondering not for the first time, how the changelings solved their own disagreements. Even the griffons weren’t entirely violent when it came to such things.
“I—Well, of course not.” Chrysalis huffed at her, leaning forward over the table with her hooves planted aggressively. “I tried to overthrow your kingdom! I brainwashed your Guard Captain and practically blew you away, and you’re trying to serve me tea!? That’s insane! What are you thinking, you—foolish pony!?” Her voice steadily rose to all but a shout at her...
Celestia held up her hoof. In one sense, she was trying to calm Chrysalis. In another, she had to make certain her guards didn’t do anything overly protective. “The short version? I don’t believe in using violence when there are other options.” She pointed at Chrysalis and raised an eyebrow. “You’re no longer a danger to me or Equestria, Chrysalis. Why shouldn’t I try to speak with you?”
Chrysalis stared at her with a blank look for a good while before she recovered. Celestia took the time to pour another cup of tea. “And take your hooves off the table, it’s impolite,” she continued, as if the outburst had never happened.
Chrysalis jerked back reflexively, then huffed in annoyance at… something. “I'd known you were a hopeless idealist, but that is absurd even for you.” The irritation puzzled Celestia in a way she could not easily dismiss. Chrysalis turned her head away to gaze at one of the stained glass windows that adorned her private lounge. “You are such a puzzle. You display your conquests for all the world to see, yet you act nothing like a conqueror.”
Celestia turned her eyes to the same window, which depicted herself and Luna sealing Discord away in stone for the first time. “I rather don’t see the need actually.” It was a good memory, marred only by the things that had come after. She turned away from the window to focus on her guest and the curious turn of conversation. “My deeds speak for themselves, as do the deeds of those who have carried my legacy.”
“The purple one and the pink one,” Chrysalis responded flatly, her eyes narrowed.
“Twilight and Cadence, yes.” Celestia gently chided, tapping the tabletop primly. “And you should know that if my niece had her way, you’d be cleaning dishes in her scullery for the next century or so.” She put on her very best teacher’s smile. “You might want to be a touch more respectful, or I may decide that’s the only way to teach you anything.”
Like so many students before her, Chrysalis’ face went through a veritable cornucopia of emotions and finally settled upon resignation. “I take that back. You’re a cruel and merciless conqueror of all that you survey.” But did Celestia detect a note of good-natured humor in there? Perhaps.
Well, there was only one way to find out. “Only when my students err,” she quipped, enjoying another taste of her tea, “as opposed to when they realize they’ve dug themselves a twenty-hoof deep hole and decide not to jump in it and keep digging.”
For a moment, she thought perhaps her joke had gone a touch far. But Chrysalis lifted her teacup and took a dainty sip. “There’s nothing wrong with digging holes you know,” she said quietly. “That’s how you find the most fascinating things.”
Friday
“... And the nymphs are my administrators, so I can usually set them complex tasks without oversight. Usually.” Chrysalis was gesturing with concise motions, sometimes a biscotti in hoof. “It can be a bit taxing, honestly. Yet I still have no idea how you get anything done around here!” She brandished the pastry like a sword. “It simply does not make sense that an entire nation of uncontrollable workers would be more efficent!”
“What’s so hard to understand?” Celestia really wanted to get back to hearing about how these changeling hives worked, but it was important to be courteous. “They benefit from doing the work as much as anypony else. Sometimes it’s thankless, but it’s always necessary.” She sipped her tea—a nice Neighpon green—before continuing. “Our societies do not work in very different ways when you boil it down; the difference is more from philosophy.”
“Bah!” Chrysalis snorted, leaning back into her seat with a decidedly undignified slouch. “Philosophy my eye. Your ponies are just as easily led about by the nose as my drones, and don’t you deny it.” She waggled a hoof at herself, smiling lazily. “The difference is that I don’t have to work as hard at it as you do, so I suppose I get what I work for.” The words reeled off like a shot from a catapult.
