This story is a sequel to The Trial of Faux Pas
This is not a story about tolerance. This is a story about caution.
When Cheerilee gives her class the assignment to set up a little business, Apple Bloom and her friends set out to sell apple juice. Everything looks like it'll go smoothly, until the new kid in town starts selling a drink that's insanely popular with the help of Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon.
And Apple Bloom doesn't like it one bit. She thinks Lyra and Bon Bon have adopted a poison mixer out to brainwash Ponyville.
And no, it's not just because he's a changeling.
A/N: Yes, this is the sequel to Trial of Faux Pas, but the prologue pretty much tells you everything from that story you need to know. It's not required reading and it won't offer spoilers to this.
Note: this story has both comedic scenes and dark themes. However, since neither of these dominate in the story, they are not added as tags. This is meant to be occasionally funny, but the subject matter can get pretty dark, a little darker than what we've seen on the show.
The scenes in this story are not meant to remind you of racism, but apparently they might. This is not the author's intent nor is it the author's problem. If the notion of racism among ponies makes you uncomfortable, either avoid the story or finish it.
You have been warned.
Also, avoid comments for massive spoilers.
synopsis looks good. proceeding to read.
i better see the next part soon! and the better question is
who is Bastion?
I see potential. Will track.
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You may be interested in my blog, which gives more details on posting schedules. For now, you just need to know that in general, a prologue sets up the plot without really starting it. Hence why he's not in the prologue.
Hope the Celestia getting adopted line was to your liking
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2577019
snorted when i read that part lol
Been waiting for this one.
Proceed, good sir!
Why the many comments deleted? I know Candlelight's comments are fair.
So why, then?
2580530
Ah, that would be because of spoilers. Those comments are on chapters that aren't published yet. This story has been sitting in my storage box for quite some time, you see. It's only because I recently realised I really wanted to publish something that I put this up without a homemade cover pic (as has been the case for my other stories).
2580723 Ah! Thank you for the clarification.
This is going to be good...
Must. Read. MOAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Stop asking questions, kid. You'll just have to learn by doing.
That last line
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Don't let Lyra or Bon Bon hear you say that. They haven't had 'the talk' with him yet, and that sort of advice only leads to grief in that department.
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Huh. It must be true: my pre-readers thought the same thing.
That last line made me think of The Doctor for some reason.
But I am interested, watching story.
I really like this. I will continue to read it
Why Alveola? The only thing similar I can think of is the word "alveolar" (or "alveolus"), in reference to either anatomy or linguistics/phonetics...
...
I don't get it.
Man this is too good.
"got that right D."
That last line there at the end...
What.
2588524
It's a recurring thing for changelings in this storyline: their naming conventions are a mix of foreign languages that make sense to them, but not to anyone else. You can compare it to the silly mistakes people make when they learn a new language: it makes sense to the one making the mistake, that's why they make it. For example, 'Pristin' sounds like 'pristine', but really isn't a French word (I checked in the dictionary). Likewise, 'alvéole' refers to a cell, or in another context to a single honeycomb. The idea is that their new city state will be where they eat, rest and live, their home.
The term 'hive', to them, implies outside authority and a possibly oppressive regime, like a full country. Anything referring to a 'honeycomb' implies something small, private and homely, where individuals and families live. Alveola is not to replace their hive, but to be their new home, hence the name.
I felt it added a little something to the look and feel of a race that's not really sure what they need to be now, but has had influences of a lot of other races. Plus, it ties in with the milk and honey symbolism that runs through the story, as well as what the bees symbolise in the main conflict.
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to show that this kid really doesn't quite understand ponies just yet. It's been stated he's starting from scratch on that one, so I have to show that this is indeed the case.
Exactly what it says on the tin. Mom says 'Listen to your heart', son says 'Which one, exactly?'. It's a cultural difference with physiological roots. Also a cheap joke
Every single chapter, you always add ONE, single, inconspicuous line that causes the gears in my head to turn, run backwards, or disassemble themselves from sheer WTF.
On the first chapter, it was "How serious?" at the end.
On the second chapter, it was "The big one or the spare one?".
And now, you blow those two away with the following gem:
WAT.
2590446
Hmm... you're impressed by my single strange sentences?
i3.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/270/530/0ca.jpg
Seriously, though, I have a tendency to write with certain powerful lines and scenes in mind. It's like animation: I have my keys and my tweens. That line is a key. As for scenes, because of how the conflict unfolds, everything is important. When you have a character portrayed as ignorant of ponies, it's essential to have scenes that show what he is shown, so his motivations make sense in the story. Whether they then make sense to the reader is another matter entirely
.
