Maternal Instinct
Chapter Five
Pupa was actually quite safe. The tiny Princess had crawled her way through the palace, making her way up to her mother’s chamber. She had been here and other not exactly permitted places in the palace some times before, like the other day when she ran out of paper and decided to take some from her mother’s desk; she certainly regretted doing that now. Perhaps now she could make up for it.
Pupa pushed the shoji door open by fitting her tiny horn through the crack and giving the hardest push to the left she could. She landed on her belly against the smooth, richly decorated carpet, her crumpled picture still clutched firmly between her teeth. She got back up and crawled further into the room and took a better look of her surroundings.
It always struck her how her simple and plain her mother's chamber looked; her own room even appeared more royal in comparison. She never understood why her mother had her room like this, but did not care enough to question it.
Her mother’s bed caught her attention, with its grand size and soft, decorative covers welcoming her to approach. A big, eager grin spreading across her face, she crawled over as fast she could to it and began grasping at the sheets to pull herself up. It took her a minute before she managed to clamber on top of the bouncy mattress. She giggled uncontrollably as the springiness of the mattress bounced her up and down.
Noticing that her picture was now laying on her round belly, the filly picked it up and looked for somewhere to put it. She spotted the large white pillow at the other end of the bed and set it down there, where it blended in quite nicely.
Pupa spent the next five minutes bouncing about the bed, making an utter mess of the purple covers. It was so much fun she forgot completely about how she was supposed to be back in the round room and her drawing and colouring. She eventually bounced too high and landed right on the edge. She held tight onto the covers as she fell to the floor; they did well to break her fall and stop her from hurting herself.
Her little head poked from out of the pile, frazzled and dazed. She fell back onto the carpet in a hysterical fit.
Chrysalis stormed around the claustrophobically small sitting room, the heavy stomps of her hooves wearing into the old wooden floorboards. Her mane was becoming a mess the more she paced with locks falling over her face and a pulse was visible in her huge, bug-like eyes. None of the lights were lit, leaving the room in total darkness if not for the moonlight shining through the open window and the green glow of the Queen’s eyes.
Only two servants stood in the sitting room with her: two females, standing side-by-side, fear written over their faces. They felt like they were trapped in a tiger cage for at any moment they could be ripped to shreds, or more appropriately, blasted to smithereens.
It had been approximately forty-five minutes since it was announced the Princess was missing and the entire palace was in a state of chaos as they searched high and low for her. The staff were not entirely clear on what they feared more; the prospect that they would not be able to find her or their Queen’s unholy wrath.
There was a knock at the door, and Chrysalis’ head snapped in its direction with the sharp reflexes of a cobra. One of the servants flew over to the door and slid it open to reveal a guard standing there, his downcast face telling all they needed to know.
“Your Majes--”
“Have you found her or not?” she interrupted him, her tongue as sharp as a razor blade.
“N… no.”
Silence. Chrysalis stared down at the floor, her mane now covering her face like a drawn curtain. Her legs were shaking like they would give out any moment.
“We’re currently searching the dining room and the West Wing, and--”
“Fifteen minutes.”
“I’m sorry--?”
She raised her head, two green holes burning through the cerulean mane. The effect struck terror in the full grown, hardened guard’s heart.
“You heard me,” she said acidly, her voice quivering and she pointed up at the ticking clock hanging on the wall. “You all have fifteen minutes. Now get out.”
The guard bowed and slunk off, and the same servant slid the door shut, bracing herself for the worst.
The Queen did not break out into a rage. Instead, she just went back to pacing around the room, slower this time and without the same air of repressed anger. It looked like she was done with yelling and shouting for one night, until she lifted a table carrying a silver tea set and flung it across the room. It smashed into a wall, splintering the wood and scattering the silver (along with the piping hot tea) loudly against the floor.
This went for the next five minutes. The Queen jumped and flew around the room, picking up whatever pieces of furniture she could get her hooves on and tossing and smashing them like toys. She did not scream, cry, or even scowl; she allowed her actions to speak for her. The servants stood still, trying all they could not to flinch as several pieces of furniture nearly struck them.
Chrysalis stopped when she threw another table on its side, sending the papers stacked on top flying. She caught some in mid-air and started ripping them to shreds when it suddenly clicked in her head.
These papers. They were official documents, the same kind as hers Pupa drew all over. Ones she only could have possibly got her little hooves on from her...
She dropped the paper and, without saying a word; spun around, shoved past the servants and stormed out of the room.
Pupa had grown bored with her mother’s bed and steered her attention to the large desk, searching for something to play with there.
