At the end · 9:41pm Sep 8th, 2015
To start with, I wanted to highlight a few pieces of art someone did of Nictis. These come from Sintakhra, who really made my day with some drawings of Nictis!
The feedback I've gotten for these stories has been amazing, and I've been so happy that they could stir up so much discussion. It's been particularly novel getting fan-art of my own fan-work! So before we go any further, I just want to say thank you to everyone who's followed my stories through to the end, and especially to those who have contributed, whether in word or art. I've enjoyed writing these stories even on their own, but the feedback they've received has made the whole experience that much better. Thank you. 
So now that I've finished this latest story, I was wanting to talk some more about the series as a whole. And to start the whole thing off, I suppose I might as well start with where the stories started; the inspiration that started it all.
Fragments was inspired by a dream I had.
Now, I'll caution that dreams are quite possibly the worst place to find inspiration for a story. Some of the comments Luna made about dreams are very applicable here; your brain is very good at taking something completely absurd within a dream and saying, "this makes sense". A dream is unlikely to make a good story because, once you're able to think about it consciously, you can see the nonsense for what it was. Quite simply, the dream I had would have made a horrible story. It was one of the few dreams I've had of ponies, only I was a human that got to turn into a pony. So of course I was a pegasus, because flying, duh. But very shortly into the dream, I realized that wasn't sufficient. After all, I was special, so of course I was actually an alicorn (And yes, that was my dream-self's reasoning 
). Even in my sleep I realized that changing races like that was kind of odd, which meant that, of course, I was actually a changeling. Only then I started angsting that I was lying to everyone, and even though the mane six (Because of course I became quick friends with them) suggested that I keep it a secret so I don't freak out ponies, I don't like the idea of lying to all of them for my own sake; after all, how can they trust me if I've been lying to them? So I show myself, Twilight and co speak up for me, and Ponyville accepts me. Except then Celestia comes and tells Twilight that I can't be trusted and have to be imprisoned or even killed, and Twilight is devastated that her mentor that she looked up to as a paragon of justice and kindness would make such a horrible decision, except I realize it's Chrysalis so we all fly to Canterlot, free the real Celestia, boot out Chrysalis, and save the day hooray.
So yeah, that wasn't going to work as a story.
But it planted the seed of inspiration, and I mulled some of the ideas over and hacked away the excess until I got down to the interesting core: a changeling revealing himself because he has grown to dislike the idea of lying to ponies by his very appearance. And then I built up from that.
I also have to admit, there was a bit of an additional motivator: hubris. See, this was shortly after we all saw the changelings for the first time, but despite the short time-span, there were already some notable cliches among them, not to mention among fan-fictions in general. So I looked over all of them and thought, in my most amazingly humble and modest way, "I can do better" ( I'm going to hurt poor Twilight's head at this rate). And while I did it, I decided I'd tackle some of the big cliches, as if to show how they can be used well. So I made a story where my "OC" comes to town and immediately befriends the mane six.
Kinda, sorta, not really. It uses the trope, but it also subverts it, and that made me happy. I even threw in a big bad amnesia cliche to see if I could do it well. I think it worked. Mostly.
I hadn't intended to follow up Fragments, but the seed was already there from the dream: the changeling and Twilight helping to save Equestria from Chrysalis. That formed the basis of inspiration for A New Way. So I started to think up what to do for that, and thanks to that thinking... I ended up writing something completely different.
When I was first thinking up the details of A New Way, I knew that the second changeling that had shown up at the end of Fragments was going to be a big part of it. He was going to be Sky's friend, and probably the most important changeling to the story other than Sky and Chrysalis. So I thought on how to detail his past. Nictis nearly had his whole past summarized in a couple chapters at the start of a new story. Fortunately, I realized there was more than enough there to make a full story of his own, and as soon as I decided that, I knew I had a great opportunity to show ponies through the eyes of a complete outsider.
I also got to use some of the lessons I'd learned in Fragments. I had a much better idea of what was going to happen throughout the story, and I knew exactly how to end it. I had a better idea of how to structure things, and of course, I had a bit more experience. Still, there were some things I had to change. The events in Manehattan, for instance, are completely different than how I had originally planned them. Originally, there was a whole thing with an organized crime group taking advantage of a bunch of homeless fillies and colts, with Nictis getting into the mix of things, forced to help in minor but growing crimes until he eventually manages to flee the city. Could have been interesting, but... it's not really very pony, is it? As interesting as a good crime caper could be, the whole thing didn't really fit into the world I was portraying. Fortunately, when I got to Manehattan, I just thought on how Nictis would proceed, and it made the whole thing obvious. It even gave me the opportunity to set up an attempted journey home.
When it came to A New Way... I have to admit, mistakes were made. I had the basic idea of things from the beginning, but a few chapters in, I realized that much of the end part was nonsense. It was neat, but even from what I had established so far in the story, it would be a swerve. Originally, the idea was that Chrysalis sees an opportunity and tries to take over Canterlot again, but after a good long struggle, aided by a renegade princess, was beaten. Again. As much fun as a big conflict could be, it didn't really make sense, even with Chrysalis's pride. Fortunately, I had a lot of different characters there, so I just had to think along with them, and things quickly fell into place. With that, Chrysalis's pride caught interest in how much power an agreement with Equestria could bring her. The idea of changeling princesses breaking away gave a new troublemaker. The shadowy war of robbery and ambush was toned down to a few much more minor incidents. The death of a changeling kicking off the final events still occurred, but in a very different way, and to a very different target; Cara's mention of Sapphire gave established reasoning for a break-away Infiltrator, and (thanks to its effects on Cara) an even better emotional connection than the original target... which had been Chirrup, killed in an ambush when patrolling the streets, an idea that I had felt somewhat uncomfortable about for several reasons, and which I was glad to find a reason to avoid. The essential tones of the ending were basically the same (There was always going to be a raid to rescue the captives held within the hive), but I think the way it happened was a lot better, this way.
Unfortunately, there were casualties in this. I had originally intended Glitterbug to have a more prominent role. I was glad to still have her show up, but it felt a little sparse, as she was there, but didn't really get to contribute much. Fleur de Lis was also intended to have a bit more presence, helping to search among the upper class for changelings, but that ended up being pared back.
