The Black Heart

by Wooden Wheel

The day with Fluttershy

Chrysalis was upset, but she wasn't sure with what to be more upset. If with the glances of dozens of ponies that apparently can't keep to their own business. The bravest ones, giving her surreptitious glances; the most curious, through windows, trees, bushes, or anything that would serve as a hiding place if the Queen granted them the privilege of recognizing their presence; and the most cowardly, (or the most experienced and sensible of the inhabitants of that frenetic town), running to take refuge from the calamity imagined by the sighting of its royal presence. All of them sharing one of four emotions: distrust, curiosity, fear or hate.

Curiosity and distrust as if she were a species of wild and exotic animal being paraded, an animal that had been captured, trained and in the process of being domesticated, to demonstrate the ponies superiority over the rest of the creatures, a superiority that they achieved over her; the only thing missing from this image that her paranoia and insecurity presented to her was a muzzle over her and a leash around her neck.

Some pretentious philosophers prattled on about what the opposite of love was, whether it was fear, hate, or indifference, but the Queen knew the truth. Love is sweet, fear and hate were bitter and pungent. Chrysalis had tasted and received her fair share of that, she knew changelings who, in their most glorious times, had caught a taste for those emotions, she never judged them harshly for this, fear and hatred were simply never her cup of tea, as the ponies would say; furthermore, today more than ever, these emotions brought back bad memories. But indifference? Indifference was a big piece of nothing, without taste or substance and without any nutritional value to the changelings.

Or with the fact that she was walking slowly and casually through the streets of Ponyville, with Twilight right at her side, as if she, the Changeling Queen, were a nymph her mother was taking to her first day of school, proud of her; although their respective heights and body language would suggest the opposite, painting her as an annoying and frustrated mother who is forced to take her eager daughter to school.

"This is unbecoming of a queen," says Chrysalis holding her head high, her expression decorous and her presence regal.

"What is unbecoming of a queen, your highness?" ask Twilight, pleasantly surprised that Chrysalis would start a conversation, even if it was just to vent her grievances. Expressing her emotions to sort them out through dialogue, rather than acting upon them, is a step in the right direction, Twilight thought.

"This, walking among commoners," answer the Queen, instead of saying what was really bothering her.

"Don't call them that. They are citizens of Equestria," Twilight reprimanded her in a conversational tone, and then added: "Beside, when you were regent of the Changelings, did you never walk among them?"

"These are not my subjects," Chrysalis replied. But they could be, she added only in thought and containing the smile that accompanied it.

"You said that I will be able to roam freely around the streets of this town," She continued. "I don't know, then, why are you escorting me? Why don't you just teleport us to were we are supose to go?" The Queen asked, once again to avoid, without having to say it directly, this situation that she found uncomfortable.

"I did. But remember that I also said that my friends and I will function as intermediaries between you and the rest of Ponyville's inhabitants. If they saw you walking alone through the streets of the town, there would be panic for sure. It is true that if we teleported we could avoid those unnecessary problems, but what better way to make them feel comfortable and safe with your presence than by seeing you walk with me and the rest of the girls?"

Chrysalis just grumbled in response, clearly not satisfied with that answer, but not wanting to prolong the discussion.

"This is only temporary. I promise you that if everything goes well, sooner than later, you will be able to move alone with out feeling that all eyes are on you," Twilight concluded, proving to Chrysalis that she was more perceptive of what was bothering the Queen than she seemed.

They continued walking in silence for a few minutes, taking a path that led to the outskirts of Ponyville, near the edge of the Everfree forest.

"I think that from here on, you can continue on your own, right?" Twilight said pointing to Chrysalis' next destination. "And before I go, remember to be kind."

"Yes, mom. You have nothing to worry about it, mom. I know I need to play nice with your friends, mom," Chrysalis said mockingly, perfectly imitating what a spoiled filly would sound like, trying to annoy Twilight as much or more than she felt.

Twilight gives her a unamused look, but then spoils the Queen's mood, giggling. "I'm being serious. You can be the love thieving queen, but if you pay attention, my friend Fluttershy could teach you a thing or two about how to get it without even asking for it."

