"Mrs. Whirl Wing? It's about your son."
Oh no. Is he okay? Is something wrong? Is he in trouble?
"Well" what? If my son is—
Oh! Oh, thank Celestia. You just about gave me a heart attack!
It's alright. So, what is this all about? Can I help you with something?
Just in general…? Why do you ask?
He's doing very well! Day Dreamer is a straight-A student at the top of his class. I couldn't be prouder.
What do you mean?
No, not at all! In fact, he's doing better than he has in a long time.
Oh, how he's feeling? Great! He's doing great. Honestly, I've never seen him happier.
Mhm. He had some issues in the past, but he outgrew them.
Absolutely! He absolutely has.
It's amazing. To think that only three years ago, Day Dreamer had so much trouble connecting with other ponies that he only had a few close friends. He took it really hard when a colt friend of his moved away, and for a while he wasted most of his time holed up in his room by himself.
But since then, my little bud bloomed into such a strong and healthy flower! With a little help from his mother, of course, but I can't take all the credit. He really stepped up to the plate.
After we fixed his broken sleep schedule and his emotional issues, my little Dreamer really started to shine. Now he spends much less time with his eyes glued to his books and much more time with other colts and fillies his age. He started reaching out and spending more time with the ponies in his class and on his hoofball team — especially a certain very special somepony!
Oh, you should see him and his little fillyfriend. They are absolutely adorable together! Dreamer still only calls her a friend, and he gets so embarrassed whenever I say otherwise. But I can see what's going on. I see the way they look at each other when they think I can't see them. And I swear that he spends every free second of his day with her. My little foal is in love! It's like he's all grown up.
No, that's just it, he always makes it home in time for family dinner! And somehow, he still finds the time to finish all of his homework.
Mhm! He's a busy little bee. He used to waste too much time alone, but now I swear that he's always up to something! Between school, sports, and socializing, some nights he barely has any time left to read for fun like he used to.
Exactly! It almost feels like he's a totally different pony. It really feels like a miracle, praise Celestia. What a transformation!
Day Dreamer has always been a pony of extremes, bouncing from one extreme to the other. Nowadays I have to tell him to slow down and take it easy! He's still a colt, after all. I tell him that if he keeps rushing to grow up, then one day he'll wake up and realize that he missed the chance to enjoy his colthood.
Everything in moderation, that's what I always say. I guess that's one piece of advice he still hasn't quite learned yet.
I always knew that Day Dreamer was just a late bloomer. At first, I had to push him a lot harder than his siblings. Sometimes I even had to push him to look up and pay attention to the world around him! But I always knew he had it in him.
Yes, at first I did feel bad pushing Dreamer so much. He's such a sweet colt, you know, and very sensitive. Easily overwhelmed, especially when he was little. Never really liked big crowds, loud noises, or change in general. He doesn't always respond well to pressure, conflict, or stressful situations. He struggled with emotional problems a few years ago. In hindsight, Frank and I could have used a gentler hoof. But you can't argue with the results!
My husband, Frank Assessment.
As a foal, Dreamer used to throw tantrums over the silliest little things. Even after outgrowing that habit, sometimes he still cried when Frank raised his voice.
Day Dreamer hit plenty of bumps on his road to recovery, but they're all behind us now.
Well, he had these… phases where he took interest in the strangest things. First it was trains, then it was bug collecting, then Daring Do, and then stargazing. Lately Dreamer has more diverse interests, but—
Sorry, what was that?
After stargazing, it was… well. Do we need to get into that?
Fine. Of all things, he had a changeling phase.
Ugh. Yes, that's true. But nopony in the family likes talking about them.
That was years ago. We don't talk about it.
There just isn't much left to say.
Does it matter? He's made so much progress since then. I'm proud of him for leaving all of that awful changeling stuff behind us when he recovered.
Alright, if you think we need to. But I don't know what good you expect to come from reopening that wound.
Three years ago, Dreamer had a lot of emotional issues. Even on school nights, he stayed up until the middle of the night, spending too much time alone and not enough time asleep. For a few months, he started… talking about changelings all the time. Then one day he goes and tells some Canterlot stallion that one of them talked to him and wanted to replace him!
