What Would It Mean If...
"Would it matter if somepony had... I mean... if somepony was... if her family... something shameful?"
"Oh, Fluttershy!" Twilight reached out and gathered her into a hug. She should've known that Fluttershy would have taken this the hardest of them all (except for Cadance, of course, but she had left yesterday with Shining Armor on their honeymoon up north.) Fluttershy's eyes were wider than she'd ever seen them before, and her wings pressed firmly to her sides. "Come in - Spike's gone down to the mines for some gems; we aren't leaving till tomorrow; we can just sit today." (Or you can help the Princesses, like you said you would,) an annoying voice reminded her.)
Fluttershy sank down on the floor of Twilight's room, looking as exhausted as if she'd flown all the way to Ponyville and back. For a minute, they hugged in silence, but then Fluttershy whispered again, "Would it matter?"
"No," Twilight said. "It doesn't matter what your family was, what you were or what happened to you. Or anypony else. You're our friend now. It doesn't matter if your father was Discord himself." She could feel Fluttershy beginning to slowly relax, and added with a grin, "I guess if you were Discord's foal, it would sort of matter, since it would tell us a lot about him -"
Fluttershy instantly tensed up again.
Twilight tried to catch the pegusus's eyes, but she was staring at the floor. "What's going on? What is it?"
"Would it matter if... somepony was... Would we still be friends if... if I was a... Changeling?"
Changeling! Twilight reflexively scooted away, and a moment later, realized how Fluttershy would take the reflex.
Fluttershy looked up at Twilight, tears starting to fill her large eyes.
"Are you a Changeling?" Twilight asked calmly.
"I - I mean, what if?"
Twilight nervously pawed the floor; she couldn't answer this without giving it an actual answer. "You definitely haven't cast a spell on me or anything. But then, we've just seen the Changelings defeat Princess Celestia herself and try to enslave us all, so..."
"Queen Chrysalis did it. I mean, not all Changelings." Fluttershy didn't look up.
"All the Changelings we've seen."
"And - and before Spike came, I mean before you and Spike came to Ponyville, I'd only seen big scary dragons. But Spike's not big and scary; if I'd run from him, I'd have missed being friends with a little cute dragon, and... and that'd not be kind."
She was right. Logically right. But... "But we know that there's such a thing as a baby dragon. We don't know there's such a thing as a good Changeling."
"Eep." Fluttershy hid her face in her hooves. But she whispered, "Wouldn't it be kind to guess? To think there might be? Rather than... there could be hundreds, thousands of them... brand them all as 'Not Friends'?"
"But... But that's like trying to be kind to Red Haze when he's about to set you on fire."
Fluttershy didn't move. "There're good dragons. And good yaks. And... why can't there be good changelings?"
"Fluttershy, we don't know anything. I was up half the night with the Princesses -"
"I overheard you."
"- and then talking with Luna in my dreams the rest of the night, and they don't know anything! Is there one swarm of changelings? Are there others? Are they living in the Badlands and murdering every foal who shows the least Harmony so the only ones who survive are the evil ones?"
"That's horrible!"
"It would be - but we don't know. Princess Luna posed it with deathly seriousness, and I didn't ask where she got it from, but I'm sure she has her reasons. Or are they one unified mind so the Queen controls every changeling like a hoof-puppet? Or are they perfectly natural creatures - except they live on the other side of the world and the only changelings we'll ever see here are the invasion party? And where did they come from? Were they a lost ancient tribe of ponies? Did Discord make them two thousand years ago? We don't know! We've never heard of them anywhere in history or even in myths or legends! We're seriously considering whether Discord made them just last year, because we just don't know anything!"
Twilight paused to catch her breath. She shouldn't be shouting at Fluttershy, not even now. Twilight looked at her, and saw her eyes... her big, tear-filled, calming eyes... but that suddenly sent her nerves to high alert. Chrysalis had "calmed" Shining Armor.
"Twilight -" Fluttershy put her hoof out toward her, but Twilight stepped back. She wouldn't get caught this time.