And then there were entire scenes that ended up being cut. I had, at one point, intended to have Nictis decide (Probably due to Chrysalis sending Infiltrators to harass Spark) that the only way to both protect Spark and save the hive was to kill Chrysalis, only to then have him realize at the last moment that he couldn't... and instead waking her up in the middle of the night to explain to her how close she had just come to dying, and that the one and only reason she was still alive was that pony she kept trying to mess with. I had a cute little bit with his necklace and commenting on Spark being his "moral compass". But with things slowly progressing with the peace negotiations, and Chrysalis curtailing her offenses, I thought it made far more sense for him to play the skilled Infiltrator through manipulation instead of assassination. So instead, he tried to be her friend. Or at least, an adviser.
Coming back to the topic of inspiration, a lot of the elements in the story were inspired by real life. Three of the most important characters, in fact, were inspired by elements of myself.
Sky's most obvious element from me is a love of flying. I really wish I could just go flying any time I wanted, like he can. I have to make due with flight sims, and it's just not the same thing. He also has the same kind of sense of right and wrong, and a similar curiosity for new knowledge.
Spark's earliest appearances were heavily inspired by myself as a kid. I, too, was convinced I was going to build a robot from pieces of random scrap. I even had a brain for it, and I knew it was the brain because the middle part spun and made all the thoughts, which made perfect sense to me as a kid (It was a fan motor). He also had the same kind of shyness I did as a kid, and his progress since then somewhat mirrors my own. He's still quiet most of the time, though not crippled by shyness, and can be quite talkative when the conversation swings over to something he knows well.
And then, Nictis. I have to admit, Nictis has a very similar outlook on social interaction as I do. Most of the time I'm dealing with people, especially people I have any reason to dislike in whatever way, I tend to approach the situation in a way that will most efficiently serve me. A lot of that comes from working in customer service jobs for so long; I recognize that it'll be easiest on me if the people I'm dealing with are happy, or at lest, not upset, so I put a bit of effort into making sure they're content, so that I don't suffer for it. Granted, I do actually like seeing people happy, but when you deal with a few hundred people a day, most of whom are about as enthusiastic as a sack of wet rocks, they start looking unfortunately interchangeable. He and I also share another, somewhat related thing: we're good liars. It's something I really, really try to avoid practicing, but I'm apparently pretty good about it. Having a good amount of creativity and sense for realism probably helps. I've always loved coming up with stories, and a good story is essential to a good lie. And of course, there's the one saying I'm probably most fond of from this whole series: "The best lies are the ones that are true".
I could probably go on and on about the stories without end, but I think that's good enough for now. If anyone has any questions, about anything, feel free to ask here. We can turn it into a little question-and-answer exchange. And heck, just for fun, if anyone has any questions for any of the characters, feel free to ask, and I'll have them answer in-character.
Well, there is one question that I can anticipate coming up. Now that I've completed this series, I'm sure there are some wondering if I'm going to write something else. Well...
I might have something planned.
Can't wait to see what you do next.
This is the hardest lesson for pony fan authors to learn, and it's the reason I've enjoyed your changeling stories. Respect for the setting and the existing characters is more important than just mashing settings and genres together.
3378928
Yeah, definitely. It's a very interesting setting, and I've always found it so much better when stories play within those constraints than altering them to fit their story.
Which is maybe just a little bit ironic with the story I'm planning...
It's always fun to see how much things changed from initial conception; I'm glad you didn't go with a crime drama sequence at the end of Without a Hive. Not because it wasn't very pony, but because it just seems like it would be hard to tie that into the main plot of "I'm a destitute and depressed changeling trying to survive" without taking away from it.
Those are normal. Naked dreams, falling dreams, tapioca pudding dreams, and alicorn dreams are by far the most common. My initial inspiration was a whole lot more silly, so don't fret the dream part.
Yeah, I can see why that wouldn't fit. The rest of the story was working on a whole different level - two large groups coming together an resolving their differences as a whole - so that kind of scene would be far to "one-on-one" for it to feel right as a deciding factor in the overall narrative. This wasn't about Nictis kicking butt and making things right; it was about Equestria and the Hive finding middle ground.
But... We would like some more Chittri, sir. Please?
I didn't find this series until A New Way already had a good chunk written, so it's interesting to see how this series was conceived and planned out. Heck, I read Without A Hive first (still one of my all time favorites, including regular fiction). So to me, Fragments was about the changeling Nictis met rathar than Without A Hive being about a changeling Sky met. I'll have to check out the Fallout Equestria fic when that comes out.
I await more awesomeness....*slinks into shadows*
3378940
Yeah, exactly. And Nictis, the life-long more-or-less Infiltrator that he was, would want to put that before his own personal desires. Granted, if something did happen to Spark... well, he might take that poorly. But threatening Chrysalis before hand wouldn't be likely to prevent it (Heck, might get her to say "oh yeah?" and do it just to show him), while it would seriously damage the chances of peace. It was an amusing scene in my mind, but it really wouldn't work in the story.
I won't entirely rule out writing more in this continuity. I love the characters, and some of them we've seen far too little of. That said, I don't really have any story ideas within it. Well, okay, there's the not-entirely-serious-but-maybe-it-is idea of a clop story, mostly for stuff like Meadow Song and Spark's first time, as awkward and heartfelt as it would be (As well as possibly some of the silliness Dash and Sky get up to). But for more serious story ideas... I'm sure I could probably scrape something up, but I haven't really found something that leaps up and demands to be written like a certain other story idea has.
3378972
I've had several people say that they think it's better to read Without a Hive first and then Fragments, since that's apparently a somewhat common thing to do. So I can totally see that. I'm also glad that they stand on their own enough that people can read them in that order and still have the stories work.
As for the new story, hopefully it won't take too long. It's been bubbling and brewing in the back of my mind since before I even started on Fragments, but about four or five months ago it just finally coalesced into something that really took hold. I've already got a rough sketch in my head. I'm giving the original a read-through right now, then it's nailing down a few more details, and it's off to writing.
The announcement of Fallout 4 might have lit a bit of a fire, too. Since I've had this brewing for a few years, I'd like to actually get the first parts of it published before it's released so it doesn't just look like I'm hoping on the bandwagon!
3379004
Wait, did that actually happen at some point behind the scenes and I'm just not remembering? Or is that a future-after-repaired-relationship thing? I don't know how comfortable I would be reading that.
3379085
It's basically a background event that would have happened shortly after Spark and Meadow Song's relationship got serious, but not actually spelled out or even hinted at in Without a Hive. It's something that was far enough off-screen to not come up in the story itself, even though it might be an amusing way of showing their relationship growing.
Basically, yeah, they got intimate when off-screen (That is, back when Nictis was playing Meadow Song), but I haven't shown anything beyond kissing or nuzzling.
Although if things continue to go well between them, there should be some intimacy in their future, too.
