The previous afternoon
Passing by Twilight’s castle, Private Coldsteel, Blaze and Spring watched as their fellow guards, Private Volley and Rhapsody assisted a group of reformed changelings.
“What do you think they’re building?” Sunlight Spring asked.
“Some kind of trap,” said Coldsteel, “anyway-“
“Excuse me,” a small rosy brown pegasus filly said, as she quickly trotted up to the trio. “I was told to come to you if I saw anything weird lately.”
“Yes, that’s right,” said Sunlight as she looked down at the filly. “Could you tell me your name please?”
“Oh, sorry, my name is Viola Strings,” answered the filly who then did a curtsey with her rear legs.
“Hello Voila,” said Sunlight, giving the younger pegasi a warm smile. “I’m Sunlight and these are my fellow guards, Luminous and Coldsteel. So what did you want to tell us?”
“Well, I’m not sure if it’s anything really,” the filly said, “and I kinda feel bad bringing this up to you because she’s never been mean or anything…”
“I think we should all have a safe word,” Private Ballista Strike said to the rest if her unit as they walked in the direction of Saddle Lake. “This way if one of us disappears and we suspect they might have been replaced by a changeling- why are you laughing?”
“I think you mean code word,” chuckled Private Havoc Spark before clearing his throat and returning his expression to neutral, “or a code phrase.”
“Safe word, code word, code phrase, what’s the difference?” Ballista grumbled at her fellow guard.
“About a pair of hoof cuffs and a ridding crop,” snickered Private Chase Tradewind as he glided past her.
“Wait, what?” asked the flummoxed earth pony mare.
Private Daybreak Dustoff landed instep next to Ballista, folded her wings against her sides and leaned over to whisper into the other mare’s ear. The earth pony’s tail tucked between her legs while her face turned bright red.
“That’s not what I meant!” she stammered. “I meant one pony would say a specific sentence to another pony and then that pony would have to say a specific sentence back.”
“That’s a code phrase Private Strike,” Sergeant Heather Shield said, looking back at the troops following her, “and it’s a good idea.”
“What phrase should we use sarge?” asked Havoc.
“Let’s see, how about ‘Did you catch that bug that’s going around?’ and ‘No, I’ve been vaccinated’ will be the correct response,” Sergeant Shield said. “Everypony remember that.”
“Yes ma’am,” the other five ponies said together.
“Alright, let’s start searching this side of the lake,” Shield said, pointing ahead, “and then we’ll work our way around clockwise.”
“So we’re looking for a pink unicorn?” asked Coldsteel.
“Flamingo pink unicorn filly with light purple pigtails,” Private Luminous Blaze said as he looked through his notepad. “Goes by the name Passion Tango.”
“This might be just another wild goose chase,” Coldsteel mumbled.
“Probably,” Luminous said, “but we still have to check up on it.”
The two watched as Sunlight talked with a group of students from the School of Friendship. After one of the coeds pointed back at the school with a hoof and shrugged, the pegasus guard trotted back over to them.
“Well?” asked Coldsteel, “Anypony seen her?”
“Yeah, back in the school on the second floor,” Sunlight answered.
“Alright, let’s go talk to her before she zooms off,” said Coldsteel, trotting toward the school.
The guards entered the facility and received many glances from passing students as their armored hooves clacked against the floor. Along the way they stopped to ask another student if she had seen the pink unicorn and they were directed to check a classroom in the eastern wing of the school. It was there they found the filly alone, looking out a window that faced Princess Twilight’s castle.
“Excuse me, are you Passion Tango?” Sunlight asked the filly.
When the unicorn looked from the window and back to the guards at the room’s entrance her eyes widened just slightly enough for Luminous to take notice. Both Sunlight and Coldsteel entered the room and walked up to the filly but Luminous decided to stay by the doorway.
“Yes, that’s me,” the filly said, giving a sweet smile. “How can I help you?”
“Well, I’m Sunlight and these are my fellow guards Luminous and Coldsteel,” the pegasus introduced them, probabily for the thirtieth time that day. “We were hoping you could answer a few questions for us.”
“Sure, but would you mind if I just opened this window?” asked the filly, fanning herself with a hoof. “I’m feeling a little flush and was just about to let a little air in before you all arrived.”
After getting a nod from Sunlight the unicorn filly’s horn lit up and a soft green glow unlatched the window and opened it wide to let a soft breeze in.