“You also have fewer ponies to talk to,” Celestia shot back, and Chrysalis rewarded the solid hit with an ironic salute. “But really, Chrysalis, I do envy your lack of internal political strife.” She sighed gustily, rubbing at her temples. “I swear, sometimes I think they’ve regretted making me Princess all those centuries ago and have decided to punish me for it by acting like foals at all hours.”
That got what Celestia would swear was a wry smile out of Chrysalis, but it was quickly buried beneath a sneer. “Well, you won the war. You get to have all the fun.” Celestia wanted to throw one of the scones at her for that, but refilled her cup instead. “You still haven’t explained to me why we’re doing this.” Chrysalis was speaking intently, almost harshly to her. And she’d dodged the subtle question too.
Not for the first time, Celestia wondered if the changeling queen had ever had a friend before in her life. “As I said, I don’t employ violence when other methods suffice.” She sipped at her tea for the day and fixed a firm gaze on her guest. “I do not believe you to be wholly evil, Chrysalis. Misguided, desperate, unwise… arrogant, perhaps. But not evil. You are not Tirek.” She shuddered a little in memory of that encounter and quickly dispelled it from her mind.
Much to her surprise, Chrysalis actually became quite animated at the monster’s mention. “I have heard how the purple one engaged the demon in direct combat actually.” Her eyes lit up in a strange, gleeful excitement. “Is it true they exchanged magic blasts and hurled one another through mountains?”
Celestia snorted derisively. “Twilight has refused to brag about her accomplishments in defeating Tirek, so I fear I do not know.” She actually knew a great deal, but she was hardly about to indulge her guest’s puerile interest.
Except… she didn’t seem quite focused on what Celestia had said. Instead, she was cradling her cup with an unusual amount of care and sipping very slowly. For just a brief moment, there was a look of unalloyed pleasure on Chrysalis’ face and a weariness behind it that Celestia could all too easily relate. She was… smiling. But Celestia dared not intrude upon her moment, instead simply taking her own sip of tea and watching as carefully as she dared.
Was she making progress at last?
Sunday
Chrysalis sat down in the chair opposite her, hooves pressed together, a mixture of both anger and confusion as plain as the sunrise on her face. She was brooding in a way Celestia was certain only villains in comic books did, and, once again, she wondered if she should have asked Spike for advice. “You think you know me, don’t you?” Chrysalis snapped at her as she sat down. It was a statement, not a question, and one that Celestia had been anticipating.
Orange Pekoe stood somewhat hesitantly on the periphery, and Celestia elected to give her a nod. This was not likely to be a conversation conducive to tea. Her brave tea mistress quietly bowed her way out of the room, and Celestia focused all her attention upon her guest. “You don’t understand a thing about what I’ve been through,” Chrysalis continued snappishly, pointedly enunciating each syllable sharply.
Celestia considered Chrysalis’ statements for a moment, then put on her most tolerant smile. She had an opportunity. “Try me,” she offered, gesturing for Chrysalis to go on.
It was like setting a spark to a firework. Chrysalis slammed her forehooves into the table—Celestia idly wondered why she kept this pony-like form sometimes—and rose with a righteous fury. “Starvation! Rebellion! Fear! It has taken every single ounce of my power and my cunning just to keep my children from dying of hunger, and you dare to sit there as though you hold the moral high ground!?” She slammed her hooves again, and it took every ounce of Celestia’s self-control to not launch herself across the table to comfort the angry queen.
She spoke again, her voice harsh yet sibilant. “You know nothing of my kin, nor what we have sacrificed to stay alive. You hoard your precious emotions and dole them out without a thought to their value. You give your precious love, hope, and happiness away so frivolously, and for WHAT?!” The word burst out in a shout that shook the window panes.
