Water dripped from sharp stalactites in a damp, dark cavern, illuminated only by two dimly glowing torches near an iron door. Thousands of eggs lined the cavern walls in clusters, eerie sounds of squirming and slithering permeating the thin, translucent shells. Tiny fangs broke the membrane containing one of the many larvae, and it consumed its shell.

Just then, the iron door creaked open, and two tall changelings stepped from a brick hallway into the cavern. “We’re in time,” a soft voice said.

Two sets of glossy blue eyes watched as thousands of larvae chewed through their shells and fell to the cave floor, hissing and squirming. Each was a dull gray color with a dark blue shell attached to its rear, and each had vivid blue eyes that aimlessly searched the cave.

“By Ditiscidae’s soggy pinchers! Look!” The tall male changeling sporting a bright green shell pointed to a peculiar larva. “Its shell is purple. Could it be?”

His red-shelled partner fluttered towards the standout and lifted it into her porous hooves. “We finally did it. We have an heiress. Oh glorious day,” she said as gray larvae rained down from the walls around her. “Oh glorious day, indeed.”

“Indeed, darling.” He placed his hoof onto her shoulder as they cradled the special larva, thousands of others piling up and slithering around their hooves, all blue shells. “Say hello, Li’l Chitin.”

A bright purple shell shimmered in the moonlight as a young changeling stood atop a mansion, her long blue and purple mane waving in the breeze. In her hoof she clutched a mirror given to her by her father, Lord Sunder Shield, leader of House Locust and renowned military general. She stared into her own eyes and as she frowned, it smiled back. She grunted and attached the mirror to the side of her shell, then took flight.

“Stupid thing… it’s never gonna cooperate,” she told herself, then carried on. As she buzzed near the walls of Cicada City, her hometown, she was met by the gatekeepers. They were two bald changelings with dark blue shells wielding dull spears.

“On a mission. Skitter aside, please.” She nudged the crossed spears and lowered her eyebrows, then sighed.

The two changelings glanced to each other, remaining silent, unable to speak. Chitin closed her eyes and tightened her stomach, creating a plume of pheromones. Upon receiving the scent, the guards gave a knowing nod and lifted their spears.

“Thanks guys. Keep up the good work. The city won’t be on lockdown much longer. I promise.” Chitin smiled at them and zipped over the walls and into the deep, dark Everfree Forest. The changeling guards shrugged and returned to their posts.

After a lengthy flight, Chitin arrived at a clearing in the forest. Within that clearing was a camp of many tents, as well as a small fire in the middle with many ponies gathered around it. She lowered herself behind a thick tree and listened.

“I hope y’all’re excited as I is,” a brown stallion said to the group, a young blond and pink mare clinging to his side. “We’ll be settlin’ down and buildin’ our new town in no time. I swear it!”

“Yes sir, I do reckon we gotta be gettin’ close to a good spot by now. We’ve been cuttin’ away at this dang ol’ forest for days.” Another stallion added a log to their fire and tilted his hat forward.

“Don’t you fret, Haystacks, as long as I’m leadin’ this here expedition, I won’t let ya down.” He then wrapped his foreleg around the mare next to him. “And with Cherrypie by my side, I got the best reason a stallion could as for to make this work.”

Chitin grinned and tasted the bond between them as they kissed. She turned around and leaned against the tree as she grabbed the mirror from her shell. “Come on, damn you,” she whispered. “You’re supposed to do what I want.”

Her reflection stuck its tongue out at her and then disappeared, reflecting only the flames from the campfire behind her.

“Come on. That’s not even how reflections work,” she muttered as she tilted the mirror from side to side, but still only saw the reflection of the fire. “Forget it. I’ll do this myself.”

Study, infiltrate, sabotage, she reminded herself. “Let’s do this.”

Chitin peered around the tree and waited for an opportunity. Moments passed, then the stallion stood up away from his apparent lover. “I may as well go grab some more firewood, keep this baby roarin’ until mornin’.”

Perfect. Chitin rubbed her hooves together and skulked through the trees towards the small trail the stallion followed. She glanced over her shoulder and saw the other members of the camp chit chatting around the fire, then proceeded to stalk her prey. She took flight and hovered in the shadows while he collected thick twigs and broken branches.

“Hello,” she said as she landed in front of him. Before he could shout, she spat a thick ball of mucus over his mouth, muffling his cries. He frantically wiped at his face to no avail, his hooves only becoming glued to his muzzle.

