Parity
As expected of a princess who happened to be a world-class bookworm, Twilight Sparkle had a rather well-stocked study. It had been easy to find a book on counter-spells, and a quick check of the index had pointed her to a cleansing spell that would remove all but the most insidious of charms or glamours. Once applied, Twilight had sighed in mixture of relief and frustration to discover that she still felt the same about the situation in general, and Bakran in particular. Rats, she thought, as she put the book back in its place with her magic. That means the confusion and frustration are real, and I actually have to deal with them instead of just throwing magic at it, she mentally grumbled, even as she walked out of her study and headed back to the balcony. Does that make me a bad pony, wanting to just find a quick and easy answer? Twilight wondered, as she reached the place where her day turned upside down, and then looked around. Am I getting lazy? I love to study and work on problems, but honestly, that's because the problems I usually work on are ones related to an obvious goal I want to accomplish. I'm not even sure what goal, if any, I'm supposed to have with this... fiasco? she wondered, and then paused to think. No, not quite a fiasco yet. Brouhaha? Yes, that fits.
Twilight Sparkle blinked then, as she realized she had started to woolgather. Okay, let's just put the naval gazing aside for a bit and check the town, she decided, and then spread her wings and took off.
* * * *
Ponyville was easy enough to check, as all Twilight had to do was fly around and repeatedly cast her detection spells. She quickly discovered that Bakran was almost the only changeling in town; there was another she had picked up in the marketplace, but with it now being late morning and the market in full swing, Twilight figured unmasking it could cause a panic. It was also in the middle of her sweep, and so she decided to continue her survey to see if there were any other hits before she started investigating further. By midday, however, she had found no other changelings, and the first one from the marketplace had disappeared. Does it know I'm looking for it? Twilight wondered, as she lazily banked over the busy area. Or was it simply getting food and now it's off to wherever it stays? Maybe it was merely passing through? Or was it a scout to make sure Bakran made it to his target and stirred things up?
The princess could only groan aloud as the conflicting thoughts warred in her head. It seems all so suspicious and contrived, yet my gut feeling tells me to believe Bakran, if only because an actual invasion or attack would at least involve a plan that doesn't make the target suspicious and paranoid.
…Unless that's part of the plan, to be so painfully obvious that I dismiss it entirely, Twilight realized. A chill ran down her spine at that, and she lost some altitude as her wings briefly stopped flapping. Just come out, act completely like an idiot so we lower our guard, and then BAM! Changeling swarm battering down our shields.
The very thought made Twilight's skin crawl, and she had to glance around to make sure no being was angling to intercept her. Ugh, this is really starting to drive me crazy, she thought, with a frown. If only I could just see what's going on inside Bakran's head... I wonder what he's thinking about right now?
* * * *
Boredom had set in rather easily for Bakran, and so the changeling had lied down and stared at the wall until his imagination started to kick in. Although as time passed on musings to keep him entertained slowly started to spiral into outright hallucinations. Bakran himself did not notice it much, as he grinned and stared at the wall and the shapes he saw dancing around on the floor in his mind's eye. Hehe, silly ball, you cannot into space, he thought, and then chuckled as the multicolored spheres continued their odd interactions.
* * * *
Twilight sighed as she flew aimlessly, lost in thought. Maybe I should contact the other princesses? she wondered. At the very least a changeling arriving like that indicates that Chrysalis' hive is, if not in Equestria, then at least close enough that ballistic projectiles could be lobbed at our towns and cities. This might require a complete reworking of—
“TWILIGHT!” a voice yelled in her ear, and Twilight Sparkle yelped in shock as she instinctively flapped her wings hard to veer away from whatever had interrupted her rumination. A moment later she managed to get a hold of herself and spun in mid-air to see Rainbow Dash giving her a queer look.
“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight exclaimed, as she held a hoof to her chest. “You scared the wits out of me!”
