A ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' fanfiction regarding the adventures of Nictis, a [[BeePeople Changeling]] [[ShapeShifting Infiltrator]]. He is just learning how to pass as a pony so that he may embark upon his future career of gathering the energies of love and friendship for the sustenance of his Hive, when a tragic accident results in him being stranded and forced to live among the ponies for a long time as a female pony, Meadow Song. As the years pass, the maturing changeling finds that her identity as Meadow [[BecomingTheMask becomes increasingly more real]] than his old life as Nictis. Whom will the Infiltrator prove loyal to at the last, when he/she must decide between loyalty to his Hive -- or to her new friends?

Written by [[http://www.fimfiction.net/user/Phoenix_Dragon Phoenix_Dragon]]. Can be found [[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/52953/without-a-hive here]].
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!!The tropes found here include

* AwakeningTheSleepingGiant: The consequence of the ill-fated attack of Queen Chrysalis on Canterlot as detailed in "A Canterlot Wedding", from the changeling POV: the Equestrians now know that the changelings exist, and assume them all to be hostile. [[spoiler:It is this which destroys Meadow's happiness with Spark]]. Ceymi was seriously worried about this.
* TheBartender: Sunshine Wheatstalk, who runs "Wheatstalk's Pub" in Manehattan.
* BecomingTheMask: The main story arc, for Nictis.
* BittersweetEnding: By the end of the story, Nictis [[spoiler:understands both love and friendship, and realizes their value. He's also incidentally done an awful lot of good as Meadow Song, and is in a good position to work as Nictis to enable changelings and ponies to peacefully co-exist, when the changelings become ready for this. But he's paid some terrible prices for this -- Meadow Song has apparently lost Spark Wheel's love, with no guarantee that Spark will ever forgive her for her long deception (even though it to a large degree [[BecomingTheMask stopped being a deception]] by the end. What's even sadder, Nictis' love for Spark seems to be exceptionally strong even by pony standards, given that it has been induced in a member of a species which normally does not feel romantic love at all. The outcome avoids being a complete DownerEnding largely because both Nictis and Spark are alive and in improving situations: Nictis has found an open place in Equestrian society and Spark seems destined for success; there is hope that they may reunite]].
* BlueAndOrangeMorality: The changelings ''and'' ponies, from each other's POV. changeling morality is based on absolute loyalty to one's own Hive; and callousness, distrust and ruthlessness toward all other beings. This makes the individualistic, kind, trusting and universally-ethical ponies difficult for the changelings to understand: even the Infiltrators but dimly comprehend much beneath the surface of pony ways.
* TheBully: Bigs, a large orphan colt who is scary to smaller orphan colts. [[spoiler:Also later, when he is a petty ObstructiveBureaucrat, who can similarly frighten ponies in need of municipal assistance]].
* TheCasanova: Cherry Runner, whose name is a StealthPun, given that he apparently attempts to seduce young and innocent looking mares.
* ChildhoodFriendRomance: [[spoiler:Meadow Song and Spark Wheel]].
* CutLexLuthorACheck: [[spoiler:Implicitly offered by Celestia, and accepted by Nictis and some other changelings, by the end of the tale. Long before this, Meadow has become far more symbiotic than parasitic in her relationships with ponies]].
* DarkSecret: Meadow is really a changeling, and must keep this secret from ''everyone'' [[spoiler:''especially'' her OneTrueLove]].
* DefectorFromDecadence: [[spoiler:After years living as a pony, and knowing what true love and friendship feel like, Nictis is utterly unsuited for the Spartan and cruel world of the changelings. The great irony here is that Princess Ceymi had described ''pony'' society as being ''literal'' "decadence"...!]]
* DoggedNiceGuy: Spark, to [[spoiler:Meadow Song]]. And [[spoiler:it works. He gets the mare]]. [[GoneHorriblyRight Too bad for him]] he didn't realize she [[spoiler:is actually a [[GenderBender male]] [[EmotionEater changeling]] [[ShapeShifting Infiltrator]], making this a [[SubvertedTrope Subversion]].]] Then, in a DoubleSubversion, [[spoiler:Meadow really loves him!]]