“Much better,” Passion said. “Now how can I help you?”
“Would you be able to tell us where you were when the changelings attacked the school yesterday?” questioned Sunlight.
“Oh it was dreadful!” the filly said. “I ended up hiding behind a stall door in the mare’s room.”
“The mare’s room?” Coldsteel asked.
“Yes that’s right,” confirmed Passion.
“Not the library?” Sunlight interjected.
“The library..?” the filly paused and her ears folded back. “Oh silly me! That’s right, I was in the library, but then I went to the mare’s room down the hall from it.”
“Passion, we have a witness that spotted you going into the library but never leaving it.” Sunlight informed the filly while taking a few steps closer.
“I’m sorry but somepony must be mistaken,” Passion said, while frowning with her eyes. “It was such a frightening event, they must have missed me leaving.”
Coldsteel looked over at Luminous and quirked an eyebrow and then winked. In silent response the unicorn stallion poked his bottom lip out and tilted his head a little.
“Passion, would you be willing to submit to a magical scan?” Coldsteel asked when he turned his attention back to the young pegasus.
“A magical scan?” the filly asked, placing a hoof on her chest. “Aren’t those for… wait, do you think I’m a changeling?”
“I’m sorry but after the attack on the school, we need to be extra careful,” began Coldsteel.
“No, its fine,” interrupted the filly, who then gave a dramatic sigh. “If it will prove I’m not a changeling, scan me.”
From the looks that Sunlight gave Luminous, it was obvious she was unsure about continuing. They hadn’t been authorized to use a scanning spell and so if the filly was a changeling she had called their bluff.
“Well, if we have your permission,” said Luminous as he trotted over to Passion, “I’ll get it over with so we can leave you be.”
Luminous was only planning to pretend to cast the spell and was completely taken by surprise when the filly spat a thick glob of green slime between his eyes. Visually disabled, he could only listen to the sounds of the room around him as it erupted into a grand chaos.
Weevil turned away from the temporally blinded unicorn and shifted her form into a light sea green pegasus. She leapt, hooves first, out of the open second story window and shot off before the other two guards could pick their jaws up off the floor. Grinding her teeth together and grumbling, the infiltrator was furious at having her cover blown. She didn’t have long to dwell on it however, as she could already hear the shouts behind her from the female pegasus guard telling her to stop and surrender. Knowing about a few places to lay low, the changeling headed east.
“What’s with the commotion?” Ballista asked, looking up into the western sky.
“Looks like two pegasi are racing each other…” said Havoc while squinting his eyes.
“It’s not a race… it’s a chase,” said Galewind Breeze who then pointed with a hoof at the trailing pegasus. “That’s Sunlight!”
“She’s yelling something,” Sergeant Shield said and after focusing her ears forward, her eyes widened. “It’s a changeling! Dustoff, Tradewind, Breeze, go help her!”
While passing over the nearby lake, Weevil could only curse her luck as three more pegasi guards joined in the aerial pursuit after hearing their compatriots calls for assistance. Outnumbered and having her eastward retreat cut off the changeling could only think of one other way, aside from capture, to escape from her hunters. She would have to fly faster than she ever had before if she wanted to make it to the Everfree Forest.
Sergeant Shield galloped alongside Ballista and Havoc. Even though the ground bound equines had no chance moving at an equal speed as the inflight pegasi, they could still manage to keep them in their sights.
“It’s heading south now,” panted Havoc, the unicorn having trouble keeping up with the two earth pony mares. “Toward the Everfree.”
“Sunlight is catching up to it,” Ballista said loudly over the thundering of her hooves against the soil beneath her.
“Surrender!” the guard shouted for the umpteenth time at her, “you’re not going to escape, don’t make this worse on yourself!”
The forest was rapidly approaching and despite the burning of her wing muscles, Weevil pressed on. As the trees began to pass beneath her she adjusted her altitude so she would be able to skim the air just two meters above the canopy leaves.
“I’ve got you!” triumphantly cried out the pegasus as her front hooves grasped at one of her rear legs.
Weevil turned her head just enough to look back at the guard to give the mare a crooked cocky grin. She suddenly angled herself into a steep dive, pulling the pegasus along with her, as green fire surrounded her form.
