The Monster in The Dark
This one has always enjoyed evenings in Freeport. While it is far too young to take part in the city’s famed nightlife, there is something enticing about the thought that there is an entire new world which emerges once the sun goes down. This one would often open its window late at night, when it was supposed to be asleep to watch the city. It always regretted when its family’s business required it to go to the clan-held islands. Much as it enjoys spending time amongst its kin, the Doo clanhold does not come alive at night the way Freeport does.
In particular, this one enjoyed watching the city when troubling itself with difficult matters. Tonight, this one struggled with the question of how best to approach its parents on the matter of the Shimmer-mare. It hoped to take lessons in the magical arts from Freeport’s new magus, but was uncertain how to broach the subject to its parents. While changeling magic (whether Free Mind or drone) is not identical to unicorn magic, there is much the Shimmer-mare might yet teach this one. A changeling could hardly imitate a unicorn without appearing to copy their magic too, after all. Not to mention magical fields like alchemy and runes functioned regardless of the caster’s species.
However, this one’s parents had not even met the Shimmer-mare yet. All they truly knew of her was that this one had spent several days in captivity due to being her friend, which did not dispose them favorably towards her. This one feared that they might consider her a ‘bad influence’ despite this one’s assurances that the Shimmer-mare was brave, heroic, and brilliant.
As this one stared out into the night and pondered its problems, it spotted a cloaked form moving up the street. It watched with idle curiosity until the figure passed near a lamp, and this one saw light glinting off black carapace. This one’s breath caught in its throat as the figure drew nearer and nearer its home until at last it trotted up to the front door, reaching into its cloak and drawing out keys.
This one immediately rushed down the stairs to the front door, positioning itself to the side. Then it waited, stilling its breath and doing nothing that might give away its presence as the locks clicked and the door slowly creaked upon. When the cloaked figure entered this one’s home, this one pounced at the newcomer.
The figure immediately snatched this one out of the air, spinning it about and pinning it to the floor. An instant later there was a blade at this one’s throat. This one stared at the weapon, its limbs turning leaden from shock and sudden fear.
The cloaked figure stared down at this one for a long moment, then blinked and pulled back, hastily removing the knife from this one’s throat. “Kukri? Don’t do that! This one thought you were—” She shook her head, quickly putting away her weapons and shutting the door behind her, locking it and shaking her head. “Sorry. This one is sorry, sister. It did not mean to frighten you when you merely sought to welcome it home. Where are Mom and Dad?”
This one rose to its hooves, still trembling from its brush with death. Its sister had sparred and playfully wrestled with it before, but it had never seen her employing the full extent of her skills. It is one thing to know that one’s sister is an assassin, and quite another to nearly find oneself on the sharp end of her blades. This one would certainly never attempt to surprise hug its sister again.
This one took a moment to calm itself, then answered its sister’s question. “This one apologizes for startling you. Our parents are—”
The rest of this one’s response became moot as it heard hooves striking the ceiling, or rather the floor of its parents’ bedroom. This one surmised that it and its sister were making enough noise to have disturbed them.
Kunai grabbed this one, shoving it behind her and placing herself between this one and the stairs, one hoof resting over her sheathed weapon. She chanced the barest of glances back at this one before returning her attention to the stairwell. “Please tell this one that our parents are upstairs.”
This one stared at its sister, quite bemused by her question. “Who else would be in their bedroom at this time of night?”
Kunai grimaced and said nothing. Moments later, this one’s mother descended the stairs, a brown foreleg rubbing at her eyes and brushing back a sleep-tousled red mane, her wings tucked against her sides. “Kunai? I thought I heard your voice. When did you get back?”
Kunai untensed, removing her hooves from her weapons. “Just now.” Her eyes flicked up the stairs, her voice deadly serious. “Has anyone else come here already? Where's Dad?”
This one’s father came down the stairs in his natural changeling form, right behind Mom. “This one is right here. What's going on?”
“You're in danger.” Kunai quickly circled the room, ensuring that all the windows and doors were locked and the blinds were drawn. This one’s mother began to light a candle, but Kunai trotted over and blew it out. “As soon as it’s daylight, you need to head back to clan territory. Preferably the main compound out in our islands.”