I don't know! I don't know why he talked to a changeling. I have no clue who put that crazy idea in his head. I cannot fathom what was going through his mind that made him think he should listen. And I especially don't know why he tried to keep it a secret from his parents.
I was telling him about stranger danger all the time, as much as any good parent. I'm sure he heard it even more in school.
Yes, it was right after the royal wedding! All the newspapers were talking about how dangerous those things are and how to protect your family from them.
Of course I read the news. Who doesn't nowadays?
Oh, I get a few. Equestria Daily and Canterlot Daily, plus the Maretropolis Gazette.
Every day, of course.
Because in today's Equestria, it feels like if you miss one day of news then you'll have no idea whether it's safe to set a hoof outside your own house!
Mhm. I never paid it much attention until then. As soon as I heard about those bugs attacking Canterlot, though, I got my hooves on every article about them that I could find.
A few had good advice about how to keep your family safe. I made sure to follow it.
Yes, I did tell him! Several times!
Dreamer was still in one of his reading phases. He liked reading even more than I do. So, I let him read all the news articles about staying away from changelings. I told him about how dangerous they are, and what to do if he ever saw one. I even put up a newspaper clipping with safety guidelines in our kitchen.
No, obviously I didn't let him read every article. The graphic and disturbing ones were totally inappropriate for a colt his age. Some of them went into way too much detail. Disgusting stuff. The poor foal would've been scarred.
Well, I assumed that a colt as smart as Dreamer would read the news articles and have the common sense to steer clear of changelings. Apparently I was wrong.
Why? I just said that I don't know!
Why does it matter? He made a mistake, but he learned his lesson. It's not—
It was a long time ago! We're both past it. We moved on. I'm sure everypony—
Fine, if you think it's that important. It's… I guess the reason is that he was having a really hard time with his feelings back then. But I still don't understand why that would make him think he should listen to a changeling.
Horrified, obviously! What kind of mother do you think I am? It's my job to keep him safe. This may come as news to some mares I could name, but a mother is supposed to protect her foals.
Yes, I still do everything I can to protect my Dreamy.
I watch him like a hawk. Maybe a little too closely, if I'm being totally honest with myself, but at least I've kept him safe! I've protected him from anypony or anything that hurt him.
Excuse me?
Oh, come on. That's not the same thing. Discipline is an important part of keeping your colts and fillies safe. Without punishment, nopony would ever learn that misbehavior is dangerous or that actions have consequences.
I knew I was being too lenient when Dreamer kept sneaking out in the middle of the night. When he said that he snuck out and talked to a changeling who wanted to replace him, though, that was the last straw. I had to put my hoof down.
I told him in no uncertain terms how much danger he put himself into. And just to be safe, I grounded him. Maybe some parents these days would call that harsh, but I was not going to let some monster take my little Dreamy away.
Yes, I did. And what of it?
I called them what they are. Changelings are monsters.
I mean it! Let's not kid ourselves, alright? Every one of them is guilty of lying, stealing, kidnapping, and- and feeding on us. They admit it! They're…
...I'm not sure that I should say it.
Are you sure? Some ponies don't like it when I'm totally honest.
You asked for it. To be totally honest, changelings are a bunch of dirty bloodsucking parasites who only survive by leeching off of the rest of us.
I don't care if it's offensive. It's true. Just thinking about that disgusting green goop they force ponies into makes me sick!
I know, but they—
Come on. We don't know if—
That's easy for you to—
Yes, I know that Princess Twilight says to forgive and forget now, but she never had foals. She doesn't know what it's like. A few years ago, those monsters tried to take my Dreamy away from me. I will never forgive them, and I will never forget it. Even—
Oh, they're sorry, are they? They're sorry for terrorizing us, stealing our foals, lying to us every day, wrecking our homes, and sucking away our love or whatever? Well, that changes everything, doesn't it?
I'm sorry, no. I am not going to pretend everything is hunky-dory now. Some of us remember when they attacked Canterlot, you know. They wrecked my sister Sand Storm's shop.
She had only recently opened a craft store in Canterlot. I told her it was a bad idea because the market is oversaturated there, but I never expected a changeling attack!
It was horrible. Two of the awful things crashed right through Sandy's front windows. They smashed up her store while they chased her customers. Nopony was seriously hurt, thank Celestia, but the property damage was terrible.