Despite knowing about changelings and their abilities, Sunlight unconsciously jerked her hooves away from the heatless fire and cried out in shock when the bright emerald flames erupted around the pegasus in front of her. A falcon with blueish grey feathers replaced her target and it dove through a small break in the canopy. Unfortunately for Sunlight, despite flaring out her wings in an attempt to correct her decent, she couldn’t stop herself from following behind.
Branches slapped, scraped and scratched against her, painfully slowing her down enough so that when she crashed into the forest floor, she only lost consciousness instead of her life.
“Aphid!” hissed out Weevil, just before the loud thud of a crashing pegasus caused the nearby birds in the trees to fly off.
After returning to her normal form and checking on the unmoving guard to make sure she was still breathing, Weevil turned to call out again for the scout. When she ended up face to face with Aphid and another changeling she leapt back in fright and placed a hoof against the pounding heart in her chest.
“What in the hive is going on?!” harshly whispered Aphid, looking from Weevil to the downed guard.
“I don’t have time to explain!” Weevil said. “There are three more pegasi after me and they will be here any second!”
Private Dustoff cringed when she witnessed Sunlight plow through the too small opening in the canopy. She thought it was a good thing that she brought along a first aid kit because the other pegasus was sure going to need it.
“Just up a head is a little clearing,” shouted out Tradewind over the rushing wind. “We can set down there and double back into the forest to where Sunlight went down!”
The three guards carefully banked around the break in the trees while slowing themselves down. One by one they descended and took a quick scan of the empty clearing.
“Sunlight?!” called out Breeze.
“In here,” Sunlight called out weakly from somewhere beyond the tree line.
Sergeant Shield, along with her two troops skidded to a stop just before the dark forest. Private Spark was drenched in sweat and the skinny unicorn braced himself against the trunk of a tree while he caught his breath. Ballista, while also sporting a sheen of perspiration, breathed much easier through her nostrils and looked as if she could still run all the way to Canterlot and back.
“How far in would you say they went down?” Shield asked the slowly recovering unicorn.
“About a kilometer,” breathed out Spark, “give or take a few meters.”
“Alright, keep your eyes open and stick close to me,” Shield instructed them before pushing through the underbrush and into the Everfree.
When Daybreak spotted Sunlight, laying on her side and half way out of a mangled bush, she immediately rushed over to the mare’s side. With practiced precision she removed the first aid kit from her saddle bag and started to pluck out the supplies that would most likely be needed.
“I lost the changeling,” Sunlight said.
“Shhh, don’t worry about it,” Daybreak consoled, “just stay still for now. Chase, Gale, help me clear the branches away from her, I don’t want her to move until I can see her injuries.”
The two stallions swiftly moved to opposite sides of Sunlight and began to use their hooves to trample down the bush.
“Did you see what way the changeling went?” Chase asked while pulling away the pile of debris he just created.
“I’m not sure,” hissed Sunlight who winced slightly in pain.
“It doesn’t look like anything’s broken,” Daybreak said, “but I need to take off your armor to make sure.”
Daybreak reached forward and carefully removed the other mare’s helmet, placing it off to the side. Freed of the enchanted barding, Sunlight’s natural vibrant daffodil fur color promptly returned and her wavy rusty orange mane fell over her face. Gently the medic reached a hoof forward to brush aside the prone mare’s mane.
Like a viper, Sunlight’s head shot forward and Daybreak silently cried out in pain as two fangs sunk into her leg, just below her knee joint. Chase and Galewind froze up at the sight, both unsure in that moment of what just happened; and for the two silhouettes that leapt down on them from above, it was all the time they needed.
“I got a good bite on mine,” said Featherwing, the other changeling that was with Aphid, “he’ll be out for a while.”
“Same here,” said Aphid.
“I hear more coming,” Weevil said to them, her ears focused northward.
“Strip them down quickly and get the other one,” Instructed Aphid, “we’ll take care of the next group just like we did these three.”
Dazed, disoriented and relieved of her armor, Daybreak was barely able to register her surroundings as one of the changelings dragged her off behind a rather large fern. It left her laying unceremoniously against the unconscious bodies of her fellow guards, and she could only watch helplessly as it took her form and dressed in her garb. The changeling then pulled out the motionless form of the real Sunlight Spring, from under a pile of fallen leaves, and left with her to join its cohorts.
