FimFiction Link - Short ID: 507301/the-changeling-not-so-civil-war
Published: Nov '21
'The Changeling Not-So-Civil War' is a one thousand and three-hundred word EaW oneshot. As Thorax is seemingly at his wits' end and facing immediate destruction at the hand of the loyalist Changelings, the tide of the war is suddenly turned by a divine intervention.
I will admit that I'm not overly familiar with EaW. With due diligence, I tried to thoroughly read its wiki and understand the setting and circumstances, however, I'm fully unaware of the inside jokes and references this fandom-inside-a-fandom has. The reason why I'm clarifying this is because I'm about to rip into this fic and I want to make it clear, that I'm doing it from a lay-reader's perspective. Perhaps, if you're in on the joke, this is a fantastic shitpost, though, due to the lack of a comedy tag and the general weakness of the plot, I have my doubts.
With that out of the way, what really is there to say about this fic? The entire plot is carried by an almost entirely literal deus-ex-machina in the form of a golden Changeling, who's seemingly both invulnerable and possesses psychic powers that'd make alicorned-up Twilight's magic blush. He basically singlehoofedly turns the tide of the entire war by making short work of Thorax's enemies. He also does this with no explanation and seemingly gains nothing from this. Finally he leaves, but not before turning Chrysalis herself into a nu-ling.
There are zero stakes in the story, nor any introspection from any of the characters. The godbug just poofs into existence, does its thing, then poofs out once more. It's pure, distilled wish-fulfillment, but sadly not the kind that would leave one satisfied. The sad thing is that there is merit in the concept, a deep examination of how a warring world would react to such an overwhelming force suddenly appearing is something I could see in a fic. Would the favored nation begin to fear its benefactor? How would the allies react? Would they be willing to put up with such forces? Would the enemies keep on fighting or with morale broken would states simply crumble to dust? Sadly nothing of sorts can be found here.
Overall: 2/10 This fic does the bare minimum to be called a story. Can't recommend.