Did you know it took Sand Storm six months to see a single bit of reimbursement from the Crown? Those monsters set her back financially for years!
Well, technically, yes, that's true. The repair teams did fix her storefront within a few weeks, but… but that doesn't make up for her lost revenue. What's worse is that those changelings destroyed multiple of our family heirlooms, including my mother's mahogany grandfather clock that I always wanted!
Oh, Sandy took it after our mother passed.
Yes. I said so plenty of times. She didn't care.
Well, no. She doesn't really talk to me very much nowadays. I tried extending all sorts of olive branches in the past, but I've learned that it's not worth the headache.
Hearth's Warming. I think the year before last?
No, Dreamer hasn't seen her since then either. Canterlot is over a day's travel away, and if my sister is too petty to be involved in her nephew's life then that's her business.
I try to keep Dreamer out of my family's drama.
Ugh. Please don't get me started. The whole thing is a mess. Sand Storm had all kinds of issues with her oldest, and apparently did not appreciate my parenting advice. Sandy was always so stubborn, you know, and too proud to accept help from anypony — especially me.
She has always been like that since we were fillies. Do we need to go into this?
Mhm. Thanks.
Honestly, yes. I would rather talk about changelings.
I've heard all kinds of things about them. Scuttlebutt says that letting them into our society is just the first step. Changelings already tried replacing our Princesses. Multiple times! What if they try again? Who will stop them? And what if it doesn't stop with the Princesses? What if they keep replacing more and more of us until nopony is left?
It's a perfectly reasonable concern!
I'll have you know that Scuttlebutt is one of the most trusted journalists at Canterlot Daily! I've read all of her “Scuttlebutt Says” columns since the first changeling attack. Just last week, she said that they're planning to force us to live with changelings. What next, living with hydras? What do I do if one of those things wants to feed on me? Will resisting it be a crime?
Hey, I'm just asking questions!
It's beyond disgusting that those bugs try to hide in plain sight. It's sick, the way that they wear our skin. They're mocking us.
Changelings always felt entitled to claim appearances that aren't remotely theirs, but at least they knew we didn't want to see them. With the new so-called alliance, will the bugs feel entitled to parade their grossness in public?
I don't care what color they are now! Do they really need to go out on our streets in broad daylight, where foals might see them? What's next, changelings in our schools? It's all just too much. I'm obviously an open-minded pony, but surely we deserve the right to keep our foals safe!
I don't know. That's their problem, not mine.
They can make their own! They have a… a nest or something, right?
Right, a hive. If they want anything, they can put it in their hive instead of taking it from us.
I don't want to share anything with a changeling! Just knowing that there are already changelings trying to hide among us is stressful enough.
Yes, but…
Befriending monsters is a job for the Princesses and the Elements of Harmony, not normal ponies.
Hm? No, I've never met a changeling myself. Not in-pony, anyway. I've seen the pictures in the news, though.
Somepony I know? What? No. Of course not. Are you kidding?
You think I—
Excuse me, do you really think I wouldn't notice if somepony I know was replaced by a changeling? Seriously?
Yes, they say that a changeling can pass as anypony. But I know better. Maybe some ponies can't tell the difference between a real pony and a changeling pretending to be one, but I can tell. I can always tell.
Scuttlebutt says anypony can tell if you look close enough. In fact, I can clock a changeling right away.
Mhm! Just by looking at them and hearing them talk. All kinds of little hints give them away: unnatural colors, odd speech patterns, green magic, a weird inconsistent voice, and that predatory look in their eyes. A lot of them copy a real pony and only change their fur or mane color. Scuttlebutt says that suspiciously familiar ponies should make you suspicious.
Sometimes you can tell a changeling when they look ever-so-slightly off in ways you can't name at first. Weirdly bulky pegasi who look like Earth ponies and weirdly flighty Earth ponies who act like pegasi. Stallions who look like colts and mares who look like fillies. Mares who look like stallions and stallions who look like mares. You know, that kind of thing — ponies who look unnatural.
They can try to mimic us, to pass as normal ponies. But at the end of the day, they're not like us. A changeling will never be a pony. The way we think and act doesn't come naturally to them. They can practice, but they always slip up. Even after changing their bodies and even with all of the practice in the world, they can't hide what they really are. Not from me.
