On Changeling Crime and Punishment · 8:17pm Jan 6th, 2014
(This is based on my head-canon and my story Black Queen, Red King.)
Changelings have a very interesting society in terms of criminal activity. For the most part, crime between changelings is non-existent. As empathetic creatures, any changeling who commits a crime immediately knows how their victim feels. Retribution from the hive is swift and often times automatic, which makes criminal activity a capital B "Bad Idea."
On the other hand/hoof, crimes committed by changelings against other races rarely get punished, with a few exceptions. If the changeling is caught while in disguise, they will be tried and punished according to the law. If the changeling flees and can find an opportunity to abandon that face and don a new one, the old face is stricken from the archive of changeling personas; no changeling will ever wear that face again.
There are, however, two categories of crimes, called major crimes, in which an actual trial is used by the changelings, though this is a very different process than any non-changeling race's methods. The first is treason; any action that threatens the safety and well-being of the hive is considered treason. The second set, which is more strongly punished by the Earth hive than the Equa hive, is Rape and Pedophilia.
The trial of a major crime lasts less than 30 seconds. The king or queen forces their way into the minds of the accused and any witnesses to view their memories. After gathering the required evidence, the memories in question are displayed over the entire hive mind, where a vote is cast. The king/queen gets 5 votes, which are cast last to avoid biasing the hive.
Because of the nature of a changeling's magic, it is notoriously difficult to contain one. Even if they are wiped of all memories of magic, changelings are usually so in-tune with it that they can re-discover and regain control of it in under a week. Furthermore, telekinesis and the ability to pass through solid objects are so simple to a changeling that they could accidentally re-discover these powers all on their own through experimentation and sheer stubbornness.
In light of this, if the accused is found guilty, he or she is sentenced to the 'heart-breaker' method of punishment. It is a torture/execution method saved only for the worst offenders. However, since the only crimes that make it to changeling court are of that extreme nature, the heart-breaker method is also the most common sentence.
To enact a heart-breaker, the King or Queen seals the criminal's connection to the hive mind; he or she is now deaf to all other changelings, and the hive is deaf to the criminal. Only the King or Queen can hear the victim. It is similar to solitary confinement, and can drive a changeling mad. This has the side-effect of stripping away all knowledge granted by the hive memory, including where changeling buildings are, how to use magic, and how to identify other changelings, which prevents the changeling from betraying the hive by leaking information.
The criminal then is forced into a form determined by the King/Queen and has his ability to transform taken away; even physical trauma cannot undo the transformation. Being locked into a form is the equivalent of having a limb cut off and the bleeding slowed by 99.9%; it's just as painful and the changeling will slowly leak magic. Then, the draining ability is twisted so that 100% of the love that they collect is directly given to the shared hive reserve, from which they can no longer withdraw from. From that point on, they only have their own personal supply of magic to rely on, which is slowly being depleted and which they have no way of restoring. The combined effect is that the changeling has been transformed into a normal human or pony with chronic pain, but knows exactly when their heart is going to stop beating. Any magic use, should they learn how to use it again, shortens that time.
This is where Queen Chrysalis and King Rex differ on how the punishment is enacted. Chrysalis gives the sentenced changeling exactly enough love to last the duration of their sentence, then exiles them. If they use magic for anything, they will die before the restrictions are released.
King Rex on the other hand, gives exactly enough love to last three days. He also gives them a phone number (the warden) to call every third day. If they call the number, their memories are forcefully examined to see if they have betrayed the hive and if they have improved. If everything checks out, the warden on the other end of the line will go through the following script with the changeling criminal:
Warden: State your name.
Criminal: *Says name*
-Memories checked-
W: Everything checks out. What was your crime?
C: *Says Crime*
W: Why is *crime* bad?
C: *Explains why his crime is bad*
W: What are you?
C: A bad changeling
W: What do you want to be?
C: A good changeling
W: What do you promise to do?
C: I promise to obey all the rules. I promise never to do *crime* again.
W: Do you still want to live?
C: Yes.
As soon as the script has been read through, the changeling will be granted enough love to continue living for the next three days, only for the process to repeat. The script is designed to cause cognitive dissonance within the criminal. Since action beat attitude, saying the script will cause the changeling too believe the script. It's a non magical form of reform (brainwashing). King Rex doesn't like using magic to change a changeling, this is how he keeps the changeling on a sort leash. If a call is missed, the King is not happy with the memories, the changeling doesn't recite the script, or magic is used, the changeling will not receive enough love to make it to the next call.
If the changeling survives the duration of the sentence, then all restrictions are released and the changeling is integrated into the hive. However, if the crime was severe enough, this is the point at which the changeling is executed by magic starvation induced heart failure.
Overall, changelings consider this a fate worse than death. Considering how fast the King/Queen can learn of something that happens within the hive, a changeling could find themselves with a death sentence minutes after committing a crime, even if no changeling sees them do it.
Extra-tight security....
DAMN.
So we are going to see some punishment soon on a ling?
1689716
Hadn't planned on one anytime soon, this was just a bit of head-canon. Maybe eventually.