“Take a little nap, will ya?” Chitin said before sticking her tongue out and projecting a thick, web-like slime.

She then closed her eyes and her horn flashed green. In an instant, her body shapeshifted into the spitting image of the stallion she had captured. “Awh shucks, if you ain’t just the mud-buckin’est, hayseediest little ol’ colt I ever did done lay eyes on,” she mocked. “Pathetic.”

The stallion's eyes watered as he watched the changeling walk towards his camp.

Chitin carried the bundle of sticks and dropped them on the pile, then took a seat next to the pink mare, wrapping a hoof around her. She then quite convincingly faked a yawn and stretched her haunches out. “It’s sure gettin’ late, doncha think? Thinkin’ I may hit the hay soon. Go on and ready our bed, Cherrypie, if ya would.”

Every pony glanced to the other, then nodded. Cherrypie blushed and stood up. “Okay, Golden Oats, I will.”

Chitin smiled and watched which tent the mare went to, then slapped her thigh. “Well, I s’pose I’ll go join her. Keep this fire tended to, Haystack.”

Haystacks frowned and nodded. “Y’sir.”

Chitin trotted to the tent and stepped inside. There she saw Cherrypie sprawled out beneath a blanket from the chest down. She joined her and blew out the single candle illuminating their tent. The light from the fire outside permeated the fabric and dimly lit the tent. Chitin wrapped her large, masculine hooves around Cherrypie and leaned in for a kiss.

As their lips touched, she inhaled a deep, aromatic aura from with Cherrypie’s chest. It was pure, true love, and Chitin quivered as it filled her body with energy and strength. She savored the flavor with each breath, then slid her tongue into the mare’s mouth.

Once they parted, Chitin leaned into the mare’s ear. “You’re delicious,” she whispered. “I don’t think I’ve ever tasted innocence quite like yours before.”

Cherrypie recoiled and opened her eyes. “Golden… what’re ya sayin’? You don’t sound like yerself.”

“Want to hear a secret?” Chitin asked.

Cherrypie’s eyes widened as her lover’s deep amber eyes stared into hers.

“I’ve been lying to you.” Chitin smiled widely. “I’m not who I pretend to be.”

“What does that mean?” the mare asked. “I don’t understand.”

“Shh. Stay quiet.” Chitin placed a hoof over her mouth and hushed her. “It really isn’t unlike you to not understand, now is it… You’re a pretty dim-witted mare, you know. Do you even know why we’re on this expedition?”

Cherrypie winced and shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes.

“I was tasked with taking you morons out here and abandoning you all. Nopony back home wants you around. They said good riddance the second you stepped into the forest. I just can’t believe you were dull enough to think that somepony like me could ever actually love somepony like you. Pathetic.” Chitin rolled on top of the mare and pinned her legs down. “The only time you were ever useful was as my plaything. Thanks for the nights.”

Cherrypie fell limp as her heart shattered, and Chitin breathed in her agony. She pressed her muzzle against the mare’s cheek and licked up the side of her face, tasting her flowing tears. Chitin shuddered and her mouth watered profusely. “You were a rare treat, Cherrypie,” she said, her teeth dripping.

“Now get out of here! I never want to see you again!” Chitin shouted.

Cherrypie flinched and covered her face, then scurried out of the tent and galloped into the woods. Haystacks jumped up and called after her. “Wait, Cherry! Where ya goin’?”

Chitin then stomped out of the tent and into the other side of the forest, a wide smile plastered across her cheeks. As soon as she entered into the darkness, she dropped her disguise and stepped up to the captured stallion. She leaned down and sank her long, sharp fangs into his neck. A potent venom was injected into him, and his eyes went blank.

“Nap time’s over, chump.” Chitin tore her gooey encasing from his body and took flight, disappearing into the night.

Golden Oats wobbled to his hooves and wiped his eyes, shaking his head.

“What did you say?!” Haystacks shouted as he trotted up to his leader’s side.

Golden Oats stumbled backwards and fell against a tree, a glint of green flashing in his eyes. “I don’t know… It’s time for us to be gettin’ back home, Hay.”

“But the expedition! What about our new village?” he asked.

“There’s nothin’ in this forest for us… Look around you, Haystacks. Let’s go find Cherry and stay away from this dark place.” Golden Oats clumsily trudged to the clearing and collapsed, his legs weak and his neck stiff.