* DramaticIrony: After [[spoiler:Princess Ceymi, in the form of Starry Eyes]] has gotten killed, [[spoiler:Nictis in the form of Meadow Song]] spends the night with [[spoiler:Starry Eyes']] parents, Gray Oak and Misty Dawn. They mourn [[spoiler:Starry Eyes]] and [[spoiler:Meadow]] has to ''pretend'' to be sad about this, because her cover story is that [[spoiler:Starry Eyes]] took her in as a guardian. They show [[spoiler:Meadow]] family pictures of [[spoiler:Starry Eyes]], in chronological sequence. At a certain point, [[spoiler:Meadow]] no longer has to pretend -- she's genuinely grief-stricken. The reason why? That was the point after [[spoiler:the ''real'' Starry Eyes died on her wilderness expedition, and Princess Ceymi found her corpse and took her identity]]. Not only were the parents unaware that they really should have been mourning back ''then'', but -- even ''more'' ironically -- [[spoiler:Princess Ceymi was in fact Nictis' ''mother'']] so by pony standards [[spoiler:Meadow ''really'' has something to mourn]]. And even more ironically than that, [[spoiler:by changeling standards maternity is irrelevant]]. Yet in fact [[spoiler:Princess Ceymi was Nictis' beloved mentor and role model, and ''may well have looked upon Nictis as her special son in the PONY fashion -- having been partially corrupted by pony culture long ago]]. So [[spoiler:Meadow ''really is'' distraught]]. This is a ''very'' emotionally-complex story at places!
* TheDreaded: [[PhysicalGod Princess Celestia]], for the changelings. She controls the Sun, and can rain down hot fiery plasma on her foes. What's ''not'' to fear?
* EliteArmy: The Infiltrators, compared to normal changelings. They are smarter, better trained, far more skilled both at shapeshifting and impersonation, and are well aware of their own importance to their Hives.
* EmotionEater: The changelings need this for psychic nourishment, though they also eat more normal foods. Depending on how much they drain, the effects on the victim range from inconsequential to serious in terms of life force lost. [[spoiler:Meadow discovers that she can subsist on very tiny quantities of Spark's deep love for her, supplemented with small amounts of the diffuse friendship and gratitude she can get from others, with no apparent ill effects on any of the ponies concerned.]]
* EnchantedForest: The Everfree Forest is a mostly-trackless forest full of dangerous monsters once one enters deeply or goes off the few roads.
* FromBadToWorse: The revelation of [[spoiler:Meadow Song]]'s true nature, from the POV of [[spoiler:Spark Wheel. Your OneTrueLove suddenly morphs into a changeling. When did the changeling replace her? Is the ''real'' Meadow Song still alive? Oh no, silly pony. Meadow Song was ''always'' the changeling. You loved a lie]]. This is not actually made any better, from [[spoiler:Spark Wheel's POV, by the fact that Meadow Song ''really'' loves him -- in other words, that his love was strong enough to convince a ''real'' changeling to switch loyalty from the Hive to himself. Know why? Because Spark has no way of knowing this for sure, and he doesn't know enough either about changeling culture to realize what a rare gift he's been given]].
* HeroicBSOD: Happens to two characters, due to the same event [[spoiler: Meadow's [[NonHumanLoverReveal Non-Equine Lover Reveal]] to Spark]]:
** First, [[spoiler:Spark collapses into helpless sobbing when he realizes that the most uplifting friendship and greatest love of his whole life has been directed toward (what now he thinks is) a total lie]]. Hard to BreakTheCutie more effectively than that.
** Then, [[spoiler:Meadow, once she has teleported to (temporarly) safety, does exactly the same thing, making it obvious -- if one hadn't realized this before -- that her love for Spark was genuine. What's worse is that ''Spark can't see this'' This puts Nictis very close to his personal DespairEventHorizon]].
* HumanityIsInfectious: Nictis is consciously aware of this danger, since one of the last things Princess Ceymi (who may be suffering from it to some degree herself, as she likes the pony parents of her main cover identity and seems to have rather un-changeling maternal feelings toward her offspring Nictis) warns him of is to never forget who and what he is truly. [[spoiler:This does not save him from BecomingTheMask after years spent in isolation from changelings and contact with ponies, especially [[LoveRedeems Spark Wheel]].]]
* FalseFriend: Meadow, to Spark. [[spoiler:At first]].