Dad blinked in surprise, then grimaced. “What happened? Did something go wrong with your job?”
“In a manner of speaking.” Kunai sighed and removed her cloak, trotting to the kitchen to retrieve a bottle of rum. After using her fangs to remove the top, she took a long pull from it, then sighed. “This one's mark suspected that he was being hunted, and had hired a bodyguard. From the Strikers. This one was unable to reach its mark without going through the Striker, and she refused to stand aside or acknowledge her defeat in an honor duel. This one had no choice.”
Mom’s eyes widened in shock. “You killed a Striker?”
Kunai nodded, then drank from her bottle once more. “This one had an obligation to fulfill its contract. It took every reasonable measure it could to do so without slaying a pony from our clan’s closest ally, but she refused to give ground. If this one did not slay the Striker, it would have failed in its mission.”
Dad groaned and ran a hoof along his face. “Damn it all. This one supposes your pay from the mission will have to go to the Strikers as blood money then.”
Kunai sighed and shook her head. “This one offered as much, but Cold Striker refused to accept it. He called this one a liar when it claimed that it had done all it reasonably could to spare his sister’s life while fulfilling its contract.” Kunai began pacing about the room, inspecting the doors and windows once more. “The only witness to our battle was my target, and this one left him in no condition to testify. This one only had its own words to offer in defense of its actions, and Cold would not hear them.” Her pacing brought her to this one’s side, and she placed an insectoid wing over its shoulders. “This one can almost understand his reasons. If this one’s sister were slain, it would not wish to believe she had brought it upon herself.”
This one pressed against Kunai’s side, wrapping both its forelegs around one of hers. “And now you fear that the Striker wishes to kill you for revenge?”
“Refusing to accept blood money would indicate as much.” She paused a moment, then bared her fangs and glared out the window. “But this one does not fear that he will strike at it. Rather, it fears that he will strike the rest of you.”
Mom grimaced, but Dad quickly put a hoof on her shoulder, shaking his head. “The clan leadership would never let that happen. It would be the start of an all-out blood feud. It could even destroy the alliance between the Doos and the Strikers.”
“The Striker mater advised Cold to take the blood money,” Kunai grunted. “He refused her advice. And even if he acts without any further support from his clan, a single pony can still do far too much damage with a knife in the dark.”
Mom nodded grimly. “And the Strikers won't imprison one of their own just for being angry at the death of a family member. They’re probably hoping that after a couple days he’ll calm down, accept the blood money, and everyone will just move on and forget about it.”
“Perhaps so,” Kunai allowed. “Or perhaps she simply agrees with his doubts in this one’s version of events, and thus sees little reason to risk her clan’s anger by imprisoning him.”
Dad’s hoof cut through the air, ending the conversation. “It hardly matters why the Strikers aren’t locking Cold up—the important fact is that he might be out for revenge.”
“Exactly.” Kunai agreed. “Freeport is not safe. The city’s condottieri are too easily paid to turn a blind eye, and he could even hire them to do the dirty work for him. He might be a rich, fat merchant I could take apart in five seconds in a straight fight, but he has enough gold to be above the law.” She grimaced and shook her head. “Not to mention that there’s no law against him hiring several thugs and having them all walk up to your front door. Even if the condottieri all did their jobs, they’d be minutes away in a situation where seconds count. This one would feel much more at ease if you were within the clanhold, where the guards care more for honor than coins.” Kunai’s eyes darkened. “Not to mention that he would have to be mad to attack a Doo on Doo territory. His own clan would hardly be able to ignore such a crime, and nobody would be foolish enough to believe any claim that he was not involved.”
Dad took a breath, then slowly let it out and nodded. “Better safe than sorry. This one will arrange for us to go back to the clanhold on the first ship in the morning.” Sister was about to object, but he held up a hoof to cut her off. “Finding passage to the isles this late at night will not be easy, and wandering Freeport’s streets in the wee hours is more dangerous than remaining in our home.”
This one could not remain silent as plans were made around it. “But this one was supposed to see Sunset tomorrow afternoon!”
Mom sighed patiently. “Staying safe is more important than visiting your friends, dear.”