"So if you are a changeling - if anypony's a changeling - if you're our friend - if they're our friend - you should come out and help us! Tell us what changelings are; tell us what you know about Chrysalis, and any other swarms, and - and - be a friend! Or be thrown out with Chrysalis!"
"But... but I've been your friend! Do I need to - to prove -"
"Or are you a changeling who stole away my friend?" Twilight stepped back again, horn lowered.
Suddenly, there was a crash of breaking glass behind Twilight. She whirled about - and saw Rainbow Dash diving to a quick stop between her and Fluttershy.
"Hey, what's up? Why're you glaring at her like this?" Rainbow put her wing over Fluttershy; Fluttershy instantly cuddled up to her almost as if... as if she was drinking in Rainbow's love.
"She came to me talking about changelings, and saying it wouldn't matter if she were a changeling," Twilight said. She took a deep breath.
"And it wouldn't, right? She's still Fluttershy."
"But we don't know anything about changelings! For all we know they're magically-bound to follow their queen and steal away love and -" Twilight drummed her hooves in frustration. "Or you could've told us before all this!"
"She's telling you now."
"But she's not!" Twilight glared at Fluttershy, now almost vanished under Rainbow's wing. "If you are Fluttershy and not a changeling who replaced her last night, and that's why you're suddenly calming me with your gaze now!"
Rainbow put her head in the way of Twilight's stare. "She's been doing that all along, Twi. You know the Stare she uses on all her animals."
Twilight sank down, burying her head in her forelegs. "The animals she surrounds herself with, who all love her."
"Um, yeah?"
"Maybe. But I need to know." She sighed. "To know why my friend's suddenly so weird two days after we encounter shapeshifting bugs who can replace your friends."
There was a long pause. Rainbow shifted uneasily. Twilight stared at the two pegasi.
Finally, Fluttershy's voice whispered from behind Rainbow. "And the other friendly changelings?"
"If we know there can be friendly changelings? Who don't steal ponies' love and hide starving ponies in grim dark caverns?" She threw up her hooves.
"There're friendly dragons." A whisp of pink hair poked out from behind Rainbow. "And friendly griffins and bears and sea serpents."
"But are there friendly changelings?" She pointedly stood to her hooves. "Fluttershy?"
A squeak answered her, and a somewhat-larger whisp of pink hair.
"Fluttershy, I'm sorry. You're my friend - if you are the real Fluttershy, and even if you're not, you've been more friendly than any other changeling I've seen. But we can't just ignore this. I need to know - Equestria needs to know - the Princesses need to know - what's going on with changelings."
A corner of Fluttershy's ear poked out from behind Rainbow's mane. "I didn't mean for this to all be about me. I was trying to just talk about somepony else..."
Twilight swallowed, and she suddenly wished somepony like Rarity or even Applejack was here to say it better. "I'm not Applejack, but it was pretty clear to me you were talking about yourself."
"Yeah, Fluttershy," Rainbow Dash interjected. "You're obviously going through something, and it wasn't just being kind to some other changelings somewhere else. What's up?"
There was another long pause. Rainbow shifted uncomfortably. Twilight swallowed, and she suddenly wished someone like Rarity or even Applejack had been here to say it better.
A flash of green light came from behind Rainbow. Twilight held her breath, as a black form emerged from behind the pegasus, sending all her senses on high alert... but she made herself stand still. This was Fluttershy. Or it might be.
She had fewer holes in her legs than the other changelings. The holes she did have were arranged in something close to a line, reminding Twilight of a flute. Her wings were more insectoid now, and translucent, and as pink as her mane had been. And her face was greenish-black, with large fangs in her mouth, but her grey mane curled around just like before.
Both Twilight and Rainbow Dash stared.
Fluttershy the changeling shrank back. "Can... can I change back now?"
Rainbow swept her wing over Fluttershy. "I really wasn't expecting that. But we're friends."
Fluttershy smiled. One could almost forget the fangs hanging out of her mouth. "Thank you. But I really don't like to be like this."
Twilight swallowed and nodded. "Of course."
Half a minute later, a butter-yellow pegasus was crouching under Rainbow's wing.
