Pincer is a changeling, a proud soldier of Queen Chrysalis. After the failed invasion of Canterlot, he finds himself trapped and at the mercy of Princess Celestia's Royal Guard. Believing that Celestia sees his species as nothing but soulless monsters, he prepares himself for the worst. The weeks crawl by, marked by an endless series of questions he will not answer for fear of endangering his friends and family at The Hive. As his nerves wear down and his interrogators learn just how ruthless he thinks they are, they have nothing to report but his belief that they will kill and destroy his kind without mercy.
Celestia steps in to prove him wrong, and what Pincer learns leaves him questioning everything he has ever known — but also gives him hope for what he'd never thought possible.
Cover art commissioned from http://www.demonkings.com.
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Changelings are my favorite race in this series and enjoyed your take on them.
An interesting start, looking forward to where this goes
Let me be truthful I am normally turned off by Changeling fic for a couple reasons, reason which I don't think apply to this story, two of the reasons are being overly apologetic for the Changeling invasion (and enslavement of the ponies) and the ponies (and Celestia) being monsters and committing genocide.
But now with your story... proper treatment of POWs, the Guard not being monsters, Celestia giving the order to treat the POWs as well as her own ponies. You my friend have my attention, I look forward to seeing were you take this. There is one small issue, at one point you called Pincer, Scarab. Other than that I am very impressed.
Signed in the Name of Her Serene Majesty Celestia Everfree,
Celestia's Paladin: Ex Solis et Lunae, Provedntia et Prospartia
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Changlings! Woot woot. For the swarm!
fc01.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2012/161/c/2/changeling_wallpaper_1024x768_by_grumbeerkopp-d52xxuu.jpg
Well. . . this looks like it'll be a fun little ride.
You have my attention.
~With regards, the Current Student of the Second True Magic.
1894907 Thank you! Changeling fans unite!
1894922 I'll be sure not to disappoint, then.
1894938 D'oh! Thanks, it's been fixed. Glad you liked how the changeling POW was treated though. One thing I really wanted to show in this story was how while what the changelings did was bad, that doesn't mean every last one of them is evil and deserving only of hatred.
1894945 I legit don't know if you're being sarcastic
1895083
Love the flag! It sums up Pincer's line of thinking here pretty well.
1895120 Eeeeeeexcellent.
1895125
That is all I can ask, slavery is bad and so is genocide.
And in regards to the people rooting for the Changelings, sorry I just can't. FOR AN UNITED EQESTRIA, FOR THE CONCORDIAT!
Sigh,
Another changeling fic to add to the track list.
Eeeee, that is an awesome, awesome start, and I can't wait for more. I need maor! Like, nao! J/k, but yes, I can't wait till the next chapter. Tracked!
You must make the next chapter.
That and, Changlings or Ponies? It is impossible to chose. I love changlings as well as the ponies, no matter how green there hair is, according to Rarity, and HURRY UP ON THE NEXT CHAPTER!!!!
1896142
1895229 I hope this one proves worth it.
1895399 Glad you liked it
1896142 Workin' on it damnit!
1899317
It's quite good, but heh, after reading Not Alone, I had no doubt about it.
1895181 This is a good sentiment and it makes me sad that anyone saw fit to downvote it.
1894938
Agreed wholeheartedly, on both accounts.
Great opening, and I'm always looking for a good "Wedding Afternath" fic, so I'm faving this!
Though there's something I'm a bit put off by: Saber implies that Pincer will eventually "go home"... why would they release him, if he's explicitly a POW? Why not put Pincer in a prison camp?
Also, props for having Pincer keep his dignity when discovered. I've run into too many fics where an otherwise calm and rational Changeling protaginist suddenly starts begging for their lives when they're exposed...
1900133 Thanks, glad you're enjoying it so far.
The reasoning behind letting Pincer go is that Equestria and The Hive are, effectively, no longer at war. Celestia wants more information on the Hive, the changelings and Chrysalis so she can better prepare a defense if there's an attack in the future, but she's not really interested in taking the fight to them.
1900028
Seeing that both my comments have been voted down I'm going to take a wild guess that it is because I am unwilling it support the Changeling's invasion and I support not just Celestia but also a unified Equestria. Oh well what can I do? My sentiments about the issue can be summed up by my DA signature
1900090
Thank you for agreeing
Signed in the Name of Their Equestrian Majesties,
Ex Solis et Lunae, Providentia et Prospera
From the Sun and Moon, Providence and Prosperity
No Empire, No Republic, we are the Equestrian Concordiat
1900176 Okay, that makes sense. A lot of sense, actually: Canterlot is just recovering from an attack from a previously-unknown foe, so an offensive campaign wouldn't make tactical sense--the Guard would essentially be going in blind.
Damn, this looks very interesting. I like Pincer! some very... rational fears he's got, there.
1901886 Given that this is Princess Celestia we're dealing with, I don't know if that comment about his fears was supposed to be sarcasm
Glad you liked the character, though!
1901948 He doesn't know that, though...
This premise has captured my interest. The last changeling-prisoner story that caught my attention pretty quickly gave up trying to be written; I hope this one actually keeps going.
1901948 Are you sure it is Celestia?
Chance of meeting Celestia: 33.3%
Chance of meeting Trollestia: 33.3%
Chance of meeting Molestia: 33.3%
Chance of meeting Luna: 0.1%
So, in other words there is a 66.6% chance that his time in prison will become a living hell.
1900894
There's that and I just don't see canon Equestria ever deciding to go invading anyone anyways.
1900228
I might not been the invasion, but your comment might've been seen as anti-Changeling.
1903664 That was my line of thinking, yeah.
1903259
This being Starman Ghost, I don't think he'd have to worry about running into any of those versions of Celestia.
1904161 Hmmmm... Maybe not.
I love changeling stories. There's so many possibilities! I hope to see more very soon.
Also, 102 votes/Thumbs....only one of them is a thumbs down!
You're off to a good start here. I really like the guards' response since it implies the existence of a policy resembling the Law of Armed Conflict, specifically the part that says, "Collect and care for the wounded, whether friend or foe." I look forward to seeing how you contrast this with his time back at the hive.
Alright, this is looking just as good as Not Alone! I look forward to seeing Celestia's reaction as not a lot of fics present the situation like this.
So far so good.
1895083
Well hello there new desktop.
1905865 Thanks for the vote of confidence. There's a very good reason the treatment of Pincer reminds you of the Law of Armed Conflict, and that's because throughout this entire fic I will be making sure he's being treated according to standards set by the Geneva Conventions. Equestria may not have them, but I figure they're a good guideline for how a morally upright bunch would treat prisoners.
1906492 With any luck, it'll be better than Not Alone, as that would mean I learned from writing it
1906763 Hey there Warwolf! Glad you're enjoying it so far.
This is good. More please.
Certainly liking this so far. Looking forward to seeing how this pans out.
Ooh, this looks good. I like your style so far, and the concept has a lot of potential. Hopefully this widdle Changeling will learn the magic of friendship that ponies have :3
Cluster 32: Zombie Squad
I... I don't think I've ever seen a fic update in reverse.
I'm enjoying this story so far.
1923676 It won't from this point on. I just thought a prologue was needed.
I really like your take on changeling training.
Update in reverse, like a boss.
I like this changeling society you've built.
So I tried to upvote this, but Fimfiction told me "That would not be wise." I kid you not, that is the title of the error dialog that appeared.
No, Fimfiction, to upvote this would be wise.
1923871 What?! Uh, that's a new one
I like Scarab and want to give Pincer a hug. Is that good or bad? ;)
1923676 Next will be how Pincer was born!