“I knew this was a bad idea… This forest is no place for ponykind.” Haystacks helped his friend to his hooves and called the other ponies from their tents. He had an announcement to make…

Chitin rested on her bed after another job well done. She clutched her mirror between her hooves as she leaned against her pillows. “Nothing like the taste of a broken heart, right?”

Her reflection smiled and rapidly nodded.

“How would you describe that one? I'd say it was very tender. You can tell that she hadn’t experienced anything like that before, so it was extremely pure. I especially liked the way it came out of her in a smooth stream instead of pulsing bursts like the others. You know?”

Her reflection tilted her head and shrugged.

“Well trust me; it makes a difference. Flavor-wise, it was very savory. I expected sweetness from someone so young and innocent, like spring flowers or an early morning breeze over a lake,  but it was a pleasant surprise. Her love tasted like summer rain clouds, but when I cracked her heart open it was like a beam of winter moonlight filling my mouth. So strange. If I wasn’t under pressure, I’d have kept her there crying for hours if I could.” Chitin rubbed her stomach and licked her lips.

“Why won’t you work with me? Things would be so much easier if we worked together.” She looked into her reflection’s eyes and sighed. “If you don’t want me as your keeper, just say so.”

Her reflection opened its mouth and bared its fangs in a gaping smile.

Chitin groaned and closed her eyes. “You’re so weird.”

“You do realize you’re talking to yourself, right Chitin?” A large changeling stepped into the girl’s room, his long white mane falling past his back.

“It’s called knocking, Dad!” Chitin shouted and rolled onto her side, facing away.

“I just wanted to let you know that your mirror is a reflection of the magic inside of you. It doesn’t have a personality of its own, or anything like that,” he explained. “Also, I wanted to say that you did a great job. A herd of wandering ponies can be pretty stubborn. I’m glad you diffused the situation before they discovered our city.”

Chitin raised her eyebrows and leaned up. “It was a cakewalk. Plus I got to taste the most delicious mare. So worth the effort.”

“Yes, I heard you describe her flavor as summer rain clouds and winter moonlight. You’re such a little oddball, my dear. I hope you realize just how lucky you are to be able to taste the love you consume, even though your flavor descriptions are a little uncanny.” The large changeling laughed and rubbed his chin. “I’ve never heard of such a thing before. None of your twenty-three-thousand siblings seem to have developed that ability either; although, ninety-nine percent of them can’t even speak, so…”

“Hehe.” She giggled and covered her mouth. “Thanks, Daddy.”

“Anyway, the mirror. You’re special in more ways than one, Chitin. A colored shell means that you have access to more changeling magic than most. While any changeling can shapeshift, you’ll soon discover a full arsenal of spells at your disposal. That’s what makes our family so important to the Empire. The fact that you can cause that mirror to react at all means that you’re a mirror-mage, just like your mother,” he explained. “And I’m so proud of you.”

“But why me?” Chitin asked. “Why not any of my twenty-three-thousand siblings? Or at least one of the other colored shells?”

“No one can say for sure, but I believe that our ancestors chose you for a reason. You’re destined to do great things for House Locust and Cicada City,” he said. “Perhaps even the entire Changeling Empire. And mirror-based magic isn’t something to take lightly. It may very well be the most difficult of all the changeling techniques to master.”

“Okay… thanks. I need to get some sleep.” Chitin rolled back over and grimaced.

“Alright, dear. And don’t count your blue-shelled siblings out so quickly. They’re a vital part of our military operations as well. And those of you with colored shells are looked upon as leaders. So please, stay strong and focused.” He nodded and cleared his throat. “Goodnight, Chitin.”

“G’night, Dad.” Chitin sighed as the door latched shut and she lifted her mirror to her face. “Why don’t I understand you?” she asked herself with a crooked frown, and her reflection stared back down with a devilish grin.

“I’m losing my mind, aren’t I…” She groaned and tossed the mirror to the foot of her bed. She then sat upright and stared at the setting moon through her tall bedroom window.

Chitin sighed and pressed her hooves over her eyes, leaning forward. “I need to eat,” she said as she pushed her window open and took flight.

She then groaned and turned back around. “Fine, you can come too,” she said as she snatched her mirror off of her bed. “But don't give me an attitude this time. Got it?”

“Truly an oddball if I've ever seen one,” Lord Sunder Shield muttered as he watched his daughter scolding her own reflection from his window. “Be careful, child.”

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