When she heard the voices of her other three team members the medic tried to call out a warning but could only hiss through her clenched teeth.
“Is she alive?” asked Sergeant Shield as she came to a stop, along with Ballista, in front of Private Dustoff, Tradewind and Breeze.
“Yes, but we need to get her back to town quickly so I can do a more thorough examination of her injuries,” Dustoff said while she used her wings to wrap a bandage around one of Sunlight’s legs.
“Sergeant!” called out a winded Spark as he staggered into the tiny clearing. “Ask them.”
“Right,” grunted Sergeant Shield before turning back to the three pegasi, “Did you catch that bug that’s going around?”
Dustoff stood up and looked from Tradewind to Breeze, then back to Sergeant Shield. Breeze and Tradewind also exchanged blank glances with each other.
“Uh, if you mean the changeling, she got away,” Breeze said.
The sounds of snapping branches along with hissing and shouting filled Daybreak’s ears. The mare forced herself to her hooves despite her swimming vision and she tried her best to fight off the changeling’s venom. Her stomach lurched and the medic stumbled forward, losing her breakfast in the process. After wiping her muzzle clean with a fetlock and spitting the foul taste from her mouth, she peered around the fern.
Daybreak cringed when a changeling clung onto Spark’s back and sank its fangs into the poor unicorn’s neck. Ballista and Sergeant Shield were only fairing a little better, bucking and stomping around in an attempt to dislodge their own biting attackers; but in the end the effect of the changeling’s poison won out against the strong earth ponies.
With her adrenaline pumping from the terrible sights of the fight and tears of helplessness in her eyes, Daybreak ran away.
Gotta admit that whole bit with the safe word made me laugh....I like these guards
Look at them and their courage crumbling.
...Idiots, letting the ling open the window.
Wow, those guards really never had a chance, even with their
safe wordcode phrase. Nice chapter.welp no plan ever survived first contact with the enemy but I think the ponies ego that brought there downfall thinking it was going to be simply following a changeling into a forest that just one big ambush zone within a danger zone
9553676
presumption of innocence gentleman
we can not treat someone accused of a crime like a criminal, until we are sure that this is the way it is, people lie, make mistakes and get confused.
also the royal guard has shown incompetence and inability of own initiative (Se4 Ch1), 1000 years of peace has made them clumsy , I imagine them all as police in their first day.
Yes ponies in the guard must always remember their safe words. They're a critical part in proper training.
Thank you for the update.
So when are the ponies gonna get a break? So far it's just been a changeling power trip. They took Sandbar without issue, now they've got 5 guards hostage because they're apparently blind as bats when it comes to social cues.
9553922
So not letting someone open a window is the same as treating them as a criminal? Fact is, they're a suspect at that point, and with that simply comes certain rules.
Huh longest chapter yet is this the new norm?
9553948
Someone accuses you of rape. Suddenly you're tackled by 17 police men with no warning, no due process, no reading of rights. You're tossed in a jail cell and now you wait for your sentence. No one's come in to ask your side of the story, no one has told you exactly what you've done.
Now you're in front of a judge. The accuser has no proof. You're let go. Your reputation is now ruined.
Innocent until proven guilty is a very, VERY good policy to have, especially during investigation of suspects. Just because they are a suspect, doesn't mean they can be treated like they did it. Take the earlier mare with the sunhat who got accused. The guards came, asked questions, got her 'cornered' and then it turned out she was getting a gift for a friend.
Second point, the guards have always, ALWAYS, been terrible. I don't really blame them in this case since A) They don't know the filly. B) The filly only showed error from our side of the story, it wasn't visible to the soldiers C) Opening a window is hardly an escape route when the thing you can see can't fly. Which harkens back to the ineptitude of the guard.
I personally like how the changelings aren't mindless goons who are terrible at the one thing their species is supposed to do. Let me restate that. I LIKE HOW THEY AREN'T TERRIBLE AT BEING CHANGELINGS.
You know they can almost flawlessly imitate anyone they know about, only reason they were caught here is because they had no choice but to infiltrate into a tight group who had precautions against them, and a general string of bad luck.
You say this is a power trip for changelings, but they're hiding in a hole, slowly dying of hunger and the sabotage of another hive. They just suffered heavy losses in the form of CHILDREN, and all you want is for the ponies to win. The ponies aren't the protagonists in this story. If you want a PONY POWER TRIP. Find a different story, cause you aren't going to get it here.