Kunai nodded sharply. “If she is truly your friend, she will understand that. And there is no reason she cannot come to the clanhold and visit you.”
“This one supposes that is true...”
Kunai dropped to her knees, looking this one in the eyes. “This one will make it up to you. Promise. As soon as this is over, it will take a week off of work, and you can introduce it to all of your friends. Okay?”
“Okay,” this one reluctantly agreed.
“Good.” This one’s sister pulled it in for another hug. “This one loves you, little sister. It will be back before you know it.”
This one returned the hug, clutching its sister almost desperately. It did not wish for her to leave, not when it knew that there was a pony out there who would stop at nothing to see its sister dead. “Be safe, Kunai.”
“Of course.” She grinned and poked this one in the chest. “And don’t get in any trouble while this one is gone, grub.”
“This one is not a grub!” it protested vehemently. “This one is eleven and a half years old!”
“You’ll always be a grub to me, grub.” She slowly broke the hug. “Just stay safe, okay?” Her head fell slightly. “That is why this one must leave so quickly. It would prefer to be far away from its family when Cold seeks it out for vengeance.”
Without another word, Kunai slipped out into the night, locking the door behind her.
This one could not return to sleep after Kunai’s visit, even though it was many hours before this one would normally awaken. This one’s sister was in danger. How could it sleep knowing that she might be fighting for her life at that very moment? This one wished it could do something to help keep her safe, and its heart was all the more burdened because it knew that there was nothing it could do.
This one does not like being a child, and would enjoy reaching adulthood as soon as possible. Then it could spend all day with its sister or the Shimmer-mare instead of obeying its parents, and would be better able to aid all of them.
And so this one could do nothing but stare out its window at the city once more, vainly searching for some sign of its sister. It did not truly expect to find her—Kunai was very hard to see when she did not wish to be seen—but what else could it do?
This one cannot say how long it stared out the window, worrying about its sister while sleep eluded it. It could only think that it should have hugged its sister one more time before she departed, or mention that it loved her. If only this one had...
This one’s ears shot up. The room was silent, the outside world sealed out by the window. Dad had fixed the cracks in the caulking last year after a long wet season, so the odd flutter of its curtains in the wind had long ago stopped. The sheets were still, but something was … off. It had almost convinced itself that its feelings were nothing but misplaced concern for its sister when a ghost of a whisper drifted into the room, so gently that this one could have mistaken it for nothing more than the usual nightly noise.
“Kukri...”
This one’s eyes shot open, its ears perking up and vainly turning about in an effort to find the sound’s source. When several further seconds passed with no more noises, this one dismissed it as nothing but a trick of its half-asleep mind.
“Kukri Doo...”
The sound was much clearer now. Too clear to be mistaken for anything else. This one pulled its covers tighter around itself, trying to convince itself that the sounds were nothing more than its imagination, even though it knew otherwise.
Something thumped down on the roof above it. Four thumps, each following so closely in succession that it might have been mistaken for a single sound. The voice returned, no longer a ghostly whisper but a deep, guttural growl letting out an almost mocking singsong. “Kukri, Kukri, Kukri Doo. I see youuuuuu.”
A tiny, frightened whimper escaped this one’s lips despite its best efforts to restrain it. It could no longer pretend that it was safe. There was a monster in its room. “Moh, Mom.” It gasped out, barely able to manage more than a whisper. “Mom? Dad?”
There was a mocking throaty chuckle. “Ah, little child. Your parents can’t help you now. I ate your precious little mommy’s liver five minutes ago, right after I feasted upon your daddy’s eyes. They were delicious. And now it's just you. And me. Alone. In the Dark.”
“Y-you're lying!” This one did not—could not believe the Monster’s words. Its voice rose up to a high-pitched scream. “Mom! MOOOOM!”
For a terrifying moment nothing happened, just deadly silence hanging in the air after this one’s frantic cries. Could it possibly be true? Was Mom really dead?
Then the door burst open, and Mom rushed over to this one’s bedside. “Kukri! What's wrong?!”
