//------------------------------//
// Chapter 5: Monsters 
// Story: Without a Hive 
// by Phoenix_Dragon 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 5: Monsters

Revenge started with an apple.
That part was easy enough. Meadow simply swiped it from the table at dinner, snuck it out, and stashed it in her room. Nopony seemed to notice.
She lay in bed that night, eyes closed, ears perked. Fifteen minutes after "bed time," her eyes opened, glancing quickly around the room, then to the door. There was no movement. She was alone.
Silently, she slipped off the covers, creeping over to the door, every movement careful to avoid making any sound. She locked it, and crept her way to the closet. Stepping inside, she quietly shut the door and retrieved the apple from where she had hidden it in her saddlebags. She set it down in the center of the tiny floor, sitting beside it.
Here, nopony could see her. They couldn't see any light she might create. Even if they came into her room, through the locked door, she would have time to hide anything she was doing.
She ducked her head, and her horn lit up with brilliant green magic.
It was complicated magic, of which she had only ever studied the basics; advanced spell-training would have come much later in their studies. She was starting almost blind, forced to piece together the elements of the spell herself from a few bits and pieces. Perfecting this would involve much effort and practice, and that meant that her plan was going to take time.
But then, many of the best things in life do.





Morning led Meadow Song to a new annoyance, one all the more frustrating for having no outside source beyond herself.
She was tired, and her head hurt.
It had only been a couple of hours that she had spent practicing her magic, but she felt as if she had stayed up all night. Her head had been aching after her magical study session, and it had apparently affected her sleep. Even her back felt sore, as if she'd been sleeping on bare rock again. She mentally cursed her current body again for the thought of bare rock as being particularly uncomfortable.
The discomfort and exhaustion made it somewhat more awkward to pretend to be a happy, friendly filly, or to pay attention to her studies, but she endured, if slightly more quiet than usual.
She kept the nighttime studying shorter, which seemed to help the symptoms. It also made her grumble even more at the thought that she might be getting soft. It's been, what, a month? These stupid ponies are going to ruin me.
After a week, she began to worry. Her headache wasn't going away. Neither was the backache. In fact, a faint discomfort had been spreading steadily through her body.
"Are you okay?" Spark asked over the pair of metal disks he was toying with--gears, he had called them--jarring her from her thoughts.
Was I making it that obvious? She stretched, trying to relieve the persistent stiffness in her back. "Eh... I'm just tired," she lied.
Spark looked, and felt, concerned. "Are you sure?"
She gave a little sigh and forced her most convincing smile. "Yeah, I'm sure. I think I just need to get to bed a little earlier tonight."
This seemed to satisfy the young colt, who returned to pretending the gears were giant flying machines, complete with little whooshing noises.





That night, Meadow stepped back into her bedroom with a flat, annoyed expression, leaving behind a closet finely coated in atomized apple. Well, it actually did something this time, she thought wryly, as she looked down at her damp, apple-scented fur. ...so I guess that's progress.





The extra time it had taken to sneak off and take a bath--as well as enjoying the opportunity to lounge there as long as she wanted, with nopony to interrupt--had cut into her planned sleep time, leaving her feeling a little more muddled than usual. What is wrong with me? she mentally grumbled to herself. I should feel more rested than this with half the sleep I've been getting.
Despite the exhaustion, she was pretty sure she would have been confused by the concept of a holiday celebration even if she had been well-rested.
"What is Nightmare Night?" she asked, head cocked slightly to the side. Her head hurt too much to even worry if this was a strange question for a pony to ask, but Dawn Glimmer never seemed to think any of her questions were strange. In fact, the teacher seemed to absolutely love them.
Dawn smiled. "That's right, I suppose not every place celebrates the traditional Equestrian holidays." The what now? "Nightmare Night started long ago, because of an ancient mare of darkness, Nightmare Moon. She was a creature of darkness who, angry at the ponies who shunned her night, tried to bring eternal darkness over the world. She held the moon high in the sky, and kept the sun from rising.
"Fortunately, despite the terrible power Nightmare Moon wielded, our Princess Celestia was able to defeat her and imprisoned her in the moon, where you can still see her." She lifted a hoof to point to one of the new posters on the wall, showing a diagram of the moon. Meadow supposed the dark patch did somewhat look like a unicorn's head, if a bit stylized. Something was strange, though. Dawn was grinning slyly, looking around the small class. "But once, every year, she is able to reach her power out beyond her prison, and she stalks through the night, looking for unwary foals to feast upon."
Meadow's ears perked up, and she stared in surprise at Dawn Glimmer. And ponies... celebrate this? She looked around the class. A few foals seemed bored, but most seemed happy, even excited. Maybe it was the headache or the lack of sleep, but... These ponies are starting to really creep me out.
Dawn continued on. "So on that night, all the little colts and fillies dress up in costumes, so that Nightmare Moon won't recognize them. But she's a hungry hunter, so all the children gather up candy and give some of it up in an offering, to sate her hunger for another year!"
Wait, what?
"So now it has become a great celebration, with lots of games, and the adults help by giving out candy to all the children. It's a wonderful, fun, spooky night!"
Meadow's ears dropped flat as the realization finally clicked. Right. Ponies. "How much of that is true?" she asked, dryly.
"Oh, Nightmare Moon is absolutely real," Dawn said, serious for a moment before her mischievous grin returned. "As for the rest? Oh, some ponies say it's just an old mare's tale, that Nightmare Moon doesn't really come down to hunt, but... well, let's just say I wouldn't want to be caught without a disguise on Nightmare Night if they're wrong..."
Before Meadow could come up with another question, Dawn segued into a new topic. "Which brings us to the matter of costumes. We'll want to make sure every one of you has one, so that's exactly what we're going to be doing the next couple weeks!"
That had effectively ended any real class-work for the day, as all the foals started making plans, each eager to make their costume the best. Meadow tried to display something approaching the enthusiasm the rest of the class showed, but the frustration of interrupting their real studies--something that could potentially save her life in the future--made that somewhat difficult. As a result, she ended up sitting quietly at the edge of the group.
Spark eventually approached her, apparently the only pony in the room that shared her lack of enthusiasm. "So," he offered, awkwardly. "Um... do you know what you're going as?"
Her ears folded back again. Now is when her mind should be racing through the other foals' discussions in order to guess what would make a good costume, but her headache derailed her train of thought. "Er... I'm not sure. Maybe... a giant bug?"
She felt the sudden urge to slap herself for saying something so stupid. Instead, she just imagined a disapproving scowl from Ceymi. Disguise as a bug. Is that supposed to be a joke, or is that really the best you can come up with?
Spark Wheel actually smiled a little at it, however. "Heh, yeah. Maybe you could go as a ladybug. Or maybe a bumblebee?"
Urgh. Of course a pony would pick the most colorful insects. "...Maybe a wasp?" she said, reluctantly. Judging by Spark's smile, it was an appropriate costume. "I guess that could work." About as uncreative as I could get, short of making a changeling disguise. There must be some sort of deranged irony to a changeling disguising as a pony disguising as a bug. "What about you?" she asked with a polite smile, trying to distract herself from the bitter self-recrimination.
"Oh," he said, frowning a bit. "I dunno."
Spark felt faintly of sadness and unease, while the silence drew out for several moments. Several long, awkward moments, while her headache seemed to grow worse. Meadow fought not to scowl. Drawing emotional energy could give relief to many ailments, and Spark was normally an excellent source, but it seemed he was too distracted by his own unhappiness to offer any feelings of affection at the moment.
"Well... maybe you could go as your robot?" She offered, hoping to stir his interest. "I'd kind of like to see what it's going to look like."
Spark's eyes widened a bit as he looked up to her, wisps of hope teasing at her senses. "Y-yeah? You think so?"
She smiled warmly. "Of course," she said, drawing in a relieving taste of happiness from the young colt. Her headache receded just a tiny bit, still very much there, but slightly gentler.
All the talk that day was about Nightmare Night and costumes, with most of the fillies being very excited. Cotton Candy was torn between going as a wolf-pony or as literal cotton candy, of which Meadow recommended the former. The latter threatened to make her head hurt even worse, despite the idea of her dressing up as food being amusingly ironic. Then a unicorn filly named Limelight declared that she wanting to dress up as Princess Celestia, which lead to Thunder Chaser deciding that he was going to go as her royal guard.
"Wait a minute," Meadow said, looking at them in confusion. "How is disguising as another pony supposed to keep Nightmare Moon from knowing that you're, well, a pony?"
Thunder Chaser just shrugged. "Oh, as long as we look like a different pony, we'll be safe."
It took physical effort to not roll her eyes. Right. Because it's not real, and even they know it.
She did at least sigh in near-silent protest, though that brought out a frown. Why does my chest feel... funny?