* FoodPorn: Meadow's first reaction to pony sweets -- specifically, a raspberry smoothie.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Almost the last thing [[spoiler:Princess Ceymi]] says to Nictis [[spoiler:before being killed by a manticore]] is a lecture on the importance of remaining true to changeling culture despite the temptations of the Equestrian way of life. [[spoiler:Guess what [[BecomingTheMask happens]] [[HeelFaceTurn to]] [[DefectorFromDecadence Nictis]]?]].
* GadgeteerGenius: [[spoiler:Spark, when he grows up. By the end of the story he has invented a VTOL heavier-than-air aircraft, in a culture where electricity and the internal combustion engine are recent innovations, and has progressed a fair ways toward making it practical.]]
* GenderBender: Of an unusual variety. Nictis is a male changeling, and changelings are naturally bisexual regarding sex used as a lure. Meadow, his main pony identity, is a [[spoiler:definitely heterosexual]] mare. And [[spoiler:Spark is a definitely heterosexual stallion. Meadow and Spark fall in love, without Spark being aware of Meadow's true identity. Thus Niticis loves Spark, the unusual thing (by changeling standards), being that Nictis ''has'' a personal love and that it is an InterspeciesRomance (changelings would normally see non-changelings as "prey"), and Spark loves Nictis without realizing that what he is loving is both alien and male]].
* GenderReveal: [[spoiler:[[AvertedTrope Averted]], because Meadow Song never gets around to letting Spark Wheel know that "she" is actually a ''male'' changeling. This is because she doesn't have time, and Spark's reaction to finding out that Meadow Song is a [[NonhumanLoverReveal ''changeling'']] is [[HeroicBSOD bad enough]]. We still don't know if Spark still loves her after finding out she's a changeling, let alone if he still loves her after finding out "she" is a ''male''! (Though Equestrian culture would be more tolerant on ''both'' matters than would human).]]
* GoodFeelsGood: Quite literally, for Meadow Song, in that as an EmotionEater nourished by ThePowerOfLove, her best strategy to feed as a solitary and unsupported Infiltrator is to make ponies like, or even love her. This leads to her [[spoiler:being increasingly nice to the ponies around her, which accelerates her BecomingTheMask. Her total downfall as a loyal member of Hive Chrysalis comes when she realizes that she can keep Spark around her by "pretending" to ''really'' like him, which is what opens her to [[LoveRedeems Redemption By Love]].]]
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Princess Ceymi]] gives her life to protect [[spoiler:her trainee Infiltrators. And, it is strongly implied, Nictis in particular]].
* HighHeelFaceTurn: Sort of. [[spoiler:Nictis is male, but his alter-ego Meadow is female. And it is Meadow's [[LoveRedeems emotions]] which in the end prompt the change of heart]].
* HumansAreCthulhu: Or rather, Ponies are Cthulhu. Wise changelings, such as Ceymi, are seriously intimidated by Equestrian capabilities. From a changeling POV, they come in four castes, one of which has [[PhysicalGod godlike]] powers, they have amazing wealth and technology, and there are tens of millions of them. Ceymi (and later Nictis) is well aware that if the changelings [[AwakeningTheSleepingGiant arouse Equestrian wrath]], their species may well wind up toast.
* HiveMind: [[AvertedTrope Averted]]. While the changelings are eusocial, they have individual identities, emotions and thoughts.
* HiveQueen: The ruler of any changeling Hive. [[spoiler:The Queen of Nictis' Hive is none other than the infamous Chrysalis]].
* TheIngenue: Meadow doesn't realize it, but she is completely out of her depth in Manehattan. [[spoiler:Though by pony standards she's a ruthless manipulator, she remains in many ways fairly innocent up until the point when she realizes to her horror that she must leave Spark -- possibly forever]].
* InterspeciesRomance: Between [[spoiler:Meadow Song]] and [[spoiler:Spark Wheel -- though Spark thought Meadow was a normal pony. It might have ended better if Queen Chrysalis hadn't attacked Equestria]].
* LovableNerd: Spark Wheel. [[spoiler:Nictis finds him ''delicious'']].