This one bolted out of bed, hurling itself into Mom’s protective embrace. “S-someone's here! Something's here and it's—this one needs to get out of here now, please! The Monster said it hurt you and—”
Mom held this one, her hooves gently and reassuringly circling along its back. “There there, sweetie. I'm sure it was just a bad dream. I’m okay, and your dad’s okay too. Everything’s just fine now.”
For a moment this one wondered if perhaps she was right. If this one had simply dozed off and had a bad dream. It certainly preferred to believe that was the truth. And so this one smiled at Mom as best it could. “Yes. Alright. This ... this one just had a bad dream.” This one hoped that if it said that enough times, it would believe it.
Mom sighed and slowly released the hug, patting this one on the back. “I suppose it’s no surprise, with everything that’s going on. But you’ll be fine; you don’t have to be scared of a silly little nightmare.”
Just as this one finally allowed itself to relax and believe that it really had just been a dream, the voice returned. “Oh, you do have to be afraid of nightmares. You really do.”
Mom’s eyes widened and she grabbed this one, all but hurling it out of its own bedroom. As soon as this one was past the door and into the hallway one of her hind legs lashed out, kicking the door shut behind her.
This one’s mother was alone in its room. Alone with the Monster.
“Mom! No!” This one scrambled back to its hooves then rushed to the door. The knob slipped out of its grip as it desperately tried to grasp it. “No!”
An instant later this one’s father was there, grabbing this one and trying to pull it away from the door. “Dad! HELP! Something's in there with Mom! The Monster’s gonna get her if we don’t—”
The window banged open loudly enough that this one could hear it through the closed bedroom door. All this one could think was that the Monster had finally attacked. It had come in through the window and now it had gotten Mom. And after it would get Dad, and then this one and this one’s sister and...
“Mom!” This one squirmed, wriggled, and managed to worm its way free of Dad’s hold. It rushed to the door and threw it open. “Mom! Mom?!”
The window hung wide open now, a thin shaft of moonlight lancing in while the curtains wafted gently in the night breeze. There was no sign of this one’s mother anywhere in the room. In fact, aside from the open window this one’s room looked precisely as it had left it. Yet now this one’s eyes lingered on every single shadow, wondering if the space beneath this one’s nightstand or the half-open closet door might conceal the hidden creature waiting to pounce.
A powerful arm grabbed this one from behind and hauled it backwards. “Aaaarrrr—”
“It’s me, Kukri!” Dad hissed under his breath.
For a moment this one was relieved, until it noted Dad’s odd choice of words. ‘Me.’ Not ‘this one.’ Was Dad being imprecise in the midst of a tense situation, or could it be something else? What if the Monster had gotten Dad? What if it was pretending to be Dad now? Such things were possible—this one is a changeling, after all.
“No!” This one’s hind leg lashed out, catching Dad—or the thing pretending to be him—in the stomach. “Let go of this one!”
Before this one could free itself there was another thump on the roof, and this one froze. It was on the roof now! It had Mom, and now it was on the roof! Dad’s hold tightened on this one, and this one no longer tried to escape him. There was another thump, then another, and they continued until it seemed as if they were right over this one’s head, pounding down as if the Monster intended to smash down through the roof and snatch this one up through the hole.
Then the sounds shifted away, growing fainter as whatever was on the roof began moving down the slope. This one almost did not realize what was happening until it noticed that the thumps were slowly moving towards the open window. This one knew it should rush to the window and slam it shut to keep the thing from getting in, but even if Dad were not holding it still, it could not have forced itself to move. It was paralyzed as efficiently as if it had been bitten by one of the poisonous snakes that lived on some of the outer islands.
There was a final thump, then a rustle as a shadow-cloaked form swooped in through the open window. This one screamed, shutting its eyes in a desperate attempt to block out the Monster before it struck.
“Whoa! Easy, Kukri, it’s just me.” This one slowly opened its eyes, and found Mom standing before it once more. She gave this one a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder. “Whatever it was, it’s gone now. I chased it off.”
This one clung to Dad’s leg, still too frightened to let go of him. “M-Mom? Is that ... y-you're okay, right?”
“Fine.” She smiled reassuringly, though it did not reach her eyes. “I bet whoever it was, they were so scared when I came out after them that they’re still running. We both know that nopony’s would mess with your Mom, right?”