Because I just know! Scuttlebutt says to always trust your gut. My gut's never wrong.
It's working perfectly well for me so far. I have never seen a changeling that can pass as a real pony. Not once!
Selection what? I'm not biased. I'm telling the truth.
Even if a changeling fooled me at first, they wouldn't last five minutes before I found them out.
Because they can't pass as anypony. Not very well. Supposedly, the most powerful changeling is their Queen. But even her disguise was no match for somepony who knew her victim well — and Princess Twilight hadn't seen Princess Cadance in years! Right? If that's the best that a changeling faker can do, then I could spot one a mile away.
Really? Oh. That explains a lot.
Well, a changeling faker would still eventually give themself away when they can't remember something their victim knows.
Other than changing their bodies?
They— Excuse me, they can do what?
Really? They can?
What do you mean, "not technically"?!
Sweet Celestia. These are the creatures we're planning to let into Equestria? Princess Twilight wants us to live with them? To let them into our neighborhoods, around our foals? What the hay? That's, that's horrifying! First she lets Discord off scot-free, setting him loose with free rein to turn our lives upside down again, and now this?
No, no! Of course not. Nothing like that. I'm certainly not questioning Her Highness's judgment or her right to rule. She's a Princess, trained by Princess Celestia herself and chosen by Harmony! Obviously I trust her.
Well…
Sometimes I do wonder whether she was totally ready to take the throne at such a young age. She's an extraordinary mare, and she saved Equestria more times than I can count. But it's a lot of responsibility, you know?
My friend has a daughter around Princess Twilight's age who still hasn't found the right job. The poor dear earned her cutie mark in something silly like underwater basket-weaving. Now she can't find anypony who will pay her to do it! Her mother is very supportive, and still lets her live at home. By now I would have told the filly to try another path — maybe her basket cutie mark really means that she's meant to collect a basket of good investment opportunities, or something.
Obviously not that one exactly, I just meant—
Right, right, of course. Where was I?
I only meant that sometimes I worry for Princess Twilight. Becoming a Princess of Equestria is hard enough on its own, but judging by the news, she still works full-time as a monster tamer! I mean, really. First Nightmare Moon and Discord, to say nothing of her pet dragon who also attacked Ponyville or the parasprites who nearly destroyed it, and now the changelings?
No, there's nothing wrong with that! Nothing at all. Somepony has to take care of the Canterhorn area's ongoing monster problem. If she can befriend them all into submission, then I say that she's the right mare for the job. Still, sometimes I worry that her success so far is… hm.
I'm not sure how to put it.
Maybe it's making her… a little bit overconfident about it? I don't know that, of course, but I think going through all that would affect anypony's judgment — especially somepony right at the beginning of their career.
True. It's just… All of this is happening too fast, you know? Even after all this time, some ponies still feel uncomfortable around zebras, for pony's sake. Not me, of course! But when I was a filly, I knew several ponies who were deathly afraid of zebras. Changes like these take time for ponies to get used to.
Exactly. Normal ponies barely had time to wrap our heads around Princess Luna's return to the throne before Discord, Tirek, and the changelings came out of nowhere and almost ruined everypony's lives. Three new Princesses and three new kinds of horrifying monsters almost taking over Equestria is quite enough for one lifetime!
Yes, I know that all of the other Princesses agreed with Princess Twilight's decision, at least officially. I can't imagine Princess Cadance happy to see her new sister-in-law pardon the monsters that foalnapped her and tried to ruin her wedding. What I wouldn't give to be a fly on the wall during that conversation…
Hm? Oh, I'm sorry. I know that Her Highnesses' private conversations are none of my business. And I'm sure you didn't bring me here today to hear me talk about royal gossip!
I only meant that a race of body-changing monsters all getting a makeover together is hardly proof of their good intentions. I, for one, am not convinced — and I wasn't even one of the ponies they foalnapped! I still cannot believe that Princess Cadance forgave them so easily.
What's a thorax?
Ah.
Mhm.
Right.
Mhm. You know, I'm still not sure what brought on any of this, or what it has to do with my son.
Then I'm certain that you have nothing to worry about. Day Dreamer is doing better than ever.