She didn't even bother staying up to practice her magic, and even with the extra hours to sleep, she was barely able to drag herself out of bed. Her whole body ached, every joint and every muscle, and it was getting worse.
The worst, however, was yet to come.
Her and Spark's study sessions were now mostly taken up by working on costumes. She was levitating a small bundle of wooden rods that would become the frame of her costume when she lurched, her magic blinked out, and the bundle clattered to the floor.
Spark leaped in, hooves blocking off the rods before they could scatter too wildly, and looked to her. Her eyes were wide in terror, her breathing short and fast.
Her disguise had almost failed.
A moment later she put on a mask of calm, though it was hardly convincing. "I'm... sorry. I think I might have overdone it with my magic," she lied.
She was gentler with the magic, but she could still feel it; every time she levitated something, every time her concentration wavered from her form, her disguise tried to fall. Her mind fearfully raced, confused. This shouldn't be happening! A disguise didn't take concentration to hold. It endured even through sleep. Now, though... now it was more like she was trying to hold back a transformation in progress.
And it was getting worse.
What's wrong with me?
By dinner, she felt almost delirious. Her transformation was trying to revert even while she wasn't using magic, requiring more and more concentration to hold at bay, and her head pounded so hard she could hardly follow the conversation around her. She struggled to hold herself steady as she ate half-heartedly, head down, eyes darting fearfully over the foals gathered around. Something was terribly wrong with her, and... and she had to get away from them. She had to hide. Trembling and weak, she slipped away from the table, walking unsteadily away. Exhaustion was starting to overtake her even before she left the room.
She quickened the pace; a trot, a canter, finally a full gallop, hurrying to her room, her horn occasionally flickering with green flame as she fought with all her strength to maintain her form just a few moments longer. She tripped, staggered, and forced herself on. She turned the corner and could see the door to her room. Fifty feet. Thirty. Ten.
She slammed the door behind her, fumbling to lock it, then staggered to the closet. Her head swam, her shallow panting coming quick and desperate after the gallop. The closet door shut, and she collapsed to the floor, letting her disguise fall.
Flames flickered, leaving Nictis laying there, undisguised and exposed; he was himself again, the natural form he hadn't taken since that terrible night.
And it felt like his body was tearing itself apart.
After a split instant of terrible pressure, a painful sensation ripped through him as the back of his carapace tore open.
Nictis gasped in shock--and suddenly, he could breathe. Frantically, he wriggled and squirmed, shifting back and forth, limbs scrambling, as inch by inch the pressure and aching receded.
A minute later, he lay sprawled out and panting beside his shed skin. He lifted a trembling limb, looking at the fresh, semi-translucent carapace. It was a molt. This whole time, it was a molt. He let the limb drop again, too worn out to do anything but lay there. The pain was gone, just a residual ache rumbling about in the back of his head. He'd never had a molting go like that, but of course, he'd never been shapeshifted when it had come time to molt. How long had I been needing to do that? Weeks? I'll... I'll need to keep better track of that...
For now, he just lay there, lost in a fog of exhaustion. He heard the soft knocking at the outer door, vaguely recognizing Spark's voice through the haze, before eventually falling into a deep and dreamless sleep.