Celestia crossed her hooves and waited. Chrysalis drew several rasping breaths before continuing. “It’s like seeing a wealthy clan just throwing food away as you starved, and then refusing to let you scrounge from the trash.” Celestia could not help but remember that long, icy march across the western wastes as they tried to flee the Windigoes.
Her poor ponies, starving and angry. “You cannot possibly understand what it has been like to watch my children…” Chrysalis’ voice heaved, and Celestia could see the pegasus soldiers lining up in neat formations as the earth pony farmers rallied around a banner of defiance. Battle and blood had followed as surely as night followed day.
Chrysalis’ head came up and the faint tears that brimmed in her eyes shone like sapphires. “How could you possibly understand our suffering?” she rasped, her voice raw as her emotions.
Celestia gazed straight into those eyes. “Better than you could ever possibly know, Chrysalis.” She spoke calmly, or as calmly as she could while remembering those hard times. “Perhaps better than I was willing to admit,” she continued, not looking away save for a thoughtful blink.
Chrysalis stared back at her, breathing sharply and heavily. Then she gave a cry, a strangled mixture of despair and sorrow, and fled the room in a flurry of crystalline wings.
The Following Friday
It was almost a week before Chrysalis reappeared in her private study. Twilight had come up from Ponyville to discuss the nature of her new realm, and Celestia was enjoying her favorite Neighpon green tea once again. Twilight was just getting ready to start in on the paperwork when the changeling queen reappeared outside of her study. “M-may I come in?” she spoke quietly, even deferentially.
Twilight’s eyes went wide at her approach, but Celestia wasn't going to let this opportunity pass. “You may, if you do not mind us having a guest.” She reached under the table to squeeze Twilight’s hoof firmly. Her student, ever a clever pony, very smartly kept her snout shut.
Chrysalis entered with a boneless grace that Celestia envied and took her seat at the table. “How long ago was it?” she asked quietly, and Celestia needed no context to understand the question.
“A long time ago.” She still had a quiet reverence for the memory. “And no matter how long it was, the pain still lingers. So many good ponies lost. So much suffering. But they endured, and so did I.” She fixed Chrysalis with her gaze. “I don’t hold your actions against you, Chrysalis. For there”—she gestured at the queen—“but for the grace of Harmony, go I.”
Chrysalis was silent, her face a study in conflicting emotions. When she did speak, it was with a quiet and remarkably cultured voice. “I don’t suppose we could start over?” She lifted her head, trying to sound humble and failing miserably at it.
For Celestia, even the attempt was more than enough. “I think we can manage that at least.” She smiled, extending her hoof. “Friend,” she stated with the hope that Chrysalis would understand what she was doing here.
Chrysalis stared at the hoof for a moment, then clasped her own around it. “Okay. Friend.” Her voice broke on the word, and when she gazed into Celestia’s eyes, she wore a lopsided smile. “That is a very strange word for me to say.”
Celestia’s lips widened in a grin. “Then we shall have to work on making it more comfortable for you.” She turned and gestured. “We can begin with my student and friend, the Princess of Friendship, Twilight Sparkle.”
Twilight glowered at Chrysalis. “We’ve met.”
Also LikedSimilarAuthor
- Manaphy · 6k words · 403 32 · 6.3k views
- Pen Stroke · 15k words · 1,420 29 · 22k views
- ocalhoun · 7.1k words · 936 18 · 12k views
- dungeonguy88 · 21k words · 700 26 · 11k views
- FoughtDragon01 · 9.9k words · 293 10 · 6.5k views
- Karrakaz · 11k words · 736 24 · 10k views
- Lapis-Lazuli and Stitch · 4.6k words · 474 10 · 4.9k views
- Hyzaku · 3.9k words · 671 37 · 11k views
Stats
Page generated in 0.232 seconds
Total duration
802 users online
1,203,407 hits today, 2,054,621 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
I like it.
nice
I have, with good reason, up voted this story. However I really think it should be expanded. there are so many ways this could go with emphasis on how Chrysalis got where she is now and how she changes. The reaction of others to her and her changes leads to another whole set of ideas.