Obviously, this isn't the story for you, considering your avatar.
9554106
Point at the bit where I said I wanted the guards to tackle her and beat her senseless, or the bit where I said I wanted a pony power trip, or anything else you're accusing me of in your wall of text.
Quite frankly you're just coming across as a giant asshole, trying to make me look like the bad guy here. Of course I feel bad for the changeling children being slaughtered, they're goddamn children. And of course I want the ponies to win, they're the good guys for crying out loud! And before you start, no that doesn't mean I want to see the changelings all murdered or anything, quite frankly it'd be nice if they won too! Maybe by Chrysalis reforming or at least making peace with Equestria or something.
All you're doing is assuming things and putting words in my mouth, and I appreciate neither.
Oh and you can fuck right off with your closing sentence there, you presumptuous prick.
9554093
No, I want to stay with shorter chapters, I just had to make this one longer to get from A to B on the guards capture.
9554201
I may have made a hyperbole out of the situation. But it IS a real life situation that happens because people assume guilt before innocent.
As for reforming Chrysalis, no. Honestly I hate how they 'reformed' changelings in the first place. I might've been fine with them just losing the holes in their legs, but they monstrous abominations of color now. I prefer how they reformed Discord, he's still Discord, he looks the same, and still acts the same. But he doesn't want to spread world wide chaos anymore. But the way they reformed the changelings seem like a copout. Like "Oh, you're ugly on the outside, that means you're ugly on the inside. So when you're actually beautiful on the inside, your outside should reflect that". They completely changed a species just because it was 'scary'. The point of "Beauty on the inside" is that it's inside, and it shouldn't matter what you look like on the outside. But by making the changelings "Pretty bug ponies", it kinda ruins that message.
So no, don't 'reform' Chrysalis.
The ponies really aren't the good guys though. Sure they are 'good', but they also want to commit genocide. It's clear that the reformed changelings are completely different from the non reformed, from the hints of pheromones and such. It's like somehow changing all the pitbulls in the world into Labradors because pitbulls are evil and bite people. Sure they're still 'dogs', but they aren't pitbulls anymore.
The ponies are stupid and xenophobic. "Oh, that griffin is being mean, it must be because she's just a bully and griffins are just like that", "That Zebra looks scary and live sin a scary place so we need to be scared of her", "Oh that changeling is mean looking and even though it's done nothing yet and a good friend of ours in vouching for it's innocence we can't trust them".
They're also stupid because now, ALL of those thoughts have been rectified. Gilda was mean because her country is in shambles and she didn't want to lose her only real friend. Zecora is just a nice black sheep in the flock. And the changelings aren't all mindless brutes that work for Chrysalis. Same thing happened with the dragons.
Not to mention the movie! The ponies neglected one of their own because she was disabled, they were scared of the gruff outsiders and were lured in because one nicer looking outsider showed an inch of kindness. They then jeopardized a shipping crew's very lively hood by 'helping them remember their pirate heritage' then pointing themselves out right after via sonic rainmachina. Then jeopardized an entire kingdom's safety because 'it's our only hope'. The ponies are reckless and selfish in general, considering all the times we've seen side characters who aren't the 'paladins of harmony'.
Not to mention, the entire show is based on the fact the peradimes of goodness for the pony race mess up tiny things and have to have an entire group help them out of the spiraling mess it caused.
The ponies are stupid, they're xenophobic, they're stubborn. Only reason they found out about the changelings in the story was because a second hive sabotaged Chrysalis and killed her recent brood except one. Forgive me if I don't want the ponies to win this one time out of the thousands they have won before.
9553948
In there defense the Guards haven't had to deal with anything beyond criminals and wildlife. Whereas the Changelings, everyday is a battle for survival. There born and raised to blend in.
9554106
Now a days you can do just as much damage to someone on social media.
I totally agree with loving how the Changelings are good at what they are born to be good at and need to survive. For them they HAVE to be good at those things cause it's a matter of life and death with them.
I hope this story is more along the lines of neither side being in the wrong cause both are doing what they feel is right, and in some ways it is. A lot of times right and wrong is just a matter of perspective. Personally I love this story.
On the subject of avatars, what's yours of?