"Sorry, I just... well, I think something I ate didn't agree with me." Meadow put on an embarrassed face, an act that she found so much easier now that the aching pain was gone.
Whether the faked embarrassment helped sell the story, or whether Spark was simply happy at seeing her improved condition, he accepted the excuse. "I'm glad you're feeling better, then," he said with a smile.
It was a relief to get back to normal. She had, of course, carefully incinerated the molted carapace, considering the risk of setting a fire indoors to be much less than the risk of somepony finding... that. Fortunately, it had gone off without a hitch, and the fine ash had been easy to dispose of.
Unfortunately, the return to normal also came with the realization that her social standing had suffered. Big Shot had not been sitting idle during the period, as she soon discovered. No, he took full advantage of her poor state, while she was too impaired to do much about it. She vaguely remembered him offering some simple insults, something about her being an idiot or something of that sort, and she only now realized that her distracted, grunted replies hadn't helped her situation. In fact, it seemed most of the foals had some degree of discomfort toward her; Bigs had established her nicely as an irritable freak.
Which I suppose is true, in a manner of speaking, but I should be better at hiding it.
With her mind sharp again, however, she was more than capable of fighting back.
Not all the ponies had entirely bought into Bigs's words. Spark was adamantly affectionate toward her, the only real friend that he had. Cotton Candy was just too friendly to not like anyone, Meadow thought. On top of that, both of them disliked Bigs enough to discount anything he claimed. She certainly wasn't in any risk of starving just yet.
There were a few others that were fairly neutral, which might be good opportunities. Yes, she could work with this. She was back in control. Her head was clear, her sleep better. Everything seemed a little more focused, and she felt so much more energetic. Not having your transformed innards crushed by a too-small exoskeleton was unsurprisingly invigorating. Now it was time to get to work, to find a way to ingratiate herself with all these ponies.
Fortunately, she already had the perfect opportunity presented to her, with all the foals working on their costumes. After all, both Spark's costume and her own were coming along swiftly, between her magic and his surprisingly deft ability to assemble the parts. She had time to spare.
A few words with Dawn Glimmer after class got her a small book for reference. She studied the image she was interested in for a few minutes before slipping off to join Spark. He was already pulling out the parts for his costume. It was looking impressive so far. He'd even gotten several pieces of sheet metal to make his costume even more authentic. In fact, he seemed to always have parts around...
"So, Spark. Any chance you could dig up some more of those metal pieces for something?"





"You want some help with that?"
Thunder Chaser looked up from the cardboard breastplate he was working on, to see Meadow Song standing there, with a big, friendly smile, and several pieces of shining metal levitating beside her.
"Um... you want to help me?"
She chuckled softly. "Well, yeah. We should make sure Celestia's guard has the all best gear, right? I even saw some gold paint so it'll be the right color!"
"Um... yeah, I guess so," he said, looking over as Meadow set the pieces down beside him. "Wow. There's enough for my whole costume! Where did you get all this?"
She shrugged modestly. "Oh, I'm sure you've noticed how many bits and pieces Spark always has around. He's remarkably good at finding stuff like this that other ponies just throw out."
Thunder Chaser grinned, even offering an appreciative wave to Spark, who nervously returned it.
Though a doubt was quickly rising in his thoughts. "But... I dunno. Wouldn't it be kind of bad to look fancier than Celestia? Limelight and I have been working together on this so we'd match..."
"Hmm, I guess that's a good point," Meadow said, in a sad tone that did not at all mirror her own feelings. "There must be something we could do." She hummed a moment, raising a hoof to her chin as she pretended to think of the plan she had already come up with. "Oh, I know! I can get more, and we can make her costume right, too!"
When Limelight arrived, she found the two sitting there, waiting for her with eager grins and a plan.





The delicious appreciation and happiness made the extra work so very much worth it all.
Let Bigs have his petty, fearful respect. He doesn't know what he's missing.
Feeling more well-rested, she could easily spare a couple hours for practicing her magic. The very first night, she finished with a heap of what more or less resembled applesauce. Very badly burnt applesauce. At least it all came out in one place, so... progress.
During the day, the costumes progressed quickly. Meadow's magic, rather stronger than Limelight's weak levitation, made much of the harder work easier, and Spark surprised all of them by how easily he handled the metal parts. The small and cobbled-together assortment of tools he had acquired--mostly broken junk that he had snatched up and crudely fixed--helped out nicely. It progressed so smoothly that soon Meadow had started helping a couple other foals work on their costumes as well. The trickle of affection was weak but growing. The general opinion of her was slowly rising again. It was working.
"Aren't you going to finish your own costume?" Spark had asked eventually, concerned at how her own costume was very much incomplete.
"Oh, of course," she replied with a weak chuckle and followed up by devoting a little more time to her own costume. Even if it was ridiculously silly, she was not going to present a poor image. Besides, what sort of changeling would I be if I let a pony out-disguise me?
Meanwhile, at night, her attempts at magic progressed as well. Each night, the test-subject apples remained in fewer and larger pieces, with less scorching.
Finally, one night she looked over after the completion of her spell to see an intact apple, completely unmarred by her magic.
She grinned triumphantly, lifting the apple in her magic to take a big, juicy bite out of it.
She was ready.