The Princess was disappointed when she climbed onto the stool to find a bundle more paperwork like last time. Remembering the incident earlier that day, she figured it best to just toss them on the floor in a mounting pile instead of using them for doodling. She never knew her mother had so many of these, or why for that matter.
She finally found something worthy of her interest: a tall red heavy bottle with a cork in the top. She eyed the dark bubbling contents curiously and remembered how she was a bit thirsty.
Using her little fang to pry out the cork, she inhaled the aroma but her muzzle wrinkled at the foul smell. Regardless, she carefully tilted the neck to her lips, only to gag violently at the equally nasty taste. She lost her grip on the bottle and it dropped to the floor.
The bottle shattered into a thousand tiny shards and the liquid created a deathly hiss as it consumed the papers in a bubbling pink froth with large bubbles rising from the centre.
Now look what you’ve done.
Mother will be furious.
Pupa grimaced at the mess and covered her ears at the sudden return of the voices. Why would they please not just go away?!
She recoiled back on the stool, only to end up knocking over a small open bottle of ink by mistake. It got all over the desk and spoiled all the remaining papers and began dripping down the sides. She gasped in horror.
You’ve ruined it.
This time, she saw where the voice was coming from. It was a deep, gurgling voice resonating from the bubbles rising from the ink on the desktop.
You ruin everything.
You are ungrateful.
Panicking, she tried to clean it up, but all she got was ink stains spoiling the sleeves of her kimono.
You will be punished.
You’re worthless.
“There you are!”
All the other voices went silent and the bubbling pink and black puddles suddenly ceased. That last voice was not in Pupa’s head. She turned around. What she saw nearly made her jump out of her fur.
Chrysalis stood hunched over in what were the remains of the doorway, torn paper and splintered wood littered around her hooves. She was barely standing as her legs were ready to buckle from her sprint up the stairs of the palace; if the pulses in her neck and forehead were beating any harder they would burst.
The Queen held her raw, pounding chest and steadied herself before she collapsed from exhaustion, but her malevolent eyes were kept on her young issue. “You...” she wheezed, coughing a few times and standing up properly. “What are you doing in my... in my...”
She trailed off when she had the chance to actually take a look around her room, from the ruined bed, to the destroyed papers on the floor, to her ink covered desk and finally to her daughter sitting up on the stool. Her twitching eyes went wide enough they looked ready to pop right out of their sockets, while her jaw could not drop any more lower.
“Wha... you... WHAT DID YOU DO?!!”
Her scream was so loud the furniture in the room shook in their place. Pupa, unable to answer, shivered like a leaf and curled up on the stool, ears pressed back and hoping right now that she would just vanish.
Chrysalis’ stunned expression quickly contorted to pure hatred. For one day, just one day, she had had enough.
“You... you...”
Pupa whimpered and squeezed her eyes shut, her ears unable to physically lay back any further.
“COME HERE!”
Pupa felt herself violently yanked off the stool by the ear, knocking it over in the process, and dragged along the floor through the icky pink mess. She stopped in front of her mother’s legs and was jerked up in the air. It all happened so fast, she did not have time to register her mother’s large hoof swing at her face.
Crack! The sound of the vicious slap resounded as Pupa dropped back to the floor with a painful thud. Her cheek stung horribly like it had been struck by a burning hot object. She held her little thigh, feeling a large bruise forming.
She wanted to cry out in pain for Cerci, but Cerci was no longer here to protect her. Her mother’s sudden outburst rendered her stunned silent. She just laid there wide-eyed, lip trembling as her mother raged at her, looking ready to throw her hoofs around her neck and start strangling. Never had Pupa seen her this way. Worst of all, she was trapped like a defenceless animal, the subject of this ferocious mare’s warpath.
Chrysalis knew she could have just left it here, but she did not want to. She was far from done. All the anger, all the mane-pulling frustration, she could feel it all boiling deep inside her bloating stomach and splitting skull. How they threatened to erupt like a volcano! She had to let it all out now before that long awaited aneurysm took her.
“You little idiot! We’ve been looking everywhere for you!” she yelled as she towered over the filly, sticking her flushing green muzzle right up into hers and baring her monstrous fangs. “You’ve had everyone worried sick, you selfish bucking brat!”
The terrified Princess gurgled, trying her best to say ‘I’m sorry’ again, but Chrysalis would hear none of it.
“SHUT UP! Don’t you dare try apologizing! All you’ve done today nearly gave me a heart attack! What the buck is wrong with you?! Do you enjoy making me more stressed than I already am?! Do you think that’s funny!?”
Pupa felt the force of her mother’s voice against her face, blowing her mane like it were in a wind tunnel. A dam of tears was building up behind her eyelids, ready to burst.