And with that Twilight give her back to Chrysalis and began walking back to Ponyville, only turning once to wave a hoof to say goodbye to her.

Queen Chrysalis faced the indicated direction. Next to a squalid tree with multiple nests and birdhouses, there was a 'barely necessary and barely big enough for someone of his royal size to cross it' bridge, that gave way over a rivulet -hardly call it a stream in the eyes of the Queen- to a knoll of land. A mound full of burrows belonging to the dozens of creatures that raised their bodies or ears in her presence; among them she could identify rabbits and mice, snakes and raccoons and... was it a family of pangolins that the Queen saw? And above it all loomed a cabin, or rather a cottage that seemed to have emerged from beneath the earth itself, with its roof covered with a thick blanket of grass and other kinds of vegetation. It almost looked like a Hobbit house, with its windows resembling the burrows around it. More birdhouses could be seen hanging from it.

It wasn't until she walked over the bridge that she become aware of the ferret den, complete with a small dock at it's entrance, that existed beneath it. And only until she was a few steps from the front door, past a patch of over-watered petunias, she discovered that what she had believe at first to be a gaudy mailbox was in reality... even more birdhouses.

Good grief! If this pony wanted to live so much surrounded by so many birds, she should have chosen to live in the clouds, thought Chrysalis.

"You can come in, the door is open," a soft voice is heard coming from the inside, in response to Chrysalis knocking on the door.

Somewhat annoyed that she has to open the door, she is greeted by a strong and warm wave coming from inside, to the point of overloading her senses. And although the simplest way to describe it is as similar to a strong current of hot air, it was not something whose strength could be measured with an anemometer, nor whose temperature could be quantified with a thermometer. It was something that could only be truly felt in a palpable and measurable way by the Changelings. It was love. Or rather, a large and varied amount of loves.

She could detect Philia, Storgé, Ludus, Pragma and more inside that cottage. All of them belonging to and coming from the dozens of animals that roamed within this collective burrow. Mice coming and going from holes in the walls, squirrels and chipmunk, beavers, cats and a skunk moving across the floor, and even... more birds coming out and flying out of bird cages and birdhouses.

Chrysalis was aware that even animals could feel and emanate love, but the more controlled by their instincts and the less sapient the creature, the less a source of nourishing love it was, which is why the changelings did not bother to turn them into pets, functioning better as sources of minerals and proteins. The fact that such an incredible amount of love could come from these vermin had the Queen gobsmacked.

"Her highness may come in... if she wishes to," spoke a soft voice belonging to the owner of the cottage, a shy yellow pegasus named Fluttershy, who, coming down from the second floor, looked for who had opened the door but chose to remain outside.

Chrysalis entered once she recovered from her shock. The place was a nice, clean, dry cottage, with a pleasant smell and a set of a divan and an armchair to sit on, with a table in between. A pair of animal beds lie on a green wooden floor decorated with red rugs. Some stairs lead to an upper floor. It was a pony-home, and that means comfort.

She suddenly remember something and narrowed her eyes, and with a furtive glance looked around.

"Where is Discord?" Cautiously (definitely not worried) with a hint of animosity towards the aforementioned Lord of Chaos, the Queen asks Fluttershy, made aware by Twilight that the Draconequus had chosen to live here with the pegasus.

"Oh, Discord's not here. When we got back and I told him what happened, he got upset. He said he already had something big planned for the future, to boost Twilight's confidence, but with this turn of events, everything got ruined. Then, acting dramatically, he said that he no longer wants to be part of this universe anymore, and with a snap of his fingers he puff himself out of existence. Or something like that. I'm sure he's fine and he'll be back once his irritation wears off," Fluttershy responded, downplaying Discord's actions.

So this magnet of love, this fountain of Agape that is this meek pegasus pony that live so far away of anyone, is unguarded and alone with me? Oh, how easy it would be for me to cocooned her, take her place and feed on her love and the love that all these creatures have for her.

"Chrysalis, are you okay," Fluttershy said with concern for her guest, seeing how the Queen was frozen, looking at her intently.