“Heh, sorry, Twi,” Dash said, with a brief grin. Then her face quickly shifted back to a mix of concern and confusion. “But I've been trying to get your attention for the last five minutes and you were just flying around like a zombie; I didn't know what else to try.”
“Oh,” Twilight said, and then blushed. “I-I'm sorry, Rainbow. I just had something crop up a little while ago and it's got me all mixed up.”
“Really?” Dash asked, surprised. “Do you need any help with it?”
Twilight smiled a bit at that. Nopony's more loyal than Dash, she thought. Doesn't even know what the problem is, but wants to help out. “I'm... not sure, actually,” Twilight hesitantly replied. “It's kind of complicated.”
“Oh,” Rainbow said, with a drop in her tone. “Well, if you need any help, you let your friends know, alright?”
A warm feeling washed over Twilight at that. “Alright,” she agreed, with a smile. “So anyway, why were you trying to get my attention?”
“Oh yeah,” Rainbow replied, and then chuckled. “Sorry. We were all waiting for you at Sugarcube Corner and you hadn't come in, so I went looking for ya.”
Initially the alacorn was confused. “Sugarcube—oh, nuts, is it that late already?” she asked, as understanding filled her, and she glanced up to check the position of the sun.
“Yeah, it's about half past noon,” Dash answered her, even as Twilight noted the time for herself. “You're usually so punctual so we were all kinda getting worried.”
Twilight blushed. “Yeah, I guess I kind of got distracted,” she replied. “I was scanning all over Ponyville because...” Her voice tailed off as a memory ran through her mind. “Oh, shoot!”
“What?” Rainbow asked, with a raised eyebrow. “Is this that problem you were talking about?”
“Yes,” Twilight answered, and then shook her head. “I need to go let him out,” she added, and then turned and began to fly towards her castle with purposeful beats of her wings.
Rainbow Dash easily caught up and held position off to Twilight's left. “Let who out?” she queried.
The alacorn's initial answer was just to sigh. “It's a bit of a story,” she explained. “Just do me a favor?” she asked, and then waited for Dash to nod. “Go back and tell the others I'll be there in a few minutes, along with a guest. I'll explain everything once we get there.”
“A guest?” Rainbow asked, and then smirked. “You talk about letting a 'him' out, and now a guest? Got a coltfriend there, Twilight?”
“WHAT!” Sparkle shouted at Rainbow, even as her wings shot out. She lost a few meters of altitude before she regained control of her body and then stabilized into a hover. She then gave Rainbow a pained look as the latter descended to meet her. “He is most certainly NOT my coltfriend!” she hotly denied.
“Whoa, whoa, okay,” Rainbow said, as she held up her forelegs in a placating manner. “I get it. Just chill out, Twi.”
Twilight took in a deep, slow breath at that. “I'm sorry,” she said, with a chagrined expression. “It's just, this morning has been troublesome and I'm not sure how to handle it. But I shouldn't have snapped at you.”
“Eh, it's nothing,” Rainbow said, with a wave of her hoof. “No biggie, Twi. Just,” she added, and then gave a friendly smile. “Maybe relax a bit before you blow a fuse or something.”
“Heh, sure,” Twilight acknowledged, with a sheepish grin. “Anyway, could you go tell our friends like I asked? I'll only be a few more minutes.”
Rainbow Dash hovered silently for a moment, and then nodded her head. “Sure thing,” she said, and then gave a casual salute. “See ya soon,” she added, and then spun around and zipped off at a rapid pace, leaving behind a fading rainbow contrail.
Twilight sighed in relief, and then turned and resumed flying to her castle. Well, I'm glad that's taken care of, she thought, and then shook her head. I can't believe I lost track of time! That's so embarrassing.
Not as embarrassing as what Dash surmised, though, part of Twilight's mind noted, and she shuddered a bit. A changeling as a coltfriend? Ugh, imagine that! she mused, disgusted at the thought. Of course, she didn't know my 'guest' is a changeling, but still, the very idea. Ugh.