For all her training and experience in the techniques of disguise and deception, Meadow felt rather ridiculous in her costume.
That wasn't to say it was poorly made. She had poured much of the last day into perfecting it, and if she had to offer her humble opinion, it was the most finely crafted costume of the whole orphanage. She even managed to take advantage of her lean build, making sharp contrasts between the thicker thorax and abdomen, and the thinner waist and limbs. The abdomen and fake insectoid wings--nowhere near as nice as her own, but decent enough for such a basic costume--swayed slightly as she walked. Even the color, despite having a rather garish yellow, was somewhat pleasing; the contrast between black and yellow was striking, almost menacing, enough to temper a small bit of the potential embarrassment.
No, the sense of ridiculousness came from the simple fact that she was not only wearing a primitive disguise instead of her perfect shapeshifting, but that she was wearing it not for the purpose of blending in, but of standing out.
To make it worse, she was doing it for a foal's holiday. For ponies.
She sighed, head drooping a bit in embarrassment while ignoring the wobble of the costume's antennae that the motion produced.
"I think it looks great," Spark offered quietly. Of course, he'd probably say that even if it were hideous, she thought. Still, she could tell he was sincere. Oh, snap out of it already. Enough of this self-pity. I'm a changeling. We endure. She glanced over to him, offering an awkward smile. I'm sure I'll have to do more embarrassing things than this, in service to the hive. This? I can handle this.
She took a deep breath as she pushed her professional embarrassment to the background. Her head rose again, her steps growing sure. Mind calm and clear, free of poisoning emotions, focused on the task ahead of you.
A hint of happiness came from Spark at the apparent improvement in mood, and he followed along, shyly, though rather more loudly than usual. He was clad almost entirely in curved metal plates and a few decorative mechanical parts, and many of these squeaked and clanked with his movements, not to mention the sharp metal clunk that corresponded with each step. He'd spent almost an hour the previous day clomping around in the metal boots, as if fascinated and excited by the sound it made, though today he was back to being shy and quiet again. Oh well, at least he's easily to please. Toss him a couple mechanical parts and he's happy.
The stairs leading down into the main entry hall gave her an excellent view over the small crowd gathering there. Everypony was gathering for the night's activities, and every single one of them was in costume. The lingering echoes of her embarrassment were easily quashed under a professional pride; she was quite certain now that her costume was the most technically competent, aside from perhaps Spark's, although she helped enough to feel justified in claiming credit for that as well.
Of course, her costume probably wouldn't be the most popular, but that hardly mattered. These weird little ponies have such strange values, and most likely would judge the costumes on some bizarre mishmash of cultural mores and simple pony strangeness, which she was still far too inexperienced to fully understand. If she had to guess, though, Limelight's would be the most popular. Meadow was quite proud of that one, too. She was about as close to the image of Celestia as a normal unicorn filly could possibly be. The gold-painted metal might not be quite as good as the real royal regalia, but it was convincing enough, and the little bit of glow-in-the-dark powder they had dyed her fur with had looked quite striking when they had tested it, sure to give her that "radiant" look that ponies always used to describe their Princess.
It also had the potential to draw some popularity just because of who it portrayed. The Queen held a position of respect and admiration in the hive, and judging by the bit of history classes she'd had so far, their Princess was no different to the ponies. Perhaps more of a braggart, though. At least our Queen doesn't have all the nymphs taught all about centuries-old accomplishments.
...Although I really doubt our Queen would be as tolerant of someling disguising themselves as her...
The costumes on display varied greatly, in both quality and style. Some were silly and cheerful, such as whatever Crimson Heart was supposed to be costumed as with that dress. Others seemed much more fitting with the darker mood the description of the celebration's history had suggested, such as Crimson's partner, Lucky Strike, who had what seemed to be a rather convincing costume of a dead, dessicated pony. He kind of spoiled it by shambling around and groaning, while acting goofy for the foals running around him.
And some had barely even tried, Meadow thought. She was both satisfied and vaguely annoyed to see that Bigs and his friends were in that category. His costume was nothing more than a red shirt, with a big "1" emblazoned upon it, and a matching helmet. Cloud Burst was hovering overhead, proudly wearing a costume that was both full-body and incredibly basic at the same time; it was just a simple skin-tight blue outfit that covered everything but her snout, ears, and wings, with a few yellow highlights, and a pair of goggles. At least she put more effort into it than Boulder, who had a sheet with holes poked in it for his eyes. Cotton had said it was supposed to be a ghost, but Meadow thought of it as laziness personified in material form.
A few minutes later, Crimson Heart called out. "Okay, everypony! Now that we're all gathered, it's time to get going. There are going to be all manner of games and activities in the town square, and plenty of ponies giving away candy. Try not to wander off too far, and let's all have a wonderful Nightmare Night!"
The gathered foals cheered, and soon they were funneling out into the early dusk. It was the first time Meadow had been in the town of Mareville since her first arrival, although there wasn't anything stopping her. Several of the other foals would go into town during the day, often visiting and playing with the foals living there, but Meadow hadn't. She already had everything she needed there in the orphanage.
The group began to separate as they entered the town. Some eagerly ran on to join the games in the town square, others wandered off to visit houses in search of candy. The choice seemed pretty easy to Meadow. Most pony games were silly, pointless things, but candy? Candy was good.
"So all we have to do is knock on doors, repeat that little rhyme, and the ponies living there will give us candy?" she asked Spark, who nodded. What a weird custom. "Huh. Well, I think I'm going to go do that. More candy for me!"
Turning from the main street, she wasn't at all surprised to see Spark following along closely, seeming a bit more nervous than usual. All around were the Nightmare Night decorations, ranging from strings of lights, fake spider-webs, and the moon-like symbol of Nightmare Moon, all the way to what looked to be strangely stylized skulls.
They were passing through a small courtyard, lit dimly by a single large street-lamp, currently topped by a giant fake turquoise cat-eye, when a familiar voice called out.
"So that's your robot, huh?"
Meadow turned to glare back at Bigs, his friends walking--or in Cloud Burst's case, flying--beside him. He returned her glare, smirking as he continued on. "And I see you decided to go as an annoying pest. How creative."
Meadow couldn't help but smirk at that, despite the slight sting she felt to the criticism of her work. "You dress up in such simple-minded costumes, and then speak of creativity. It's funny watching you try to be clever, Bigs. Pathetic, but funny."
Spark huddled in closer to her side as Bigs walked closer, anger rising at the taunt, but he was still grinning. "And you think you're so smart, don't you? You think you're so clever? Even the geek there knows better than that. Don't you, Spark?" He shoved a hoof into Spark's side, the metal making a sharp ping as it dented, and Spark let out a squeak, shifting to keep Meadow between him and Bigs.
Meadow's eyes narrowed at Bigs, anger starting to stir in the back of her mind. Spark was not his to mess with. "If you're here for something, Bigs, then get on with it. I'd rather not waste my time with your imbecilic attempts at wit."
"That mouth of yours is going to get you in trouble someday," he said, keeping a thin mask of calm over the growing anger. "After all, it's a long, dark night. Who knows what could happen to a couple ponies out wandering on their own." He shouldered his way past her and continued on, his friends following.
Cloud Burst swooped up and called back at them, tauntingly. "Later, losers!" As she passed over the streetlamp, she lashed out with a hind hoof, knocking the light out and plunging the courtyard into darkness. Spark squeaked louder and huddled up against Meadow's side, while Cloud Burst rejoined Bigs and Boulder. The three of them laughed as they moved on.
Meadow stood there and watched them leave, entertaining herself for the moment with thoughts of vengeance. It would be so satisfying to beat him bloody... Dangerously unsubtle, but satisfying. It took a moment to calm herself, letting out a little sigh. "Come on, Spark. Let's get some candy."
Spark made a faint whimper, stumbling a little as he tried to stay close to her side. It took a moment for her notice that his eyes were wide, his steps hesitant and unsure. At first, she just thought he was having trouble seeing. These stupid pony eyes don't handle the dark well, she noted. Soon, however, she noted the hints of fear coming from him.
"Spark? Are you okay?"
The colt didn't answer right away, instead looking away, his embarrassment rising.
Meadow stopped, reaching up to gently wrap a foreleg around his shoulder, giving an encouraging squeeze. Ponies seemed to like such physical gestures, after all. "Don't worry about Bigs. I'm not going to let him do anything to you."
"It's not Bigs," he replied weakly.
"What is it, then?"
"I..." he fidgeted a little, ears drooping to the side. Meadow nudged him gently, finally prompting him to, very quietly, admit, "It's the dark."
Meadow blinked. "You're afraid of the dark?"
Spark seemed to shrink at the statement, pulling away from her and taking a half-step away, before his anxiety brought him to a halt again. His emotions were a turmoil of shame, fear, even anger. He thinks I'm making fun of him? I mean, I can see why, that's a silly thing to be afraid of, but still...
Silence stretched on for a few moments, until a soft glow caught Spark's attention. Turning back, he looked up to see Meadow's head raised, horn lit with magic that flowed out in a soft, green glow. She slowly looked around the courtyard, admiring the sight. In the dim light, her magic cast a beautiful glow, the area around her lit in colorful green, slowly fading into the shadows, with faint reflections coming from the more distant windows. It was like being back in the hive, in a way, bringing a nostalgic feel to the alien pony architecture. Finally, she lowered her head, giving Spark a soft, encouraging smile.
He hesitated a moment, but then slowly smiled, the affection starting to flow despite his embarrassment. "Thanks."
She nodded, and they started to slowly resume their walk. "I have to admit, I've always liked the night," Meadow said, smiling as she again looked around. "Darkness has always felt like a protective shroud, something that could keep me safe, hidden... but I can certainly see how it might not be as pleasant for others." After all, things like me hide in the dark.
"I must seem pathetic," Spark grumbled. "This is why I never liked Nightmare Night."
Meadow couldn't help but agree; being afraid of the dark did strike her as pretty pathetic. She kept that opinion to herself, however. "You're not pathetic. Everypony is scared of something. Even somepony like Bigs has something they fear."
"Bigs?" Spark asked skeptically. "I've never seen him afraid of anything."
He seemed surprised when Meadow laughed. "Him? Oh, please. He's always afraid."
Spark looked to her questioningly, and she smiled back. "Just look at his behavior. He is the kind to brag and boast about himself over the slightest of things, while putting down anypony who doesn't stroke his ego. He's desperate for attention and recognition, and he'll scheme and bully anyone he can to get it. And do you know why?"
"No?"
She grinned. "Because, deep down, he knows it's all he's got. He's terrified of being nothing, so he lashes out at those around him. He gathers sycophants around him to make himself feel more significant, and tries to tear down anypony that might challenge him. If he can put someone down enough to trod on, he can pretend he isn't so pathetic himself."
Spark grunted faintly, seeming to think on that. "Is there anything you're afraid of?"
Meadow frowned.
I'm afraid of failure. I'm afraid that I'm not good enough to be an Infiltrator. I'm afraid of being discovered. I'm afraid of destroying our secret.
I'm afraid I'll never see the hive again.
"...Yes," she replied, her voice quiet, but sharp.
Spark nodded a little, but didn't inquire further. In silence, they walked on, through the green-tinted shadows. Spark looked around as they went, eyes searching in the dim light.
"...You know, that green glow is kind of creepy."
Meadow couldn't help rolling her eyes. Ponies…





