Kolea, who appeared to be a dark grey pegasus with a short teal mane and light green eyes, entered the flower shop in Ponyville just after it opened for the day. Daisy, Lily, and Rose were still restocking everything. After a moment, Rose walked up to Kolea. “Hi, how may I help you?”

“Hi, do you have myrtle, iris, lavender and purple roses? I totally spaced out on getting them yesterday.”

“You actually know what you want?” Rose asked surprised.

“Em, yes?”

“That’s unusual. Most ponies here have no clue when they buy flowers.” She looked through the shelves. “I don’t think we have all of them here…” She turned to Daisy. “Could you check in the back?”

“Sure thing,” Daisy said before leaving.

Daisy turned back to Kolea. “Sorry about that, we should have everything in a few minutes.”

“Don’t worry, it's not a problem. I just hope that you still have some. You must have sold a lot yesterday,” she said, pointing at the empty shelves.

“Oh, it was a horror! Everypony wants flowers for their very special somepony, but nopony thinks about just ordering them in advance! So we have to stay the entire day so even the most forgetful pony can still get flowers.”

Lily put a couple of bouquets in a rack and then chimed in. “We have to overstock every year so we don’t run out. Especially because Filthy is always one of the last ones to show up, but if he doesn’t get the right flowers for Spoiled…”

Rose rolled her eyes. “Let’s just say I’d rather marry a bugbear. No idea what he sees in her.”

“I think she was nicer when she was younger,” Lily guessed.

“Trust me, if anything, she was nicer to look at,” Daisy replied, “And because she’s like that, none of us can go on a date on the most romantic day of the year. But at least I get to work with my very special someponies, so it's not all bad.”

“Found everything,” Daisy said, carrying Kolea’s bouquet, “you’ve got a good eye for this. It’s really striking!”

“Thanks! How much is that?”

“Ten bits,” Rose said. Kolea gave her the bits and carefully put the bouquet into her saddlebag.

Lily scratched her head. “I’m surprised that we never noticed you before…”

Rose’s eyes widened. “Oh no. Don’t tell me… Are you new in Ponyville?”

Kolea chuckled. “The pink one isn’t going to show up for a welcoming party, don’t worry.”

“Oh, thank Celestia,” Rose said, exhaling audibly.

This day is going to be perfect, Kolea thought while leaving the shop.

Derpy and Dinky should be out of the castle right now, Kolea thought. She stood in front of the Castle of Friendship, looking for a way in. And because Twilight has no staff, I can’t just knock and ask for an audience. Maybe through a window somewhere? I mean, she won’t just leave the front door open.

Kolea pushed on the door a little bit, and it swung open. Seriously?

She entered the castle, and after some searching, heard a young dragon. “So Celestia and Shaded are friends now?”

Kolea turned to the door the voice came from. That’s probably Spike.

Starlight said, “Yeah, but after what she did for Twilight, how couldn’t they be?”

Kolea silently opened the door and discovered Twilight, Starlight, and Spike sitting on couches in the library. They hadn’t seen her yet.

“I still don’t know how she did that,” Twilight said, “and I don’t just mean the magical side of it. I still remember how it felt, but it didn’t seem to bother her at all… I feel like I should somehow show her how grateful I am.”

“That might be a good idea,” Spike said, “any ideas how?”

Twilight sighed. “Unfortunately not.”

“I’m sure you’ll think of something,” Starlight said, “But what I’m also curious about is what she went through so that that isn’t really bothering her anymore. Or if there’s a limit to it. I mean, there are a lot of ponies who go through a hard time. Could she just do the same with them?”

“That would be a bad idea,” Kolea said, revealing her presence, startling the others. “My queen is still affected by it, even if she doesn’t show—”

Twilight and Starlight jumped from their seats.

“How did you get into the castle?” Twilight demanded.

“And how long did you eavesdrop?” Starlight added.

“Not too long.” Kolea said sheepishly, “Sorry, its an old habit. And I came through the front door. You should really lock it.”

Twilight opened her mouth to say something, but closed it again.

“She… kinda has a point,” Starlight said.