Having cleared her mind of the bothersome thoughts, Twilight noted she was almost at her castle, and so banked down and angled for a gentle landing on the balcony. She accomplished this with grace and then tucked in her wings and proceeded to walk into the castle. It was a short walk to the room she had left Bakran in, and Twilight was pleased to see her shield spell remained on the door. Good, he should still be in there, Twilight figured. But then an idea entered her head: If this is some kind of trick, though, then he could be equipped for anything. He could be lying in wait for me to come back, maybe hanging from the ceiling using some kind of super gripping magic, or maybe he tunneled out by spitting up acid, she mused, and then shook her head. Who knows what kind of strange, alien physiology changelings have?
Well, you're not going to find out just sitting here, Sparkle told herself. She stifled another sigh, and then dismissed the shield spell before she pushed the door open with her telekinesis. “Bakran?” she asked, as she cautiously moved forward to poke her head into the room.
The changeling was, to her relief, just lying on the floor in the middle of the room, staring at the wall. Okay, good, no ambush. ...I think. Twilight glanced around the room at that, and then cast another detection spell for good measure, but everything she did just confirmed that Bakran was simply waiting patiently on the floor as he appeared to be. Although he is kind of quiet, Twilight though, with a frown, and then slowly walked into the room and headed for the changeling. “Bakran?” she repeated, but the male remained silent and still. Warily, the mare walked up and set a hoof on his shoulder. “Ba—”
“YOU CANNOT HAVINGS MINE CLAY!” Bakran shouted, as he recoiled from Twilight's touch. Sparkle also recoiled, as her wings snapped out and then slammed down hard in an instinctual reaction to propel her backwards through the air and land two meters away. The two then just stared at each other, their eyes open wide and breathing heavily, until Bakran finally blinked and then shook his head. “Oh, uh, sorry,” he said, with a sheepish grin.
Twilight took a moment to catch her breath, and then forced her wings to fold up. “What the hay was that?” she half asked, half demanded.
“Uhm,” Bakran replied, and then tapped a hoof to his chin as he thought for a moment. “I'm not too sure. I kinda got lost in a daydream about a bunch of poorly educated people arguing over petty cultural differences.”
A heavy silence fell over the two, as Twilight just stared incredulously at the changeling. Eventually, though, she took in another deep, calming breath, and then gave him a level look. “Anyway,” she began, and then lifted her head a bit to give herself a bit more confident air. “I'm fairly convinced that you're telling the truth, at least for now,” she explained. “Although I did detect one other changeling briefly in the market. I don't suppose you'd know why it was there?”
Bakran's expression had brightened when Twilight mentioned her belief, but then turned puzzled at the second bit of news. “Can't say that I do,” he replied, and then shrugged. “I never dealt with emotion collection, I was just a builder,” he said, and then looked to Twilight's face. He saw the confusion there, and then decided to elaborate. “A blue-collar type, yanno?”
“You mean, a construction worker?” Twilight asked, as curiosity overcame her other emotions.
“Yeah, I think that's what you call it,” Bakran agreed. Then a rumble came from his stomach, and he chuckled. “Sorry. I don't suppose I could have a sandwich? I don't have any bits, but I could like, wash your dishes or something.”
Twilight blinked owlishly at that. “So, you don't have any money?” she asked.
“You think queen butt-head would have let me keep anything once she decided to exile me?” Bakran countered. “The soldiers took my coin purse when they arrested me, and probably went right to my bank to seize my account,” he explained, and then sighed. “I wouldn't be surprised if they spent my life's savings on beer and hookers by now.”
A feeling of sympathy washed over Twilight at that, but before she could say anything Bakaran blinked, and then smiled at her. “Aw, thanks,” he said.
Twilight blinked in surprised, and then blushed. Right, emotivore, can sense emotions, she thought and then steadied herself. “You're welcome,” she said, sincerely. Then a thought struck her, and she paused to think for a moment before she spoke again. “And what you said gives me an idea.”