I'm not too sure what to make your question, though. It seemed pretty straightforward to me.
Hmm, I have to wonder why the last two chapters didn't show in my updates. I do have a lot of unread ones. Maybe I'm at some critical threshold. Or maybe it has something to do with the age of the chapter. On my last chapter update on Cubic Zirconia, I actually had to unpublish it, and publish as a new chapter before it would show up as updated on the main page.
Anyways, liking it so far. Like Bastion and his misadventures with his spurs. Everypony wanting him to change shapes seems about right, and the red and black alicorn moment was classic.
The changeling blood line might be the key here, but it seems to be like the 'little prince' bit will be important, too...
2594302>>
I'm not sure, but I get the impression my updates are indeed not showing. No clue how to fix it, if it is a problem. Maybe it's because I still have a password set for unpublished chapters? It wouldn't affect it if I removed this password, right?
And yay! Glad you like it. Judging from the initial view spike, I think this might be the best thing I've written yet. It's close to Flight Camp in terms of plot and complexity, but it's getting numbers I'd expect from something simple like Upside to Your Backside. It beat the WaiWai fic in a matter of days, which is impressive from where I'm sitting. So yeah, all in all glad I decided to throw it out at long last
.
Now, chapter comments: the shape-changing thing was just too easy to pass up, and a good opportunity to give Rumble's character a little more of the 'cool guy' effect. As for those 'important' lines... no real way to tell at this point, is there?
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I wouldn't think the password would affect things. On mine, the create date of the chapter was in April, and to get it to show on the main page, I actually created a new chapter, copied everything to it, unpublished the original, and published the new version. Which was a pain.
I wish I'd seen it on the feature page. Seems like it's doing well, in any case. And who can tell what lines will end up being important, but it was certainly one that peaked my interest.
I was writing Scootaloo trying to clear her mind earlier today, incidentally. Funny that the largest concentration of her thoughts in one place is in a spot where she's trying not to think. Feels about right so far.
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.
I'll be sure to try it like that, then. It should be up tomorrow afternoon. Here's hoping it works
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Hope it does. I'm planning on doing that with the next chapter of Cubic Zirconia, when it's ready. Haven't written anything past that yet, so chapters after that won't be an issue, at least on that front.
No idea if I'm publishing anything this weekend, incidentally. I'm 1279 words into the first draft of the next Just Winging It chapter, and 561 into the latest draft of Cubic Zirconia.
Oh, and "review maths" is how you'd say it in the uk, but "review math" is how it'd be said in the us. Not sure if that's a mistake, per say, but I thought I'd point it out.
"Changeling blood", I can only think of two things to explain this phrase:
1) The innocent misunderstanding; It's simply the name for the drink he invented i.e. the same way a 'white Russian' isn't actually a liquified person
2) The major mishap; It is in fact some sort of changeling based product that probably contains some sort of mind altering/subverting effect (hence why everypony likes it so much) and Bastion's unaware that what he's doing is wrong.
Well there are my wild theories for the day.
From the description:
Back to this chapter:
Shenanigans, I calls 'em. AB is already showing signs of intolerance/racism/"species-ism"; whatever you want to call it, it's there, and the "Changeling blood" issue hasn't even really begun--at least, AB couldn't know about Lyra and Berry already having some.
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Well, to be fair, the description states things from Apple Bloom's point of view. And she does usually try to justify her actions in the show, so she wouldn't admit to just being racist.
In the story, it's from Scootaloo's perspective. She sees her friend's demeanour and draws her own conclusions.
2596903
Seems like a good assessment, sure. Kind of an obvious one, though. As more information trickles in, more options become viable and more questions demand answering: if Bastion knows his drink is harmless, why hesitate about selling it? If it is a brainwashing concoction, why is it Lyra who pushes him into selling it when he himself hesitates? And that's just what's seen so far. The chapter I just put up adds more to it, and the next one should really give the analyst crowd a run for their money.
Anyway, thank you both for telling me your thoughts. This story is very much about provoking thought, and knowing what it's provoking is extremely helpful.
...What..is in the drink?
I guess we'll find out soon enough.
This. This makes my brain twist (is he a actual prince, is he ACTUALLY brainwashing ponies by accident and is that stuff really changeling blood?) so many theories and greet cliffhangers. Thumbs to you!