"What? Yes, I'm fine," Chrysalis responded, brought out of her thoughts, wiping her watery mouth with a hoof. "I was just thinking that you have a lot of animals living with you in this house."

“Oh yeah, where are my manners. Boys and girls, can you come for a moment, please? I want to introduce you to Queen Chrysalis. Queen Chrysalis, these are the animals I take care of.”

Suddenly, Chrysalis felt like she was being watched by too many eyes. But unlike the ponies, she could hardly know how they felt about her. Most of the mammals sniffed the atmosphere, capturing its scent and continued their walk around the cabin. The birds just chirped a few notes and went back to preening their feathers. But the greatest source of emotion came from a white rabbit with very black eyes, watching her through the stair balusters, giving her a dirty look. The rabbit pointed one of his paws at her, then at his nose, telling the Queen that he had already identified her.

"Spark... cough* cough*... Twilight told me that I would spend part of the day with you. What activities did you had plan for me to partake in, Shy?" Chrysalis said, turning her attention back to Fluttershy.

"Oh, while Twilight gave me a list of suggested activities, I think the best thing I can do is to show you what things I do and you can help me do them... that is, of course, if Her Highness so wishes to," Fluttershy said timidly.

"Goody, what would you like us to do together?" Showing her lack of spirit, Chrysalis asked.

Fluttershy took Chrysalis to the back garden of her abode, where the Queen became quite confused at the flat, open space that she was sure couldn't possibly exist based on the front view she had of the pony house.

Fluttershy went on to hand her a small bag full of seeds, then proceeded to open the door to a chicken coop that was at the back, announcing that it was time for breakfast. A small flock of hungry hens began to sprout from within, eager to eat their food.

Then the firsts of them laid their eyes on the black figure that loomed over them like an imperious titan and slowed down in their race. Concluding that their safety was urgently more important than satiate their hunger, they fearfully ran back to the safety of their henhouse, some of them having to jump the fence when one of them decided to close it behind her.

Chrysalis, upset by this demonstration of fear at her presence, throws the bag of seeds to the ground.

Of course, after all this time, I couldn't have expected anything different from creatures raised by ponies, the Queen thinks, turning around in the direction of the cabin.

But before she reaches the door, Fluttershy beats her to it and stands in her way.

"Please, you have to excuse them. It's just that they get very nervous when strangers come," plead Fluttershy.

"Sure. It definitely has nothing to do with how I look," retord the Changeling Queen.

Fluttershy evades Chrysalis's fierce gaze, hiding a slight blush on her face behind her mane, she even shrinks a little, but still finds her voice to say:

"Still, that's no reason to stop trying. Could you give them another chance, please?" Fluttershy requested, parting the curtains of mane of her face to give her a smile that the Queen would have to try hard not to call cute.

Chrysalis thought that if she returned to the castle now and locked herself in her room for another day, this might be seen by Twilight as an excuse for the failure of her experiment, blaming her for not really trying, and that was the last thing the Queen wanted. Thus, venting her frustration with a grumble, she turns around, ready to face the chickens.

Seeing this, Fluttershy quickly flies to the chicken coop and opens the corral door again and enters it to talk to her chickens.

"Let's go girls. It wasn't kind of you to run away scared of our guest just because she looks... imposing," Fluttershy says to her chicken after a few seconds of thinking about the right word to describe Chrysalis in the kindest way possible. "Come on, I promise you that nothing bad will happen to you. Chrysalis, they're still a little unsure. They say they will come out If you promise them that nothing bad will happen to them."

Chrysalis suppressed a growl and, trying to sound disarming, a task that at this point was herculean for her, said:

"I promise I won't do anything bad to them."

At this, Fluttershy happily left the chicken coop and the hens cautiously began to march behind her. Then she gave the bag of seeds back to Chrysalis and encouraged her to distribute them among the poultry.

Chrysalis put her hoof into the bag and threw a handful of seeds between her and the chickens. They took a few steps forward, but before they could get any closer, they turned to see Fluttershy, who smilingly nodded in their direction to let them know that everything was fine and they had nothing to fear from the Changeling Queen.