"So is this it?" Rainbow challenged. "Or what's next? A full family history?" She craned her neck back to look at Fluttershy. "Actually, what is your family like? I never met them."
Twilight swallowed again, but her mouth was still dry. "Actually... we need to figure out whether this's really Fluttershy or a changeling impersonating her."
"Simple," Rainbow said with a grin. "What was the first song they made us all sing together at Flight Camp?"
Fluttershy gave a small smile. "'A Very Minty Cloudsdale.' Wasn't that fun?"
"Far too childish!"
Twilight shook her head. "Any number of ponies could know that."
"The place the two of us flew to by ourselves, on our first day off?"
"Surprise Pancakes." Fluttershy smiled. "A little too loud for me, but I could feel everyone there loved it."
Twilight shook her head again. "You could've been watched. We need something still more sure."
"Oh all right!" Rainbow spread her wings. "Let's just get the Elements of Harmony and have 'em blast the meanness out of her already! Will that shut you up?"
"Actually, that's a great idea! Fluttershy's the Element of Kindness, so if we can use the Elements, this has to be the real Fluttershy!"
"So let's get this straight," said Applejack, the Element of Honesty around her neck. "That Chrysalis didn't even give us time to try the Elements, but you still want to test them now just to make sure she didn't somehow damage them."
"Uh... sort of?" Twilight weakly smiled. "I'll tell you afterwards?"
"Darling," Rarity said with a smile, "we've already apologized a dozen times for doubting you. If you want to be sure our friendship wasn't ruined, there're better ways of doing it."
"Just let her get on with this!" Rainbow Dash raised up Loyalty in her hoofs to catch the sun shining in the skylight. "It's something else, and she'll tell you afterwards, or else I will!"
Fluttershy cringed again.
A few minutes later, they were all standing in a circle. Twilight breathed in, then out, and lit her horn. This would be the moment of truth. The Elements would catch, and she would know once and for all that Fluttershy had been a Changeling all along and hadn't told any of them, and she would take her to the Princesses, and they would know what Changelings were...
... and nothing happened. The Element around Twilight's neck didn't even flash.
"Somethin's confuzzled." Applejack brushed her hoof down Honesty. "Feels the same."
"Ooh!" Pinkie bounced up. "Maybe these aren't the Elements at all! Maybe they're Changelings pretending to be the Elements until we're not suspecting anything and then they'll grab us around the necks and stuff us in cocoons!"
Could changelings do that? Twilight glanced at Fluttershy.
Rarity looked a little green at that. "Pinkie, are you sure that's..."
"True? Of course not! That's Applejack's job!"
Twilight shook her head, but her thoughts didn't clear. If the Elements hadn't ignited, that meant they, the Bearers, weren't all friends. So this wasn't the real Fluttershy. So she needed to expose the changeling right now. But was she sure? When this changeling was acting so much like the real Fluttershy? Was there any other explanation? Was there anyone else who could've been impersonated?
"Sugarcube?" Applejack walked over. "Is there somethin' you want to tell us?"
Twilight shook her head. "You're my friend, Applejack. You're not the problem."
In a flash of rainbow, Rainbow Dash was glaring into Twilight's face. "Yeah. Who was the one who was demanding tests from her friends just this morning?
Twilight's head sank. "Excuse me. I need to talk to Fluttershy."
Fluttershy wouldn't move. After a minute, the other four ponies cleared out instead. Rainbow Dash shot a glare after Twilight as she left.
"Fluttershy?" Twilight said.
Fluttershy didn't move.
"I'm sorry."
Fluttershy looked up, her eyes wide.
"I'm sorry I'm upset at you. You weren't hiding anything. There's no reason for you to have told us you were a Changeling before now. And you did tell me, now."
"It was so hard," Fluttershy whispered. "They were all so mean in the Hive... they were ordering us hatchlings around every moment of the day, and threatening us if we ever stepped out of line... As soon as I ran away, I didn't want to think of it ever again."
Twilight hugged Fluttershy. She could almost feel - or, at least, she thought she felt - a bit of love flowing out of her. But she didn't mind. "Of course. Could... could you tell the Princesses? Or do you mind if I tell them?"