Good chapter. Cheerilee's talk with Bastion rather stood out to me. I rather suspect some of the things said there are going to be fairly important.
Soon he shall control the whole town, by accident.
the dont fight thing will probilly come back and bite him on the flank.
like he gets into a fight with someone and they beat him up because he didn't fight back.
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I don't care what AB would or wouldn't call herself, nor do I think much of any "justifications" she has for her actions, especially so far, since all she knows about him is "he's a Changeling". I'd bet that if Bastion was just another pony, she wouldn't be acting like this at all, even if he still became friends with DT and SS and mixed a drink that turned out to be popular. Looks pretty clear to me! Now, though, I do hope AB learns her lesson...
As for this chapter: That seemed a rather sudden change from "Changeling blood" to "red nectar". Did Piña suggest it or something? You cut that point off when Bastion told her than name rather... strangely. Also, I have a horrible feeling that "not thinking" problem is going to tie in somehow with the "Changeling blood" problem, and that care package... I've read stories with headcanon where Changelings have to "process" love (and even other emotions) into a physical form before eating it to actually be able to get nourishment from it; I wonder if that could be similar to what's happening here, but you haven't provided enough information on Changeling biological processes in this story's fanon yet to be sure...
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Well, err... thanks for the feedback. I'm sorry if I protray Apple Bloom unsympathetically or out of character. If you think she is being racist because of how she acts, alright then. You'll just have to wait and see who gets lynched at the end, no?
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Or because someone else is making him by remote control, or because he was programmed to do it and he can't stop himself.
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Really? Come on, now. This is Ponyville, he'll be fine living amongst ponies. Ponies never fight. Ever.
2603538
Oh, no, you don't have AB out of character. Unsympathetic? Yes, but not OOC.
I don't think she's racist; she is. She's treating Bastion differently than the way she'd treat just another pony while, I restate, the only thing she knows about him is that he's a Changeling--how can there be a question?! There is no need to "wait to see who gets lynched"...
2603583
I've been trying to come up with a proper response for hours, but in the end, I figure it's best to just stick to the debate that the story raises. You say Apple Bloom is racist, there's no question about that. You deduce this from what, exactly? The fact that's she isn't being nice and the fact that Bastion is a changeling. You assume this is cause and effect at work.
Consider these options, then:
-Apple Bloom doesn't like changelings in general because they frequently change shape. She feels they are deceptive by nature. If there were ponies who had this same skill and were known to abuse it in the same fashion, she'd feel the same way. The conflict would be resolved by Bastion showing he doesn't want to be deceptive and never changes his shape.
-The fact that changelings feed off pony love scares her. She's worried because she thinks there is now a predator in her class. If this were another species known for consuming energy, or even an open vampire pony, she'd feel the same way. Conflict resolution would entail, as you suggest, that care package or some other form of love feeding and the assurance he doesn't want to drain ponies.
-There's the issue of lesbian marriage and family. Apple Bloom's been raised conservatively, and as such she doesn't quite get the family Bastion ended up in. The notion of his race or abilities doesn't even play into this option. And here, it'd have to be Applejack to tell her that while she might not approve, it's no reason to take it out on the kid.
I'm not saying any of this is true, or if Apple Bloom's not being racist. What I am saying is: the term 'racism' implies that race is the causal factor. Prejudice is the only thing you can be sure of, so far. If it's abilities, feeding habits or family situation that are bothering her, would the fact that he's a changeling still be considered the root cause and thus make her racist?
More to the point, aren't you curious as to why she's racist, if she turns out to be?
2603538
lies! they fight just off screen! X3
still this is a great story and i am eager to see if i'll be right or not and i hope im not i like him D:
hope to see the next chapter soon X3
2603968
-Changelings in general may be known to abuse their transformation powers, but Bastion is not known to do this. If this is true, AB is holding him by impressions of what others of his kind did--a.k.a. pure, simple, and straight-forward racism.
-How Changelings feed off love and what this means for ponies being fed from is all fanon, so I just have no way of arguing one way or another until you give more concrete evidence in the story! If AB is just as clueless as me (and the rest of the readers), however, then she's jumping the gun, being scared of Bastion without sufficient reason, so, no matter what the truth turns out to be, even in the worst case scenario, her fear is out of ignorance--another form of racism.