A couple hours later, Nightmare Night was winding down. Meadow followed along with the other foals, a full bag of candy floating alongside her, and surprised herself by being disappointed that the celebration was ending. Actually, she was a little embarrassed. She had reluctantly tried her hoof at that silly pumpkin-catapult game, and had enjoyed it. There was something satisfying about hurtling those melons through the air to splatter on the target. She managed to mollify her embarrassment a little with the thought that it was, possibly, less pointless than the other, less entertaining games. There was enough of a superficial similarity between that and some form of heavy siege weaponry that she could imagine it to be slightly practical. Still not as useful as changeling games, but she supposed that, for a pony game, it wasn't so bad.
Of course, the end of Nightmare Night meant more pony silliness; they still had to "offer up" their little candy sacrifice to Nightmare Moon. This seemed the most pointless and absurd part of the night. Even the most timid of the foals seemed to consider this all fake, and yet they still gave a fearful offering to a fake monster. At least they didn't have to give up all their candy. As she watched the foals ahead of her creep up to the large statue in the clearing ahead, they only dumped out about half their haul before scurrying away.
When it was her turn, she went through the motions, dumping some of her candy into the pile... but only a little. She had to give the appearance of going along with these silly social expectations, but that didn't mean she was going to give up any more candy than she needed to. A few pieces fell from her bag, her magic keeping the majority firmly in place.
Turning away, she paused to look up at the statue, lit by the soft glow of her horn. It was an armored figure, with what passed as a menacing expression for ponies. It was one of the rare breed, as well, with both a long horn and large wings. As far as ponies went, however, it wasn't bad.
One detail in particular caught her attention: the eyes. They were not normal pony eyes. Instead, they had a narrow, cat-like pupil. The sight made her immediately think of Ceymi.
Spark was stepping past her. "Come on, Meadow. Let's get out of here."
Her eyes slowly traced over the figure, admiring the glint of her green magic off its black surface. "So, this Nightmare Night thing happens every year?"
"Y-yeah," Spark said, anxiety rising every time he glanced at that statue.
Meadow smiled. "I think I know what I'm going as next year."