Twilight glanced at Starlight before turning back to Kolea and asking, “Who are you?”

“My name is Kolea, and I’m Shaded’s blade and spymaster, your highness.” She gave Twilight the same kind of curtsey Shaded used. “I wanted to use the opportunity to try to become friends with you all.”

Twilight's demeanor immediately softened. “Why didn’t you just say so? Welcome to my castle! And please, no need for titles among friends.” She offered her a hoof, and Kolea shook it. Then she sat back down again, followed by Starlight and Spike. When she saw that Kolea was still standing, she pointed at another chair. “Why don’t you sit down? I didn’t mean to interrupt you.”

“Gladly,” Kolea said, taking the seat. “As I was saying, what she takes onto herself still affects her, she just learned to not show it in public. She had a panic attack once she had returned home. Yes, my queen went through a lot in her life, so she will be able to carry on faster, or at least process it enough to be functioning. But if she started to take it from everypony, it would simply be too much.” Kolea shook her head. “The truth is, she only took yours because she feels responsible for it. Had she been faster, or had she recognized the seed sooner, you wouldn’t have had to go through it in the first place. Or at least that’s how she sees it. So I’m afraid that even if you would want to thank her, she wouldn’t accept it.”

“Wow, that’s...” Starlight scratched her head, “Um… that’s something.”

“I really don’t know what to say,” Twilight said.

After a few moments of silence, Kolea said, “By the way, I have something for you.” She took out the bouquet and handed it to Twilight. “I thought it would be impolite to come empty-hoofed.”

“That really wouldn’t have been necessary,” Twilight said, “but thank you.” She looked at the flowers more closely. “Irises are my favorites! How did you know?”

“Oh, just a lucky guess. They stand for wisdom, after all. But to be honest, I’m more here to talk with Starlight and Spike.”

“You are?” both asked simultaneously.

Kolea stood up and turned to them. “I wanted to thank you for the role you played in dethroning Chrysalis. She had it coming for her for too long. So thank you very much for helping to take her down at last. If you ever need help with something, just send me a message.”

“I get why you’re thanking Starlight, but why me?” Spike asked, confused. “I didn’t do anything. I was just sitting in a cocoon.”

“I have to disagree,” Kolea said, “if you hadn’t extended your friendship to Thorax, he could have never metamorphosed, and could have never defeated Chrysalis.”

“Huh. Yeah, I guess,” Spike admitted, “But anypony could have done that.”

“But nopony did. Anyway, I would like to ask you for a favour, both of you. Could you introduce me to Thorax?”

“Probably,” Starlight said, “I mean, he’s busy ruling the hive, but I don’t think he’d mind a visitor. Although, if you just want to thank him, I think a letter would be enough.”

“It’s not just that. Chrysalis is still sitting in our dungeon, and because she never committed any crimes against the Schattenrealm, my queen decided it’s up to you to decide her punishment.”

After a moment of silence, she added, “And I also want to reconnect with that part of the family.” Before anyone could ask what she meant, pink flames ran across her body, revealing her true, changeling form. A little bit smaller than Thorax, she had a dark purple chitin with a raven-black underside and emerald green carapace. Her wings and the sclera in her eyes were light grey, and she had three gemstone like objects in her chest, the middle one in the same colour of her magic, the other two brilliant white.

“Ah, makes sense,” Starlight said.

“I didn’t know that there were other changelings except those from Chrysalis’ hive,” Twilight noted.

“I was part of Chrysalis’ original swarm,” Kolea explained, “but over one thousand years ago, I tried to dethrone Chrysalis for how she treated us, failed, and was left to die. Then Shaded found me, saved me, and I served her ever since, leading a hive of my own.”

“So you’re a changeling queen like Chrysalis?” Twilight asked.

“No. Well, kinda. I’m a ryeling like her, but not a queen.” Seeing the confusion on everyone’s faces, Kolea began to explain. “A ryeling is a stronger and taller kind of changeling, and the natural leader of a hive or swarm. A changeling queen is nothing but a queen that happens to be a changeling. It’s kinda like with alicorns and princesses. Yes, if a pony is one, it’s likely that she’s also the other, but the two still aren’t synonymous. My title is Viceroy of the Schattenhive.”

