Media's Sorcery
The camera panned over a brightly lit studio done up in pastels. Even the host was colored to match, a baby blue pegasus mare with a soft pink mane. “Live from ZBS Studios,” said the prerecorded announcement, "it’s Flock Talk, with Sky Morningtide.”
“Good morning, Zephyr Heights,” said Sky, subdued from her normal early morning cheer. “We’re all still reeling from yesterday’s shocking revelations. Princess Pipp Petals on wires, unicorns and earth ponies in the throne room, the outrageous theft of the Pegasus Crystal…" She shook her head, the very picture of troubled sympathy. "I’m sure you’ve all had a sleepless night. Here to help us make sense of it all is ZBS senior political analyst Vicious Cycle.”
The view switched from the head-on camera to one framing Sky along with the stallion on the couch next to her desk. His dark grey coat and cobalt mane stood out like an ink stain against the set’s gentle palette. “Good morning, Sky, everypony.”
“Vicious, everypony is asking themselves what they should do in light of yesterday’s unthinkable events. Should we come together as a community, reaffirm our bonds as friends, family, and fellow pegasi?”
“A beautiful sentiment, Sky." Vicious sighed and shook his head. "Beautiful but completely wrong.”
“You heard it here, folks. Now, more than ever—" Sky blinked as she registered what Vicious had actually said. "Wait, what?”
“With the royal family’s deceit revealed, the lesson is clear: Trust nopony." Vicious sneered. "Yesterday laid bare a degree of corruption as unthinkable as it is obvious in hindsight.”
Sky leaned over her desk and tried to whisper, though the microphone stuck to her collarbone still picked up every word. “Vicious, what are you—”
The enormous flat screen behind them went from displaying a sunrise over Zephyr Heights to a blurry shot of several equine figures, some clearly without wings. “Princess Pipp’s stream from the throne room showed Queen Haven in clandestine talks with major figures in the earth pony and unicorn communities. What were they planning? Why did Haven cut the stream the moment she realized Pipp’s camera was live?" Vicious stomped the couch cushions for emphasis. "What is the meaning of the object on the unicorn’s horn?”
“It’s a tennis—”
Vicious picked up speed with every question. “Could she have used it to enthrall the earth pony? The royal family?" His fidgeting grew until he started pacing around the set. "Every fugitive from yesterday’s debacle is still unaccounted for; could she still be in Zephyr Heights, consolidating her power?”
“Cut his mike!" Sky looked around the studio. "Somepony, please cut his—”
“The royals lied. The other tribes are invading. We are defenseless. Paranoia isn’t irrational; it’s the only reasonable response. They are out to get you. Yes, you!” Vicious thrust a hoof at the camera, then charged at it, foam dripping from his lips. As he shoved his face into the lens, it was impossible to miss his sclera glowing green. “Do not believe the lie of Harmony! Do not accept the fantasy of Equestria! Alone you are strong! Alone you have power! The darkness consumes all! Hate! HATE! HAAAATE!”
He flew off sideways, tackled away from the lens by a baby blue blur.
The footage returned, centered on a ruffled Sky, huffing for breath behind her desk. “We’re live?” She shook off her haunted look and gave the best smile she could, moving her shaking, red-flecked hooves out of view. “Sorry about that, folks. We’re all a little shaken from last night.” She cleared her throat, one eyelid twitching, before rallying her smile to a half-mad, lopsided grin. “After the break, find out if your favorite smoothie is slowly killing you. This is Flock Talk.”
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With a name like that, what else could have happened but...
Nice color hints!
...
Vicious Cycle's name sure didn't make me feel good. Green eyes... Changeling or something? Hmm.
That is an amazing appropriate test card that er... "bleeds" away the tension...
...
Good choice.
----
Typo:
Zephyr heights > Zephyr Heights
11208794
thousand years of peace and prosperity before things go to hell. (I don't like grimdark fimfic much, and fics that posit things start going to heck within the lifetime of your average Background Pony strike me as pretty darn grim. 
)
I don't ask for much: simply that Twilight manages to at least match The Load's
What were they expecting when they let on a pony with a name like 'Vicious Cycle'?
Hmm, something new or something very old? It's so hard to say. In either case, both Buffy and Angel have taught me to despise paranoia demons. Definitely Discordant.
And yeah, the news cycle is definitely nasty and doing their work for them. Which is good, because whatever this one is it isn't exactly good at staying under cover.
11209604
I'm perfectly aware of that. It's just that there's no inherent reason it has to be a very short walk [1] ending with your tripping over your own feet and breaking your neck. (Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and to enjoy the fandom in their own way, but for me personally, if Equestria isn't a somewhat more hopeful place than our current vale of tears, there's no goddamn point.)
[1] FOME suggested Twilight's successor didn't have to be Luster Dawn but rather some much later descendant, which helps considerably, but I still find the collapse of Harmony being the result of Twilight randomly screwing up a bit tonally "off" in a story which isn't a deliberate dark/horror fic or a crackfic. [2]
(BTW, I don't really buy into the notion of Twilight being Friendship in some sort of cosmic/mystical sense to start with: Luna and Celestia have clearly been shown by the late show to not be the Moon and Sun, but just ponies with a talent for moving them, and it's hard to imagine Ponies will stop falling in love if Cadence gets run over by the Friendship Express. Given that she often has problems with it and needs the help her friends (or, good heavens, Starlight Glimmer) to figure out friendship issues, "Princess of Friendship" is her job description, and something Luna and Celestia probably fobbed off on her to keep her too busy to fully express her nature as the Element of Magic, because that would be a more plausible way for her to accidentally screw over Equestria. You thought she messed up with the bats and the Parasprites? Wait until she starts trying to analyze the fundamental nature of Equestrian reality with the help of some tissue samples from Discord and Pinkie Pie.
)
Well, that was a tangent.
[2] Which this story does lean towards. Perhaps
"If you're wondering how he eats & breathes,
And other friendship facts...(la! la! la!)
Then repeat to yourself its just a crackfic,
I should really just relax."
source: https://lyricsondemand.com/tvthemes/mysterysciencetheater3000lyrics.html
11208738
Hey, they're covering the mother of all scoops here. Can't worry about every little detail.
11209021
I was going for "or something." I doubt the changelings would want such intense animosity between the tribes... assuming a species that feeds on emotional energy survived the loss of magic. (Though at least reformed changelings appeared capable of digesting solids.)
11209367
It's definitely took more than a few generations for Twilight to commit The Big Oopsie.
It's also possible that, after her multiversal perambulations, she managed to find her way back to an almost identical timeline to the one she left, where she was able to repair the damage and learn a valuable lesson about responsibility and delegation in the process. Whether or not she accidentally broke that universe is a tale for another day.
11209551
They usually keep him on the late-night circuit with the likes of Rabble Rouser and Talking Head.
11209656
If I may play demon's advocate, it was a lot subtler before it saw Queen Haven in talks with the other tribes. Paranoia incarnate does not deal well with unpleasant surprises.
Derpyculties? More like Derpycutie!