After a moment, Fluttershy nodded. "Yes, if it'd help any other changelings."
"Thank you. And I'll be sure no one knows it was you who told us." She paused. "Do you forgive me?"
"Of course." The pegasus smiled a fangless smile. "That's what friends are for."
"I guess we don't need to try the Elements again?" Twilight said after a moment. "You're clearly Fluttershy; we could just tell everyone -"
"Excuse me? I think a rainbow of friendship would taste wonderful right now."
Twilight smiled. "Of course."
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This is a new take on 'Would It Matter If I Was?' It's a good take though
I personally do believe Fluttershy is changeling so this is just great fanfic about what I believe!
6477348
I've read a couple of good fics (well, there is at least one I distinctly remember) that cast Fluttershy as a changeling.
She makes the best mane 6 changeling, and not simply for 'her kindness' (her need to be loved).
Until proven otherwise, headcanon states that Fluttershy is a changeling
In this fic, I'm also very glad that Rainbow is cool with her oldest friend being a changeling.
Me luv this
No words, no long explanation, just...
Yes.
oh heavens not another one
Again, I'm, vaastly more inclined to side with this interpretation that the original.
Cosmically, in a friendship sense, no, it does not matter what species (etc) your friends are.
But the timing of the incident in question means that it is NOT just a friendship acceptance sense. More is at stake than just whether or not people accept a revelation.
It's in a "ponies lives may be in danger" and "security of the nation" sense - especially, as this story points out, if the ponies know NOTHING about Changelings aside from what was in A Canterlot Wedding. (In canon, in fact, we still don't; the only indication was the shot of a lone drone in Slice of Life, which still tells us very little.) Heck, FLUTTERSHY's life might be at stake, in an absense of other information.
When this sort of thing is at stake, when dealing with an unknown species or something with unknown capabiities - doubly so even it involves spacehsifitng an impersonation and mind-control - it's no longer strictly just an allegory for racism or coming out or whatever; it's bigger than internal species social issues. This doesn't mean you overreact or something - but in this sort of situation, you do have to start asking questions, starting with the ones that involve people's safety. Because there is PRECIOUS little in the universe more dangerous than ignorance or worse, mis- or incomplete information.
Completely offtopic, but the cover image made me think of this:
i.imgur.com/IJEIsld.jpg
On-topic: Shouldn't this have the Changeling tag?
On first view I really didn't think there needed to be yet another of these bloody things, but this is really well done so bravo for doing such a good job to win me over.
6479000 Thanks for giving the story a chance, and I'm glad you ended up liking it!
6477348 6477574 Yes, I've seen Fluttershy-as-changeling done really well a number of times before this rush of popular stories. She probably fits it the best of the Mane Six: mysterious backstory, no known family, stare of mental magic, reaches out for everypony's love... I wouldn't say my default view of her is a changeling, but let's put it this way: If she ends up a changeling on the show, I wouldn't say they've ruined anything at all.
6478982 I got the cover image from /r/MyLittlePony, and I wouldn't be surprised if the meme did the same thing...
And no changeling tag because it's not just any anonymous changeling. It's Fluttershy.
Oh my god, another one? Is this going to have to be made into a group? And when is someone going to do the scene when the Princesses are told? Or even a full story? This one-shot crap is getting old.
Also, just because it irks me that it wasn't approved and is thus hard to find, Yes, It Matters.
Seriously can't believe Eru linked their story on RC's comment section, but didn't have the courtesy to return the favor in their author note or something. What is this world coming to?
Okay. I was following along until the Elements of Harmony test. I don't understand why when Twilight told Applejack they were friends, Rainbow Dash got all in Twilight's face?
6479533 Rainbow Dash was reacting to Twilight's "You're not the problem," pointing out that Twilight herself wasn't acting like a friend earlier.
6479473 I did link Reality Check's story in the description, the "and others." But, you've got a good point that it should be clearer. I just added a link to the Author's Notes.
And... hey, there should be a group! Something like "Fluttershy Reveals She's A Changeling"?