YES! Since Fallout: Equestria - Change has been dying a slow, painful death from the lack of updates, I've been looking forward to a new high-quality FO:E changeling fic.
Congrats for finishing the series! It's been a long, fun ride.
3379116
That one was looking so promising, but then it just kind of petered out. With only one update over a year, I've forgotten most of it, but I vaguely remember it as being possibly the best changeling in Fallout: Equestria story, at least of its time. It's been one of the many stories that I've seen dying a long, slow death, which is always a sad sight.
I've always held the idea that I'll never let one of my stories die like that, just hanging out in the open, "incomplete" but never touched. Better to declare it cancelled, though I hope to never do that, either. I like my stories too much for that.
In any case, I hope the new story will be able to measure up!
May your muse run ever onward, and it will be nice to see another FoE changeling fic up there up with hivemind being the only good one atm to my knowledge.
3379173
Yeah, that's the other changeling-focal-character story that comes to mind, with the benefit of it still updating. There aren't many good Fallout: Equestria stories with a changeling viewpoint, though there have been a fair number of good ones recently with changelings as secondary characters.
It might be a little silly to go immediately into another changeling-focused story, but you know, I just like these bugs.
3379214 Its a ton of the charm, so many can write to certain viewpoints. You do very well from the changeling one. And I love the bugs when they are given the right touches.
Oooh, a Fo:E story with a changeling main character? I've been trying to find a good one! I love Fo:E and I love changelings as main characters, so a mix is perfect!
3379266 Hivemind is and isnt a changeling central one, and i think the only one that I know still updating if you arent reading that one.
3379523 I am, but it's always nice to have some more variety in the genre, especially with changeling head-canon I'm more willing to accept.
Well, you might manage something that no other author has manged to do: make me read a Fallout: Equestria story. I like a lot of the world building the original story did, but overall, the writing quality of the franchise is... poor.
As for this series, seeing it end is bittersweet. I love reading a great story, watching the characters develop, and getting to really see the world through the eyes of another person. Of course, it has to end eventually, but knowing that you're leaving those characters that you've grown so attached to behind is never easy.
But it was one hell of a ride.
This is why in the Shadow Wars Storyverse, after the Reconciliation a lot of Changelings wind up doing work that could be described as "customer service / hospitality industry." Their empathic sense makes them naturally very good at it. As at Club Medfly from Twelfth Equestriad Interview.
3379601
That's one of the things that made me hold off on reading any side stories for the longest time. There's that common saying that 90% of anything is crap, and that's certainly true there, too. Only in this case, it's also been a common "in" thing to do, attracting people who want free attention, or attracting people who haven't been able to come up with a full story idea themselves and see it as having done half the work for them (Well, the same could be said of fan-fiction in general). That said, I'm glad I did. While there's a lot of bad ones, there are some very good ones, too.
Though if you do only read one side story, I'm glad to hear it would be mine.
Man, I hear you there.
3379645
And the former Infiltrators are already trained to interact with people with a smile while thinking, "my day would be so much better if I could find some easily deniable way to kill you." Perfect for customer service!
3379568
Hopefully my portrayal of changelings will work well. I do plan on changing a few things, but it's mostly minor stuff, like toning down their ability to sense emotions. Probably the biggest change is that the common changelings are female instead of male in the new story, to have bee/ant-like haplodiploid reproduction... which, being changelings and therefor being able to change their physical sex on a whim, isn't really much of a change.
Did you ever consider killing off any of the main characters? I was really feeling like you were building up to an unexpected capture/torture or even death of Spark when visiting the hive.
Seeing the story tagged as completed was a bit of a shock, but overall I wasn't terribly upset. I'm more disappointed that I wont be able to read any more of this subtle romance between Nictus and Spark. It's just so damn satisfying to see how Nictus progresses in his relationships.
This story series still sits as one my top 5 (actually 2nd place) best stories on the site. I'm all aboard the hype train for your Fallout story. Keep the quality as top shelf as you have, and I expect another favorite in my list. Personally not a major fan of Fallout universe fanon, but if anyone could convince me otherwise.. well..
3379694
Well, once of the biggest problems with this one is that I didn't even like the story that spawned the spin-offs. The only good thing about the original story was the world building.
But hey, I'll give yours a shot just because you're the one writing it. You do good work, so maybe you can salvage FoE for me.
3379700
I had idly considered it, in a kind of "what if" sense, but it never really went beyond that. I did want to leave open the possibility, since it's a good threat, but I never seriously considered offing one of the main characters. Chirrup was the most significant character who was close to getting an unfortunate farewell, but I'm glad that didn't happen. Not just because he deserves better, but I think that would have been a bit cliche... not to mention ending any chance of Chrysalis would have had of remaining in power, and she would almost certainly know that.
Thanks for the comments, and I hope the new story doesn't disappoint, once it's out!
Depending on the reasons, I'm not sure if my little Fallout: Equestria story will be your cup of tea, but hopefully I can make something entertaining.
3379718
Ah! Well that would certainly do it, then!
Analyses last pic...
no way! Shut up! Shut up shut up!!!
Checks Author follow status... Not following?!? State rectified!
Looking forward to the future Geodesic! Or, wait, that's not the correct name now, is it? Gagh how we hate memory corruption!
3379004 To be entirely honest, i'm not sure if I would have continued with the series if I had read Fragments first. It was well written, but a well written cliche is still a cliche.
Just saw the title for the FOE fic (the lettering was to dark on my phone), i'm kind of intrigued where your going with it now. It'll also probably be the first FOE side fic i'll have read.
i totally get what you mean, I just had that happen recently.
I didn't even think about how many fics would come out after Fallout 4, it would be a good idea to get a chapter or two out first.
I am really going to miss this series. The ending feels a bit sudden, other then that I enjoyed these stories a lot. Without a Hive my favorite by far, but I also eagerly awaited updates for A New Way. The worst part of most good stories is that they end (although that of course is much preferred over stories that never get finished). Thanks for the ride, and even if FO:EQ Is not my thing, I hope at some point to enjoy another of your stories.
3379568 Changelings are so much the wildcard in FoE, and its a shame they have so little coverage except as punch clock villains for a chapter on so many.
I will miss this story, and hope to see a one-off here and there, or possibly side-stories about Nictis and the reintegrated captives in the future.
I am torn regarding FOE... I do not like the sprawling mass of word salad that it's become, but perhaps I can overlook such preconceptions for your story. You have a fan in me that will follow your work for quite a long time to come.