-You don't state this in the story. This is another point of pure fanon, so you need to define this out right or at the very least imply it heavily, which you haven't yet. That, and even if this is true, why would it affect her feelings towards Bastion at all? If anything, she should be directing her animosity towards Lyra and Bon Bon. As for AJ (or other family) being the potential cause of this? Again, fanon; until an author (like yourself) gives AJ these traits, they're largely up in the air. If this (only this!) is true, though, then I'd have to admit it's not racism.
As for racism being the root cause? It doesn't have to be. All of the above can be true, and AB (or anyone) could still also be racist.
Well, "why" is always an interesting question... but here I had assumed it would be because of the siege on Canterlot (which would basically equate AB with people who don't trust Germans because of WWII).
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Let me just look over that... ah, there. Found it.
See, that's the input I was looking for. Thanks for that.
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Uh, what? Mind cluing me in?
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Though I will admit there are several other things on that list I haven't seen yet.
I have to pick my words really carefully to avoid spoiling the end. Suffice to say part of your response is on my list of 'stuff I was hoping people would say'.
Anyway, next chapter should be up tomorrow. And I'll spoil this much: Apple Bloom and Bastion, alone.
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Oh, yes! Haha! I know what you mean with that "hoping people will comment about". Fun.
Apple Bloom doesn't seem very bright if Scoots and Sweetie have to spell everything out for her.
Liar! You damned liar! You just used his affinity for beekeeping to say he "thinks it's normal to have a hive instead of a home"! You took what he said and twisted it to your own ends!
"What is he doing?" Ask yourself that, AB. So far all he's done is sell a really popular drink. Think about that for a moment... Now, ask yourself, "Who is selling the drink?"... That's right! I don't see you accusing DT or SS for doing something to the drink!
Ugh, I'm only getting more and more frustrated with AB... but that's a good thing from a storytelling point of view!
lol yay another great chapter! ^_^
and Applebloom....your doing the same things the others did with Zecora you racist :P
lol jk
but!
what is his necotr? i mean it sounds gross i mean is be doing naughty thing in it or is he cutting himself and putting the blood in the drinks? im asking becouse of how its worded! XD
so yeah still wana read more of it! :D
Time for some fancy mathematics!
Odds of Chrysalis being Bastions mother: 93%
Odds of Applebloom's initial dislike being related to shared status as an orphan: 64%
Odds of Bastion doing SOMETHING that regular pony society wouldn't approve of due to ignorance: 72%
Odds of Lyra and/or Bastion being brainwashed/sleeper agent: 21%
Odds of some sort of hooplah in the near future: 99.8%
Odds that all of these values have no real statistical merit and are in fact made up on the spot: 100%
2610736
. At least she's not openly attacked Bastion, right?
Her emotions are getting the better of her, it seems: she can't think rationally anymore, poor girl
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I suppose the worst part is not really knowing if she's lying or not about liking him. Either answer works at this point: she does have good reason to be friends with him, she points them out, no?
And again: she hasn't really attacked him, not to his face. The initial frustration wasn't something she took out directly at him, and the dodgeball incident can still be due to a misunderstanding. She did apologise, and maybe she did think he had Earth pony strength. As for the rest: is it a crime, not liking someone? The accusations are another matter entirely, this is where I'd admit she's going down the slippery slope. But she can still explain herself and apologise for all this, no?
It wouldn't take all that much for them to be friends, if this is just a misunderstanding. If....
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I do have the teen rating for a good reason. I don't want small children getting any ideas. And the Zecora thing wasn't based on race, as far as I'm concerned. This was a pony (no one knew what a zebra was) who lived alone in a place rife with monsters. Race wasn't a causal factor there. Next chapter will be up tomorrow, hope that's not too late for ya.
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You're not making any sense here, man. If Chrysalis is Bastion's mom, then why isn't he in the village, protected by the second most powerful mage changeling in existence? Why even bother taking a prime target? And why would Chrysalis brainwash her own son?
Shared status as an orphan? He just said he's not an orphan, and aside from that he's got two actual parents, not siblings to take care of him. Lying about being an orphan, maybe.
Ignorance of pony society, how? He's had two weeks to prepare, and he's been a sponge for information these past few days. He's as well-educated as they get.
Sleeper agent: well, duh, he admitted to being conditioned as one.
Hooplah in the future? In one of my fics
? Clearly you are new to my works, sir: I play things straight and have very obvious plotlines. There have never been any grand reveals or mind-blowing plot twists in any of my fics, ever. Go on, I dare you to go find them 
.
'Tis true, sir: thine statistical merits leave much to be desired.