Really?
Are you sure you need to talk to him? He's doing fine. I'm sure his coach and teachers will tell you the same thing.
Well, if you insist. Maybe you can sit in on a parent-teacher conference, or I can schedule a time for the three of us to—
Excuse me?
Alone?
Why would you need to talk to him alone? He'll just tell you what I just told you. Do you expect him to tell you something that I can't?
What are you implying?
Yes you did. What are you implying?
My son tells me everything. What exactly are you accusing him of keeping from me?
You can't? And why not?
Are you joking? That is ridiculous and you know it. Is my son some huge threat to Equestria's national security? What, do you expect a schoolcolt to suddenly become the next Tirek? Steal everypony's magic and appoint himself Emperor? This-
What? No, I—
No. My son is not some criminal for you to "investigate." He's done nothing—
No! My little Dreamy is innocent. He's nothing like the troublemakers you should be worried about. The ponies his age who stay out after dark, getting up to no good and doing Celestia-knows-what over on the other side of town? Dreamer knows to stay well away from those kinds of ponies. Sometimes he's even too much of a rule-follower! I always have to remind him that it's okay not to take everything literally.
All of his teachers love him. You should hear them rave about him! Straight-A grades and always a pleasure to have in class. They all say that!
He's always a model student.
He's always respectful to everypony.
He's always on the right side of the law.
He's always kept away from troublemakers.
He's going to be such an upstanding gentlecolt.
He's going to do great things someday, just you wait.
He's going to set such a good example for others.
He's going to keep making good choices in life.
He's a good colt who stays out of trouble.
He’s a good sport and a hard worker.
He's a good friend to others.
He's a good pony.
I appreciate your concern. Really, I do. But my little Dreamy is just fine. He had a- a changeling phase a few years ago when he was struggling with his mental health, but he's better now.
I helped him grow into a fine young stallion and there's no reason to—
No- no! That's ridiculous.
I don't care! You don't need to. I already told you that he's fine.
Please what?
I won't calm down if you keep—
This is ridiculous! You're wasting our time.
I don't want to hear anything else about this, okay? Dreamy had a mental health issue, but he got better. That's it. Case closed.
You better not keep trying to "investigate" my son and undo all of our progress. It's insulting to me as a parent. All of the wounds healed. Reopening them would be pointless.
You are on thin ice, and you better not break it. I've half a mind to have a word with your superiors already. If you keep trying to drag Dreamy into this nonsense, then I will take it up with your boss. I'll even take it all the way to the Princesses if I have to.
I almost lost my Dreamy three years ago. I'm not losing him now. I will do anything to protect my Dreamy, from changeling monsters and from ponies like you. Do you hear me?
Stay away from my Dreamy.
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Geez Louise, this mom is a full blown Karen.
Oh how I love fantasy MAGAts.
You capture the energy of a monster well.
Ditto to the other. This mom is certainly something. It's just the right mix of love and narcissism typical of a helicopter parent. What a tragedy it is that she's happier with this changeling than she was with her own kid, and she still doesn't suspect a thing. The kid's plan went perfectly...
edit: love what you did with the formatting of the "He's always 'x'" section.
This is a very interesting display of a character that easily represents a kind of person most of us has interacted with in real life.
While being ignorant and having a bigoted worldview are mutually exclusive, it’s clear that Mrs. Whirl Wing is an example of the two traits feeding into one another. In some cases, she even has an arguably justified reason for her fears if one understands it comes from ignorance.
I feel terrible for Dreamy, especially the pain of not being understood by his own family to the extent of isolation he went through.
Good writing, author!
A demonstration of how often, "monster" is not a shape. It's a way of thinking.
Extremely uncomfortable! Good chapter!
And here I thought she was a lot in the last chapter. It's honestly really impressive how you managed to cram so very many negative traits, red flags, and dog whistles into one character.
Also the word pyramid at the end is incredibly satisfying to look at, interesting to note it's made of affirmations of her "son's" past, present, and future. I wonder if she's actively lying to herself or just willfully ignorant.
I am really curious for her reaction. It's easy to talk badly about some arbitrary group, but when it turns out it's somepony you love, it might just make her more open.