“I provide for you! I have you fed! I have you cleaned! If it weren’t for me you’d be dead!” Chrysalis howled, getting progressively closer and snapping jaw’s inches from her daughter’s face, forcing her to crawl backwards. “And this is how you treat your own mother in return?! I’m working my hooves to the bone, trying to make things better for you, but you... all you do is lie around and drool!”
She stopped for a second and her glare faltered, staring right into her little girl’s moist eyes. For a moment, it appeared she realized she had gone too far. But then she laughed a little, pulling herself back and putting on a smile. Pupa knew it was not a kind, comforting smile; it was the kind that she wore as a mask to cover up how furious she really was. She had seen her use it many a time just before she would sentence a changeling to death.
“You know something, sweetie?” Chrysalis chuckled and placed a hoof under Pupa’s chin, tilting her head up and forcing her to look at her. “All mommy ever wanted was a nice, normal daughter who could take over her kingdom when she’s gone. But what did I get instead?” she continued sweetly. Then, her smile vanished as her face decomposed into that same hateful scowl and pointed her shaking hoof between her eyes accusingly. “I got YOU! You’re a stupid, inbred waste of space! You don’t deserve your “birthright”! Do you understand that?! YOU’RE WORTHLESS!”
By now the tears were pouring fluidly from Pupa’s eyes. She could literally feel the pain inside her chest; it was her little heart breaking. Every cruel, vicious word her mother spat made her feel like she was being stabbed with a burning sword. She curled up into a ball and covered her head to make herself as small as possible.
“Well, I’ve had it with you! You’re not a Princess! You’re not my daughter! You’re nothing but an EMBARASSMENT!!” She screamed with fire spitting out of her mouth, but she retained her senses enough to see the quivering ball before her. She picked her up and magically forced her eyes open. “LOOK AT ME WHEN I AM SPEAKING TO YOU!!!”
Slap. Chrysalis’ head barely twitched and the sting was non-existent, but she still looked petrified. She dropped her daughter immediately and she touched the cheek the filly hit. The little one glared at her through her squinted eyes that were now red with tears. Never had Pupa dared raise a diddy hoof to her mother, except tonight.
That was it. All Chrysalis could see was red. The only thing she felt was the primal to desire to throttle her offspring.
“I’LL KILL YOU!”
Roaring bloody murder like a savage beast, Chrysalis smashed the helpless filly across the head, the sheer force sending her scattering across the floor like a lifeless rag doll. She pounced on her, her wild legs striking down again, and again, and again on the form of the helpless filly, who could do nothing by cry out desperately for help. Chrysalis drowned out the cries, her whole world having gone silent. Even the morbid thudding sounds of beating her daughter were death in her ears.
Chrysalis suddenly felt something heavy jump on her back, grab her by the neck and try to pull her off the filly. Sound returned to her.
“STOP IT! STOP IT! GET OFF HER!”
She shook her head wildly, green sparks shooting out her horn like fireworks, throwing whatever it was off her back. She looked behind and saw a hysterical Cerci with a look of absolute horror on her face, staring mouth agape down at the Queen’s hooves.
The red faded from Chrysalis’ eyes and she felt the cold sweat on her face, matting the locks of her mane. She looked down and what she saw made her gawk in horror. The rage simmering still inside her extinguished and an inaudible gasp escaped her throat.
Pupa laid there drenched and motionless in a ghastly puddle of green. Her eyes were half-closed, but twitching under the lids. The horrid green substance oozed from the enormous gashes on her temple and crown, staining her fur and mane and dying her once pretty lilac kimono a sickly green. The Princess was practically swimming in her own blood.
Chrysalis looked from Pupa to her own hooves. They were completely caked in it, so were her legs all up to the knees. It was even splattered on her face!
Reality came crashing down on her like a flaming wreckage. Her baby... WHAT HAD SHE DONE TO HER BABY!
The Queen threw herself at her mangled daughter’s barely conscious form. She scooped her up dripping from the blood puddle, cradling her close against her breast, kissing her blood drenched face and frantically trying to stop the bleeding.
“Cerci...” She chocked, her own tears falling down against her battered filly’s face like heavy rain. “Get help! Go!”
Cerci forced herself up and galloped out of the room, not waiting until she was even out the room to start crying hysterically for aid.
Chrysalis sat there in the wreckage of the royal chamber, unceasingly cradling and kissing Pupa. It was all she could think to do.
A pained, laboured moan emanated from the still filly's lips.
“Shhhhhh. I’m here.” She put her hoof to her cheek, holding her tight. “Shhhhhh.”
A million thoughts ran through the Queen's tortured mind. She could focus only on one that replayed again and again like a broken record.
‘Kami above, forgive me! Please, forgive me!’