So sad it has to end ;_;
Thanks for making a wonderful story <3
I will forever miss Meadow Song though
3379793
Yeah, and especially since it has a wartime changeling waking up well after the apocalypse. As soon as I saw Fallout 4 was going to start that way, I regretted not having my story already started.
Although I guess at that point I was still debating actually writing it. There was a certain reluctance to actually write a Fallout: Equestria side-story, not just because it automatically opens up comparisons to the original, but because it's a somewhat divisive topic to begin with. Still, it's an idea that's stuck with me, and much like my other story ideas, has been insisting on being written.
In any case, I'll be doing my best to avoid stretching things out with meaningless filler and side-quests.
3380157
I'm hoping to have a more reigned-in story for mine. It shouldn't be anywhere near as huge as many stories, even the original. If I had to guess right now, from the rather sparse outlining I've done so far, I'd guess in the neighborhood of A New Way's size. But then, I've been absolutely horrible at guessing how big stories would be beforehand, so the final figure will probably be somewhere between half and double that.
Thoroughly enjoyed Without a Hive / A New Way!
Really disappointed you're doing fallout equestria next, the origional story is so flawed. Fallout / mlp always seemed such a forced crossover to me. I'd much rather get more of what you've been doing. Doesn't everything get to be a trilogy now a days ?
just look at this stupid thing vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/falloutequestria/images/2/27/Battle_saddle_in_action_by_justmoth-d46tw1q.gif/revision/latest?cb=20120219211331
But write what you enjoy I guess.
3380782
So did this. There's also Fragments, which was the first story I wrote in this little series.
I actually thought it did a surprisingly good job of mixing the themes of Fallout into the MLP universe, even though I had the same impression before reading it. It gave a fairly plausible background as to how the world we see in the show slowly became the world in the story over the course of decades. I wouldn't say likely, but plausible, and that's what matters for a story.
Yeah, that's pretty bad, and not at all what I think of for battle saddles. Mostly, because the weapon is clearly designed for humans, with minimal adaptation, including keeping many portions that make absolutely no sense (Why would a battle-saddle weapon even have grips and a butt-stock?). And the ridiculous folding mechanism that would wreck accuracy and reliability (DIRT! RIGHT IN THE OPEN CHAMBER! Because you're sure not chambering a round when you've got the breach and bolt separated from each other! How does that even work? Did they make it an open-bolt weapon, too? GAH!). It would also be completely unnecessary if the weapon were mounted appropriately, instead of insisting on pushing it ridiculously far forward just so they can use a sight at the same point on the weapon that a human would. There's no need for that pointless furniture, or a mechanically complex and fragile arm system to move the entire weapon so far forward just so you can use a sight placed in such an inconvenient location.
No, when I think battle saddles, I think of stuff more like this:
vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/falloutequestria/images/2/20/Calamity_by_vombavr-d59679s.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/536?cb=20120927182214
That's a much more sensible design, one that looks like it was built for its intended purpose instead of being some clumsily modified piece of human equipment. If you need a sight, use an extension on the bit or cross-bar to put a magnifying optic or reflector sight in front of the user's eye. Much better.
Any chance of an epilogue? I'd be curious to know that happens to Spark and Nictis, what the hive is like a few years down the road, what old Chrissy is up to, that sort of thing.
3380955
I'd considered doing an epilogue, especially since I had for the previous stories, but after all the discussions and that final look-around at the end, it just felt like it would mostly be repeating things. Plus, I kind of like the idea of leaving it a little open.
While it was interesting to read about where these stories came from, I am very disappointed in your decision to move to Fallout Equestria and will not be reading that story. The whole setting is fatally flawed in every way imaginable with impossible technology progression, an unbelievable political background, and terrible equipment designs. I am not going into it again here because it takes forever, but my comments on this blog post discuss the horrible flaws in the foundations of the setting and weapon designs are discussed in excruciating detail in the comments on this blog post. I will definitely read anything else you write, but Fallout is firmly off the table for me.
Well, it's always interesting to know more about author's work and inspiration.
But Fallout Equestria story? Oh, come on. The thing's too tainted, its world is twisted and broken. Ponies aren't like the mankind, as we all know.
3381399
I understand perfectly well if you don't like the idea of post-apocalyptic ponies, but, erm... most of the concerns you brought up there either don't even exist in the story (Nukes) or are explained by the story itself. I thought it did a reasonably good job of making the progression of the setting plausible, being spread out over decades.
The rest seem to be from making the mistaken assumptions that Equestria exists at a level of tech that is identical to humanity in some point in the past, and that it must progress in the exact same way that humanity did. Equestria's level of technology is very schizophrenic, being quite well-advanced in many areas and lagging far behind in others. There have been some pieces of technology that looked like they could be modern human tech, or just a few decades old. That difference is going to make a big difference in how technology progresses, both in the speed and method. Considering their somewhat high apparent level of manufacturing technology (Hydroelectric dams, steel-and-glass skyscrapers, industrial-scale steel production), it isn't really surprising that they should be able to catch up in the technologies they're deficient in rather quickly. Especially since they already have many of the concepts, which are possibly the hardest part when it comes to developing completely new technologies.
As for terrible equipment designs, I'm not sure what you're referring to, unless you mean the art that is some other people's interpretation of those things.
3381545
Well... yeah, of course they're not. That's why things go fairly different in Fallout: Equestria than in Fallout.
3381606 I'm not going to go into details again, but as someone with intimate familiarity with how this works (I am an engineer with a keen interest in all things military and military history), I can say with absolute certainty that decades are not enough. That is no less than a centuries worth of development even with favorable tech estimates, especially because the cutie mark system seems to have biased Equestrian culture away from mass production and their military technology is medieval.
As for designs, I have literally never seen a piece of art that was not horribly flawed which makes me think the story most likely describes fatally flawed gear like that picture you posted earlier which has a second gun for no reason, no way to have a useful ammunition load, and no sight.
3381606
Um. Really? Like, friendship is still magic and nopony but Sombra dies?
After I've read "Wings of Steel" (a Russian fic that wasn't translated) a while ago I feel like I'm overdosed with all things associated with "Dark" tag. The story itself is goddamn amazing but things that happen to characters literally made my stomach ache.
Torture, rape, fun, yay. The setting is darker, for example, griffons and camels are using slaves' labor (sometimes in the worst way possible), there was a real child-killing maniac once... Ending chapters in first and (especially) second stories are downright horrifying. But somehow it all ends somewhat optimistic. I wander what author will do with the third story. And i almost fear to know, ha-ha...
So, I feel a tiny bit reluctant about an attempt to read Fallout: Equestria.