Bakran tilted his head quizzically at her. “Oh?”
“Yes,” Twilight said, with a nod. “I was thinking while I was out on how little we know about changelings, and what to do if it looked like you were telling the truth. Now you you tell me you don't have any money, and I think I have a solution for the both of us,” she continued, and then took a moment to collect her breath. “An... employment of sorts; you can tell me everything you can about your race, your hive, your culture, and I'll see about giving you some room and board, at least until you can get back on your hooves.”
“Really?” Bakran asked, with wide eyes. When Twilight nodded, he hopped into the air and then landed on his hooves. “Wow, thanks!” he said, and then started to shift about in an impromptu dance. “Barely out of the hive and I've already got another job!”
Twilight raised an eyebrow at that. “So, the idea of betraying your race is that easy for you?” she asked, incredulous.
Bakran halted his movements at that, and then turned to give the alacorn a confused look. “Betray? How do you figure that?” he asked.
“Well, I'm asking you to tell me all of your race's secrets,” Twilight elaborated. She was then taken aback as Bakran suddenly chortled. “Whaaaat?” she asked, dragging the one-word question out in exasperation.
“You think we all have some kind of great, big secret!” Bakran replied, in between guffaws. “Princess, if an entire race knows something, then it isn't a secret,” he explained, and then paused to wipe a tear from one of his eyes. “And most changelings I know are all blabbermouths and gossips; couldn't keep a secret to save their lives. Heck, that's why the Ministry of External Affairs has such hard tests before they issue an emotion-collecting license.”
Twilight blinked at this new information. “You... there's a ministry?” she asked, befuddled. “Licensing?”
“Well, yeah,” Bakran replied, as he became confused in echo of Twilight's consternation. “I mean, how else is the government going to keep centralized control over the economy if they don't regulate everything?”
“Bwuh?” Twilight uttered. Then some clarity returned, and she shook her head to help sort her thoughts. “I don't think economies work that way,” she countered.
“Not very well, no,” Bakran admitted, with a shrug. “But centralized economies work well enough to get by, and since queen butt-face is more concerned with control rather than the comfort or livelihoods of the common changeling, she doesn't care to change it.” He paused, and then chuckled again. “Heh, imagine that, a changeling that doesn't like change.”
A moment of silence passed between the two beings as Twilight Sparkle could only stare at the changeling, her face twisted in utter bewilderment. Bakran just waited patiently and peered at her face. “You know, you don't look as scary as the propaganda ministry makes you out to be,” he observed. “I mean, we all figured Chrysalis was full of crap so no one really believed the stories, but I always thought you would be at least a little bit frightening.”
That broke Twilight out of her brain-lock, and she blushed as she shook her head again. “Me, frightening?” she asked, shocked. “You thought that I would be frightening?”
“Well, a little,” Bakran replied, with another shrug. “I mean, you are an alacorn princess, and supposedly like the living embodiment of magic. That's kinda scary to us mere mortals.”
Another moment of silence. “I...” Twilight began, and then sighed. “I honestly don't know how to respond to that,” she admitted.
Bakran frowned slightly as he felt the mare's emotional turmoil. “Well, if it helps any, you're not actually scary,” he offered.
“So you've noted,” Twilight replied, and then thought for a moment. “So, you've got a prop—” she began, but then halted as this time her own stomach rumbled. “Heh,” she chuckled, with a sheepish grin. “Maybe we should actually get lunch before I ask any more questions.”
“Sounds like a great idea,” Bakran agreed, with a quick nod. “So, uh, that means me, too, right?” he asked, suddenly unsure, and with a tilt of his head.
Twilight couldn't help but chuckle a bit at Bakran's sudden hesitation. Heh, yanno, despite being a bug he's kinda cute when he does that, she thought. Then she realized what she had 'said' in her internal monologue and froze in horror. No not like that! Like a pet! she wildly thought, and then blanched at the new mental image that came from that. Oh ew ew ew EW EW! That's so wrong! she thought, and then violently shook herself. Dammit, Rainbow Dash!