This one tried to answer her, but all it could do was choke out a sob of relief. It flung itself into Mom’s grasp, desperately clutching her while its hooves checked her body for any wounds despite her reassurances. “Muh-muh-moooooom...”
Both of this one’s parents held it while it cried, gently stroking its mane and reassuring it that all was well. However, this one could not help but notice that Mom’s hooves never strayed far from the dagger at her side, and her eyes lingered on the same hidden corners that this one had watched earlier.
This one’s parents were lying to it. It was not safe. Not at all.
As they both held this one, Dad whispered to Mom “Do you have any idea what it was?”
“No.” Her hold on this one tightened, and a furious snarl entered her voice. “But it's never coming anywhere near my daughter again.”
This one wiped at its eyes and tried to express itself. “Puh, please, this wuh, this wuh, this ... I ... this I wants to go. Please.” This one whimpered, its eyes turning to the open window as another breeze made the curtains waft again. “Please, please, pleasepleaseplease, Mom, Dad please.”
Dad nodded sharply. “To hay with waiting for sunrise, we're going to the islands now.”
“Damn right we are. I want to be somewhere with proper military patrols.” Mom quickly grabbed a few things from this one’s room and hers while Dad never loosened his hug. Once we were ready to leave they placed this one between the two of them, with each one wrapping a wing protectively around it. Right before we went out the door Mom paused and declared, “We move fast. We move quiet. And we stay close.”
This one nodded, trying to pull their wings more tightly around itself as it trembled, and not because of Freeport’s warm tropical air. “M-Mom? Dad? Could this one sleep with you tomorrow night?”
“Yes,” Dad answered instantly.
“You're not leaving my sight after that,” Mom agreed.
This one nodded, sparing one last look up at its bedroom as they departed. It did not think it would ever be able to sleep there again.
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Perfectly timed for Halloween! This is shaping up to be a really fun, spooky with everyone's favorite adorable changeling. And that cover art? All the d'aaaaww.
So what's the update schedule on this going to look like? Same as Auction Night?
I actually got shudders from this story. Interesting narration, considering the Changelings' way of speech. And Kukri is a Doo and both the Doos and the Strikers have clan holds in Freeport? Looking at the dialogue and writing, I'm guessing that Kukri's mother is a pegasus of the Doo clan?
A rather interesting take on the changelings... A few questions of course...
1. How are free minds different from drones? Are they unseelee who've achieved their own mind or just those who escaped after chrysalis made them smarter?
2. How does illusion work in this verse? I've been writing it as two tiered, the first being the illusion or shift, the second an aura which dampens others abilities to discern irregularities in their own... in short, it looks like a pony, sounds like on, and acts like one, but most are still unsettled when the aura isn't there, and a infiltrator is noticed pretty fast at close range.
3. Do they feed of each other, or do changeling free minds spread out across the land, a few families in an area, one tiger to one hill as it were.
4. They certainly have a very polite way of speaking... Is that a choice or habit?
5. Does breeding have to do with free minds? Like a pony changeling pair produces a child who, while changeling, is smarter and more sturdy the a hive born? In the wedding we see a group of six mares with no combat experience go through entire squads like bead curtains, and I imagine the same happened in the winningverse. So were the changeling officers half breeds or am I reading to much into it.
6. Strikers are still around? Kinda hoped Shadow did the world a favor and slaughtered the lot, but of course she had to have scruples and leave the foals and pregnant mares alive. And before you ask, yeah. I said that. The Strikers were an absolutely barbaric lot with little to no redeeming qualities. They elated in death and were draconian in their training, ensuring their foals grow into the next gen of sadists.
6575076
Yup, new chapters daily, with the story at four chapters long.
Kukri!
And it sounds like someone was angry enough to resort to dark magic summoning for revenge?
Also, typo spotted in description:
Either "Something" or remove the "and"
At last! The return of the super adorbs Kukri! <3
I am PISSED at this thing trying to fuck with Kukri though! That's NOT COOL!!
