The Sad Tale of Chrysalis

by Creativa-Artly01

Chapter 4-Worthless Hearts

"Remember what I told you about hearts?" the Queen asked a young Chrysalis after their mini invasion all those years ago.

"What?" asks Chrysalis to her mother. "That they're useless, worthless things," responds the bugling.

"Yes, which is why I'm ripping out yours," responds her mother as she gives Chrysalis a tug in the chest with her magic, ripping her heart out and filling her insides with an empty void.

"Why? Why did you do that?" asks Chrysalis. "I thought you loved me."

Chrysalis hears this interaction continue to play out over and over in her head until her daughter awakens and enters the throne room. "Mom, were you up all night? Who are you talking to? There's no bug here."

"Yes," sighs Chrysalis. "I was up all night. That conversation between me and my mother when she ripped out my heart playing over and over in my head and it JUST WON'T STOP. It's been like this ever since I took the throne. All her talk about worthless hearts, useless hearts. She's the reason we're like this! The reason, the reason I...I'm like this." She pauses then looks at Coocoona. "She never liked that my heart was more pure and well intentioned than her own. That's why she ripped it out of me, to make me a soulless, emotionless husk like herself. Now, now, there's no changing that I hate it. My mother is the one that taught me to feed on the love of other creatures, including ponies, against my own will and volition. She said it was the only way to survive after she took my heart. I can still remember the day. The feeling, the tears rushing down my cheeks. My wings going from jade green to this mucky swamp color they are now, my beautiful light purple gray coat turning this wretched black. I was lucky I still had my gorgeous turquoise hair, only now it along with the rest of me looked like it was riddled with bullet holes. My eyes were green, but now, soulless just like everything else. That day, that day was the day I became a monster."

"Well, mom, I think you're pretty," says Coocoona with a smile. "And if I had a heart, I know you'd never rip it out of me. After all, you said you were different than grandma, right?"

"Right, baby," responds Chrysalis with a sigh. "Now please go run along and play with your brothers and sisters."

"Fine," sighs Coocoona as she flies out the room. However, she just returns to her own room and pulls out her favorite book about the Changeling Pony Sorcerous, Moatha, daughter of Mothball and Screwball. She then happily reads it contently on her bed until breakfast feeding rolls around.

"Worthless hearts, worthless hearts," Chrysalis continues to mumble in anger to herself in the throne room. "Why? Mom? Why did you have to rip it out? Tear out my innocence and joy right along with it? My daughter may say I'm pretty but all she really sees is the monster that you made me! Ahhhh! AHHHHH! Why?" She slams her hoof into the ground. "Why? They're not worthless hearts. They're worthwhile hearts. Now if only I could feel the feeling of having a heart, of really getting love. When you suck it, you don't truly earn it. That's something you never understood and now I'll never have that feeling either thanks to you." She shoots a beam of magic into the wall in frustration causing the hive to shake.

"Remember what I told you about hearts?" the Queen asked a young Chrysalis after their mini invasion all those years ago.

"What?" asks Chrysalis to her mother. "That they're useless, worthless things," responds the bugling.

"Yes, which is why I'm ripping out yours," responds her mother as she gives Chrysalis a tug in the chest with her magic, ripping her heart out and filling her insides with an empty void.

"Why? Why did you do that?" asks Chrysalis. "I thought you loved me."

"And I do," responds Chrysalis's mother. "That's why I'm doing this. Out of love."

"Why don't you get out of my head, mother?" Chrysalis hisses and growls trying to continue to shake the conversation from her mind. She thought telling all of this to her daughter would make her feel better, but it's only made her feel worse. The old memories, the bad memories have since begun to wash back over her like a wave, a flood, no a tsunami. "Why did I tell her? Maybe it would've just been better to have kept it bottled up inside me forever? No, that would've been worse. I don't know anymore, honestly. Ugh, honesty sucks. Funny thing is too, I used to look up to mom before she ripped my heart out."

Meanwhile in her room, Coocoona continues to read her book until she hears guards coming around to gather every bug for feeding time. She then quickly hides it and runs back off to her mom's throne room where she finds her mom having a complete mental breakdown.

"Mom!" Screams Coocoona as she rushes to her. "Mom, you're not well. You're not, you're not well." The filly's eyes fill with tears. "Mom! Mom!"

"I'm fine," Chrysalis soon responds. "Just talking to Mother's grating voice in my head. Worthless hearts. Worthless hearts." She continues to grumble and moan. "Worthless hearts. Worthless hearts."

"But mom," responds Coocoona, "hearts aren't worthless. They're worthful."

"You're right, child," responds Chrysalis finally snapping out of it. "They are useful. Now if only I had one to call my own, so my insides wouldn't be a void of pure darkness anymore." She lets out a sigh. "But alas, there is no changeling spell, no magic spell, strong enough to create and reconfigure a heart into a pony or even a shell such as myself. Not even Alicorn magic can do such a thing."

"Well, then? What now?" asks Coocoona.

"Nothing, not until after feeding, now run along now." Coocoona sighs and goes off to feeding with the other changeling buglings. She just hopes she can find a way to help and possibly fix her mom. Alas, she's not sure if Moatha is even still around to help her with such a task or even if she would if she could find her to ask.