“So, Shaded is the queen of the hive,” Starlight said, “and you govern it for her?”

“Yes. But if it's ok, I’d like to go to Thorax’s hive now. The day Chrysalis gets her comeuppance is the kind of day of which I've dreamed since I was small,” Kolea said. “Well, smaller. I came into existence as a fully grown soldier, after all.”

“You mean, right now?” Spike asked.

“Why not? From what I’ve heard, he doesn’t seem like the kind of changeling to have a problem with a surprise visit. And Starlight can just teleport us there, so it wouldn’t even take too long.”

Starlight narrowed her eyes. “And how do you know that?”

Kolea turned to Starlight. “As I said, I’m the spymaster. Knowing things is kinda my job. So, would you do me the favour?”

They appeared with a flash of turquoise magic. “Yes!” Starlight exclaimed. “Only three tries this time! I’m getting better at this.”

“They really don’t want take care of the vines, huh,” Kolea said, looking at the hive in the distance.

“I mean, why should they? They still have enough room to live, and they like it more that way.”

“It would be a lot easier to defend. All the plants around the hive would make it easy to sneak up on them. Sure, they’re really pretty to look at, but they still create cover. Although that can obviously be used in the defense of the hive as well. Personally, I’d plant some nettles and poison ivy in the undergrowth.”

Starlight and Spike looked at each other. Spike said, “Well, I’m not sure about Thorax…”

“But there’s one changeling you’ll definitely get along with perfectly,” Starlight added.

They probably mean Pharynx, Kolea thought. “Don’t get me wrong, I see the appeal. I’m not blind to the beauty of the new hive, but it was originally a fortress meant to protect the swarm from attacks. And looking at it from that point…”

“Yeah, I see what you mean,” Starlight said.

They walked towards the entrance of the hive. When Starlight and Spike stepped out of the vegetation, the two guards stationed there greated them. But as soon as Kolea showed herself, they got nervous. They didn’t stop her, but they could be heard whispering behind them once all three had passed.

Spike and Starlight didn’t pay it much attention at first, but every changeling they passed had a similar reaction when they saw Kolea. Some dropped things they were carrying, others disappeared into side corridors, or stared at her, but no one said anything to them, although the whispering around them was consistent.

“What’s up with them?” Spike asked.

“Probably me,” Kolea said, “I probably remind them of Chrysalis, because of my scent. The first generation of changelings was a lot different than the later ones, and I’m likely the only Gen1 they have ever seen besides Chrysalis. She was… not really concerned about the lives of her drones.”

“You’re right,” Pharynx said from behind them, startling Starlight and Spike, “and I’d really like to know who you are and what you are doing here.”

Kolea calmly turned around. “I was wondering when you’d reveal yourself. You were following us for…” she hesitated for a moment. He’s a ryeling as well? “...for ten minutes already?”

“Twelve, actually. And now I’d appreciate an answer.”

“Or else your disguised guards will arrest me, I presume?” Kolea said, nodding in the direction of a few changelings in sight.

“Exactly. I didn’t think you noticed them, though. I’m impressed.”

“They’re nervous, yes, but not as nervous as the others. That gave them away. Otherwise, I really like the system you have set up. The guards at the entrance and the few others sprinkled throughout the hive give the impression that all guards wear a uniform, which means intruders wouldn’t pay attention if there’s no changeling in armour around.”

“And here I thought I’m the only changeling who still has an eye for stuff like that. But seriously, who are you?”

“I go by the name Kolea these days, but my original name was Coleoptera.”

As soon as she had said that, an eerie silence fell over the area. All changelings in earshot had stopped whatever they were doing and stared at her. After a moment, Pharynx asked, “Coleoptera? The Coleoptera? From the Foolish Four-hundred?”

Kolea raised her eyebrow in surprise. “You heard of me?”

“We all did. Chrysalis held you up as an example why rebellion is pointless all the time. She told us that she killed all of you.”

“She definitely thoughtwe’d all die.”