I think the worst part about all those copycat stories is that none of them have the slightest bit of subtlety. They're all sledgehammers of propaganda and soapboxing one way or another. You're not telling a story, you're not inspiring thought, you're just making a statement - and nobody really cares about it or wants to hear it all that much.
6479473
Trust me, there's nobody else it irks, because we all already know what it would have been about and really can do without. If there's one guy who probably has a shrine to McCarthy in his bedroom, it's that one.
6479919 I hope I'm telling a story, at least at the end. And it seems to me the stories in the hypothetical "Fluttershy Confesses To Being A Changeling Group" are inspiring thought at least in dialogue with each other. Otherwise - if being original is better in and of itself - why are we writing fanfiction at all?
6479945
I'm absolutely not here to hear moral sermons to the effect that you really shouldn't color a whole group with the same brush for the actions of a few. I'm not an idiot child and I don't need to be either taught or have any debate about that anymore, because I already know. Neither do I need or want to read the spiteful, hate-infused rantings of any bigots who very much do think you should color everyone with the same brush, because the only person they care about is them or anyone exactly like them, and the rest of the world can go to hell for all they care.
I'm here for entertainment, not debate or politics, and under the bottom line, both kinds of fic that end up being more statement than story fail at doing what they were really supposed to be there for, no matter how inspired the author might have happened to feel by the topic.
6479919
Yes, that guy is a real piece of work, and the first few paragraphs of that fic were blatent insults to GaP, but the ending was cool and I was interested to see what would happen with Flutterling after that... as is the case of this one as well. Seriously, someone get on that.
I'd write it myself, but it would kind of defeat the motive behind the act.
6479987
Now there is something that would make it an actual inspired follow-up worth reading, but when all a fic is really there for is to get your message out, I guess that kind of thing falls by the wayside a bit.
6479962 Yes, I have to agree with that. A story should be a story, first and foremost, even if it's telling a message. And perhaps, especially if it's trying to tell a message too - Uncle Tom's Cabin succeeded so amazingly because it was such a good story.
This's probably the most message-central piece I've written in the last five years. I was trying to make it more story-focused than GaPJaxie's original, and I hope you weren't too disappointed in it, at least.
6480000
I don't see any fault with it in technical terms, but as a work that really can stand on its own, it's kind of too insubstantial. I won't say it's bad, but I couldn't really recommend it to anyone as worth reading on its own terms, either. Sorry to have to put it like that, but I'm afraid that's really the only way I can say it.
6479987 6479998 That'd definitely be a followup, yes... Unfortunately, I don't have any inspiration in that direction at the moment. If you want to make the effort, though, take a look at Jordan179's extensive and fragmentary fanon chronology, where Fluttershy is a half-Changeling who was thrown out by her insane pegasus mother's kin. Unfortunately, it's mostly sitting in blog posts at the moment.
6480015
It's funny you bring that one up, because I talked to jordan179 just a while ago about how confusing and impossible to follow I find his stories, exactly because of how involved and voluminous everyone's backstories are. It all looks interesting enough, but I'm not sure I'll ever get through that.
I think I like this one better. Corrections offered without malice.
every
cuddled
as if she were. Subjunctive mood. I'll forgive Fluttershy not using it, but Twilight thinking?
if she were
No. "Would you mind?" And she wants to help? No, she would not mind.
6479919
But neither did the original, to be fair.
6480488
Maybe, but at least it did so on its own terms, not as an imitation.
We're going to need an entire group just for the stories "inspired by" GaPJaxie's (and Reality Check's) stories.
6480227
Both misspellings fixed; thanks. Also changed "Do you mind" to "Would you."
Says Wikipedia, "The subjunctive mood is also used for statements that are contrary to fact." That's what I was going for there - Twilight isn't using the subjunctive in the narration because she's almost convinced it isn't contrary to fact. Still, she might not say it aloud, so I restored the subjunctive in her quote. Or am I misunderstanding things?
6481092
Counterfactual clauses don't need to be contrary to fact. The hypothetical is one such and still possible when a thing is true. It would be odd for "if Eruantalon were a changeling, then I would be curious" to be ungrammatical depending on whether it were true or not. Consider this from said wikipedia article on English subjunctive:
As with Twilight's guess about love-feeding, it is an inference that she does not know to be true, but has a pretty good expectation of the inference: "as if".