Really liked the character interactions--you did a great job keeping Chrissy in character as a villain but also lending her some sympathy and showing a gradual change as she went along
5741220 It probably will be expanded later on. This is really the germ of the idea I ended My Princess Alluring with.
5741278
Good to hear.
It works. It certainly works. Provided that Chrysalis is kept out of a position of power and has no choice but to play along, of course, which is precisely the case here. Of course, Twilight may yet disrupt the process, but I find that doubtful. In all, one of the better executed Chrysalis redemption stories I've read. Well done.
Wait, what's happening to the changelings while their leader is being held captive in the heart of enemy territory?
5742281
Good Question!
If you're interested in an answer, stay tuned. The "Full" version of this short is now in pre-production.
5741278 I enjoy greatly that you just referenced a biological component of a seed in idle conversation.
Enjoyable little one-shot! I take it this is more of an idea of the direction the Princess Alluring sequel would take, rather than an actual interlude/postlogue? I ask because of the little differences in setup. I whole-heartedly approve of the premise. :)
More please.
Very nice ...As a tea lover this was very nicely wrote !
Good friendship piece.
One minor issue:
The way these two sentences are arranged, it indicates Chrysalis was triumphant in being captured. Probably not what you meant.
Perhaps it would work better if you made it "After his triumphant capture of Chrysalis" or otherwise indicated the subject shift to Shining Armor from Chrysalis (who is the 'she' preceding Triumphant, and the 'her' following).
I love it. Kinda wish there was more to it, though. Possible continuation?
5743968
Thanks for pointing that out, fixing it now.
5743976
Stay tuned to this account. It won't be this EXACT setup, but it will be a much fuller story along these lines.
5743998
That was fast. An hour and a new version that works better.
I read this earlier already, but just now noticed the cover art. Holy mother of light those are some thick flanks. Probably woulda come in to see what the story was about just from that.
There's nothing I find particularly "wrong" or "bad" with this story. Objectively speaking, it's pretty good, so maybe it's just my own personal reasons why I can't warm up to it.
I think my main problem comes down to the depiction of Chrysalis. Again, there's nothing inherently wrong with it, but I don't think I can keep track of the number of times she's been portrayed in fanfiction as a 'mother trying to protect/feed her 'children'* and 'self-righteously angry at ponies who she sees as privileged and living in luxury, ignorant of the changelings' 'suffering'." Now that's not necessarily any fault of your own, it's just, well... a lot of this has been done already. A lot, I'm afraid. Even the set-up and events that take place here feel pretty familiar territory to numerous other stories written over the years, while not really adding that much to set it apart.
I'm not gonna blame you for that. Perhaps after about three years since her original appearances and libraries worth of fanfiction, trends get set and ideas are bound to be used a multitude of times, but at least in varying ways. We haven't had a lot to work with with Chrysalis from the show or even the comics, so that's why I hope the upcoming Fiendship is Magic issue of her provides us with some new material or that she reappears in the show.
Maybe it's also because I've always found it difficult to get behind this portrayal of Chrysalis as a beleaguered mother (edit: of her species, to be specific); mainly out of my desire to see her truly acting evil, like a proper cackling Disney villainess like in the show and comics. I gotta admit, it's pretty rare to see a fanfic where she's actually portrayed in that manner.
Okay, so bitch and moan, bitch and moan, what DO I like in this story? Well, I have to give you credit that it's a decent setting with their conversations and developing relationship through having tea together (so yeah, good use of the tea), and that it seemingly avoids many of the negative cliches I find it chrysalis stories where she and her species are portrayed sympathetically: that Celestia is portrayed as being genuine in her intentions and not arrogant or ignorant of the changeling's situation. And that ponies in general here seemingly aren't blanket characterized as a bunch of blood-thirsty bug-hating bigots (It's depressing how often ponies are demonized to make changelings look good) and how they actually do understand suffering as opposed to being stereotypicaly over-privileged.
