Is this what Queen Chrysalis and the changelings looked like before they were “swiss cheesed”?

Turns out Celestia blasted those holes in them. Ouch.

@Background Pony #B55F  
don’t you mean young chrysalis?

@Background Pony #4FAA  

 
Dont count your chickens before they hatch. A good way to jinx it.

@Stotter  
But the only reason she needed control of Shining Armor was to get him to shut down/weaken the shield. If the shield wasn’t up in the first place, she could have just attacked like she planned.

I wouldn’t worry too much about them being flutterponies. Mirror-universe Chrysalis might be the pseudo-element of love, but she is still clearly a changeling with fangs and a wicked-looking horn. “Reversalis” also has no holes, and while it isn’t clear in the comics, she is often drawn by Price with the same double-irised slitted eyes. In fact, mirror-Chrysalis has the exact same horn length and shape that Chrysalis used to have. Except for the wings, hairstyle, and attitude, old Chrysalis and Reversalis are identical.
 
I personally hope that changelings are just changelings too (‘cause they’re awesome). This seems to be the angle Cook and Price are taking… so far.
 
Considering FiM changelings are heavily borrowing from mythological fairy changelings (the awesome non-Disney kind of fairy), I wouldn’t be surprised if changelings turn out to be less corporeal and more magical than ponies (this was hinted at in the first comic arc with the “magical creatures” bit). That could make the holes a result of starvation/insufficient magic -> incapable of fully forming themselves. But that’s just headcanon.

Finally Cook and Price seem to have written another good story! I feel like it was 2013 again ^^

@martianmister  
I’m a simple man who like simple explanations. Plus, if they were once flutterponies, that means they can be turned back into flutterponies. I dun liek that. I like changelings just the way they are.

@Kappe  
What’s wrong with Flutterponies theory?

@Background Pony #C8CF  
@Background Pony #B55F  
I’m really hoping it doesn’t turn out to be the “they’re corrupted flutterponies” sort of thing. Then again I don’t like the idea that they can apparently gain or lose their holes to begin with.

As others have pointed out, Chrysalis has holes and tattered wings in present time while all changelings were hole-less in the past with perfect wings. Their manes and tails were in better shape too. Chrysalis also doesn’t have a crown here, and her horn is a different shape (less crooked).
 
I’m going to guess their modern-day holey-ness is either from starvation or due to abuse/overuse of magic.

In the previous gen, it was the Unicorns with twinkle eyes.

Why… Why don’t they have holes in their legs. Why sparkle-eyed pegasi and just not using twinkle-eyes overall. This is stupid. Then again it IS Cook’s writing.

@TyroneBiggums  
Ok seriously your icon is so perfect

Chrysalis will never slam you to the wall, then whisper sweet cues as she takes your form with a smirk-WHA?!

@Background Pony #B55F  
I assume she made the anonymous threat and made them keep up their guard on purpose in order to make Shining Armor use up his magic, fitting in nicely with the false narrative of what was happening to him and why.  
Side note, you notice the lack of her signature holes? Can’t wait to find out how she got her holes.

@Starswirl  
she’s tall, and muscle is heavier then fat

@Background Pony #B55F  
The headache became stronger when they disagreed. It may have been Armor’s will trying to reassert itself. So, the ‘cure’ was simply another dose of mind poison.
 
And it’s true, her plan was actually fairly good. She didn’t intend to be unmasked yet, and the reason probably was that despite her draining and control, Shining Armor kept the shield going. He… just wouldn’t quit. She had to draw it out until he was too weak to uphold it.

Only a few more days until this comes out (right?), so eager to see it <3

Well, despite Chrysalis’s tactics in the show being a little poor, to be fair her plan actually worked. She infiltrated Canterlot, incapacitated the head of the local military/police without getting caught (who also was the only one capable of producing the shield), fed herself to the point of matching Celestia in strength, and then launched an invasion on a town in the middle of a celebration (presumably with the goal of capturing as many as possible). Also, remember that the mane 6 DID get caught by the changelings before they got to the EoH despite putting up a good fight. The local military/defense was totally overwhelmed (the pegasi of Timbucktu are supposedly fairing better than Canterlot in this comic). The ONLY reason it didn’t work was because of the deus ex machina at the end.
 
We don’t know the circumstances that led to Canterlot being on guard for the wedding. Maybe Chrysalis got stuck inside the shield and had to work alone. Maybe she was stalling for the other/more changelings to arrive. Perhaps Shining had to be kept functional until the last minute, or the disappearance of his shield spell would have started things too soon. She clearly didn’t expect to be able to beat Celestia when they fought. Hell, she might have been interfering with normal guard operations (through Shining or otherwise) too considering their piss-poor response to the changelings.
 
I guess the main reason it looked like a stupid plan was because we viewed it through Twilight Sparkle, who knew something was wrong. Too bad Twilight is terrible at actually convincing others of her opinion (especially when she KNOWS she is right and KNOWS everyone else is wrong). And heck, Chrysalis played her role relatively well when Twilight wasn’t around.
 
I’m still mildly curious about how Chrysalis could make Shining’s headache go away. That seems like some odd magic to know offhand for a changeling. Of course, Shining did later rejuvenate himself by apparently absorbing love…

Slippery lil bastards.

@dynamicv  
probably. better wait to see how it all turns up (again rainbow might be embellishing the tale).

@OptimusPrimevil
 
The king seems confused. If the pony being impersonated is the captain of the guard, the other pegasus ponies might be retreating on his orders.

@RyuSpike  
it’s rainbow dash that’s telling the story, so storyteller might be embellishing things a bit (for one, why the heck would the king follow some random guard’s order)?

@soundtea  
Ditto >.>