9554201
There's no reasoning with the hardcore Changelings fans. They tend to see the changelings as blameless victims regardless of the reality of the situation. A good number of them cried foul when Chrysalis lost in one of my stories too.
9554613
I never said they were blameless, or victims. I just HATE how the show writers fucked up their reformation.
A solid example of how truly unprepared ponies are to defend against lings. Only just now someone has had the bright idea of two-factor authentication? They're still treating them like ponies, and the inanity of the "reformed" lings only makes them complacent and unaware...
Keep going! ;)
Pfff
9554106
The idiots who down voted this comment must be the type of people that think women and minorities never lie about being poor, innocent, defenseless ""victims"".
9555476
People dislike his comment because Gordon pointed out that the guards made an obvious blunder in pursuit of a criminal, and Necro used a misaimed hyperbole to imply Gordon was endorsing a full on tyrannical police state. Nobody is saying innocence shouldn't be presumed in a legal manner, but certain cautions should be taken with a suspect to a serious crime, including not giving them an easy out if they choose to run.
While I'm still enjoying the story, and have quite liked the dynamic between Chrysalis and her daughter, I can't help but be disappointed by the portrayal of the guards here. Yes, I understand that's surely part of the point, and yes I know that the incompetence of the guards is all but canonical, but I can't help but find this chapter contrived.
A few chapters back, it was made clear that they were aware of the danger of being replaced. Indeed, with the reformed changelings long in contact with the ponies, there's little reason for the ponies not to know the full extent of their abilities and tactics. They've had a revealing spell for some time. And they knew that, while reduced, Chrylasis was still at large and not alone.
The idea that no one had thought of code phrases or anything better than the buddy system after the first invasion beggars belief; the idea that it wouldn't be common practice by now is well past incompetent. But let's set that aside.
Leaving the window open. Being too flabbergasted that a pony being investigated for being a changeling was indeed a changeling. Breaking the buddy system by pursuit. Being unable to catch up despite rigerous physical training. Being unprepared for the transformation magic. Crash landing. Not being instantly suspicious after losing sight while pursuing a shapeshifter. Not suspecting an ambush when it was well known that others were recently active in the area.
With the exception of being outflown, as Weevil could simply be a better flyer despite the odds, none of these are easily excused. People in general make mistakes, but where one or two prior to going "on guard" might make sense, this was a comedy of errors, one after the next. That's why I can't help but feel it's contrived.
And to compound that is a lack of prep in terms of equipables and abilities. Past not being prepared for an ambush, they apparently had no way of dealing with fangs and venom. Despite wearing magical armor, evidently carrying further gear (as they had a first aid kit), having at least one trained unicorn in the party, and having had untold years to address this weakness. So either pony R&D is also incompetent - which doesn't fit with them coming up with a revealing spell, to say nothing of the other examples of magical and engineering ingenuity - or these guards didn't come with anti-changeling kit or spells past the one.
One of the other commenters suggested that it was good to see changelings as capable. I agree that it would be, but this isn't it. This is just the ponies being unprepared. If anything, it reflects poorly on the changelings; it demonstrates Weevil's ineptitude at infiltration (which is to the author's credit) and how little adaptability the changelings have been forced to display if this is representative of the guards. No wonder six civilian mares could fight through legions of them with party cannons and well-timed ducking if this is all they have to deal with.
Again, this isn't a breaking point for the story, it just stains my willing suspension of disbelief to have the guards be this underprepared - physically, magically, in terms of training, and in terms of kit.
More please
9555879
"In pursuit of a criminal"
You mean suspect. Neither side of this is arguing that the guards aren't bad, they're bad connonically. I was talking more about how we don't have many fics about changelings who regret their actions, but don't want to 'reform'. Because 'reforming' is honestly the stupidest thing the show writers have done with the changelings.
So... who had won? Too many names, i don't understood. Also, what the point of this chapters?
9556119
Yes, the guards considered her a suspect while in pursuit of a criminal. You don't generally have suspects unless you are looking for the perpetrator of a crime. I even refer to her as a suspect a mere sentence later. Regardless, you don't seem to have a good rebuttal for your use of the ridiculous hyperbole or why you jumped down Gordon's throat for things he never said.
9557126
You also seem to be ignoring my reply to his reply. Where I admitted the hyperbole. So I suppose we're even at this point.