Returning to the orphanage, Meadow made a small detour on the way to her room. She slowed as she passed Bigs's room, glancing in. Her eyes took in the location, the layout, memorizing every little detail she could see. With a smug grin, she continued on to her own room.
She lay on her bed, in the dark, smiling faintly to herself. The orphanage grew quiet as the other foals went to sleep, the staff retiring for the night, while she waited patiently. The silence stretched on, punctuated by the occasional creaking and popping of the building itself, the sounds grown loud in the quiet of the night.
It was two hours after her return when she decided it was time. She crept out of bed, locked the door, and hid herself away in the closet. She grinned eagerly as the green flames of her magic washed over her form.





Big Shot was sleeping peacefully, his forelegs curled loosely around his blankets.
That peaceful sleep was broken as his blankets were torn away. He jerked back reflexively at the intrusion, starting to sit up, and looking to see what had just happened to his comfy blankets.
Two glowing blue eyes met his gaze. In the shadows, the faint moonlight filtering in through the windows glinted off a glossy carapace. Bigs's eyes went wide as the shadowed, nightmarish creature bared its sharp teeth.
As Nictis lunged, Bigs screamed.
Nictis's strike was aimed off-target, and he landed heavily beside Bigs, the bed groaning loudly in protest at the abuse. Bigs scrambled away, a knee catching Nictis in the side--the blow barely felt through his carapace--as Bigs lunged out of the bed and went sprawling on the floor. Nictis let out a low hiss, lunging again to land right behind the panicking colt. The move had the desired result; with a loud scream, Bigs bolted, tearing open the door and running down the hall, trying to escape the monster that had attacked him.
Nictis didn't follow. His eyes remained fixed on the doorway as his horn lit up, reaching out with his magic to grab the large cup he had set aside. It lifted, hovered over the bed, and upended, pouring out its contents. Nictis grinned coldly. A moment later, he refocused his magic. A ring of green, heatless flame encircled him. The fire rose, and the world slid away around him. When the flames receded, there was no sign of the changeling.
Moments later, a tired-looking Meadow Song opened the door of her room, joining the growing number of foals who were all peering out from their rooms, each of them curious as to what was going on. Bigs had fled down the hall, screaming about a monster, and already speculation and rumor had begun to circulate. Meadow didn't even bother hiding her smirk.
"I guess some ponies just can't handle Nightmare Night," she said, drawing a few quiet chuckles.
A couple minutes later, Crimson Heart and a few other staff members emerged from Bigs’s room. "It's okay, everypony. Everything is fine, just a false alarm. Go back to sleep."
Most of the foals closed their doors to return to bed, though several remained, watching. A few whispers passed back and forth, each asking the others if they knew what had happened. They had all decided he must have had a nightmare, when their attention was caught by Lucky Strike hauling out a bundle of bedding. Meadow smiled as several of the foals started chuckling at this. She didn't even need to say anything.
She stepped back, shutting her door, and walked happily to her bed. That was incredibly petty, she thought, too happy with the outcome to give even her own self-criticism much weight. And excessively complex. Also, temporary at best. And... well, Bigs couldn't have gotten a good look at me in the dark, not that he'd even know what he was looking at if he had. Besides, nopony is going to believe such a tale from a scared foal.
She flopped back onto her bed with a happy grin. I will eventually have to do something more substantial, of course, but this is such an entertaining start.
A very full bag of candy lifted up in the grip of her magic, and she selected a tasty-looking piece. Somepony was greedy, she thought as she dropped the bag beside her own. She unwrapped the candy and popped it into her mouth, her eyes closing as she lay back, relaxing.
Somehow, stolen candy just tastes better.





