Auto-imported from (1294048)

Artist here. I mostly made this comic out of a sense of … "damage control" for the fanfiction-scene, and to throw some headcanon out there to reconnect the "old" changeling story-concepts with the new canon.

What follows are my ramblings and a possible headcanon to make everypony's fanfics "less ruined". ;P

^{(Also, in the unlikely event anypony wants to use this hastly scrambled-together comic for fanfic cover art … you have my permission. There's even a textless version )}
___
Advice for fanfiction writers regarding the season 6 finale — SEE BELOW!
___

I am very heavily invested in the MLP-fanfiction scene.

As such, the season 6 finale left me with very mixed emotions.

On one hoof, it was pretty awesome (Come on! Would you ever have imagined Trixie and Discord teaming up to invade the changeling-hive?!), and holds potential for a lot of interesting fanfic/comic/art ideas:

- A Discord / Trixie magic show (plus the inevitable ship-fic, they both love to annoy Twilight Sparkle)
- Luna and Starlight relating to each other and their "past sins" ("last month" in Starlight's case, ya know, the whole mind-control thing)
- Poor, timid Thorax trying to rule a kingdom
- What about the changelings who weren't at the Hive at the time of the metamorphosis? ;)

…On the other hoof, it feels like Hasbro took away one of our favorite toys. :(

Which is ironic, because they most likely did this to sell toys. °eyeroll°



Do I like the new changelings, or the fact that they metamorphosized? Not particularly, no, I must admit. :/

I do hope fandom content will change my opinion over time, though. :)

Weirdly enough, the s6 finale — with a two week head-start, no less — seems to have spawned less fanfiction than the week-early Brazil-release of EQG 4… during the week leading up to its US-Netflix release. O_o

I've seen less than 10 fanfics based on the finale. In total. …Not "read", seen. :O
I guess nopony knows what to do with these new "Neon-Changelings"? O_o
___

My advice for fanfiction writers:

If your story, or a story you were planning to write has been jeopardized by the s6 finale —-

Don't give up your fanfics and headcanons just yet!

Old fanon doesn't die that easily, if it was well-established prior.
^{(Or do you think the "RariSpike"-ship would sink, even if canon torpedo'd it directly? That cruiseliner has been sailing for six years!)}

It's all about reader-immersion, making sure the reader doesn't get jarred out of the experience half-way through the story.

If you can make it clear up-front that the story ignores the finale, takes place in the past, or an alternate universe/continuity, everything should be fine.

In a way, the distinction between "Neon-Changelings" and "Cheeseleg Classic" can give your reader the right idea just from the cover art alone. ;)


So, I sincerely hope the s6 finale doesn't discourage fanfiction-writers from continuing their changeling fanfics, or to publish their unfinished fanfiction-ideas after all! :O

___

Headcanons, and how to deal with the s6 finale:

"Just learn to share your love" = "instant metamorphosis" is … problematic. It'd break pretty much 90% of all changeling fanfics. ∧_∧#

Instead, here's a possible headcanon:

The changelings sharing their love wasn't the cause for their his metamorphosis. It was a catalyst. :O

Off the top of my head, I can think of at least six different factors — some of which non-repeatable — which may have combined to cause the metamorphosis.


Mostly, I blame the magic-sucking throne.

Think about it: It was absorbing the magic from FIVE alicorns. The Lord of Chaos. AND the six Harmony-bearers of the Rainbow-Power.

Not only that, but its victims were right overhead. The flow of magic through the air must've been electrifying.

To top it off, Thorax was already super-charged with love from his open stay in the Crystal Empire, possibly with considerable trace amounts of magic from the Crystal Heart as well. ( Heart. Love. Get it? =P )

He was so well-fed there, he never even got hungry anymore — unrelated to his later metamorphosis, mind you. (Meaning, even the new 'lings would still need love.)

And THEN Chrysalis uses her magic to drain the love from Thorax.

That's at least six different types of magic interacting here. Every changeling present was basically standing in a super-charged magic-field that was tuned as such to only allow changeling-access. Magic responds strongly to emotions, Thorax shot a beam of love… the throne, well, at least cracked at that moment, and who knows what a powerful magical artifact does when it's broken…

Thorax being the first to transform, and also the one with the most love already absorbed prior, thus was the one most receptive to the magic and therefore absorbed more of it. Et voilá, new changeling king! :-)



This headcanon has certain implications; namely, any changeling not present (or close enough to) the epicenter would remain unaffected, regardless of loyalty to Chrysalis or not, or their friend/ships with ponies. Also, the event may or may not be non-repeatable. (Throne's destroyed / Chrysalis' magic is a necessary factor)

A story idea comes to mind:

A black, hole-riddled changeling seeks an audience with King Thorax. She is accompanied by her pony-husband. They've come to ask a question: "Was our love not strong enough?" ;_;




^{…Actually, the remaining "cheeseleg classic" changelings (or those from other hives) could still be the "bat pony" to the "Neon-Changeling's" unicorn/earth/pegasus-ponies. Cheeseleg classic's got fangs, Neon-changelings don't. Bat ponies have fangs, E/U/P don't. ;)}

Upvotes at import: 44 | Stars at import: 28
Posted previously at: 2016-11-12T14:41:46 | Posted previously by: Ultra the HedgeToaster