3381685
I really don't agree with that, not with the level of technology and talent we've seen in the show. I'll take the firearm example that you used in the other thread you linked. They already have the concept of cannons (And tanks, for that matter, but let's stick to firearms for now). Your listed progression, however, assumes that they only can advance the same way as humans, which makes no sense when their starting point isn't the same. For instance, there's no reason cannon-lock weapons need to be followed by match-lock, then wheel-lock, then flint-lock; their apparent manufacturing tech level is well beyond the point where we had such things as friction matches, at which point there's no reason to not skip some of those steps, maybe all of them. Many of the steps of technological advancement are due to other technologies not being advanced enough to support them, but the industrial technology in the show appears advanced enough to support pretty much anything seen in the story.
They also have magic, which can help as much as hinder, as it allows them to do things that might not have been technologically possible at the same period in human history (We've seen Rarity fuse soft materials together; imagine if there's a version of that for metal). Then there's the possibility of ponies whose "special talent" lies in the appropriate or closely related field, or is focused on inventing gadgets or such. An obsessed genius who's able to make great strides in their field seems very fitting for the setting.
And all of this assumes that firearms don't already exist, and just haven't been seen yet for whatever reason. Considering they seem to have at least the concept of technologies that you list as coming well after the maturation of firearms (Tanks, for example), it wouldn't be surprising.
If having two guns bothers you, there's no reason you can't remove one and have it work just as well. In fact, most battle saddles use either a single weapon or two different weapons. Calamity's is special and custom-built by himself. The reason he does it is likely the same reason some weapons like the G11 or AN94 use high-cyclic-rate bursts, or simply so that the weight and recoil was balanced around his center of mass while flying. Or, as many shooters do with their weapon setups, because he simply likes the setup more, for whatever reason.
I already addressed the issue of sights and how they're easy to arrange (And no, the story doesn't give details on how Calamity's weapons are sighted, which is why there are so many different interpretations of it), though I did leave off the most common sighting method: having a heads-up display for aiming purposes, as the Steel Rangers and Enclave do.
As for ammo, the belt feeds that we can see, on their own, probably would hold a hundred rounds or more, plus however much is in whatever they're drawing from. Those are semi-automatic weapons, and what we can see suggests he carries more ammunition than a WW2 US rifleman, all loaded and ready-to-fire. Possibly a lot more. And again, this is only one possible interpretation.
For reference, the story is actually extremely light on descriptions of weapons. It doesn't focus on the technical details, so almost any detail you see in fan-art of it is entirely a creation of other parties. The reason you see so many bad designs isn't because the story gets the details wrong, but because the story doesn't go into the details of how these things work, and most people don't really appreciate how weapons work when designing these things.
Though one could possibly make the argument that it's just being faithful to the games, especially the early ones, where a large number of the weapons were fired with no attempt to use sights at all.
3381731
Oh, I understand perfectly if it's not something you'd be interested. I know a lot of people won't be. That said, I think Fallout: Equestria does a good job of keeping the spirit of MLP in mind, despite the nastiness. I consider it a good example of using darkness as a contrast, to make the light all that much brighter.
3381866
Based on what? A wild guess? Something someone with no relevant experience said? Developing new technology is quite literally what I do for a living so I think I most definitely have a better grasp on what is actually involved in this process than you do.
This is a perfect example of what I am talking about with a lack of understanding making you think something is easier than it is. A flintlock mechanism relies on the sparking of flint and steel which is cave man technology plus a spring to drive it. It could have been built earlier just like how cars and trains could have been built 2,000 years ago because the Greeks had a functional steam engine among other things, but it was not because of the conceptual development behind it.
Yeah, no. Do you have any idea how much weapons and ammunition weigh? Those hundred or so rounds are all you could possibly hope to carry (assuming a 5.56 equivalent, 7.62 is just flat out impossible) with a pointless redundant weapon adding a huge amount of weight to a rig which is sharply limited on weight because it has to fly. One of the biggest lessons learned in World War II was that you need way more than the hundred or so rounds riflemen nominally carried into a fight and drove the shift to smaller rounds to increase capacity which ultimately got us the 5.56 which weighs less than half of what the old .30-06 weighed in addition to the weight saved in the weapon. That is why Vietnam-era troops carried far more ammunition, sometimes in excess of a thousand rounds per person, and even that was usually not enough. To make matters worse, aerial gunnery is going to require burst fire to be effective for a number of reasons so you will chew through ammunition even faster than ground troops in addition to your reduced combat loads from having to fly with it so that is just a terrible idea.
Also, I explicitly discussed the recoil balance issues in the comments on that other blog post and explained why the gun needs to be under the belly if you want to fire it while in the air.
Ok, that helps some, but that twin mount is still irredeemably stupid and is clearly indicated in the story.
I'm gonna have to echo a bit that the ending felt very sudden. I was not expecting it to end (literary) moments after the hive was retaken. As a reader, I'm almost always going to want more out of a good story, but again, this ending just felt like it happened too quickly. Sort of like the denouement phase just zipped on by without even waving. Having Chrysalis accept the terms of peace without Celestia in the room was, let's say 'unideal', for me. Sure, her actions fit, but it just wasn't very satisfying. After all the verbal shit and abuse she flung around, I never felt like there was a genuine moment of catharsis where she really got hers. Certainly, she was poked at here and there and made slightly uncomfortable, but in the end it just feels like she got away with everything at no real consequence. That feeling was exacerbated somewhat by her little 'show of dominance' against Twilight at the end. Having never (or so it feels) been genuinely brought down a peg, never really being humbled or learning anything, and making so little progression as a character only to be allowed to go out on a high note as the (benevolent) queen bitch just was not a satisfying end to her character arc in the story.
I'm one of those who started with Without a Hive, then Fragments, then A New Way, and it was a blast to read. Honestly, given the ending to Fragments, I would highly suggest new readers start with Without a Hive so as to not be spoiled in any way. Fragments certainly feels like the start of a story, but Without a Hive's ending gets spoiled a bit by Fragments' ending, so that's not super ideal, but it's not strictly a deal breaker. That and Fragments is easily the weakest part of the story. Still good, but not as good as the other parts. That said, aside from just plain wanting to see more of these characters, I don't have anything else to criticize.