Pharynx sighed. “So she always had the tendency to leave her enemies to die instead of making sure that they are dealt with…”

“Yep,” Kolea said, “So, what’s your name?”

“Pharynx.” He looked past Kolea. “Hey, Starlight. Spike. What brings you here?”

“Um, we wanted to introduce her to Thorax,” Starlight said.

“I’m sorry, but Thorax isn’t here right now. He should be back soon, though, but—”

A guard approached Pharynx before he could finish his sentence. “Another maulwurf was sighted. It’s devouring everything in the northern badlands.”

“Again?” Pharynx said annoyed, “Fine, gather the guards and we’ll—”

“I can take care of that,” Kolea said.

“What, alone?”

“Of course.” She took a few steps before turning around and saying to the others, “Just stay here, it won’t take long.” Then she opened her wings and flew away.

Pharynx looked after her for a moment. Then he turned to the guard and said, “Gather the others at the northern entrance to the hive,” before walking in the same direction Kolea had left in, followed by Starlight and Spike. But he didn’t stop at the entrance.

“Why aren’t we waiting for the others?” Starlight asked, still following him.

“I just have to see how she wants to take on a maulwurf by herself.”

Spotting the maulwurf wasn’t hard, and Pharynx, Starlight, and Spike lied down on top of a hill to have a clear view of what was happening.

Spike looked around for any sign of Kolea. “Where is she?”

“I don’t know,” Starlight admitted, “but she has to be here somewhere.”

“Over there.” Pharynx pointed at a trench behind the maulwurf.

Kolea looked at it, and then turned into a maulwurf herself. She walked up to the maulwurf, who seemed excited to see another one of its kind. Kolea came closer, and suddenly hissed, transformed back, and fed off the maulwurf’s love, a pink mist flowing from it into Kolea’s wide open, fanged mouth. A few moments later, the maulwurf collapsed and Kolea’s fangs disappeared.

Starlight said, “Did she just…”

“I didn’t know we could still do that,” Pharynx said.

They walked up to Kolea, but didn’t know what to say. Spike eventually broke the silence. He poked the maulwurf and asked, “Is… Is it dead?”

“Just unconscious. He just needs a few hours of rest.” Kolea turned to Pharynx. “Do you want some of his love?”

“Yes,” he said absent-mindedly. Then he hastily shook his head. “Wait, no! I’m past that!”

Kolea shrugged and said, “Well, more for me, then,” earning her shocked faces from the others.

“I thought you were reformed like us,” Pharynx said. “Or is that just a disguise?”

Kolea tilted her head to the side. “Of course not. I am reformed. But just because I don’t need to feed off love anymore, doesn’t mean that I can’t, does it? It’s a really useful ability, after all.”

Pharynx opened his mouth for a rebuttal, but couldn’t think of anything. He sighed and said, “Just don’t tell the others.”

“And what are we going to do about the maulwurf?” Starlight asked.

Pharynx thought about it for a moment. “I’ll send a few guards to carry it out of the badlands. It’s hide is too thick to be worth the effort of taking it to the hive.”

Starlight looked confused. “Why would you take it to the hive in the first place?”

“Well, food. I mean, you saw us eating bugs.”

On their way back to the hive, Pharynx said to Kolea, “I have to admit, I was kinda surprised to see another changeling who’s not brightly colored.”

“Then you’d be shocked to see my hive. You’d honestly fit right in with your dark cyan chitin.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. We’re also all reformed, but we didn’t get bright chitins like your friends. We’re all different dark hues of blue, violet, green, red, grey…”

“Huh.”

“Maybe you can come visit us sometime,” Kolea suggested.

“I’ll think about it, thanks for the offe—” he suddenly stopped, looked into the sky above them, and then let his head hang down “—oh, no, not again...”

“What is it?”

Pharynx just sighed.

Before Kolea could ask again, Thorax dived down and tackled Pharynx off his hooves into a hug. “You’re safe!”

“Not if you keep crushing me!”

“Oh, right.” Thorax let go of Pharynx and stepped back. “Sorry, but when I heard that you left to fight a maulwurf all on your own—”

“I didn’t,” Pharynx said. He pointed at Kolea. “She did.”