Edit: And the fact my reply to you had very little to do with your use of criminal, rather my rebuttal. You seem to have ignored that part as well, focusing like I did on the first part of the reply.
I apologize for focusing on that.
9557383
Lad, I'm not arguing about your opinion on the reforming. Nobody has argued with that. You just keep bringing it up regardless. That's why I've ignored it, because it doesn't have anything to do with what I was talking about. And, yeah you admitted it was a hyperbole, but then spent another wall of text spinning off onto your opinion of their reformation rather than addressing Gordon's points. Thus my comment of 'no rebuttal'. If that was sufficient rebuttal in your opinion then fine, whatever.
9557734
You... Didn't actually read that reply then because I spend most of it saying how stupid ponies are canonically, I also state in the previous reply that the guards are idiots, and being on the second floor of a building with a small unicorn filly doesn't immediately say "That window is a viable escape".
I admit, the comment I wrote was rude. But I dislike it when people actually want ponies to one up a literal race of tricksters that evolved specifically to trick ponies.
The "Eyes widened" was also a "Imperceptibly to the guards" or something along those lines. The guards didn't see any social queues from the changeling to make them suspect her before they started questioning. Only when they cornered her with the question "Where were you?" that they saw a flaw in the disguise.
I honestly regret how I worded, and even spoke to "Freemane", but I'm also not the type of person to delete comments they aren't proud of. I am actually unsure why I did that, something about the way he wished for the ponies to win or something. I don't exactly remember. It might've been late for me or something. But I made the comments, and ultimately they do say how I feel about the fic, the show, etc.
That a good enough rebuttal?
9558117
I'll be honest, I quit reading that comment by the end of the second paragraph since it was a page long and seemed pointless.
This comment is a civil response and frankly what you should've lead with. So yes, a decent rebuttal.
My favorite chapters in this fic have to be the ones where Pupa is at the school.
Wow, you guys need a chill pill and just enjoy the story. If you don't like it, you got all the rest of internet to go and explore. XP
Interesting.
Internal thoughts [Yes-yes interesting indeed, myself...]
The internet white girls didn't like that
Yeah by this point you seem to have written yourself into a corner with how irredeemable the changelings are. At this point I hope all of them get locked up never to see the light of day again, because they're all sociopaths from the looks of things.
Guards that can't even follow orders... Third rate troops Well done selecting them Celestia...
not a comment about any mistakes or anything, but wow i hope no anti-vaxx bronies read this... they might get triggered.
9597922
Trigger' 'em! Someone already downvoted you! Go for the knees!
Dang it let go of my ear leg.
Equestria's finest, everyone!
Snrk, safeword.
probably
9910276
Finest my flank... Third rate troops. Sending Privates in a seriouse situation... Celestias screwed up badly...
9553638
Priceless humor indeed.
9553659
A lot is crumbling that chapter.
9553676
Indeed feeling a bit flush can be endured a few minutes...
9553789
Prey vs Predator... They never stand a chance...
9553819
Plus they had the order to gain information not uncover and capture a classic Changeling.
9553922
Celestia made the Royal Guards a standing joke...
9553926
By Celestias flaming tits... Glorious humor
9553948
I agree to your viewpoint.
9554201
Ones more i agree on your view.
Only ponies are not always the good guys. Only the ones winning most the time.
9554364
That why the should be Guard ponys not
ROYAL GUARDS. Spec Ops troops are never pushovers. Don't fit the 'Royal' part...
9554496
Very nice ideology
9554724
Indeed So mutch wasted potencial
9554877
Celestia counts on a eternal plot armor it seems
So, which is it?
Probably
When they send in Private rank Soldier's for Ambassador levels of situations...
11389631
I mean, the entire Royal Guard is apparently commanded by a mere Captain. Maybe that’s not a complete coincidence.
Indeed, everyone should have a Safe word. Even for vanilla activities. Even lubricant can't void frictional burns going days on end 🤝
Even if it be totally worth it 👍
Anyway...
Did Royal Guard are not supposed to be tough trough long intensive training? The literally act like fresh out of training. Maybe they are rather Manehatten regular Guards?
Ponyville guard that would act so simpel minded would get teached competent behavior over 7 Seasons the hard way...
What is the point of armor if it does not protect you? Do they not have chainmail in Equestria?
Like I said, the useless ones.
Changelings has been spotted!
!