From The Wasteland Survival Guide

Changelings*

Changelings. They are always hungry. If you learn nothing else from me, learn that. But, you ask, what is a Changeling? What do they eat? What do they look like? The answers are simple: They are parasites. They eat our emotions.

They can look like us. Any of us. But they don’t know what we know. To expose them, catch them in a lie or contradiction. What you do with them after is up to you.

They are a rare sight these days. Before the war, they almost conquered Canterlot, and since the war they almost went extinct. I thought they had gone extinct, actually! So be careful, but don’t get paranoid. They are a threat, but rarely are they deadly. They feed on our emotions; happiness; love; not our bodies. But what is a pony without those good feelings? They are rare enough as it is, these days. Don’t let your fleeting moments of happiness be stolen away.

Don’t become just another hungry monster in the Wasteland.

*This new section was made possible by the contributions of Seel Ranger Kernel and her associate, Surprise.

Author's Note

Well, after seven years and just over 200,000 words, it's finally done. I know I wrote this slowly, and I am incredibly grateful to everyone who has read through to this point, especially those who have stuck with me throughout all these years. Thank you for reading, and I hope you have enjoyed the journey.

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to post them. I will try to answer whatever I can. I appreciate all the feedback I get, even if I don't always reply to everyone. You're all incredible. :)

I would like to give one last thank you to KKat, as well as all the other FO:E fic writers who contributed to my early inspiration for this story.

As for me, I haven't been active in this fandom for quite a while now, outside of this story and my original plot notes. Details and surviving characters changed quite a bit from the plans I originally had, but the broad flow of the story is basically the same as I had written down back in 2013. This is all to say that I am done writing for the MLP fandom in general. I finished this last project, and I've simply moved on to other interests. I might, at some point, go through this monster and make edits/clean things up, but that won't be for a long while, if ever.

HOWEVER, if you have enjoyed my writing, and you do want something more from me, I have self-published an original sci-fi book, which can be found on Amazon in both ebook and paperback: [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BGDVSGSX]Thalci Varner and the Red Children of Paradise. Although it is much shorter than this fic, the writing is more refined, and I was able to make a much more cohesive work (at least in my opinion). Plus I also have a sequel planned, so there's more to look forward to!

Regardless, I hope you are all staying safe during this trying time, and keeping your friendships strong. Thanks again!