He turned to her. “You did? Thank you! But how did you do that?”

“Oh, just an old trick of mine,” she said with an innocent smile. She gave Spike and Starlight a quick glance.

Realisation appeared on Spike’s face. He stepped forward. Thorax grinned when he saw him and picked him up for a hug. “Spike! It’s so good to see you.”

“Hey, Thorax, good to see you, too!”

Thorax put Spike down again. “So, what brings you here?”

“I wanted to introduce you to a new friend of ours. Thorax, this is Kolea.”

Kolea curtsied and said, “It’s an honour to meet you, Your Grace.”

“Likewise,” Thorax said, returning the gesture. “I always love making new friends.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Kolea said, “but there’s something I need to discuss with you, from ryeling to ryeling. Why don’t we take care of the maulwurf taking a nap over there and then talk about it in private?”

Sitting on his throne, Thorax said, “Well then, what did you want to talk about?”

Kolea let her eyes wander from Thorax, to Pharynx standing beside him, to Spike and Starlight, and then across the small crowd of changelings that had gathered around. “I think it would be a better idea to discuss it in private, Your Grace.”

“I don’t keep any secrets from my people,” Thorax said, “If it's important for the hive, they deserve to hear it.”

“If you think so… The matter I came here to discuss is Chrysalis.”

The crowd around them grew nervous when Kolea mentioned her name. She waited for the mumbling to die down and then continued. “Chrysalis is still sitting in our custody, but you are the ruler of the hive she belongs to, so it’s up to you to decide her punishment.”

“Can’t you just keep her locked up?” Starlight asked.

Kolea turned to Starlight. “And what for? Prison for life won’t work. First Generation changelings don’t physically age, so she would have to be contained forever. Even if it would work, and nopony ever messes up, it would be wrong. Nopony deserves to be locked away somewhere without being able to do anything forever.”

“So,” Thorax asked after contemplating what she had said, “what do you suggest?”

“The best option in my opinion would be to take her out permanently.”

The crowd started mumbling again. Thorax exchanged a look with Spike, Starlight, and Pharynx, who all weren’t sure what to make of it. He turned back to Kolea. “Are… are you suggesting that we should kill her?”

“Yes.”

Thorax backed away into his throne. Starlight narrowed her eyebrows and Spike didn’t know what to say.

Pharynx said, “Heh, would serve her right. I agree with you.”

“Pharynx!” Thorax exclaimed, shocked.

“What? Do you have another idea?”

Thorax avoided his gaze, so Pharynx turned to the crowd. “Does anyone have a better idea?”

Somewhere in the crowd, a changeling yelled, “Why don’t we banish her?”

“Yeah,” somepony else replied, “She’d be gone but wouldn’t have to rot in a cell for all eternity.”

How can they be so naive? Kolea thought.

Pharynx rolled his eyes. “Yeah, because she definitely wouldn’t just raise another swarm to get her revenge with. I say we just execute her and be done with it. That’s the safest option. In the past, that wouldn’t even have been a question.”

“But those are the old ways, Pharynx,” Thorax said with disappointment.

“Yes, Chrysalis’ ways, to be specific. I’m not saying that we should return to her so called ‘justice’, but I’d be prepared to make an exception in her case. She subjected every changeling under her to her tyranny, so why not give her some of her own medicine?”

A few in the crowd nodded in agreement, but most seemed uncomfortable with the idea.

“Because it wouldn’t be right,” Thorax insisted.

“And just setting her free would be foolish!”

“Then it's good that I’d rather be a fool than a hypocrite,” Thorax said in a tone that made clear that he wouldn’t argue about it anymore.

Pharynx groaned. “At least Ember’s assertiveness lessons are working.”

Kolea asked distraught, “So, that’s your decision? Banishment?”

“I’m afraid so,” Thorax said, “We’ll banish her from the southern end of the badlands out. I hope you can accept that.”

Kolea sighed. “My queen ordered me to respect whatever decision you make, so yes, I’ll accept it.”