First there was one, then two, and, to her surprise, Chrysalis quickly found dozens of chickens pecking the ground in search of seeds in front of her.

Time passed and more animals began to show up to receive food from Fluttershy, who was always kind to them. Most of them were distrustful of the Queen, but not feeling any aggression coming from her and with Fluttershy's support, they became accustomed to her presence.

The next activity Chrysalis helped Fluttershy with was bathing some of the creatures.

Inside a pair of wooden tubs, a kitten and Angel Bunny were placed and bathed with a stream of warm water. Fluttershy was going to be the one to bathe Angel, but the rabbit was uncooperative at the prospect, running away from her and swatting her with his little paws every time she tried to catch him.

"Enough!" growled Chrysalis, who was exasperated at what she saw as a disgraceful display of insubordination from the part of the white rabbit, trapping him within her telekinetic magic.

Fluttershy became extremely nervous at first, fearing what the Queen might do to her unruly pet, sighing in relief when she had just deposited Angel into her bathtub.

"I must say," Fluttershy begins to say as she bathes the cat, who does not seem pleased with the treatment she was received, unfazed by the kitten's bites and scratches, despite how gentle the pegasus was being. "I didn't expect that Her Highness could be so kind when bathing small animals."

Angel, just like the cat, was not happy with the treatment he was receiving and on one occasion caught Chrysalis's hoof with his little paws, ready to unleash his fury with a painful bite, but just before of that, his eyes crossed paths with the Queen's, who, parting her lips, revealed her own sharp teeth, making it clear to the bunny that, if he bit, she would respond in kind, just not the kind of kind he was used from the kind pegasus. Understanding the state of his situation, Angel let go of her, closed his mouth, crossed his arms, and annoyed, let the Queen continue with her ministrations.

"It shouldn't be a surprise. I have quite a bit of experience bathing small foals," answers Queen Chrysalis, pouring water from a bucket onto the angry bunny, beginning to slather it with shampoo and gently lather it. "Not mine, of course," she clarify. And before the implications of that comment said by the creature who usurps identities to steal love could become clear, she added:

"From when I was acting as a babysitter," Chrysalis half lied, half told the truth to appease Fluttershy nerves.

Next, Fluttershy took a picnic basket and they headed into the forest.

Seeing that Fluttershy, even without having her mouth busy carrying the basket, was not a pony who liked to start a conversation, the Queen began to ponder.

During all this time with Fluttershy, she was feeding on the love that saturated the cottage and its surroundings. That which came from the animals was inferior, barely nutritious, but that which came from the pegasus, a pony that seemed to have an infinite pool of love capable of encompass every living creature, was intoxicating. Even at that moment, she was emanating a love that was like a tendril that held Chrysalis by the muzzle and with which she was led.

Then it hit her.

So, this is Sparkle's real plan. She thinks she can win me over by making me believe I am dependent on her charity, making me feel like I should be grateful for the roof and food they given me. Well, I will show them that I am not a mere animal that they can cage and control with crumbs. I will not be stripped of my independence and freedom!

She thought, becoming angrier and angrier by the second.

While Chrysalis was having these thoughts, Fluttershy had stopped in a clearing in the forest. Looking around, she dropped the basket and spread the picnic tablecloth, beginning to take out the plates and food, arranging them on top of it.

I should take this opportunity, now that she is alone in the forest, away from the rest of the other ponies and their domesticated animals, and cocoon her and take on her identity. I will feed on the love they feel for her and, once full, escape and plan my revenge.

But before Chrysalis could act, a noise brought her out of those thoughts.

A large bear came out of a cave, it was dark grayish amber with grayish gold snout and underbelly. He was enormous, easily two and a half Chrysalis tall, and several times her weight. It was a mountain of hair and muscle, a fine beast, wild and free. He looked quite hungry and was heading in their direction.

An evil smile formed on her face, eager to see the pony's true and hypocritical colors once she has to face a fellow predator. Ready to use the result of this encounter as irrefutable evidence to prove that Twilight was wrong, and there was no way the ponies could accept her presence among them, much less be willing to give her unconditional love to feed on.