“Uh, are you alright?” Bakran asked, with a concerned look. “You're kind of acting weird and your emotions are all over the place.”
“Fine!” Twilight replied, and then took a moment to calm herself down. “I'm fine, thank you,” she replied, and then put on a polite smile. “I'm... hungry, that's all,” she elaborated and then gestured with her head. “We should probably get going to Sugarcube Corner,” she added, and then turned and started walking down the hall.
Bakran quickly moved up to join the mare, and soon was holding pace to her left. “Sugarcube Corner?” he echoed. “That's like, a place in town, right?”
“Right,” Twilight replied, with a nod. “Why do you... ask...” she trailed off, and then stopped; both physically and mentally. Then she face-hoofed. “Which means you can't go out like that,” she said, and then gestured with said hoof towards Bakran. Just as she did, though, a new thought entered her head, and she blinked. “Wait, but you're a changeling, so you can just assume a pony's shape.”
“Oh, yeah!” Bakran replied, as his expression brightened. “I forgot!”
Twilight felt the twitch from earlier return. “You... forgot?” she asked, and then waited as Bakran sheepishly grinned and nodded. “How do you forget an inherent ability your own species possesses?”
“Lack of use?” Bakran offered, his voice rising in a half-question. “We kind of don't need to use it inside the hive, and like I said only specialists get to go out, so most of us aren't really practiced in shapeshifting,” he explained.
“It's not an instinctual ability?” Twilight asked, with a frown.
“It kinda is,” Bakran replied, with another shrug. “But it takes practice to do it really well, and most of us don't get that. Because of that most of us would just look wrong or creepy to real ponies, and then we'd get found out really easy. Otherwise we all would have shapeshifted and gone into Canterlot with queen Chrysalis and been inside the shield instead of waiting outside and then pounding on it.”
Twilight processed that information. “Oh, yeah, I guess that makes sense,” she observed. Then she blinked again, hard, and then spitted Bakran with a suspicious look. “Wait, you were part of the invasion?” she asked. “I thought you said you weren't a soldier.”
Bakran took a step back at her look and sudden shift in emotion. “I'm not,” he insisted, and then squared his shoulders. “But just before the invasion all the soldiers went roaring through the hive and conscripted a whole bunch of us to fill out the ranks or something like that. Told us 'just look intimidating to the pony civilians, we'll handle the guards'.”
“And you just went along with it?” Twilight asked, with a dubious frown.
Bakran mirrored the alacorn's expression almost perfectly. “I don't know what ponies consider 'conscription',” he began, finally sounding a bit irritated. “But where I'm from that means 'come with us or we'll jab a spear in your gut.' And then they make sure to have enough soldiers with each group of conscripts so that if anyone tried to run once we were outside the hive they'd get a spear in the gut anyway for their troubles.”
The princess unconsciously took a step back as her mind struggled to process the ideas given to her. “Really?” Twilight asked, shocked. “They forced you to fight?”
“Well, yes,” Bakran replied, somewhat bewildered. “You're surprised,” he stated, somewhat incredulously, with another tilt of his head. “Don't you know that's basically how conscription works?”
“Er, no,” Twilight admitted, and then nervously rubbed one of her forelegs with the other. “I mean, I've read it in some very old texts and I know the meaning, but I... I guess I never thought about it,” she added, and then sighed. “That's just horrible.”
Bakran nodded, and then shrugged. “Yeah, well, it is what it is,” he stated, and then lifted a hoof to rub his belly. “Speaking of which, could we get something to eat, now?”
“Oh,” Twilight said, and then nodded. “Of course, we should go,” she added, and then started to move off, but then halted herself again. “But we still have the problem of your appearance,” Twilight reitereated, as she looked over to Bakran. “So can you change into a pony shape or not?”