This is hands down my favorite changeling story (yeah, it's all one story to me), and simply one of my favorite pony fics period. For a good long time now I haven't been actively reading incomplete fics, and for most of that time, this story has been the major exception. Well developed, believable, entertaining characters; engaging world building while still respecting the core setting of the show; and respect for and good portrayals of canon characters all made this story completely enthralling. This was the kind of thing that made me put the rest of my day aside just to read the new chapters as the were published. Oh, and also some really cute romance. Sparktis is officially in my top 5 OTP list and Skydash is a by-the-book perfect Rainbow Dash ship (also in the list). It's so refreshing the way you portray Rainbow as being so obviously in love and yet denying it until she literally has no ground left to stand on. I love it all to bits and I would 200% read anything else you wanted to write about those two ships. Without going on for too much longer, I have one more thing I simply must commend you on; your cliffhangers. Yup, that's right. I loved your cliffhangers at the end of chapters. Normally, I just feel impatient and a bit miffed at cliffhangers, but yours... Oh, every single one was a damn hype machine. Rather than getting annoyed, I would get anxious... but not impatient. I'd say a good part of that was due to your reliability with chapter releases, while the rest was the key timing and hooks upon which a chapter would end. Every finished chapter was like a new teaser for the next and it really just kept me constantly excited as I waited for the next release. In short, you're like my literary drug dealer. Except now the story is over.
Thankfully, you are doing something new! I'm a huge, huge fallout fan and I really enjoyed FO:E. I never much got into any of the side stories though. Most never seem to finish, or just go on too dang long, or are literary drek. Yours though, yours I'm actually interested in. I believe in you, good Author! Also please make more Sparktis stuff even if it's just short little one-offs... and more Skydash. You've got me hooked on good changeling romance and I need my fix damnit!
More than anything, though, thank you for such an awesome story. You've influenced my changeling headcanon irreversibly and given me many hours of enjoyment. This is one of the few fics that I'll end up rereading. Cheers to finishing what is currently my favorite pony story, and may your muse never tire.
3382014
I believe he is basing the tech assumptions on the following:
-- Cheese Sandwhich's party tank
-- Pinkie's party cannon
-- Manehatten (everything in the city, aside from pony-drawn taxis, is surprisingly modern)
-- airships (even air yachts floating around Canterlot in several episodes)
-- trains (simple Friendship Express and especially the Crystal Empire's train)
-- the arcade machines from Hearts & Hooves Day (inferring microchips and at least cathode tubes)
-- rubber tires (no really, go watch the scene at the end of Hearts & Hooves Day where Cheerilee and Mac are in the hole. There is a tire... true, likely just a visual gag to make kids laugh, but anything on screen is canon. Somebody invented rubber, even if it's not ponies.)
3382014
Based on a lengthy understanding of how technology has developed in multiple different cultures in the past, the extremely abnormal array of technology displayed in the show, and an understanding of how various technologies influence each other. Don't make the mistake of assuming you're the only one who knows what they're talking about, and definitely don't go around insulting people by making the assumption that they can't know as much as you. Even experts can, and often do, disagree. When they do, the proper solution isn't to then start arguing about who has the better credentials.
Especially when we're talking about a story you haven't read.
You almost got my point there, but not quite. If you've got matchlock firearms, and you've got, say, friction matches, and you think, "there has to be a better way of igniting the powder in this weapon", there's no reason that you would have to make wheellock and then flintlock actions before thinking of using the same techniques involved in friction matches to provide a reliable spark for lighting the powder. In fact, developing a percussion firearm would possibly be a simpler leap at that point than developing a wheellock. Having such wildly divergent levels of technology is going to result in a very different progression of other technologies as the intermediate steps, ones that were the best they could do at the time, become completely pointless and outclassed by other technology they already have.
My point was, the greater technology they have in several fields gives them all manners of concepts and capability that people in history did not have. Expecting their technology to evolve along the same paths and at the same rate as it did in human history is absurd when it has clearly not done so in the past.
And there's still the very plausible possibility that firearms already exist somewhere out there.
You know, this is getting downright insulting. Yes, I know quite well how much these things can weigh. You are not the only person here who is allowed to know things. Yes, adding another gun adds probably 20 pounds to his gear, if we assume something like what is pictured there (Or more like 10 if we go with a battle-rifle style setup instead, which seems closer to the sparse description in the story). Probably why most battle saddles don't do that. However, when we see pegasi in the show flying around hauling what looks to be several hundred pounds of equipment, sometimes including multiple ponies, no, I don't think a load significantly lighter than many soldiers carry is going to be the extreme burden you're suggesting.
I saw that you suggest that mounting a weapon on the side wouldn't work for a pegasus.
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The show disagrees. It doesn't appear to get in the way of her wings at all. In fact, she even flies for a little bit while wearing all that, with no apparent difficulty.
Yeah, I get it. You don't like Calamity's setup. So what? And again I'll note that most battle saddles aren't like that.
3382046
I actually agree that the end was rather quick, after such a long story. The problem is, it also seemed like the best point to end it. I contemplated an epilogue to have a bit more of a wind-down, but after the final couple scenes of them settling down, enjoying the 'win', and contemplating the future, it just seemed redundant. I would have liked to have a little bit more, but it just felt like any ideas I came up with would be pointless, more like filler, contributing nothing of significance except length. Still, it's something I'm not entirely satisfied with.
As for Chrysalis... well, part of the problem is that she is very proud, and any serious act that clearly brought her down a peg would probably be too much for her to tolerate. She doesn't get any explicit beat-down (Although I guess Luna's "message" was close!), but I like to think there's a more subtle act, there. She still acts proud and defiant, but at the same time, she's doing exactly what Equestria wants. She reigned in her aggression, actually brought herself to apologize at points, she agreed to work alongside ponies, and she even tolerated a Pinkie party. It's certainly not the clear victory of defeating a villain, but the more subtle headway they made, against an individual who was initially completely hostile, seemed like a fitting way for it to go. Especially for a story focused on a pair of Infiltrators.
So there's progress... but at the same time, I left it open as to whether that progress will continue as the hive adapts to peaceful relations with Equestria, or if her pride and aggression reasserts itself. Still, if this were the same Chrysalis as at the beginning of the story, I doubt she would even hesitate in throwing Twilight into a cocoon, in the situation they found themselves at. Revenge against one of the ponies that thwarted her before, the ability to drain off the love of a Princess of Equestria, and a hostage that is one of the closest ponies to Celestia herself? She would have leapt at the opportunity!
And thank you for everything else you said. I'm especially happy to hear the cliffhangers were well received! They were really fun to write, though I tried to not use them too much. I've always felt that, when you're breaking a story up into chapters, the story should really be written to take advantage of those breaks. I'm glad they worked out like I had hoped!