* LoveAcrossBattlelines: [[spoiler:Meadow Song and Spark Wheel, in general because of the hostile attitude of changelings toward ponies (though of course Spark doesn't know at this point Meadow's a changeling), but specifically when Hive Chrysalis attacks Equestria. In very short order, Meadow Song is forced to flee, but not before making her [[NonhumanLoverReveal Non-Equine Lover Reveal]]. We ''still'' don't know Spark Wheel's ultimate decision on the matter!]]
* LoveEpiphany: Happens when [[spoiler:Nictis/Meadow realizes that he/she will not let Spark come to harm even for the good of the Hive. The realization ''horrifies'' Nictis, but by then it's ''far'' too late for the poor little Infiltrator]].
* MamaBear: Two characters in particular.
** Princess Ceymi takes this attitude toward her trainees in general, [[spoiler:and Nictis in particular]]. This leads her to [[spoiler:give her life to save her trainee patrol]].
** [[spoiler:Meadow Song]] becomes increasingly protective toward [[spoiler:Spark Wheel]], going so far as to [[spoiler:nearly blow her cover when Big Shot is especially cruel to him. She rationalizes this as protecting an especially rich source of sustenance (since Spark practically worships her), but in fact this demonstrates her growing genuine friendship for Spark]].
* ManipulativeBastard: One of an Infiltrator's standard skills. Nictis [[spoiler:becomes terrifyingly good at doing this to ponies, the more so because she becomes ''very'' familiar with pony culture and is a natural [[TheEmpath empath]].]]
* {{Masquerade}}: How the changelings are able to survive. Most of their prey are not even aware of their existence. Maintaining this secrecy is made easier due to their special [[TheEmpath changeling]] [[ShapeShifting capabilities]] and the fact that changelings need not kill or even noticeably harm the prey in order to obtain their [[EmotionEater sustenance]].
* MuggingTheMonster: Bigs assumes that because he's scary by the standards of orphan colts, he can intimidate Meadow. Poor choice of targets, pal.
* NiceJobFixingItVillain: [[spoiler:Meadow quickly discovers that her long-term interests surviving in Equestrian society are best served by doing good, rather than evil. By the time she's finally uncovered, she has not only become a heroine to her fellow orphans as a filly, but as an adult mare a dedicated social worker who has brought aid and happiness to thousands of unfortunate ponies. Oh, and she gave a young GadgeteerGenius the encouragement he needed to develop his talents, to the point that he was able to build a heavier-than-air VTOL craft with late 19th century technology. Meadow makes her HeelFaceTurn in deed long before she does in her own mind!]]
* NonHumanLoverReveal: [[spoiler:Meadow Song]], to [[spoiler:Spark Wheel. This occurs at the worst possible time for Meadow Song, as the changelings' invasion of Canterlot has just been reported and Equestria is [[AwakeningTheSleepingGiant mobilizing for war]], Big Shot has realized Meadow's true identity and called in the Guards on her, and Meadow must flee to avoid capture. To make things worse, one of the first things Meadow tells Spark after revealing her true identity is that she had been his FalseFriend at first; she says this ''before'' telling him that she now ''really'' loves him. Things do not go well: Meadow flees, leaving Spark in the throes of a HeroicBSOD at the revelation, and Meadow herself breaks down once she has made it to (temporary) safety]].
* NoodleIncident: One of the minor disasters for which Meadow Song arranges relief in Manechester is "... an incident involving a student of magic, an ancient arcane artifact, a modified and unintentionally amplified Come-To-Life spell, and a three-story-tall statue of Celestia.--how the remorseful student got off with a mere apology and helping the clean-up still escaped Meadow ..." We never learn anything else, but that must have been ''fun'' to watch (from a safe distance)!
* NotSoHarmlessVillain: [[spoiler:Bigs enters the story as the [[TheBully petty bully]] of the orphanage, an orphan colt who is scary only to even smaller orphans. He quickly becomes Meadow Song's special AssholeVictim and [[TheChewToy Chew Toy]], who seems to exist primarily to give the writer someone on whom to demonstrate Meadow's ManipulativeBastard skills without having us lose sympathy for the little Infiltrator. When we meet him again, he's an obnoxious bureaucrat in a position of power over Meadow, who shows by his existence that Equestrian society is imperfect (as characters such as Prince Blueblood do in the main series). Meadow is even able to terrify him as an adult, causing him to suffer major VillainDecay, despite his original lack of serious menace. Guess who ''directly'' uncovers Meadow Song? And thus destroys her happy little world with Spark Wheel? Yep.]]