The changeling fell quiet for a moment and looked pensive. Then his expression switched to one of concentration and he stuck his tongue out of the side of his muzzle as he seemed to strain against some invisible force. A second later green flame washed over Bakran, and when it dissipated a copy of Twilight Sparkle was sitting in his place. “How's this?” it asked, in a copy of the alacorn's voice.
Twilight herself could only stare in a mix of amazement and bemusement. “Uh, well,” she began, and then started to pace around the changeling. “It's... it's me,” she stated, as she inspected her new doppelganger. “And it's a fairly accurate representation of me, I think. But I don't think that having a second Twilight Sparkle is going to be inconspicuous.”
Bakran blinked, and then blushed and awkwardly grinned. “Hehe, sorry,” he said, and then concentrated for another moment before green fire washed over his body again to return him to his natural state. “I told you I'm not very good at this,” he said, with a shrug.
“I thought that meant you'd make errors in appearance that would put you firmly into the Uncanny Valley,” Twilight lightly retorted.
“Well, yeah, if I tried just making some pony out of whole-cloth,” Bakran replied. “That takes practice to get right. But the whole ingrained part of the skill is just to copy what we see.”
“So basically, you can change, but only into a pony that already exists?” Twilight asked, and then groaned when Bakran nodded. “This is troublesome,” she added, and then let her gaze drift off to the side as she delved deep into her thoughts.
Bakran gave her a moment, and then walked over to nudge her shoulder with a hoof. “Yanno, aren't you an actual princess?” he asked, once he garnered the alacorn's attention. “Couldn't you just, I dunno, walk me through town and just tell ponies it's all under control, nothing to see here, move along?”
Twilight gave an incredulous look in return. “Are you suggesting that I just parade an undisguised changeling through Ponyville?” she asked, in a tone that matched her expression. “The ponies here panicked when a nest of rabbits ran through town; I don't think they'll take kindly to seeing you just march around.”
“Hmm,” Bakran hummed, as he sat on his haunches and then rubbed a hoof along his chin. “You have a good point. Also a salient argument, as well.”
Twilight blinked as the words were sorted in her mind. “Wait, did you just make a joke about my—?”
“But,” Bakran interrupted, as he continued to speak. “Ponyville is somewhat of a minor legend for its insanity, even in the hive. And that comes from the collectors telling stories, not from the propaganda goons, so I tend to believe those a bit. Shouldn't this place be used to the weird and unusual by now?”
A moment of silence and a hard stare met his question, and Bakran shrunk in on himself a bit. Twilight finally relented in her visual onslaught, and then sighed. “You have a p—a salient argument,” she said, with a rueful look as she corrected herself. “Which only raises more questions, especially on how you know these stories when you claim you don't deal with emotion collection, as you called it.”
Bakran shrugged at that, as he ignored the rising suspicion. “Okay, so maybe I did leave out the fact that I'm a kind-of friend with one of the collectors,” he said, evenly. “She's a fellow drinker, and she always comes in to the bar we frequent for a binge whenever she gets back from one of her runs.” He paused, and then seemed to think for a moment. “Never really tells me where she goes, but she's always muttering about how ponies in general, and unicorns in specific are all crazy.”
“And you didn't think this was pertinent information to tell me before?” Twilight pressed.
“No, not really,” Bakran replied. “I mean, you kind of want to pay for my room and board while pumping me for information. Wouldn't it be in my best interests to not dump everything at once, thus removing your incentive to 'employ' me, as it were?”
Twilight opened her muzzle to reply, but then had to close it when Bakran's words fully registered. She then took in a breath and let it out in a huff. “Okay, fair point,” she allowed.
“Plus, I told you I don't know how emotion-collecting works, out in the field,” Bakran continued. “Which is true; all Sweets told me is stories about ponydom, nothing about how she operates.”