I hope whatever it is dies a painful, horrible death @.@
I'm having a scary feeling about the parents now, what with how I'm thinking they were replaced with something else, like reverse changelings (As in the old folklores of children being replaced by fairy children, not the MLP definition
6575636 Cool, I'll read it once it's finished.
6575636
You devious author you, you,
So the story will conclude on Halloween?
PLANNED this, didn't you?
Looking forward to either Sunset, or maybe even Kukri herself kicking flank once they nail down whatever this thing is.
Oh man, that was spooky. Had music from The Shining playing in my head through the whole "nightmare" sequence. Speaking of, I half expected the monster to crash through the door and say "Heeere's Johnny!"
Can't wait for the next installment, Chen
Sounds like Kukri's mom is a pony while her dad is a changeling. so is she a half changeling or is her mom her step or foster mom? I wonder what differences, if any, there are between full and half changelings. Changeling biology / genetics could be really strange.
6577461
Yes, I did.
6577681
Not really...
Well, for one, changeling are skinwalkers of a particularly nasty sort, less coyote and kitsune and more unseelee bady snatcher. As such, they would have to be able to become anyone, from a barn dance with the apple to hob nobbing with nobles, so they would have to all basically be the same, both in spirit in genetics. As such, I'd imagine their are fairly flexible, in the case of Puzzle, who we see is a stallion, got an idea of his mates genes and adjusted his accordingly. Of course in this case the foal was our lovely little cuddle bug.
Theoretically, Puzzle could have just taken any form he wished and knocked her up with a normal foal... or more darkly could have forced the fetus into one form. Of course, and this is my theory, such pairings result in the hybrids we see. Unlike your usual grub or even free mind, a hybrid is born is leaps above drones in terms of intelligence and strategy... of course this means Chrysalis would have to offer one hell of an incentive to keep them loyal.
tldr: Puzzle took a bit of his dna and the mares dna and randomized the sequence, and 11 months later out she popped. Makes more sense then Magics of Wuv don't it?
6577681
Per my fanon, a changeling/non changeling pairing always results in a changeling. Why? Magical genetics. Plus it fit nicely with the classic folklore take on changelings. Though I could see changelings picking up traits from their other-species parent, like a pegasus-spawned changelings being better fliers or unicorn-spawned ones having a knack for magic.
6575196
Most of your changeling questions are answered by The Incredibly Valuable Contract of a Sellsword Changeling and the previous fics in the Freeport Venture series, and both are among the better fics in the Winningverse and are worth reading. If you don't care about minor(very small) spoilers, read the rest of my comment.
1. Free minds are fully conscious and are on the same level of sapience and free will as a regular pony. A regular changeling normally is under the control of Chrysalis, and Chrysalis has the ability to possess any of the non-free mind changelings at will. The free minds were a project by Chrysalis with the hope of changelings the were more autonomous would be able to better blend in with pony society, but soon rebelled since the changeling hive is a cruel dictatorship that only the mind controlled could bear living in. This all happened a couple hundred years ago I believe, but Chrysalis still has a grudge against free minds.
2. I don't believe there's been any level of detail in the Winningverse describing illusion. The basics of it would be a changeling wants to look like a pony, and they look like a pony. I think if they're severely hurt they shift back.
3. Free minds cannot feed off other free minds. I don't recall how many ponies it takes to feed a single free mind, but I don't think it's many. Maybe even only one committed pony, and Kukri's mother is enough to feed the father and Kukri.
4. Changelings use 'this one' because they value their individuality highly, having come from a mind controlled society, and consider saying 'I' or 'me' bad. I'm not sure the exact type of badness, possibly arrogance or lack of caring about origins.
5. I don't think there was any breeding with free minds, but I'm not sure. Chrysalis created the first generation herself somehow, I forget or it was never stated the details.
6. The Lunar Rebellion happened 750 years ago. It wasn't just the Strikers doing horrific things, it was the culture at the time. The Striker's were among the worst, but it's not fair to call for their extermination by judging them by today's standards. I think there was something about all the old pegasi families besides the Kickers being disbanded in Equestria too, and that's why the Strikers and the Doos have to have their compounds in Freeport instead of Cloudsdale.
Ruh Roh Raggy!