The sun was already standing low over the horizon when Thorax, Pharynx and Kolea arrived at the border to the Forbidden Jungle. Starlight and Spike had decided to wait for their return in the hive.

Kolea lit her horn and drew a green circle on the ground. She stepped back, and a few moments later, Chrysalis appeared, her hooves chained together, a suppressor attached to her horn, and surrounded by four Schattenhive guards.

She looked at Thorax, then turned to Kolea. “Oh, so that’s what you had to wait for. The forever second Coleoptera needed permission from a king to kill me. So, why did you bring me here into the middle of nowhere just to kill me?”

“We’re not here to kill you,” Thorax said, trying his best to not sound intimidated. “You will be banished from our lands for what you did.”

Chrysalis looked at him, dumbfounded by what he said. “You’ll just let me go?” Then she broke into roaring laughter.

“You will be banished,” Kolea repeated through clenched teeth. She gave the guards a sign, and they unlocked her chains. Then she stepped in front of Chrysalis. “Now lower your head, or do you want to leave with the suppressor?”

Chrysalis complied with a grin. Kolea charged her horn and tapped on the suppressor. Kolea whispered into her ear, “When you come back, there will be nothing to stop me from cutting your head off.”

“Why wait?” Chrysalis whispered back, “Just do it, or are you afraid of offending your new queen?”

Kolea glared at her, but just silently stepped away, the suppressor held by her magic.

Chrysalis charged her horn, glaring at Thorax, who moved closer to Pharynx.

Do it! Kolea thought, Just do it. Attack him. Give me an excuse.

But Chrysalis just laughed and said, “You’re even more of a fool than I thought.” Then she took flight and disappeared into the Forbidden Jungle.

After she was out of sight, Kolea sighed deeply and told her guards to teleport back to the Schattenhive. After they had disappeared, she turned to Thorax. “I really hope that you won’t have to regret this.”

“It was the right thing to do. Maybe she will see the errors of her ways at some point.”

Kolea huffed. “Do you really believe that?”

Starlight was waiting at the entrance of the hive for Kolea and the others to return. She walked up to them and asked, “So, is she gone?”

Kolea nodded. “Straight into the jungle.”

Starlight’s ears and head dropped. “Well, I guess I’ll be sleeping with a dagger under my pillow from now on… again…”

“I’m sorry, Starlight,” Thorax said apologetically, “But it was the right—”

Starlight raised her hoof. “Just, stop. I don’t think that I want to talk to you right now.”

“I… I understand,” Thorax said and walked into the hive while Pharynx stayed.

Starlight sighed before looking back at Kolea. “Spike and I have to go back to Ponyville now.”

“I’ll stay a bit longer.” She offered Starlight her hoof. “Until we meet again.”

Starlight shook her hoof and said, “See you soon.” before teleporting away.

Kolea turned to Pharynx when he said, “I can’t blame her.”

“Me neither,” Kolea replied.

Pharynx waited a moment before saying, “Hey, do you want to see my favorite place in the hive?”

“Sure,” Kolea said with a smile.

“Then follow me.”

He led her deeper into the hive, eventually stopping in front of a wall covered in vines. He looked around, and when he was sure that they were alone, pushed the vines to the side, revealing a secret tunnel. After a few more minutes of walking, they arrived in a small chamber with a window facing the southern badlands.

“So, now we can talk without anyone else knowing about it.” He looked out of the window. “How long do you think it will take?”

Kolea stepped to his side, looking at the jungle in the distance. “For Chrysalis to come back? A few years, if we’re lucky. And luck isn’t on our side, it seems. I thought this day was going to be perfect…”

“Thorax has a good heart,” Pharynx said, “but sometimes, I feel like he is too good. The new ways are great for the hive, don’t get me wrong. Everybody is a lot happier. But in the old days, the entire hive was prepared to fight. Not like today…”

Kolea looked at him. “Well, then you’ll have to show them that there’s things from the old days that are worth keeping.”

“I guess I’ll have to at least try… Hey, do you still have some love from the maulwurf left? I could really use an old school snack right now.”

Author's Note

No big announcements this time, so I'll just say:

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