3382295 For the tank at least, that is probably pneumatic like the stunt cannons at circuses, although even if not neither that or the party canon have much in the way of muzzle velocity so there is no reason to assume anything sophisticated or especially scalable. Hell, there is frankly no reason to believe they would even see a possible connection between that an an actual weapon, especially because there is no sign of them in the guard. Manehatten has already been discussed in depth so I will not go into it again, and trains are very old tech so I will not go into them either. Airships are really easy with a supply of helium, although I think it is more likely that they would take advantage of magic to use clouds in the envelopes instead because that would be a much more intuitive leap for them. I have no idea what was going on with those arcade machines, although there are decent odds it uses something similar to the enchanted comic book that ate the cast. Rubber is absolutely absurd as a technological reference because that quite literally grows on trees and has been used by humans for thousands of years, it just did not show up in Europe for a long time because the rubber tree is from South America.
3382555
...And once again, you completely miss my point. All the technologies to make flintlocks were present hundreds of years before the weapons were invented because just having the precursor technologies is not enough. Combining them into a new technology does not just happen because the author says so.
Furthermore, all of this discussion is neglecting the huge stunting effects of magic and Equestrian society in this area. After all, what's the point of developing a muzzle loading firearm when a unicorn can fire far faster with more range and accuracy? The early gun looks like a completely useless dead end technology because it is so drastically outclassed by the commonly available magic so there will be no interest in pursuing it to the point where you get useful machine guns.
To make things worse, Equestrian society very clearly favors tradition and personal effort over technology and automation which will sharply limit technological development in all areas because there will be a strong reluctance to rock the proverbial boat with radical technological and tactical changes. Effort will be focused on training and recruitment instead of innovation because the ponies value personal skill and unity more than better equipment and tactics which may threaten to disrupt the consensus of the herd. Just go look at the resistance to superior weapons in various human militaries and multiply that by the extraordinarily long traditions that follow a ruler who has been in power for well over a thousand years.
Well, based on the fact that you do not seem to understand the difference between how much weight you can possibly haul around and how much you can move to fight with, I think my attitude is perfectly justified.
That would be because the lance is mounted very low on the body, is very narrow near the wing to prevent interference, and does not have any projections.
Also, there are a ton of other issues there because the artists clearly do not understand anything about medieval weapons and armor. Basically everything is horribly wrong and that setup has a very good chance of getting the contestants killed even with the blunted weapons so I am inclined to take everything in that scene with a grain of salt. If you do not understand what I am talking about, the eyes are completely unprotected so a hit there will likely punch through the back of the eye socket into the brain and there is also a clear shot at the throat which will collapse and choke her to death under that kind of blunt force trauma, all of which is made worse by the fact that the lances do not fall or break away after the hit like they did historically.
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Needless to say things are far worse against live weapons thanks to the complete absence of the chain and padding that should be under the plates, but it is jousting armor rather than field plate and the two were frequently very different historically so this is not necessarily a problem.
3382604 Oh, certainly Chrysalis developed and matured to an extent. It's just that, in terms of karmic catharsis, she merrily side-stepped anything that would have felt like a satisfying consequence for her actions. Luna's little bit was certainly close, but ultimately amounted to a thwap on the nose with a small newspaper. It's not bad, if anything it's realistic for how countries often try to peacefully deal with dictators; it just doesn't feel good watching her constantly get away with being such a bitch to everyone. That feeling mostly stems from the rather drawn out phase of the early negotiations where many chapters went by with neither change in her attitude/approach nor in terms of consequences for her actions. That theme started very early in A New Way and just sort of continued throughout the whole thing. It was essentially a long exacerbated point in the story; Chrysalis is Queen Bitch and gets away with basically everything. It stands out to me simply because of how prevalent it was in so many chapters.
That said, I wouldn't suggest changing anything. It functions perfectly for her character in that situation. She behaves in a way I see so very rarely in fanfics: like she is portrayed in the show. Chrysalis isn't woobified or made sympathetic, she's not shown to be particularly smart, and has an ego appropriate for a major villain. Even as she slowly gives ground, and ever so slightly is forced to make concessions, it's obvious she doesn't really grasp the depth or intentions behind the things she is negotiating over. Readers get to watch her steadily lose small fights throughout the story that amount to Equestria getting more or less what it wanted at the start, and that's great. But those kind of small victories, the ones often made in real life negotiations, aren't often cathartically satisfying. I was just really hoping for that nice final bit of satisfaction before the end, to see anything actually make Chrysalis have to acknowledge that she wasn't all that she hyped herself up to be. But if I'd had that, I wouldn't have been as satisfied with the overall story and resolution for her. It's a conflicting feeling knowing that I want to see one thing really, really badly, yet knowing that that thing would only lessen the overall experience. Just something I felt like expressing out loud, I guess. Honestly, I probably wouldn't have been bothered much at all if Chrysalis hadn't threatened Twilight at the end. I just don't like seeing the loveable bookhorse get hurt and betrayed like that. I would much rather see Twilight getting some tongue-related diplomacy action with Chrysalis, but that's what other stories are for.
If anything, I'd say that that lack of catharsis from Chrysalis' arc was made very prevalent due to the open ended nature of the conclusion. There was a lot of hints and hopes thrown around, but aside from the hostage rescue succeeding, there wasn't any big solid cathartic moment like you get from a more wrapped up ending; and Chrysalis' little "show of power" took away a lot of the positive energy from the success of the rescue mission and her acceptance of peace. Everything else was happy and positive, so it wasn't a bad ending, but I suppose the lack of a high impact resolution to anything (the open-ended nature) is part of why other little things stand out at the end, like Chrysalis or the rapidity of the conclusion. Even seeing one thread closed a little more tightly would have changed the feeling of the conclusion quite a bit. Like seeing one of our two couples kiss after the big finale, or maybe getting some reaction from Celestia about the negotiations succeeding, etc. Not saying that anything needs to change, but that the ending was light on a major cathartic moment for a lot of the things that I was personally hoping to see one for.
Again, just some little things that stood out in the aftermath of it all. Granted, I tend to sound a lot more critical than I actually am once I get to talking about things. If I'm gonna talk about little niggles, I ought to be clear and thorough when I do speak. In my case, word volume in critique or analysis is an indication of investment in the source material, not how much something may have bothered me. I just tend to be very wordy when I try to explain myself or talk about things I really like. Sometimes I just need to talk through things that niggle at me to be able to really appreciate what's behind it all. Thanks for listening to my rambling, and I look forward to your future stories.