The bear was already standing behind the distracted pony, with its paws raised, ready to attack. The Queen thought about intervening... after the first or second blow, to gain some heroic points with which she could negotiate with the ponies.

And to the surprise of both the pony and the changeling, the bear lifted Fluttershy into a hug.

"Oh, Harry, you surprised me," Fluttershy says with a laugh, responding to the bear's hug with one of her own.

"What is this?" Chrysalis asked, once she recovered from the shock of seeing the unbelievable.

"This is Harry, my friend. We agreed to meet each other today for a picnic lunch." Fluttershy introduce him; and once the bear put her down, she introduce her. "Harry, this is Queen Chrysalis. She is staying with me today."

Before Chrysalis could form her thoughts into a proper greeting, Harry had already reached out for her, pulling her into a tight embrace.

Chrysalis's screams were lost, as she became trapped in Harry's dense fur.

---

Back at the cottage, the changeling and pegasus were relaxing drinking tea. Chrysalis lying on the divan and Fluttershy sit on the armchair.

"I don't understand." Chrysalis said after drinking from a cup and saucer that were levitated by a green magical aura and then placed on the table, next to a tray with cookies and scones. It was a green tea mixed with lemon and a touch of blueberries.

"What do you not understand, your highness?" Fluttershy asks after doing the same as the Queen.

"Are you a Changeling in disguise?" Chrysalis asked back.

Fluttershy blinked a few times, caught off guard by that unusual and non-sequential question.

"No, at least, I don't think so," Fluttershy answers doubtfully, not knowing if that question was rhetorical or if she was really a changeling and if she must be having an existential crisis at that moment.

"So why do you do it?" Chrysalis asked, struggling to contain the fury and frustration she was feeling at his lack of understanding. "Why do you waste so many resources cultivating a love that you don't need to live or that you can turn into power? How, why are you so kind?"

Fluttershy put her cup down, then brought her hoof to her mouth, thinking deeply about what would be the most appropriate response to give to her guest.

"I don't believe I'm wasting resources, nor do I care about them nor do I care about power. I just think Kindness, for kindness's sake, is its own reward," with a cheerful smile and beaming proudly but humble, Fluttershy give her answer.

That was not the answer the Queen was expecting to hear, and that upset her. She wasn't even sure what she was expecting as an answer, and that upset her even more.

"I think I get it now," Chrysalis responded calmly, caught in deep thought.

She didn't get it.

Comments

[Doctor_Den]

I understand that the cover will change every time a character appears in the story who sincerely wants to help Chrysalis?
P.S. I hadn't thought about this before, but after this chapter the thought came to me... I doubt that, based on real logic, Fluttershy's house would have a pleasant smell. She has a huge number of different animals living at home, and caring for them requires enormous effort. Small zoos always have an unpleasant smell, even though the cleaners clean them every day. Fluttershy lives alone and spends a lot of time with her friends. How does she have so much time to take care of the animals and keep her house so clean that there is not even a hint of an unpleasant smell?

[Wooden Wheel]

11745713

I understand that the cover will change every time a character appears in the story who sincerely wants to help Chrysalis?

That's right.

In real life, Fluttershy's house would definitely have some bad smells. But since she's from a cartoon and has Snow White abilities, we know that she can convince animals to help her clean or, when it comes to her house, keep it clean.

[Doctor_Den]

11745746
then it would be interesting to see someone other than the main six there. (or would that already be a spoiler for a new reader?)

[Wooden Wheel]

11746289

I think it falls into the spoiler category, but I don't believe anyone will really be surprised to know that, by the end of this story, more than 7 hooves will adorn this image.

And that's all I'm going to say about it. 🤐

[DiscordantDisciple]

"Oh, Discord's not here. When we got back and I told him what happened, he got upset. He said he already had something big planned for the future, to boost Twilight's confidence, but with this turn of events, everything got ruined. Then, acting dramatically, he said that he no longer wants to be part of this universe anymore, and with a snap of his fingers he puff himself out of existence. Or something like that. I'm sure he's fine and he'll be back once his irritation wears off," Fluttershy responded, downplaying Discord's actions.

he better be back smh