About the Changeling-Pony relationship...

[Zygrograxgra]

There's something I don't get about it.
Why aren't Changelings a part of society in the same way as ponies?
Currently they use cunning and lies to get love for food, and if they're caught we can only assume. This puts unneeded drain on both groups, Changelings spending time and energy (maybe even manpower) to get food with high risk, and ponies spending the same trying to root them out and find those who were replaced.
It would be far better for both sides than the current set up. Changelings could get the love needed without risk, and they could add to the workforce of Equestria without adding a lot to the resource demand.
They probably wouldn't even need disguises.
The only downside I can think of would be if Equestria went Democratic style, for obvious reasons.

[Bon Bon]

Wut.

[Zygrograxgra]

Wut.

I'm thinking about stuff too much. Happens from time to time.

[lurk852]

Wut.

I'm thinking about stuff too much. Happens from time to time.

Nah, you're fine. Good points all round.

Makes me think of this picture, entitled "you can have all the love you want":

[Iodine]

If they feed off other ponies' love, it makes the ponies weaker though. Changelings are parasites.

[Chishio Kunrin]

What Iodine said. Shining Armor ended up weak and had trouble casting a spell because his love was being fed on.

[Zygrograxgra]

What Iodine said. Shining Armor ended up weak and had trouble casting a spell because his love was being fed on.

Most likely that was due to being fed on too much or from some side effect of the quite obvious mind control. She was quite clearly drawing far more than she needed to live, she was getting more power from it than she could ever want.
It's like one of the blood sucking leeches. One or two usually don't do much harm, as they get what they need and leave. A lot more can weaken or kill you, however. They have use as well.

[Valentine]

Possible, but unlikely.  What we do know about pony culture is that it does tend to be all inclusive and welcoming to all races; so why would they exclude the Changelings unless their need for love caused harmful side effects and/or the Changelings themselves, not just their queen, tend to have a cruel, mean streak to them.  It's possible that at some point Celestia has tried to make peace with them for the very reason you are talking about, but was turned down because of their very nature.  Perhaps the Changelings just don't want to play nice.

[Iodine]

They're bad guys, you saw what they were doing to the poor ponies once they got through that barrier!

[Zygrograxgra]

They're bad guys, you saw what they were doing to the poor ponies once they got through that barrier!

Could be just one group, could be because they do in fact have a hivemind, etc.
It's like saying I got mugged by twelve unicorns, so all unicorns are evil muggers.

[Iodine]

They're bad guys, you saw what they were doing to the poor ponies once they got through that barrier!

Could be just one group, could be because they do in fact have a hivemind, etc.
It's like saying I got mugged by twelve unicorns, so all unicorns are evil muggers.

Considering this is a kid's show and villains must have their place, I seriously doubt it.

[lurk852]

They're bad guys, you saw what they were doing to the poor ponies once they got through that barrier!

Could be just one group, could be because they do in fact have a hivemind, etc.
It's like saying I got mugged by twelve unicorns, so all unicorns are evil muggers.

Considering this is a kid's show and villains must have their place, I seriously doubt it.

One could also say that considering this is a kid's show about friendship and magic, it seems very strange for them to designate an entire race as evil.

[Zygrograxgra]

They're bad guys, you saw what they were doing to the poor ponies once they got through that barrier!

Could be just one group, could be because they do in fact have a hivemind, etc.
It's like saying I got mugged by twelve unicorns, so all unicorns are evil muggers.

Considering this is a kid's show and villains must have their place, I seriously doubt it.

One could also say that considering this is a kid's show about friendship and magic, it seems very strange for them to designate an entire race as evil.

This.
The only time it makes any form of sense to have an entire species have a small number of possible alignments, in or out of a realistic context, is if they are somehow related to deity stuff.
Even more so when they're intelligent. Just look at human, or even the ponies in the show.
Each behaves differently, some are nice and pure good, while others are rude and crude and evil little things. Most fall somewhere in the middle.
I'd like to know why you're so against the Changelings, clearly as a whole, rather than taking the individual ones into account.

[Iodine]

I'm not against Changelings at all. In fact I think they're very cool. I like villains, and they're bad for a reason and they are important. They create conflict for an interesting plot, and they have pasts and motivations that cause them to turn to evil. A lot of fans love Queen Chrysalis and Discord BECAUSE of how evil they are. G3 and G3.5 had no villains and look how boring it was.

[Valentine]

Not just that, but it's hard to say "they can't all be bad" when more than a couple hundred of them were seen to be pretty bad.  I'm not saying this is proof ALL Changelings are bad, but I think any who don't share the view and personality of their queen are the minority.

[Zygrograxgra]

Not just that, but it's hard to say "they can't all be bad" when more than a couple hundred of them were seen to be pretty bad.  I'm not saying this is proof ALL Changelings are bad, but I think any who don't share the view and personality of their queen are the minority.

Understandable, but as I said, it's unlikely that's all of them. Look at various species of insects. Only one hive? No.

I'm not against Changelings at all. In fact I think they're very cool. I like villains, and they're bad for a reason and they are important. They create conflict for an interesting plot, and they have pasts and motivations that cause them to turn to evil. A lot of fans love Queen Chrysalis and Discord BECAUSE of how evil they are. G3 and G3.5 had no villains and look how boring it was.

So there is a constant need for villains in order for entertainment, when it's usually the conflict that they cause that results in that.
What I'm saying by against them is against them being able to go into society. World isn't black and white, even in the show. I've yet to watch a kids show that had black and white alignments, to be honest.

[Blues-Music]

The changelings aren't idiots from what we saw in their only episode they use strategic thinking instead of flying around transforming randomly so people can love them.If the changelings attacked more often we would have seen them take over ponyville in the first episode.

[Ninkon]

Because the changelings are sentient and speak the same language their integration into society is a possibility but at the current time Changelings are hated and feared in the public eye. Changelings are scary, strange, and alien to ponies by their behaviour and appearance alone, not to mention the fact that they are parasitic. How would you feel if some creature had replaced your spouse and had been feeding of your love for their false image? Ponies see them as a threat and therefore are hated and feared for their very nature, no pony would willingly welcome them into their home even if one seemed to have good intentions because one wouldn't trust a race of natural born liars.

[Iodine]

Like I said, they are parasites. They feed on love which is a form of energy. It's like letting a vampire walk freely around society and people willingly allow them to suck their blood every night.

[Zygrograxgra]

Like I said, they are parasites. They feed on love which is a form of energy. It's like letting a vampire walk freely around society and people willingly allow them to suck their blood every night.

They are parasitic because they need to be, due to the current pony opinion of Changelings.
If they were accepted, then they would cease to be parasites, as they would instead develop actual relationships and get love meant for them. Personally, I find the vampire analogy not very accurate, but that's mostly due to how it's gathered.

Because the changelings are sentient and speak the same language their integration into society is a possibility but at the current time Changelings are hated and feared in the public eye. Changelings are scary, strange, and alien to ponies by their behaviour and appearance alone, not to mention the fact that they are parasitic. How would you feel if some creature had replaced your spouse and had been feeding of your love for their false image? Ponies see them as a threat and therefore are hated and feared for their very nature, no pony would willingly welcome them into their home even if one seemed to have good intentions because one wouldn't trust a race of natural born liars.

This is probably the most accurate out of what's been said.
It would take time to change the opinion of them, but it could be done.