3383883
And on the other hand, when fulminates were discovered, it took only a few years before we had one-piece cartridges holding primer, powder, and bullet. Earlier designs actually had similar technological limitations, even if they weren't quite so clear-cut; improvements in metallurgy, tools, and the decreasing prices of materials and components made experimenting to find improvements over "good enough" designs more viable. A modern machinist with good funds and equipment, but no prior concept of post-cannonlock firearms, quite likely could do in a few months as much as early inventors did in a lifetime. Combine that with having so many more people in such fields (Fueled by improvements in completely unrelated technologies, probably most notable being the fields of agriculture and transportation), and technological development is much faster. The development of guns from simple bombards up to something resembling modern firearms is going to go much faster when you're starting with 1900's levels of technology and industry than when you're starting with 1300's levels.
And again, assuming they must follow human technological progression lines is absurd when they have not done so in the past. After all, humans didn't have rotary-wing aircraft until well after fixed-wing aircraft, which in turn had required internal combustion engines, neither of which we've seen in the show. And yet we've seen multiple rotary-wing aircraft which were light enough to be powered by pedaling.
...And we're still assuming these firearms don't exist yet, and just haven't been seen for whatever reason. They don't even have to be a pony invention. Maybe they imported their initial firearms from the zebras or griffins or such.
No, it was not neglected, as you say. I pointed out a few ways in which magic can be an accelerating affect, too.
This might be a more convincing argument if more than a third of the population could use magic, but they can't. If that means they'd have no interest in developing firearms for the two-thirds that aren't unicorns, it would also suggest there's no reason to develop aircraft when pegasi can fly, yet we see quite a few of those.
We also haven't seen many unicorns using offensive magic. Other than the princesses, the only unicorn I can think of off the top of my head is Shining Armor. Heck, the other unicorn guards all carry spears. It's quite plausible that long-range, accurate offensive magic is uncommon.
In fact, your own reasoning to Nytus notes the accelerating affect of magic through your explanation of how video games could come to exist through magic, without needing the large number of developments necessary for that, or airships, by using magic to make use of clouds instead of producing large amounts of helium or hydrogen. Those are good examples of how Equestrian technology does not have to develop along the same paths as human technology, how it can develop in extremely uneven ways, and how magic can aid such technological development. I'm sure you could think of many ways this could apply to firearms, too.
Yes, the social aspects were part of the story. When the princesses are behind the drive for improved technologies (Including empowering an entire branch of the government to develop and deploy new technologies), it's hardly surprising that the ponies who have been used to following the princesses' example for so long would continue to do so. Even then, there are many who feel uncomfortable with the level of change going on in their society as a result of this. All of this is kind of a very large part of the story and its history, in fact.
Okay, serious time: if you're going to ignore several parts of what I said to mis-characterize my statements and insult me, just stop. Because what you said here is so detached from what I said that I'm getting the impression you're trying to be insulting. I pointed out that the weight of gear shown was less than what human soldiers commonly move and fight in. He is more lightly equipped than a WW2 US rifleman even if he were carrying twice as much ammo. He is much more lightly equipped than a modern US rifleman. The difference gets even more notable if we assume the combat-efficient load for a pony is a similar portion of maximum load as it is for humans, given how much higher the maximum load appears to be for ponies.
If you've got a counter-argument, state it, but don't go attacking me just because I provide my own counter-arguments. I actually enjoy debating, but I don't feel like wasting my time dealing with personal attacks.
It is mounted flush against the base of the wing in that picture, and above the mid-line of the chest. It literally could not be any higher without being across or above the wing. It's actually mounted higher than most battle-saddle designs I've seen.
Most pegasi also use weapons that seem to be fairly slim in profile; the descriptions are vague, but the energy weapons that are the primary armament of the pegasi Enclave seem to be long and narrow, which seems ideal for pegasi.
Of course, those limitations exist only for pegasi. That's probably why others, such as the Steel Rangers with their mix of unicorn and earth ponies, can mount larger weapons, such as miniguns, grenade launchers, and missile launchers.
As for the side-track about jousting armor, if you want a more all-enclosing, combat-focused armor, the show has that covered, too:
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And these suits are over a thousand years old, too.
3383883
Quadrupeds can carry significantly more weight comfortably than bipeds. Considering pegasai have been canonically proven (Twilight's Kingdom) to require magic to sustain flight because their wings are too small to physically lift their bodies, who is to say they'd be hindered by a second weapon? We have seen that even weaker pegasai can sustain flight while carrying an adult earth pony or unicorn (Wonderbolts Academy); that is a lot of extra weight to keep in the air.
You assume I referenced the tank because of the gun? Think of all the other components; the segmented treads, the suspension such treads would require, the articulated turret, whatever motor is running it (I don't see any smoke or stream stacks, do you? Cheese is not a unicorn either), etc... the defense that magic may be powering it like the comic book works both ways. Magic can fill in gaps for other technologies as well. It is the ultimate McGuffin, and much like religion once you play the 'a wizard did it' card, there is no way for the opponent to form a rebuttal.
Either way, setting that conversation aside, you are being awfully biased in your almost hostile opinions. Even if your beliefs regarding the speed of technological advancement were completely accurate, and I am willing to admit that I am not knowledgeable enough on the topic to say one way or the other, you seem to have forgotten one important detail:
Magical talking equines themselves are a harder sell than the tech they may develop.
You can't possibly know what they might be capable of given the right circumstances and special talents. They don't actually exist. They can't exist, at least not at the level of intelligence they possess. Brains complex enough for human-like thought and reason require significant amounts of protein which I doubt they are acquiring through their herbivorous diet.
There is a point where you have to suspend disbelief and allow creative freedom on the part of the author. If you aren't okay with FOE, nobody is forcing you to read it. That's not a valid reason to harass Phoenix_Dragon. I don't want to argue about this, I just feel you are taking things too seriously.
(For the record, I too dislike FOE. That doesn't mean I am going to insult one of my favorite authors because he chose to work on FOE next).
I absolutely loved the series so far (Still need to read Fragments). It's hard for me to find stories about changelings that fit my tastes. All the stories i find have a changeling cast off their past or ignore it completely. Your characters are built from their backgrounds and you even do some nice world building with it.
Others have said it before, but i really don't care for Fallout Equestria. It gets way too dark for me and throws away many of the things i rather like about the setting.
That said, I might give your take on it a shot. You've proven that you can effectively talk about dark stuff without overdoing it in my eyes. I imagine changelings wouldn't have too difficult a time adapting to a harsher environment. It's a neat concept to explore. I just need to remember to explore it with you.