Most dramatic chapter ever!
A docile forest sat still at the break of dawn. The sound of young ponies laughing and playing was the only sound breaking the silence.
They were taking turns throwing a brightly colored rubber ball back and forth.
"Throw it over here! Throw it over here!" giggled a tiny white unicorn with bright pink hair.
A yellow Earth pony tossed her the ball with a giggle, "Here it comes!"
The ball whizzed over the unicorn's head and into the trees as she gave her sister an annoyed look, "Oh come on, you always miss! It's your turn to go get it this time."
"Alright, I'll be right back!" said the Earth pony, happily bouncing away. She hopped into the forest and was soon out of sight.
The forest seemed even quieter from the inside. Nothing but tall trees and low bushes could be seen around. The faint chattering of squirrels and hooting of owls not yet asleep for the day was starting to make the normally bubbly young filly feel very uneasy. She walked further into the woods, "How far did I throw this silly ball?!"
Rustling could be heard in a nearby bush, making her jump in surprise, "W-who's there?" All seemed still again. She trotted further and heard something jump out of a bush behind her.
An equally young changeling filly had corned her against a tree and had begun draining the love from her heart. Fear filled the yellow pony's eyes, but she was trapped. Feeling lightheaded, crumpling to the ground, she could do nothing but mutter, "Please don't hurt me. I-I'm scared!"
Seeing the fear in her victim's eyes, the young changeling stopped feeding and ran away without another word utterly horrified. She never imagined her first solo feeding trip would end like this! Just thinking of feeding again made her sick and she could not stand the thought of hurting or scaring anypony again after what she just saw. It was that day when Heartsy vowed to never drain the love from anypony unless she absolutely needed to. Only to survive. The changeling returned to the hive still hungry: it was worth it in her mind. She was pretty sure she had left the yellow pony enough love so that it would not permanently harm her. Love energy typically returned to normal within a matter of days unless completely drained.
The filly's mother came trotting into the forest after her second daughter informed her that her sibling had not yet returned. "Peacock! Where are you sweetheart?" She called, but Peacock was too weak to answer. Eventually, the tall white unicorn mare found her daughter, "There you are! Are you hurt? This is why I always say never to go in here alone!" She sighed. "Nevermind that, you're safe now. Let's get you back home."
Chrysalis finished her story with a wicked smile on her face. Heartsy stared at her, a look of horror spreading on her face. She did not really remember the day she had stopped feeding on love. It all happened so long ago. The retelling of the past had made every memory come back to clarity as if it had happened yesterday. Heartsy never would've guessed that the reason she stopped feeding...was Peacock.
Something snapped in Heartsy's mind. She had hurt her friend. And It was all Chrysalis's fault. Anger seethed in Heartsy's heart as she turned on her Queen, "You KNEW about this the whole time?! Why didn't you tell me before?!"
Smirking, Chrysalis answered, "What was there to tell? Feeding is in your nature. You were only doing what came naturally. Until you fled."
"You made me hurt my friend! You're a monster!"
"Oh my dear, can't you see? I didn't make you do a thing. If I'm a monster, that makes you one, too..." Chrysalis gave a short barking laugh as Heartsy lunged at her. Chrysalis casually dodged the inexpert attack.
"You're not getting away with your plan this time! I'm going to stop you before you hurt anypony else!" Heartsy ignited her horn, charging up a magical blast.
Chrysalis chuckled, "Like how you hurt your friend?"
This time, something more sinister lurked in Heartsy's heart. Hatred. She blasted magic at the Queen, who materialized a shield and so was merely pushed back a tiny distance. Frustration rising, the little changeling bared her fangs, "All I wanted was friendship! I never wanted to hurt anypony!"
"Friendship is just another food source!" Chrysalis said, "It's the same for you. But if you want friendship, I'll give you friendship!" Chrysalis nodded up at the hive ceiling. Instantly, a swarm of changelings came down and turned into Heartsy's friends.
"We never loved you!" Rose smirked down.
"How could we ever love a changeling?" PK laughed cruelly.
"Changelings are absolutely disgusting." Cuddlebuttons added.
"You're nothing but a liar!" interjected Sky.
"I can't believe you fed off me! You are going to pay for what you did to me!" Peacock said crazily.
"Why were even friends with you in the first place?" Paige chuckled.
Shutterbug snapped a picture. "Easy answer. We weren't."
"I could never love an ugly changeling like you." Flux looked at Heartsy with cold, cruel eyes.
Everypony laughed at Heartsy, giving her dark glares and pointing at the holes in her hooves as if they were horrible. They continued taunting her unendingly.
Heartsy did nothing but stare at them for a moment, no emotions showing on her face. The next moment, her face contorted into an expression of pure fury. Eyes glowing more brightly than ever, she charged up her horn and shot a strong magical blast in the directions of her "friends". Her "friends" dodged the magical blast and transform back into changelings. They laughed as they flew back into the opening holes in the roof.
Before realizing what she had done, Chrysalis approached her and shiny black crown on her head. "Congratulations my dear. You have proven that you are worthy of ruling by my side. Now. Look at me. What do you think about friendship?"
The crown glowed briefly as it settled on her head, dark purple magic shimmering over the polished stone surface. Her eyes glowed the same shade of purple for just an instant. It had a strange effect on the insectile mare. Her eyes returned to red, but an oddly cruel smile was now etched on her face as she laughed. Looking at her Queen, she said in a low voice, "Friendship? Delicious!"