Yeah, it's kind of hard to achieve symbiosis when feeding actively drains the victim of energy. Perhaps they are capable of subsisting off smaller amounts that aren't harmful to the host/partner/whatever you would call them, but they gain extreme amounts of power when they drain harmful amounts, and the process is addictive. Kinda like the Ardat Yakshi in Mass Effect, except less lethal.

edited 22nd Apr '12 9:52:24 PM by PerpetualLurker

Round 2

The thing is, it's actually a great idea to be in a morally impossible situation due to being what you are. It's just that it's done so poorly in a lot of places that whenever I see something going in that direction, I can't help feel that it'll be bad.

I'm also reminded of what happened to Yusuke's demon father in Yu Yu Hakusho. He decided to stop eating humans... and allowed himself to starve to death. I have to give him credit, it takes a certain strength of will to hold on to your convictions when your choice is literally killing you.

also: that is at least the fourth time that Epic Wub Time has been posted.

edited 22nd Apr '12 9:55:48 PM by Enlong

It has a major case of Art Evolution. Just look at the recent strips to compare. Also, I somehow missed Luna dancing, even through two viewings.

@Enlong Hey somebody asked what I was talking about. Who am I to deny even a single person the epicness of EPIC WUB TIME.

edited 22nd Apr '12 9:55:38 PM by stevebat

Jammin Luna.◊

Did anyone else notice that, throughout the episode, Luna referred to her with "I"? (well, two lines, but still)

Think perhaps she's brushing up on her present-day grammar?

Or maybe it's simply not proper to use the royal "we" when talking to her sister, who comprises the other half of the kingdom.

@steve: Wow, that's really well done. I can hardly believe that's fan made.

I shall point you once again to the argument of Blue and Orange Morality. I mean, these are things that live off another creature's emotions. they're parasitic by nature. They probably don't have much consideration for their 'host' species as it applies to a food source. I mean, since they're required to live among their hosts in disguise, it's very likely they could develop feelings for them if they're sapient, but food is still food. To them the fact that we have to murder our food seems probably A: Quite cruel, and B: Incredibly wasteful.

What I'm getting at is that I don't really think the changelings are really 'evil'. I think the chaos they caused could be seen as quite strategic, and doubt they really intended harm on any pony aside from the mane six(that would be counter-intuitive, after all). So even if a changeling fell in love with a 'real' pony, it's unlikely there'd be any guilt. Oh, they'd likely be afraid of being caught, but only for the fear that the other pony wouldn't love them for their looks, not so much that they'd be mad about the whole parasitism thing.

There's still plenty of good story opportunities as far as that goes, though.

Jammin Sweetie Belle.◊

They look evil◊

edited 22nd Apr '12 9:59:14 PM by Chadaman99

Back to the topic of changelings: I think that sort of moral dilemma could very well be written well. It all depends on who does it, and how they go about it.

I can't help but imagine that if I were to try my hand at one point, it would involve an homage to this song, somehow:

edit: I don't know about Blue and Orange Morality, here. Chrysalis was very decidedly malicious about the whole thing. Hell, I'm pretty sure she intended to get Twilight to murder the real Cadance. And who's to say that allowing them to feed would have been anything like a good idea? From what we could see, Chrysalis was draining Shining Armor, both physically and mentally.

edited 22nd Apr '12 10:01:06 PM by Enlong

How's this changeling theory pic?◊

I would say the look insectoid. Problem is while their wings are insectoidish their wings are not and the holes in their legs indicates they don't have a carapace.

I think The changeling queen is her own being. not a corrupted pony. -Unless all monsters are corrupted ponies. But in that case, what kind of messed up world would this be anyways?-

edited 22nd Apr '12 10:02:02 PM by stevebat

Actually, I think the holes rather lend themselves to the idea of an exoskeleton of some sort, since they don't seem to expose any bone structure underneath the "skin".

Oh yes, because being ugly obviously means they must be mean and dumb and nasty, hm? Why do you think they have to change to be loved?

Look, nothing about spells them as inherently evil. They require love freely given to feed, so it's not like they steal it, and I sincerely doubt they'd even be able to drain emotions of their own volition. They're imitators by nature, not by choice. They probably don't even have the same standards for evil as we do. They're probably very nice ponies once you get to know them. But oh, they aren't pretty like other ponies, so they must be evil! Let's shove them out, not let them come anywhere near us! they can't be any good, so we'll get rid of them forever and they'll never bother us, stay mean and nasty around the other creatures.

Their queen might be unpleasant, sure, but she wasn't even doing that much harm to SA beyond using him. I mean, most of his problems came from his own doing, what with the barrier and all. Dude would have been exhausted anyways.

edited 22nd Apr '12 10:03:50 PM by kegisak

So I'm guessing you don't believe in objective good/evil?

That is by far the best direct to video Disney sequel, even though it's not that great. Zera's song was the best. I listen to it in German all the time.

Also, holes are stigmata.

edited 22nd Apr '12 10:04:40 PM by condottiera

And ya know, rounding up and blasting up a city.

edited 22nd Apr '12 10:04:58 PM by Chadaman99

@Blue: On a personal level? No. I think there are some obvious things you shouldn't do - I believe all lives are sacred, everyone deserves a second chance, you must always honor your promises and duties, etc. - but reason is far more important than action.

Strategic chaos. Separate loved ones from each other, then move in and find a host. Unpleasant by our standards, yes, but to them? All part of the business. It's not like they can move slowly if they do it en-masse. And why would they hurt anypony? That's counter-intuitive. they need them alive and well to feed.

edited 22nd Apr '12 10:07:02 PM by kegisak

So do Luna's guards.

Er, I'm on the "evil" side, but I'm just saying. Appearance means nothing.

edited 22nd Apr '12 10:08:36 PM by Swasfews

Condot do you have a link to the song?

She is not evil because she is ugly. Any correlation of appearance with alignment is purely coincidental.

Everything sounds eviler in German.

edited 22nd Apr '12 10:08:14 PM by condottiera

I'm sorry, but Chrysalis's actions showed her to be pretty damn evil long before her physical shape was revealed. If Chrysalis was revealed to be simply another pony under a spell of illusion, I'd still want her gone for all that she did. Her actions, not her shape, are what I'm going on. Hell, from the dialogue, I'm not even sure if their feeding on love is a nourishment thing, or just a way to gain power. And even if they do need it, it was Chrysalis who made the first move. It was them who chose invasion, subjugation, and, well, let's call it what it is: outright war.

If they're good, let them show it. If it's nothing but a predator/prey relationship, then why should we condemn the Equestrians for defending themselves?

edited 22nd Apr '12 10:09:08 PM by Enlong

Always Chaotic Evil