By the time Meadow arrived for breakfast, the tale of the previous night had already made it around the orphanage. Bigs was sitting conspicuously distant from the majority of the foals, with even his friends looking a little awkward at the situation. Nobody believed his story of some strange, black-armored thing attacking him in his room and simply vanishing without a trace. He had evidently given up on defending his story, now just trying to ignore the topic while denying everything. It wasn't working so well.
Meadow didn't even have to do anything, now. She could just let the whole event play out, and all the other ponies would do the work for her. Still, she couldn't resist giving a smug grin when Bigs looked at her. He just glared for a moment before looking away.
Such a great way to start the day, she thought as she sat down to a big bowl of cereal.
Spark, however, didn't seem to be having nearly as good of a day. He looked exhausted when he finally arrived for breakfast, eyes only half open. He set his own bowl on the table and sat, sagging in place.
When he had sat there almost half a minute, simply staring at his own bowl, Meadow finally had to ask, "Is something wrong?"
"Couldn't sleep," he mumbled, finally bringing up the energy to start eating.
"Why is that?"
Spark swallowed, then grumbled a little, ears drooping. "There was all that screaming in the middle of the night. It woke me up, and then... after it was gone, it was just so quiet, and dark, and I was all alone..."
Meadow just nodded. There wasn't anything she could think to say. Telling him to toughen up wouldn't work, and considering how soft he seemed to be, would probably just make things worse. She could express sympathy, but she was having a hard time thinking of how to do so.
While she continued thinking on this, Spark had grown quiet again, staring at his food.
"Meadow?"
She blinked, looking over to him again. Only now did she notice the nervousness building inside him. "Yes?"
He fidgeted, almost physically struggling against his anxiety. "I-I was wondering..." He halted, hesitating, and forced himself to speak again. "Do you... do you think I could stay with you?"
Meadow blinked again, surprised at the question. On the one hoof, it would be inconvenient. It'd be much harder to sneak off for magic practice, or to mess with Bigs. On the other hoof, it was an excellent opportunity to build up a stronger affection. Having him there would build up a stronger dependency on her presence, which would mean a stronger emotional connection, which in turn meant more food.
Seeing her pause in thought, Spark shrank back a little, embarrassed. "Er, nevermind. It was a stupid idea."
And if I turn him down, the rejection will hold him away. It will weigh down any affection he feels for me, keeping him just a bit more distant.
"Actually, I think that is a great idea," she said, giving a warm smile.
"Y-you do?" he said, breaking out into a broad smile. A moment later it faded, and he blushed, looking awkwardly away. "I-I mean, it doesn't have to be anything permanent. Maybe a night or two?"
She reached over, looping a foreleg around his shoulders and gently pulling him in beside her. Okay, this "hugging" thing can be useful. "You can stay as long as you like, Spark."
The tension in his body slowly faded, his smile returning as he leaned into the sideways hug. "Thanks, Meadow."
She just nodded, savoring his happiness.





A good portion of the next day was spent moving Spark's possessions. She had no idea where he got so many mechanical parts, but it made for a sizable collection. Most of them were in poor condition, being broken, damaged, or partially disassembled. Unfortunately, it didn't make the loads any lighter to haul between rooms, but she had insisted on helping out. She wanted to make sure he felt as welcome as she could.
She was leaving her room again, after hauling in a particularly heavy box, when Crimson Heart approached her. The older mare smiled. "Meadow, could I speak with you a moment?"
"Of course," Meadow replied, looking at her curiously. What a strange question. She's in charge here, she hardly needs to ask permission.
Crimson led her over to a small bench at the side of the hall, and they sat there. "Seems you've taken a liking to Spark Wheel."
"Yes," Meadow replied, suddenly cautious. Why is she bringing this up? Does she suspect that something is wrong? "He's very nice, and smart. He's just a little timid."
"Oh, that he is," Crimson said with a chuckle. "And I'd say he's more than just smart. He's brilliant. Perhaps a little too taken by his imagination at times, but that's not so bad. It's just nice to see him finally having made a friend. I wanted to thank you for that. I think it means more to him than you might know."
Oh, I think I know more than you would think. "I'm just glad that he's happy," Meadow replied.
Crimson nodded, looking off down the hallway. "Me too. I... well, I wish it could have come sooner. I am a little sad that his first friendship may not last for very long."
Meadow looked to her in alarm. What? Why? What's going on?
The older mare sighed slightly. "There's a couple that are coming next week, looking to adopt. They're both involved with the Royal Engineer Corps, and I have a feeling that Spark's interest in mechanics might be appealing to them." She gave a bittersweet smile. "I'm always happy to see foals finding a loving home, but it's still sad to see them separated from their friends. Especially ones like Spark, who have so few..."
Meadow stared down at the floor. Of course. Things were going well, so of course something would go wrong. I've invested a lot of effort into getting him into an ideal place, where I can get all the food I could want, and now it might be taken away from me.
"I'm sorry. It's not a sure thing, and there are several other foals they might adopt instead, but I wanted to give you a little warning, just in case..."
Meadow just nodded.
Crimson reached out, giving her a gentle squeeze around the shoulders, and for once, she was too distracted to feel offended at the gesture. She was too focused on the thought that she was, possibly, soon to lose her best source of food.
Unless, of course, she were to do something about it.





Meadow still lay awake an hour after going to bed, listening to Spark's snoring. He had worried that it would annoy her, or keep her up, but she had finally convinced him it was fine. To tell the truth, it was somewhat pleasant. The hive was busy at all hours, and you never knew when a group of drones might wander through the chamber you were sleeping in. Ponies, however, all seemed to synchronize their sleep, and she had found her bedroom unnaturally quiet. She had, of course, managed just fine despite the quiet, but it was comforting to have the background noise.
It also made it easier to sneak about.
She slipped off her blankets, hooves dropping softly to the floor. She paused, listening to the steady snoring. He seemed to be sleeping soundly, but she had no idea how soundly. A simple test would do; she hopped, her hooves clopping against the ground as she landed.
Spark made a faint snort, head rolling to the side, and the snoring resumed. A second hop didn't even draw that little of a response. Meadow smiled.
She paused at the window a moment. In the dark, she could only just see the edge of the small forest, nowhere near the size and thickness of the Everfree, but hopefully wild enough for what she needed. She continued on to the closet, quietly shutting the door behind her, before charging up her magic. The distance was much greater than her previous trip, and she could already feel it draining far more energy. Again, green flames leaped up around her, washing over the world, and everything lurched. It felt as if she were pulled into the ground, and for a moment, direction seemed meaningless. The sensation vanished, the world seeming to slide around her again, as if she were rising out of it, ground solidifying beneath her hooves. The fire flickered away in an instant, to reveal the darkened forest stretching out to the distance, the faint lights of Mareville sparkling in the distance.
A faint feeling of fatigue passed through her, but it faded quickly. The journey had taken a lot of her energy, but she could easily make such a trip multiple times before running dry, and the orphanage provided such a bounty of food for her that she didn't have to worry about recovering.
She paused a moment as she looked around the dark. Stupid pony eyes. She closed her eyes and concentrated. A moment later she opened them again, the pale-blue orbs shining faintly in the dark. The shadows had lost their depths, the moonlight filtering through the canopy more than enough illumination for the changeling eyes. Much better.
She trotted off into the woods, eager to begin. She only had a couple hours before she would have to return for the night, and only the vaguest idea of what she was looking for.





