Disclaimer: My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic belongs to Hasbro and was created by Lauren Faust. Some ideas about Changelings and the Hive are borrowed from Silver Wing. This story and OCs belong to their author. 3

OCs: Calamity, Raven Wing, Granite, etc.

Notes: Chapter 2, which turned out a little shorter than I had intended. Hm.

Callie aside, there are about four other characters who will be playing a pivotal role in Starless. (This does not include Raven, though she will show up again later on in the fic.) Right now Starless is tentatively planned to be about 8 to 10 chapters long. It may end up a little shorter or longer, though, depending on how things go as I'm writing.

Since I'm so new to FIM fic, I would of course, as always, love comments and constructive criticism. And thanks to those who commented on the previous chapter! Hopefully this one will be up to the standards of the last. 3

STARLESS
Chapter Two
By Senashenta

Once she was in the air, Calamity found her nervousness vanished, dissipating in the sunlight and blown away by the wind.

One thing that she always found, even though her previous trips to the Outside had been brief, testing, was that the sun was incredible—bright and happy, it warmed her from her horn to her hooves, all the way through to her bones.

In the Hive, there was no natural light. Everything was illuminated by phosphorescent rocks and algae, as well as a special, luminous kind of cement-slime secreted by the Workers when they were building. That kind of light glowed cold and green, distinctly lacking the welcoming appeal of the sunlight outside.

On her first short foray into the Outside, when she was much younger, the sun had hurt her eyes.

When it came to the sense of sight, Changelings' eyes, huge and bright cerulean blue, were specially adapted for the relatively low light levels of the Hive. Their sight was exceptional—their eyes very sensitive to light, color, contrast and movement.

At the time Calamity had never been exposed to real sunlight before, and when she took her first tentative steps Outside it burned, stinging her eyes and forcing them tightly closed against the pain—the same response as to a freshly-cut onion.

It took a few moments for her to get used to the sensation, and then a few more before the burning began to fade. She had squinted out into the day, amazed and shocked and frightened, a Changeling nymph so out of her depth that she didn't know what to do beyond standing there, perfectly still, her breath short and panic at the sheer enormity of the countryside around her rising in her chest.

That had been a short trip to the Outside. Barely a handful of minutes later she was being ushered back into the Hive by one of the nurses. She had felt numb and small—like a speck of dust or an ant—because there was so much more to the world than she had ever imagined before.

But despite her shock, the one thing Calamity had always remembered was the warmth. It wasn't the same kind that existed in the Colony. Inside was muggy and damp, a heavy, wet kind of heat. In the Outside it was dry—simply pleasant, light warmth that caressed her hide and blew through the spikes of her mane.

Now, so many moons later, she inhaled that same, warm breeze, pulling it deep into her lungs and sighing it back out. It tasted like summer—and that thought pulled a small, unexpected smile to her face.

That same smile faded slowly, though, the farther away she got from the Hive. When she was distant enough that the droning in the back of her mind was almost gone—then the nervousness returned, settling itself into her chest and making her heart beat the slightest bit faster.

This was farther away from the Hive than she had ever been before, and the safety and security of the Colony was no longer within her grasp. If something happened to her here, Outside, she would be on her own. No one was there to save her—they could only collect what was left of her later, if it came down to that.

But along with the fear came pride in herself and her abilities, and excitement about the world at large.

With the landscape whizzing by beneath her, Calamity soon found herself close to Canterlot. Her destination was the forest to the north of the city, so coming up on the capital was good in that sense—but it also meant that she was closer to the ponies that lived there or had settled in the land around it.

The other pony races of Equestria were dangerous—everyone knew that. It was one of the first things newly-hatched Changelings were taught: the Hive, the Colony, they meant safety and security. Outside was filled with unicorns, pegasi, earth ponies—and of course the reigning alicorns—as well as a handful of the other, less common species, like the zebras or sea ponies.

They were all uncivilized. Unpredictable. Selfish. They only ever thought about themselves, doing everything to make their own lives easier and more comfortable, instead of always thinking of the group as a whole. It was better to live in the Hive. The Colony was much more civil and reasonable than those on the Outside.