Now I've yet to see the full version of this story so I guess I'll just have to wait and see.
I'm sorry if I came across as overly negative or whiny in this comment. Rest assured, that's not my intention. Like I said, there's nothing essentially bad about the story, really, it's actually pretty good. It's probably just not... (puts on shades) my cup of tea.
(promptly ducks below as rotten fruit, bricks, sinks and even an ocean liner is thrown at me, accompanied by an endless chorus of booing at my terrible closing liner)
*This is a personal gripe: I've never liked the depiction of Chrysalis as the mother of all changelings. I understand the reasoning behind it and agree it could work in some sense, but again, it's just how it's been overdone in fanfics. I'm more for them having families of their own. However, I can't fault you simply for choosing this route, so that's why it's more just a gripe than a real complaint.
One shot? Are you kidding me? This shouts for way more or even rewrite of this into 10k+ words
5744257
Funny but you used same cliche of mother Chrysalis. Not to bash your comment or anything but its hard to make likeable villain without some untold oh ah tragic backstory, for Chrysalis work starving mother trying protect by any means etc
There is few fics where there is trully villainous Chrysalis and she is likeable but she is likeable because of long story building around her.
5744600
Limits of the contest. As I've said to many others, stay tuned, this is an idea that's getting a bigger version.
5744257
I can understand that aversion. I do have a good reason for using that basic 'fandom headcanon cliche' and if you're interested, keeps your eyes on this account, since I will be greatly expanding on the concept in the 'full' version of this.
Thanks for taking the time to speak your mind, too. I appreciate a commentator who is willing to go in depth with their feelings, even if it's not the most positive of ones. :D
5744203 my first thought upon seeing the cover art
That aint healthy
5744600
Fair point, but keep in mind that in my story, she was mother of one child, her daughter the Princess. Here, I was mainly talking about it in the context of being a mother to the entire race and how often writers have her use it as justification for her actions. Still, fair point.
Well, I dunno if I can agree with that. Sure, it may be an effective method if done right, but however, the reasons I think why fans gravitated and loved Chrysalis in the first place included her villainous charisma, her design, her role as a chessmaster, etc. There was no sob story included for her in the show or comics, but yet fans fell in love with her.
5744629
Hmm, I just might. While I do have a natural aversion to these types of stories, I do try to keep open-minded about these stories, and I would like to see the reasons.
It's my pleasure, really. I fear I sometimes get too belligerent in my comments when it comes to this topic especially, so I'm glad you feel this wasn't a case of that.
I just worry that... a lot of fans now seem to like Chrysalis because of what the fandom has turned her into, not for what she is in the show/comics. When you look at the Chrysalis in the show/comics and the one in fanfiction, they almost feel like two entirely different characters. I think fans have take opportunity of her limited screentime, her currently unknown origin and the potential moral ambiguity behind her actions, to fill in the gaps for themselves and create headcanons which get popularized in fanfiction. For example: Changelings eat love, so we assumed they need it to survive and therefore they 'must' be starving, resulting in sympathy points. Or another: they have an insectoid appearance, and therefore must be eusocial, which then helps further the image of Chrysalis as a caring mother to them. And with limited canon material to work with, it partially explains why these story types/headcanons have endured for so long.
And like I said, it's also the methods in which it's often done that gets to me, ie how ponykind is vilified so to make Chrysalis and co. look good by standing against them. I love changelings and am in favor of them being portayed as more than just "the race that's always evil", but I can't and won't get behind the ponies I also love being tossed under the bus in order to make that work. However, that's one of the things I'll definitely hand this fic; that you seem to be avoiding the 'Ponies are Monsters' trope and I sincerely hope that's the case in the 'full' version when it comes out. I guess I just have to wait and see.
5744970
Mother to all changelings more like metaphor.