I could be wrong; grammar is not my primary field of study. But if I were, I would be surprised.
Another good quality this has over the original is mention of how it can matter in good ways.
I don't understand that ending. Wasn't the Elements of Harmony test supposed to prove whether that Fluttershy was the real Fluttershy they knew? Since they didn't work, then that would mean that that changeling wasn't the real Fluttershy.
On top of that, even if she wasn't the real Fluttershy, all of the other elements would at least spark while hers wouldn't. Unless we're trying to think Twilight was the one not real?
so the elements do not like to be tested.
Oh and the real test was to see if fluttershy would even come, because a fake would skip town on something that would expose them.
I reviewed this story!
My review can be found here.
6481301 That's what Twilight was meaning for it to prove. The problem is that the Elements don't only depend on their Bearers being themselves, but on their actually acting like friends. (Which is why Rarity guesses that Twilight's testing whether "A Canterlot Wedding" ruined their friendship. That'd actually be a great guess in some other fic.) At least, that's how I take the Elements. 6481648 , they don't have anything against being tested; they have a lot against being used when one of their Bearers is angry at another one.
6482550
I think I see what you mean, but sadly that's an impossible take. In the season 2 pilot, the Discord episode, the elements were able to spark, despite everypony being discorded.
Even Twilight does something that sounds quite harsh just before trying it. With how mad she is at her friends, she decides to replace Rainbow Dash with Spike and have him replace the element of Loyalty. Despite that act, all of their elements had sparked, except for Loyalty.
i.imgur.com/DaVsemX.png
i.imgur.com/1dy37jm.png
Basically, even if their friendship is damaged, their elements will still spark. Even Discord looked surprised at how close they were to activating them.
To me it almost looks like it would've worked if they had Rainbow Dash with them, even while discorded. Course, there's no proof of that, plus, it probably would've ended with discorded Rainbow Dash refusing to activate hers.
6482693 Hmm... Thanks. Oh, well. I guess my scene might still work if I had the spell start but fail midway through since Twilight isn't being a friend? Just like the spell failed in Return of Harmony?
(And I wonder, was the bigger problem then that Loyalty had a substitute bearer; or that Honesty, Kindness, Generosity, and Laughter were discorded? (And, as you point out, that Magic is angry at everyone else?) You could argue for either, but given how loyal Spike is, I'd guess the latter.)
6482774
Spike's loyalty doesn't matter. You can see in that scene that the Loyalty element didn't do a thing at all, while the others did. If Honesty, Kindness, Generosity, and Laughter were the problem, or even Magic, it wouldn't explain why their's sparked and Loyalty didn't.
I don't understand why people wonder why the Loyalty element didn't work for Spike, when the simple answer is the fact that he's not its bearer. Otherwise, if Loyalty DID work for Spike, then the other elements wouldn't work except for possibly Magic.
Based on this story, they're not trying to use the Elements on anything. They're just testing them too see if they will spark. So I don't see how it would fail midway through, unless they were trying to use it on something. That was what failed in Return of Harmony.
6482895 Great point about Spike. Oh, well.
[Spike's the new Rainbow Dash, so he gets her emotes for that scene.]
(changelings enter the window)
Twilight's mistake in this situation is that she can't supply her own test question. For all she knows, Rainbow's test questions may be staged by Fluttershy and Rainbow both changelings.
This story has so much classic (Season 1's) character emotions! I even remember now, those good old days where things were simple and it was possible to actually make fanfics without remembering the whole payload of 5 seasons and trying to interpret them the right way.
Darn, I'd been hoping for a bit more parody. :/
I've been dying for a good non-parody version. Very nice!
6522857 Thanks!
And thus we learn why the Elements should never be used on changelings that are your enemy.
6536709 I don't think that it'll help if your food is trying to turn you to stone.
I am confused and I don't know but this is... a bit sloppy.
6489644
.....I like this idea please find someone to write it.