Once again the pair fell into silence as Twilight absorbed and considered her visitor's words. Finally, she sighed. “Alright, this whole random question and answer session isn't getting us anywhere,” she said, slowly. “Let's just go to Sugarcube Corner and get some lunch before my brain hemorrhages,” she added, and then turned and started to walk off.
Bakran joined her again, though he gave her another questioning look. “Is that what happens when ponies get hungry?” he asked.
“No, just when we're bombarded with insanity,” Twilight sardonically replied.
“Ah,” Bakran acknowledged. “So, about my appearance?”
“Screw it,” Twilight answered. “Your friend's right, Ponyville's had plenty of weirdness lately; if you upset anypony, then they haven't lived here long.” And I find myself entirely out of concern for the moment, she thought. I just hope that my trust in Ponyville's resilience is not misplaced.
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Thanks for the update!
Well, I was going to make a joke about shipping after seeing Rainbow's comment, but then you went on about it so now it is just a matter of time until those two wind up in bed together. Really the only lingering question there at this point is if anyone else will get involved because that is a distinct possibility given the nature of this story.
Also, it looks like we are definitely going to be seeing a fair amount of Lyra in the future because I am getting the distinct impression that Bon Bon is his collector friend which should have some amusing consequences.
Well, that is all until the riot that should ensue next time because Twilight clearly does not care enough to prevent it at this point.
Edit: Also, doesn't the Iowa completely outclass the Cleveland?
I would change "Yanno" to something different, they don't show this kind of slang and its looks strange especially when Twilight said it
6053427
No problamo
6053430
Dat name, though.
6053718
"Don't give him any ideas!"
"Help! I'm stuck in a universe factory!" *SLAM*
Pay no attention to the pony behind the curtain.
Bonbon... well, I just want to write a version of her that's jaded and very, very angry. I'm pretty sure I gleaned that from someone else, but to me that just seems likes the perfect counter-balance to my kind of Lyra. I suppose I could put spoiler tags here, but honestly I did telegraph it a bit.
Also Cleveland is outclassed by the Iowa, but I don't have an Iowa yet. ;p Only up to the Colorado so far.
6054351
Hm, I could have sworn I saw her say something like that in the series. But I don't remember specifically, so you could be right. I'll think about it.
6054761 Heh, I am always happy to encourage your insanity. It amuses the hell out of me.
As for Bon Bon, I am not sure where you got that specific version, but she is usually a more stable counterbalance to Lyra's wackiness one way or another. I cannot say that I recall seeing her be especially angry like that anywhere which could make it an interesting bit of variety, but jaded is a perfectly reasonable way of stabilizing her so I see no reason it wouldn't work. I guess we'll see what she is like soon enough one way or another because there is no way she will fail to recognize her friend(?) and there are decent odds he has seen her disguise so he may recognize her as well. We will also get to see if Lyra knows Bon Bon is a changeling or not because I can see lots of interesting and amusing possibilities for both options so I have no idea what you are going to go with on this one.
Ah, that makes sense with the ships. The Iowa-class battleships were the greatest surface combatants ever built so it makes sense that the developers would hold them off until the very end.
6056501
Just about. The current American tech tree has the Iowa at tier IX, with the Montana at the top at tier X. Which makes it a counterbalance to the Japanese tier X BB, the mighty Yamato. But that's Wargaming for you; always making strange decisions without rhyme or reason. ;p It be part of the beast, 'tis all.
I guess angry Bonbon mostly comes from my ideas for her in The Aegis, where she's irritated at that version of Lyra for a variety of reasons. Sort of Odd Couple, but less messy/orderly dynamic and more:
"Hi, Bonbon!"
"Hello, space ape."
"Hugs?"
"You touch me and you die! Wait, what're you—stop! Stop touching meeeeeee!"
"Aw, you're all big and floofy."
"I AM NOT FLOOFY!"