Most of the day was spent with Spark. For the most part, this wasn't any different from any other day. The only real difference had come that afternoon, when Meadow started inquiring about some of the mechanical parts Spark had been playing with. It had taken a bit of prodding to get him to open up, but once she had... well, he was enthusiastic about his interest. He had started pulling out parts, eagerly talking about extravagant plans for them, though half the time he spent simply playing with them. She humored him, even encouraged him. By the time evening had come around, Spark was assembling a few parts from a broken fan and a blender, eagerly wrapped up in his work, while Meadow did her best to help--which generally consisted of holding something while he did the real work.
"It must be about dinner time, now," she said, and stood, smiling down at him. "I'm going to go grab us some food. I'll be right back."
"Oh, you don't have to do that. I'll--"
"Nah, you keep at it," she said with a chuckle. "I want to see how this turns out! It'll just be a minute, anyway."
"Well... okay. Thanks!" He smiled happily at her, and Meadow returned the smile as she stepped out of the room.





The next few days proceeded much the same. The days went as usual: school, play, socializing. Bigs was starting to recover some of his standing, mainly by distracting attention onto another foal--though to be fair, Thunder Chaser's crash straight through the gallery windows off the main hall had been pretty spectacular, even without Bigs's teasing. Still, she held the advantage for the moment, and besides, she had more important things to consider. She'd take care of him eventually, but for now he could wait.
Evenings usually found them back in their room, toying with Spark's bits of machinery or having another study session, only interrupted when Meadow slipped out to bring back their dinner.
Night, meanwhile, held more trips into the forest, searching in the dark.
It was four nights before Meadow finally found what she was looking for. She almost missed it at first, just a little glimpse of purple nestled in the brush. She pushed the thin branches of the bush aside, revealing the flower, and looked it over carefully, trying to think back, to remember.
Gathering food for the hive was the main task of the Infiltrators, and the most important, but it was hardly the only one. They gathered information for the hive. Sometimes they planted misinformation, to keep their foes looking away.
And sometimes, when all other, more subtle methods had failed to drive away their foes, an Infiltrator would kill them.
Their training had only brushed across the subject. It had been nothing in-depth, just a few basic lessons. One of those lessons had included a quick and very simple tutoring on the subject of poisons; a short lecture, a few diagrams of toxic plants. It was this lesson that she tried to recall now, as she looked carefully over the purple, bell-shaped flower. If this was what she thought it was, it was an incredibly dangerous plant. Even handling the leaves was supposed to be dangerous, the toxins able to seep in even through a changeling's carapace.
Carefully, she cut away a stem with her magic.





Spark was so excited. He tried--poorly--to hide it, but it was obvious to her. The idea of being adopted, of having a family again, it meant so much to him. It was only when she mentioned that she would miss him that he considered the downside.
His ears drooped a bit. "I'll miss you too," he said, awkwardly.
"Oh, don't worry about it," she said with a chuckle. "We can still write to each other. Maybe I can even visit you when I get out of here, too."
He smiled and managed a weak chuckle of his own.
"Tell you what," she said, rising. "I'll go get us some food, and we can hang out here the rest of the evening. One more night together."
It was a short walk to the dining hall. Dinner was just being set out, Full Kettle giving her a friendly nod as she claimed two plates.
On the way back, she slipped out the little packet she had snuck along with her. She opened it, pausing as she looked inside at the fine powder she had ground from the plant.
It would be so much simpler if she could just drain the love from him, weakening him safely, but his affection simply wasn't strong enough to drain him thoroughly enough, quickly enough. It would have been much safer, as well. This? This was risky. She had very little idea how much of the plant would be needed. Too much would be fatal. Too little would not have a strong enough effect. Either way, Spark would be lost to her. In the end, she had decided it was best to be cautious with the dose. If he died, there would be awkward questions, ponies looking into why he died. Besides, she'd really rather not kill him. That would be... sloppy. Unprofessional.
She upended the tiny packet, carefully sprinkling the powder over one of the soup bowls, then giving it a quick stir. When she returned to the room, she was very careful to pass the correct bowl to Spark.
They chatted happily as they ate.
She kindly offered him the rest of her water half an hour later, when he began to complain of an upset stomach.
She faked concern when it grew worse, nausea rising.
She held a hoof comfortingly around his side as he heaved, having vomited his dinner into a hastily-grabbed bowl.
She tucked him gently into bed when he grew weak and exhausted, his thoughts growing muddled.
She listened to his rough, labored breathing as she sat vigil through the night, her eyes staring, unblinking in the dark.





Spark staggered into their room that afternoon. He looked horrible, exhausted, worn-down. The ‘food poisoning,’ as the mysterious ailment had been labeled, was mostly passed, but an even worse pain had taken its place. His eyes were wet with barely-restrained tears.
"Spark?" Meadow said, voice laced with concern. "What's wrong?"
He staggered to a stop, trembling faintly. It took a few moments before he spoke. "I-I'm useless..."
Meadow rose from where she sat, looking surprised. "W-what? No you're not!"
"I am," he said, louder, shuddering. "They m-must have thought I was an i-idiot. I... I just..."
Meadow quickly reached out to pull him in, squishing his soft body against her own in a tight hug. "You're not useless, and you're not an idiot. You're the most brilliant pony I've ever met, Spark, and the best friend I've ever had. You're not useless..."
He shuddered, leaning heavily into her as he sobbed. She could feel the tears starting to wet her fur. She held him tight, a hoof gently stroking at the back of his head as she murmured softly to him.
As she drew in the building, desperate affection at her show of sympathy, she couldn't help but smile.