6578378
Thanks for the reply, that clears that up^^
A bit of a goof there... I didn't do they feed of each other, I meant how is the free mind structure set up. To many in one spot in starvation and angry villagers breaking down your door at night. I don't think they'd fight, but stake out territory... as I said, one tiger to a hill. Of course Kukri and her family are probably all gassed on their mothers love...
odd. one would being individual would be a must... of course they need go no further then their bathroom mirror to know who they are. Of course one shouldn't let autonomy go to ones head...
Well, changelings can breed with ponies, though the foal is a changeling. And with both genes and mana mixing in the coupling, it makes sense. Certainly seems that way for the Puzzles brood.
It was, from the word go, and absolutely moronic and senseless endeavor. The infliction of war for wars sake, the soldiers failing in their sole duty, the people, to fall aside so they could enact their military socialist cults to all of Equestria. The Doo's, prime examples of the useful idiot, went with it because they truly believed their nation was failing under alicorn rule, a sort of mother not letting a child grow. The Chargers... not sure with them. Bright seemed to agree with Rightly till her daughters death, then because of her favortism towards her went alicorn level of cunt on all and sundry. And lets not forget her cries of murder of the matter... the stupid bitch had the gall to actually send her daughter to war and then get all enraged when she gets killed? Her right to her anger ended the moment she put the filly out there on the line... she had no right to hold a grudge.
And the Strikers... fucking Strikers. Tribalist, dogmatic, sociopaths the lot. .They viewed the abuse of foals as proper means to make soldiers, that beatings and whatever other sick traditions in place would make the ideal warrior. The other clans are hardly blameless with them due their silent consent, but the Strikers we're monsters. And culture... so what? Tradition is a guide for wise men, and a rule for fools, and the righteous know they are made from no more nobler clay then other folks. The Strikers were everything wrong with pegasi in one clan.
Not only is there black bagging fair, it was the best course of action for Equestria. By clan logic, the second they dismissed Celestia, they were traitors all. But there is the honorable way, the easy way, and then the right way. Shadow choose life when killing would have been easy, hell, if her dads were there they would have disowned her for letting traitors live
It speaks volumes to Shadows character and who she was at heart. Golden hearted under all that Striker/Kicker gruffness, and an around good egg.
Well... that's not good.
Even worse if the "monster" actually planned on giving them a fright in order to lure them out.
Not good at all.
But as usual, well written! Let's see what happens next!
Somehow, that monster face. but I can't not remember when and why.
Hm... eats liver. Devious. Ancient evil...
El Chupacabra!
6577106 In full agreement with you there, something is definitely off about Kukri's Mom and Dad.
6580071 Or its Dr Lector! Fava beans, ftftftftftft!
Hm, exposition through dialog. The sister must keep her trade a secret from her family if she needs to explain her reasoning.
I hate you so much right now.
6579267
I just went over the entire investigation arc in Gathering Shadows. Is the Striker's atrocity listed in a different part, or perhaps it was edited out? I believe you, because I remember the Strikers being assholes the first time I read it, but now all I can find is the initial Clipping. I suspect that Chengar may have redone a couple earlier parts to better match the far-expanded canon it now exists in.
Towards the war itself, I don't see what you mean about "war for the sake of war". They cast out Celestia because they felt their culture and way of life was under threat, not to mention she just recently shit on them for saving ponies from slavery and digestion. Whether their culture or traditions were perfect or not isn't the point. It's hard to criticize them for their militaristic society when they were obligated by the treaty that founded Equestria to be a militaristic society. Not to mention they were fairly isolated, rarely interacting with surface dwellers, and the person who's job it was to be the link wasn't doing her job for a hundred years. Society's morals may have developed over the last hundred years, but no one was up there telling them it had changed, right?
And until they went to war, they were legally in the right.They were not, by clan logic and their own form of government, traitors for deposing Celestia. Sure, Shadow made bones about how the law shouldn't exist anymore, but the law DID still exist, and by definition, their deposing of Celestia as Commander was just as legal as if the Earth Ponies did not reelect her as Chancellor (provided the vote was unhampered, of course).
Yes, it's AMAZING how often parents allow trifles like that to influence them to think things like that.