Its bad cliche because most ppl can't make it somehow convincing and totally change her character what is pure bullshit, there was enough of screen time to see how she act and what attitude she presents (+ idw comic), its like "screw all the plot, screw all the character building and slow road to change or something like those" ughh
Ok I can deal with excuse of drunk on love or something realistic but ppl can't into creativity :D
well, liking, faving and waiting the next chapter or sequel. If there is not, then your soul is mine.
5744970
I've read the comics. Personally, I was not a fan of how... cartoonishly 'evil' they made her. I know why they did it, and it was fun in a Joker sort of way, but I think they went a bit over the top with it. Black-and-white villainy has always been unpalatable to me for a lot of reasons and shines through in my work, as can be seen in things like Code's Apprentice and even Twilight Shadow to some degree.
That being said, I use the fan concept because to me it makes for an excellent jumping off point to compare and contrast both societies against one another without descending into mythological moralizing. If you stay tuned, I can at least promise some fascinating world building.
Awwww, you can't cut the story off there! It was just getting good!
Course one could argue the sign of a true writer is when they know how to leave you hungry for more of their work so guess that attests to your mastery in this fic.
5745405
As with all others, stay tuned. The fuller version of this project has now attained priority status.
That last line. . .so worth the upvote. Perfect!
You have my attention.
5744998
I hope your world building gives some reasons why the fan concept of 'mother of the unfortunate hive' actually makes any sense. The vast majority of stories using this concept get a pretty hardy pass from me as they never give any reasons why such a thing would even be. If the Changlings are so misunderstood why did it even come to invasion as a method of survival?
This is...
http://th01.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/i/2012/188/c/9/rarity___fabulous__by_quanno3-d56aqad.png
Fabulous.
Well done. *APPLAUSE*
Oh, I rather like this portrayal. Chrysalis is quite a malleable character, it seems.:3
Not bad. Have my upvote. :)
Interesting fic, but introducing Twilight at the very end means it feels unfinished to me. Still nicely done.
5749936 No, it means it's ripe for the sequeling!
This fic might be trying too hard to make Bug-Horse into a sympathetic character, to the point of ignoring how sociopathic and power-mad she was in canon, but other than that it's very well written.
but what I really want to comment on is that coverart. Celestia is like 50% ass by volume, and the other half is mostly hair.
5750999 That's completely accurate if you're describing the show, too. There's a reason that almost every fic about her mentions those two assets.
5750999 Yeah, given the indication that 'lings have individuality (the one which playfully obliges Pinkie and copies her with a shrug and grin) it's very likely that Queenie is the Changeling Stalin.
5752005 5750999
A great many leaders in the course of history have done terrible or morally abhorrant things in the name of preserving their people. If they are successful, and their people go on to be successful, they are often looked upon charitably by history. (See: Alexander the 2nd of Russia, Oliver Cromwell, Oda Nobunaga, Ulysses S. Grant and George Washington just to name a few such luminaries of that list,) And if they fail, they are often treated as demons and villains (History is written by the victors, et cetera.)
I am also loathe to engage in black-and-white moral relativism in my stories, especially with characters we know very little about in a practical sense. Yeah, she was basically painted as a complete monster in the comics - but I've already noted I don't like that interpretation and consider it to be lazy storytelling at best. We know, in a practical sense, absolutely nothing about Changeling society nor how it functions. She may be an iron-fisted tyrant, or she might simply be a hawkish leader of what is obviously a predator race dealing with an untenable position of limited supplies.
I don't think she's wholly justified, mind you, but when I've only got 3k words to work with, I can't go into the complexities right away. I am working on that part, though.
5752029 I am also including her behavior in the comic line, as while those stories are noncanon, as a licensed work that is the canon Chrysalis's personality. She is an unrepentantly evil person. Her species, being insects, likely CANT say no to a queen. So to me the real tragity is a species doomed to follow it's biologically decided leaders, good or bad.