With those thoughts in mind as she reached the land bordering Canterlot, Calamity adjusted her flight, wings buzzing faster, lifting higher until she was (she hoped) mostly obscured by the clouds above. Using the clouds as cover wasn't perfect, but it would help.

A short distance later, Canterlot itself passed beneath her. Curious despite herself, Calamity peered downward, watching the city as she flew overhead. Before long it was gone again, fading into the forest that was her ultimate destination.

Dropping to the ground too close to the capital wouldn't be any safer than landing in the town proper. So she flew onward, to the depths of the woods before descending through the canopy of trees and vines to land lightly on the grass below.

The Everfree Forest was huge, covering a vast amount of Equestria. The Hive itself was located in the heart of one of the wings of the Everfree; deep in the woods, beyond where any ponies outside of the Changelings were willing to venture and nearly inaccessible by hoof alone.

This particular offshoot of the forest was just as deep and dark as the one surrounding the Colony. Calamity found it comforting, her eyes readjusting to the darkness quickly and with ease. She folded her wings against her back, settling them there even as her hooves sank into the thick layer of foliage beneath them. A deep breath in gave her the scent of moss and bark, dirt and fresh, green leaves.

Her duty in the Everfree was to scout this particular part of the Everfree. The Nymphs were all getting close to the end of their training and would need places to go when they set out to start their own Hives. Traditionally they went farther away than Calamity was now—but Queen Chrysalis was looking to expand their reach to this part of Equestria, so she was planning to send at least one of her daughters to the forest north of Canterlot.

Calamity's job was to scout the area and find the most ideal place to set up the beginning of a new Hive.

To be honest, she wasn't entirely sure where to begin. Was she supposed to just… look around? How detailed did her inspection need to be? She assumed she was supposed to catalogue potential dangers and problems, and make note of anything that might be of use or helpful.

I probably should have asked for more specific instructions.

Sighing, Calamity lowered her head a little, ears flattening in silent annoyance at her own thoughtlessness.

But she couldn't take too much time to kick herself in the rump over it. She had a job to do, after all. So after a moment she shook herself out of it, lifted her head again and looked around herself, taking stock of her immediate surroundings.

Thick vegetation was on all sides; trees, vines and bushes. The ground was thick with leaves and moss, moist and muddy. Overhead the branches and foliage obscured most of the sunlight, blocking out that nice, bright warmth she found so appealing.

From what she could see so far, it was probably the ideal location for a new Hive, at least as far as the geography and topography were concerned. So her next observations needed to be in regards to what, other than plants, might be living in the area.

A young Hive could be destroyed and snuffed out easily during the first few years, when it was small and its' Queen inexperienced. If anything potentially dangerous was lurking nearby they would need to know about it ahead of time—so that they could either choose another location or face the problem-head on before even putting down their roots. A small army of Changelings could probably take on most things the forest could throw at them—but it was better to be safe than sorry.

Calamity looked around herself once more and then began walking, picking her steps carefully as she made her way through the undergrowth.

It was slow going. The ground was soggy and slippery, and the sucking mud bogged her down in places. An hour into her exploration, she was filthy from the belly down, coated in muck, bits of greenery, dead leaves, tiny sticks and the occasional bug, and—

—what was that noise?

She was knee-deep in yet another mud wallow, struggling to pull one of her back legs free when a cracking sound made her pause. Lifting her head, she cocked one ear. The snap had sounded like a twig snapping… had it been something she had done, while trying to free her hoof from the mud hole? She didn't think so, but…

Another crack, louder this time and clearly coming from behind her.

Calamity froze, her heart jumping slightly. If it was some kind of creature, she could be in danger—but if it was a pony, she would be in even more trouble. The other pony races despised Changelings. She would be hauled off and thrown into a prison cell—or worse, just killed on the spot!

Another crack.

Then another.

Another.

Calamity panicked, yanked her leg free from the mud, and ran.