* OrphanageOfLove: The Rising Sun Orphanage. No one there, [[spoiler:save for Meadow Song herself,]] is worse than [[TheBully a bully]], and even he's not really all that bad. Furthermore, the kindness shown there [[spoiler:is one of the factors which sets Meadow Song on the path to her HeelFaceTurn, even though she doesn't realize this at all at the time. Full stop -- the place was nice enough that it started turning a CHANGELING INFILTRATOR into a good pony. That's some orphanage!]]
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Princess Ceymi, in an early demonstration of the fact that the changelings are ''not'' monsters to their own kind. [[spoiler:Poor Ceymi. ''You'' probably didn't want to attack Canterlot]]. She's also [[spoiler:Nictis' ''mother'' -- but that doesn't mean much to changelings]].
* StarCrossedLovers: [[spoiler:Meadow Song]] and [[spoiler:Spark Wheel]]. Not only is [[spoiler:Meadow Song really a cover identity of Nictis]], but they are [[spoiler:[[InterspeciesRomance different species]]]] ''and'' since [[spoiler:changelings regard the very concept of genuine friendship or love with non-changelings to be nonsense, it takes Meadow Song a long time to realize she actually cares for Spark Wheel. And then Hive Chrysalis [[LoveAcrossBattlelines goes to war with Equestria]]... and at the last moment, with Guards closing in, Nictis makes the NonHumanLoverReveal, [[HeroicBSOD utterly horrifying Spark Wheel]].]] Notably, the situation hasn't really been resolved by the end of the story, contributing to the [[spoiler:BittersweetEnding]].
* TheVamp: Meadow tries this in Manehattan. [[spoiler:Hilariously [[SubvertedTrope subverted]], as the first stallion she picks brings her home and crudely comes on to her, which utterly surprises, [[{{Squick}}horrifies and disgusts]] the [[TheIngenue extremely sexually naive]] Infiltrator. She completely freaks out at his behavior, and makes some pretty extreme threats. Cherry takes the threats far more seriously than would a human, owing to the essential peacefulness of pony society, and he winds up calling the Guard on her. Being a ManipulativeBastard, Meadow manages to redirect their attention to Cherry's crude advances and divert it from the clues that she is a Changeling Infiltrator. She eventually winds up in a one-sided friendship with a stallion so utterly boring that he has trouble keeping the attention of someone who is ''literally'' trying to ''feed off his emotions''!!!]]
* VillainProtagonist: Nictis/Meadow. Though he's heroic by the standards of his own culture. [[spoiler:And she eventually has a [[HeelFaceTurn change of heart]].]]
* MinionWithAnFInEvil: [[spoiler:Nictis/Meadow. Well ''before'' her Main/HeelFaceTurn, it's obvious that Meadow isn't very malicious; she mostly only does what she needs to survive. She only really hurts a few ponies, two of whom [[AssholeVictim deserved it]], one of whom she is remorseful for hurting, and with the last of whom she winds up falling in love]].
* WasItAllALie: Spark Wheel's implicit question to Meadow Song when she is revealed as a changeling.
-->He stood rigidly for several seconds, the only sound being that of more shouts from their home. Then his ears drooped a little. His stance weakened as he drooped. His voice came out quietly "So, all of this... I'm just... food?"
* WellDoneSonGuy: Princess Ceymi is Nictis' ideal changeling, the one whom he always envisions praising or criticizing his actions. Princess Ceymi [[spoiler:is also Nictis' natural mother, though this means little in changeling society. Ironically, Nictis' growing obsession with what Ceymi would want, after Ceymi's death, is a sign that she is being assimilated into pony culture]].
* WhiteAndGreyMorality: The ponies are for the most part [[RousseauWasRight good and kind]] beings; the exceptions (such as Big Shot or Cherry Runner) act badly because they cannot resist temptations (for status and sex respectively) than out of a design to do evil. Even the changelings are more misguided than evil: they need [[ThePowerOfLove love]] for [[EmotionEater sustenance]], and fail to see that they could live more successfully in the long run as symbiotes than parasites. The only really-evil character in the whole trilogy of which this is a part seems to be Queen Chrysalis.