Would It Matter If I Was?
is a My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fanfiction written by GaPJaxie.
In the aftermath of the Canterlot Wedding and the changeling invasion, Fluttershy poses a question to Twilight: what if she, all along, had secretly been a changeling? What follows is a philosophical and ethical debate in the vein of Fantastic Racism and What Measure Is a Non-Human?, as Fluttershy brings up the possibility that not all changelings are bad, and discusses if her secretly being a benevolent changeling would influence her friendship with Twilight.
The fic became very popular upon its posting and inspired a lot of Recursive Fanfiction, each with their own take on the titular question, collected in this group.
This fanfic contains examples of:
- Affectionate Parody: A lot of comedic takes on the fic were done, usually with the philosophical question swapped out with a more mundane or bizarre query.
- Ambiguous Ending: The original fic leaves it ambiguous if Fluttershy is a changeling or not. Fluttershy claims that she isn't, and just wanted to convince Twilight that she shouldn't judge an entire species based on the actions of a few, but Twilight is left dwelling on the possibility when Fluttershy simply leaves while noting they just established the real answer is irrelevant to their friendship.Fluttershy: Even if I was a changeling, why would I lie? I mean, since you just explained it didn’t matter.
- Ambiguous Situation: Is Fluttershy a changeling, or is she asking the question because she is worried about what might happen if other changelings are caught? Did Fluttershy use the stare on Twilight? Would Twilight have attacked Fluttershy if she hadn't?
- Armor-Piercing Question: It's in the title.
- The Beastmaster: Fluttershy, with Twilight realizing that surrounding herself with animals that love her would be consistent with her feeding off of their love as a changeling. Fluttershy states she just likes animals when pressed on the matter.
- Fantastic Racism: Fluttershy points out that while changelings did attack Canterlot, no one knows if they represent the bulk of the changeling race, or were a small group. Either way, it's not fair to instantly condemn all changelings because of what Chrysalis did, and expresses worry that failing to heed this fact could potentially lead to innocent Changelings being prosecuted.
- Fridge Horror: Part of the story — as Twilight begins to list off Fluttershy's character traits, she realizes she could be a changeling.
- Hypnotic Eyes: Twilight realizes that Fluttershy's stare ability might actually be changeling magic. The story also implies that Fluttershy might have used them on Twilight to get her to back off.
- What Measure Is a Non-Human?: Fluttershy points out that, even if she was a changeling, she's still an intelligent, independent being who has forged lasting relationships with other ponies and lived in peace among them for a long time. So does being a changeling compromise the value of that life?