Orrr she just might explode in hatered
While it is certainly understandable that she is wary of the more "monstrous" creatures of the world, she does not need to be so hostile and insulting about so many things. Even if we give her all the benefits of the doubt possible, and assume the best, she is still rather... Karen-y.
So where is Dreamy now? If this is after the Changeling Reformation, surely Thorax would have let him go. Is Dreamy just living comfortably in the hive? If so, good for him. He'd probably be happier there than anywhere else.
"Exactly what you run from,
You end up chasing
Like, you can't avoid, but
Just chasing it and just like
Trying
Giving it everything that you
Can
There's always an obstacle" — Tyler Okonma
I thought there was an allegory in there even before this section, but nice to have it confirmed. DD's mom is one of Those people.
12079977
I imagined there'd be, like, complications here? He did go willingly, and if he was miserable before, it might create a nightmare scenario where you're forcing a miserable child to go back to his unhappy life after years have past. His behavior will immediately be different and noticeable even if they try and switch back DD and his changeling lookalike on the downlow.
It’s probably telling that a lot of people can relate to this story so strongly. A real bummer, that.
Gods i'd end up with extreme desire to no longer exist (the thought process separate from suicidal ideation, not suicidal ideation itself) too if i was raised by her. poor kid...
one of the main things i find myself wondering is 'who is interviewing all these characters?' or if its even the same character between all three chapters, because it could be more than one pony.
i have a suspicion its Celestia, disguising herself to get the answers more directly from the 'culprits', but i have far from concrete proof. it could be anypony. but its not a changeling, considering the mom's attitude here, and the changeling in the second chapter.
but who is it then?
12080662
Whoever it is, this line from Chapter 2 implies that it's actually a pony working directly for Twilight. The changeling wouldn't be saying "your latest Princess" if they were talking directly to said Princess. And while I think Flurry Heart is technically the actual "latest princess" by the time of the Changeling Reform, a baby isn't going to be writing a thorough contract. (Or at least, I would think so.)
I could see it being disguised Celestia, who would plausibly trust Twilight to write up a good contract in advance that one time, but I'm unsure how much time Celestia herself could spend in order to interview people in so many different places.
My current thought is that, because ~3 years separate Chapter 1 from 2 and 3, it could be Twilight herself conducting the interview just for Chapter 1. Then, years later when the case re-opens during the Princesses' negotiation with Thorax over the release of any cocooned ponies, Starlight steps up to conduct the interviews in Twilight's stead.
Oh this is just incredible.
And worst mother of the week award goes to...? This one! That one right there (definitely remembers her name)
Reply roundup 2!
12091944 …her name is in the chapter title
12079713 12079918 Now now, her name is Whirl Wing. I certainly haven't the faintest clue where you might get the idea to call her Karen instead, which obviously is not her name.
12079825 12079832 LOL, thank you! I try. I plan to talk in detail about character inspirations in a blog post once I complete this fic. For now, I'll admit that I deviated from Whirl Wing's original inspiration when at a certain point I started wondering, "How many kinds of bigotry can I make fun of through this character?"
12079832 12079780 Thank you so much! I've been using this fic as an opportunity to experiment with my writing style, including dabbling in writing as visual art. I'm really pleased with the way the word pyramids work both as character dialogue and as word art that matches the tone, so I'm glad that y'all are too.
12080253 You're telling me. I had no idea this story would resonate with so many people.
12079787 12079780 Thanks! Spot-on analysis, but it may be a little bit too soon say that his plan “worked perfectly”…
12079977 Excellent question
12093384
Personally (and I get that this is my own interpretation) I’m a little saddened that many readers are making real life comparisons to some of Whirl Wing’s traits, instead of seeing her as an archetype of many different negative experiences may have had while growing up.
Of course, my interpretation may be wrong, but as a FIMFic, I try to keep real-life comparisons at a minimum (unless explicitly stated otherwise).
Of only she knew the deeper meaning of what she just said...
It seems Day Dreams arguments fro the first chapter actually worked out as he expected.
Whatever you say...
I wouldn't rule it out. At least not completely.
Changelings are sneaky, always hiding where you would the least expect them.
Good chapter!
I enjoyed reading it.
Keeps him safe huh? What about from yourself Madame?
I'm guessing this mare wears her blonde mane in a short bob.