Which would work there given the whole "ordered to work together" angle. Now if only I could concentrate on writing at all instead of opening a text file, staring at it, and feeling entirely inadequate to the task and that everything I do is utterly pointless, I could actually get some things done.
6056660 Well, that is rather strange given the fact that the Iowas would have beaten the stuffing out of the Yamatos in a gun duel. Between the speed difference, shitty Japanese armor, superior American shells, and a fire control system good enough to remain in service well into the Cold War, an Iowa would almost certainly have trashed a Yamato in a head on fight. That is of course neglecting the fact that the faster Iowas were vastly superior for fleet actions because they could keep up with smaller ships and especially aircraft carriers, something that made the Iowas better ships overall than the proposed Montanas which is why the Montana-class was never built.
For the second part, that is making me want to see more of The Aegis so I can them interact for real there. That said, I am not really seeing how you could get that kind of dynamic going here, although the nature of this story is such that you do not really need to worry about it all that much. Still, it might not be a bad idea to write her a bit differently here to experiment or at least get a bit of variety so you can always mess around with it if you want to.
For your last point, I think it might not be a bad idea to do a bit of writing for And So? to get past the writers block. While this story is a bit loose, that one is a total stress relief valve for you so you can go be inadequate over there without worry because the whole story is stupid and pointless fun so adding pointless words to it is just fine.
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Well it is more of an arcade-y style game than a strict historical simulator. Most of the ships are balanced for gameplay purposes. That said, they do try to adhere to reality whenever possible, and honestly the Iowas are pretty damn OP from what I've seen. The Montanas in game trade some speed for more armor and guns, which I think was their whole deal, anyway. And they were cancelled mainly because it became clear as the war went on that the era of the battleship was over and aircraft carriers were the order of the day and resources that could have gone into the Montanas were instead diverted to carrier production. But mainly WoWS is a game first and historical second, so you take everything there with a grain of salt and remember it's all for fun.
I do plan on writing this Bonbon differently, although I do want her to be a little disgruntled. Mainly just annoyed with Lyra and her beau and resenting the fact that they're her biggest source of "product" and so she has to put up with Lyra's shenanigans.
And never mention that story! Someone the other day just added it to their favorites. Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy? MY HEAD A SPLODE! Won't somebody please think of the ponies? *headdesk* Don't make me call upon the Hammer of the Emperor!
6058527 That makes sense and you are about right on the design of the Montanas, although that is not quite right for why they were canceled. The Navy ultimately was at a bottleneck of drydock space because they only had a handful of slips large enough to build the Iowas, Essexs, and Montanas which they decided were best used to produce a mix of Iowas and Essexs because the Iowas were fast enough to keep up with and protect the carriers. This is clearly demonstrated by the fact that the last two Iowas were laid down after the Montana-class had been fully canceled and it was clear that the aircraft carrier was the primary weapon of naval warfare because the Iowas were still very effective as carrier escorts and shore bombardment ships, although they were never actually completed.
For the second, that can definitely work, although I feel like she would have to be at least a little bit attached to Lyra to be effective at her job.
For the last one, we all know that. Honestly, we just enjoy your insanity enough to watch where it goes when you do not even try to control it. Besides, the fact that it is terrible means you can write for it when you are feeling like shit as a way to keep yourself writing even though you know the quality will not be where you like it. It might help if you try to think of it as a tool to keep yourself in shape through your bad days rather than an actual story. You just happen to throw it up here for anyone who wants to read your ramblings when you are done so fimfic calls it a story.
Soooo..... How's the writing going?
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I was just on a vacation, give me some time to ramp up.
Consider this story tracked!
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Please write more! I'm hooked!!!!!
Well, I see we're treading into Bon Bon is a Changeling territory. I can't remember if Slice of Life showed before or after this episode, but I'm constantly amused by the idea of Secret Agent Sweetie Drops who's also a Changeling.
Rainbow Dash has the right idea. This fandom for some reason is like 90% on the side of 'Changelings would make good love bugs' and we love it.