5752029
I never read the comics. I'm talking about the one episode Chrysalis appeared in.
The one look we get into her motives is her This Day Aria. In it, she makes no mention of her people, and just revels in the control she's gained over the ponies. She really seems to be putting her own wants before her people's needs.
If you think about it, the invasion is really self-defeating. The changelings need to absorb positive emotions from the ponies. How long would the ponies have stayed positive when they'd been enslaved by bug-monsters? The changelings had other options. Mass infiltration would have played to their strengths, and gotten them what they needed. Changelings could have become actors, models, pop singers, and been basking in the adoration of crowds of ponies. Chrysalis was able to absorb enough energy from one pony. Shining Armor, to knock Celestia on her ass. Clearly infiltration is a very efficient way of getting what the changelings need, but it doesn't let Chrysalis play conqueror, like she wants to.
5753366
As someone famous (possibly) once said - The road to hell is often paved with 'good intentions'.
Yes, the person we saw had obviously gone off her rocker or at the very least had gone 'too deep' into her determination to feed the changelings at any cost.
As with Sombra and (to some degree) Celestia, I have often rejected simple interpretations of their intentions and personalities because... well, frankly, it isn't terribly interesting to write about. "Chrysalis is a ego-maniacal psychopath who likes power over others," is basically a completely boring one-dimensional character, great villain song aside. It is far more interesting to look at what we see and try to find a deeper meaning or interpretation of her actions and thus make her a 'character' rather than a 'caricature'. Discord got more interesting the less "LoL Random" he became in the cartoon.
Is it -strictly- canonical? Probably not. But since that basically describes 99% of everything written on this site, I don't see an issue with it. If you want strictly canonical behaviors and characters, I am very much the wrong writer to be reading.
5744970
The same could easily be said of Trixie, Luna (and/or Nightmare Moon), Sunset Shimmer, or those Siren things -- each with varying levels of popularity as the show's gone on, but consistently throughout. At a quick headcount, I can think of at least three 'redemption stories' of the kind your comment describes for each one of those characters -- and I'm sure a quick site search would turn up dozens more. It's one of the more damnably frustrating aspects of this fandom that I have yet to find a reasonable explanation for, and it's the reason I tend to pass this kind of story up when I see it go by. I honestly don't know what the objection is to writing competent, charismatic, motivated villains who remain villains, but this is the only place I've seen it so endemic to a fandom.
5742290 yay, it sounds pretty good already.
5753906
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DracoInLeatherPants
5755499
I know . . .
But does it have to be this way?
5755504
"With Shining Armor cutting you into long strips and telling the Princess you walked over a very sharp cattle grid wearing a *very* heavy hat?"
We LIKE REDEMPTION. It's what this fandom does. Most of us are already fans of shows like Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, etc. We need something to balance that.
Also, canon suggests that redemption is the overall goal of ponies. Ponies are herd animals, thus, they tend to like other ponies and creatures that are pony-like. This was written for a contest that explicitly states "A pony makes a new friend". Lapis chose Chrysalis for it. Don't fault him for choosing a character that he wanted to use for a writing contest that insists on her becoming a friend.
5755553
Who said anything about faulting Lapis? The story does exactly what it sets out to do, and does it reasonably well. In that respect, it's entirely commendable. My frustration isn't with any single author; it's with the pattern 5744970 pointed out: Flanderization of characters to service these redemption stories. I enjoy seeing a good, complex character be redeemed in a meaningful way just as much as the next pone-lover, but far too often do we see things slide into the territory of contrived, overused excuses: 'Oh, s/he's just misunderstood' or 'Oh, s/he had a troubled past', as if that's some kind of all-forgiving get-out-jail-free card. That kind of treatment doesn't do a character any favours -- it diminishes them.
I also have no idea what you were quoting there, so whatever point that was intended to make fell flat. Sorry.
5750999 Didn't you know? Celestia is full of jello which tends to settle when she sits.