After her heated exchange with Velvet, Firefly was pissed off. She had so much going on, how dare he act like he was handling everything better than her after what he’d just pulled? How dare he question that she knew what she was doing? How dare he have the nerve to act so high and mighty? She couldn’t believe it!

She needed a walk to clear her head. So she flew to the outskirts of the Everfree Forest, where she could be alone.

Firefly’s thoughts stewed as she paced around the quiet forest, with nobody around to distract her. Velvet didn’t get it. What she was dealing with wasn’t stuff she could just delegate. How do you send a search party out for your own mother when you could look for her yourself? How do you send soldiers and diplomats after your own brother’s army? Nobody else had to fight their family like she did. They didn’t know the half of it.

As time went by, Firefly’s problems only mounted. What was meant to be a marriage of alliance in a time of war was falling apart in shambles, all because the Kirin Queen couldn’t understand what she was going through. Her mother was still missing; it had been so long she didn’t even know if she was still alive. Her last pillar of support, gone. And Phil was out to get her, killing off her own troops while still being too coward to show his face. And for what? Pettiness?

She knew what she’d do. She would go to his hive herself and talk some sense into him. Tell him what an idiot he was being, make him snap out of it. Maybe even figure out where Mother had gone. At the very least, she’d get some questions answered and give her brother a big “fuck you” for all the shit he caused. He deserved it.

*****

“Hey! Phil!”

Firefly stood outside the entrance of her Mom and Auntie’s new castle, which was now remodeled beyond recognition into a hive-like structure.

“Knock knock!” She called out sarcastically. “You gonna come out here?”

The castle doors slowly creaked open, revealing two changeling guards.

“Order of business?” One asked.

“Who the fu—where’s Phil? Why isn’t he answering his own door?”

The two guards exchanged a glance. “The King is in his throne room. He has been expecting you. We will take you to see him.”

“Damn right you will,” she scoffed. “Glad he’s so excited to see me.”

The guards positioned themselves at her sides, pointing their spears at her as if threatening her to move forward. But she wasn’t scared. They couldn’t stand a chance against her.

Firefly was led into a vast, dark room with a throne at the center. The figure sitting upon it was none other than Phil, looming tall over his little kingdom.

“You are dismissed.”

The guards quickly left and the door was shut behind her.

Phil stood up from his throne, lurking over towards Firefly with a menacing grin. She couldn’t help but notice how much older he looked. He was thinner, weaker. But he stood firm, like it hardly caused a slight.

“I’ve been waiting for you,” he sneered. “What a pleasant surprise, hearing you came all the way out here to see me. Must be you missed my company after all.”

“Don’t flatter yourself,” she deadpanned. She looked around at the slimy, cold cave that surrounded them. “What the fuck is this, Phil?”

“Don’t you know? You’re not the only one with a kingdom to run,” he replied coolly. “I built this all on my own. You only inherited your mommy’s castle.”

“I’ve actually been doing shit!” She countered. “Running a kingdom is more than just inhering a stupid castle, I’ve had work to do! What have you been doing other than moping around? All you’ve done is make MY life harder!”

“And whose soldiers are being decimated as we speak? Tsk tsk,” he clicked his tongue. “Relax and sit down, my sister. Didn’t you want a family reunion? You, me, Mother…”

He lifted his head and stuck out his chest, which was adorned with a familiar black horn. Firefly’s blood ran cold.

“Oh my god, y-you didn’t…”

“But I did,” he chuckled lowly. “Are you really surprised? She had it coming.”

“Had it coming? HAD IT COMING?” She screamed in shock and anger. “She did SO MUCH for you, Phil! She kept you alive when she could have left you in a fucking ditch! She begged Equestria for forgiveness so she could give you a home! She had to make sacrifices to take care of you and you say she DESERVED to be MURDERED? I can’t believe-“

Firefly suddenly felt a sharp pain in her cheek as she was thrown back against the wall.

“How DARE you defend her…” Phil stood over her, a look of furious agony twisting his face. “How DARE you defend the one who caused me so much PAIN?”

“Pain? Really?” Firefly gripped her now-bleeding cheek, noting the irony of the situation. “You’re really still hung up on her hunting a few animals for food? She had to-“

“She LIED TO YOU!” He shouted, his breathing becoming ragged. “She lied to you like she lied to everyone else! I saw what she really did! She killed PONIES and never felt any remorse! She tore the life from a FOAL! Swan Lake was her name! Swan Lake!”

Firefly stayed frozen. “Phil-“

“All Chrysalis cared about was power! She didn’t love me, or you, or anyone else! And you were too much of a fool to see it!”

Phil lowered his head and his shoulders began to shake.

“I…I’m so sorry…” Firefly uttered.

“Your apology means nothing to me!” He looked up, eyeliner dripping down his cheeks but his glare icy and cold. “You are just as complicit as the rest of them. No…worse. I’ve seen how you try to justify her. It makes me sick. You are just as bad as her.”

“Shit, Phil-“

“Save me your excuses,” he commanded. “I know how you are. You ignore what you don’t like to hear, what makes you look ugly. You ignored my pain because you didn’t want to face the part you’ve played in it. And I’m not the only one. Do you not remember Galaxy Guard?”

Firefly gasped. “Don’t you dare mention her.”

“Who else will? You all but erased her legacy. You made sure she was forgotten so you wouldn’t have to face the truth. Your descendants wrote a biography of her life and it never went to print, I know it was no accident. But I will not be forgotten,” he smirked. “My reign will be so glorious, nobody will miss the pathetic clusterfuck that was yours. I will go down in history as the greatest ruler to live! And I will see to it that you and Chrysalis are remembered as the monsters you really were. You will pay, you will all pay for denying me the life and legacy I’ve always deserved!”

“Shut up!” Firefly snapped back. “You’re going power hungry!”

“Power hungry?” Phil feigned surprise. “Says the mare who manipulates the narrative for her own benefit. You have always abused your power over others to get what you want. Tell me how that isn’t the very definition of power hungry! I’m not hungry for power or control, but if I must stoop to your level I will.”

He lit up his horn to attack and that’s when Firefly’s instincts took over. She grabbed his neck with her magic, hardly noticing the shock in his eyes as she threw him aside as hard as she could. It was meant to be a simple act of self-defense. But the crack she heard as he slammed against the wall, the way his body immediately went limp, told her something different.

“Phil?”

No response.

“Oh shit,” She got up and galloped towards him, tears forming in her eyes. “Shitshitshitshitshit! Phil!”

She grabbed his limp body and rolled him over, her hooves becoming wet with his blood that now spilled freely. When she saw his eyes roll back in his head, she knew. Phil was dead, and she had killed him.

“No!” She cried. “No! NO! NOOOOO!”

Firefly could not deny it any longer. She had blood on her hooves.