How could we judge the changelings?

[InvaderShy 18]

In the episode "A Canterlot Wedding- Part 2" after the moment Queen Chrysalis exposes her true form she says: "Equestria has more love than any place I've ever encountered". Taking this account we can conclude changeligs are emotions parasites. 

 

Maybe I can be wrong for saying this, but changelings seem to enjoy being like that since their queen states that she and her subjects have previously invaded other kingdoms.

 

So, can we say changelings have a culture based in war and destruction of lives of others? Or do they do that out of necessity?

[Scootalove 10,689]

I think that the Changelings are a race, who's sole purpose is to feed on love as a necessity to keep the hive alive. They need to feed on love to survive, and since her race follows the queen's orders they have to help her conquer and feed.

[The Blades Shadow 445]

In the episode "A Canterlot Wedding- Part 2" after the moment Queen Chrysalis exposes her true form she says: "Equestria has more love than any place I've ever encountered". Taking this account we can conclude changeligs are emotions parasites. 

 

Maybe I can be wrong for saying this, but changelings seem to enjoy being like that since their queen states that she and her subjects have previously invaded other kingdoms.

 

So, can we say changelings have a culture based in war and destruction of lives of others? Or do they do that out of necessity?

This has been discussed quite a lot actually, and I assume this topic is going to get merged with the main one for this.

But I'll answer anyway and the changelings are probably going to get a lot more hate. I think that they need to invade other places to get love since it seems like they need it to survive. They may destroy the places, but it could be something they can't necessarily control. Chrysalis may force them to destroy places for her after they can't get love from it for whatever reason (As in, if they get caught and ponies refuse to give anymore love).

[FNGRpony 658]

I had a head cannon idea for them http://mlpforums.com/topic/76332-head-canonn-and-a-grim-dark-idea-the-best-one-i-ever-had/

 

just felt like sharing,

 

their no meant to be sympathetic, which is a shame,

we don't really know anything about them

[Frith is Magick 1,471]

The execution seemed flawed. The Changelings require love to survive, that I have no problem with. My issue is that they launched an assault on Canterlot when the strategy that would get them "food" would be more discreet. Likewise, the ponies, who speak of love and friendship, could have welcomed the Changelings in a worked out a mutually beneficial arrangement instead of banishing them violently. The Changelings could have lived with the ponies, offering help and friendship, and the ponies would have provided the love the Changelings need. Everypony could win with such a system.

 

The next problem is Chrysalis. I like to think that she was blinded by power, focusing on benefiting herself over the rest of the hive. Her initial goal was to get Shining Armour to drop the barrier, allowing the rest of the clan to get in, but instead she revealed herself as a villain after ordering a counterproductive assault. The whole time she was impersonating Cadence, she fed off of Shining's love, becoming more powerful than Celestia. The episode needed a villain, but her entire methodology seems myopic and selfish.

 

Changelings being emotional parasites isn't a problem, provided the love is given freely. It is also necessary for their survival to feed off love. Humans slaughter thousands of animals annually for food, ponies herd and mistreat sentient beings as part of their way of life, so how is eating love, something that causes no harm, any worse. Also, if Equestria has more love than any other place to give, then why is it a problem if some of i is consumed? If feeding on emotion caused imbalances leading to hate, that would be a problem, but there is no reason to believe that would happen.

 

Basically, everything up to here is a long-winded way of saying the Changelings are not inherently evil, and cannot be judged for their ways. In addition, I truly feel a mutually beneficial treaty could have been established.

[Ianpiersonjdavis 514]

Well, it seems to me that they can't really help if they were born as parasites who need to feed on the emotions of others to survive and their actions in 'A Canterlot Wedding' seems to imply that they were starving and desperate to the point of borderline insanity.

 

So, having prejudice against someone for an accident of birth would mean that the characters who hate the Changelings, either haven't put things into perspective or have learned nothing from 'Bridle Gossip'.

 

It also raises the question of whether or not Queen Chrysalis secretes some kind of pheromone that compel them to obey her, or they do so of their own free will out of loyalty.

[Legacy Dash 439]

Maybe they do it for a bit of both - they need love and happiness to survive, but they also like to cause chaos and cause destruction.

[IridscentNionios 1,421]

@@InvaderShy, Basically you can't...none can. For one you can't accuse a whole race of being evil. Second you lack perspective and thus your opinion is subjective making your opinion always invalid. Third... you lack information... you just judged a whole race from one phrase. I am sorry... but it doesn't work that way. You are using the common and BORING rule of "Everything you say can and will be used against you." Last but not least you assume that Chrysalis speaks for all the changelings... what if she doesn't? Or you think that her will is the will of the changelings? Like a unified conscience?

[QuirkyUsername 1,576]

Easily. We judge them from a racist stand point. They are different therefore bad

 

I'm joking racism is bad kids

 

 

Seriously however as people have mentioned they may not be inherently evil and instead just living under the rule of a dictator. Considering how many humans have attached to changelings who's to say some ponies might not themselves. If they are individuals within their own race and not more of a "hive mind" as mentioned again it is perfectly viable that both races could co-exist. Equestria pretty much does have love to spare so if changelings aren't a pure evil race I'm sure that they could give some to changelings.

Edited October 23, 2013 by QuirkyUsername

[pinkiefan1287 610]

It is very hard to decided if all changelings are evil or are there some good ones.

 

If we are looking at Chrysalis army I would have to say they are all evil. Remember, Chrysalis did say they have been doing this for along time. So that means they have wiped out other raises before attacking Canterlot. 

 

As for other Changelings, we need to see more in the show to get an idea.

[FNGRpony 658]

I read the title and was expecting something deep like "how could we as humans judge the changelings."

seeing as how we're fairly parasitic ourselves.

 

[BalanceBrony 259]

You can't, plain and simple. I think it has been pretty much fleshed out at this point, so here's a synopsis of why we can't.

 

1) We don't know anything about them, except that they need love to survive

2) They need love to survive. We can't grudge them for exerting their natural right to preserve themselves.

3) For all we know, Chryssi could be a tyrant who enslaves the changelings. We don't know.

4) Equestria has spare love, doesn't it? And if not, couldn't Cadence work her magic to feed them?

 

And if those aren't enough, one could argue that judging as a whole should not be something we do. Isn't the show's maxim Love and Tolerance? It's almost like a kind of inherent contradiction which we see in Villain episodes. We also see this with Discord. Chaos is not something inherently evil. In fact, as somepony experienced in the philosophy of Balance, I would argue that Discord and Chaos are necessary to an extent. In fact... I'm just going to make a thread about that now...

 

But anyway, judging is wrong, especially when we are talking about the nature of these creatures which cannot be changed.