As Amor walked down the hallway, he began thinking again.
"Should I tell her?" he whispered.
Amor has not told Chrysalis about the dreams he has been having. It has been almost a month since they have started and they always seem to be very similar. But the one last night left him shaking.
"You caused this. We die...because of you."
That statement flashed through Amor's head repeatedly. If he ever heard that from Chrysalis, he would be heartbroken.
"It's settled," he said. "I will do everything in my power to make sure that never happens."
As Amor walked, he entered the main chamber of the throne room. All the soldiers in the room looked at him. They did not see a changeling, they did not see Amor. When he wore his crown, all they saw was their king in all his glory. Many of them feared him when he wore it, even though they knew they had nothing to fear.
Amor did not notice all the staring eyes, until he bumped into one of the passing servants.
"My king! I-I'm sorry! Please, forgive me!"
Amor broke from his thoughts and looked down at the small changeling bowed before him. When he saw him, memories flashed through his head again.
"Please...help...me."
The last dying words of the changeling in his dreams. Amor felt light headed. He tried not to think about his dreams, but they always made their way back into his head.
"Oh, no. It was my fault. I should have watched where I was going. Continue with what you were doing. I need to sit down..."
The small changeling made his way through the door and Amor sat on his throne, his head throbbing from these recurring thoughts.
Is it possible that these dreams have a reason? he thought. As he sat, a lone changeling walked before him and bowed, waiting for his king’s approval before speaking. Amor looked at the soldier. He was one of the ones set up around the city.
"What news do you have about our city?"
The soldier looked up at his king from his spot on the ground. It was as if he didn't want to say what was on his mind. Amor knew what he was about to say. It was what he feared most.
"My king, I've been patrolling the city for some time now. I... I think the famine has finally set in."
Amor felt sick. When he heard these words, Every dream he has had for the last month flooded into his mind. His head was spinning.
"I see. I will notify the queen as soon as possible. Thank you, you are dismissed."
The soldier rose to his feet and left the room as Amor tried to concentrate. Once he could finally see straight, he shook his head, rose to his feet, and walked into the next room. His mind racing with thoughts, but one screamed out over the rest. All his nightmares would soon be true.
As Amor entered the next room, Chrysalis was consulting with a soldier about where to strike next. This puzzled Amor, for he was usually the one who chose where to attack. He waited in the corner, not wanting to interrupt, until the soldier and his queen were done talking. Chrysalis looked up to see Amor standing before her.
"Amor, you look troubled. If this is about me planning, I just didn't want you to feel so stressed."
Amor looked at Chrysalis with a dark stare that almost told what he was about to say.
"My queen, famine has struck."
Chrysalis stared at Amor, but her glare slowly lowered to the map. She was deep in thought.
"I see. I feared this would happen soon. I will need to make this public."
"No. I will do it. I know you want to help, but this is my duty." He then spoke to the soldier in the corner. "You. Go make an announcement. There is to be a speech to be given about the hive's current state in two hours. Spread the word to anypony and everypony, now."
With a nod, the soldier was out the door. Amor began to go into thought, but was quickly snapped out of it by Chrysalis.
"What do you plan to do?" she said.
"I plan...I plan to announce that we are in famine. All precautions are to be made to keep our energy usage at a bare minimum. In a few hours the whole hive will know of our state, and hopefully we can get food soon. Tomorrow, we will plan our attack."
Amor hugged Chrysalis, and was off to prepare his speech.
After almost two full hours of preparing his speech, Amor was ready to present to his people. It was mid-day, but the king was already tired. All the thoughts that passed through his head added stress to his day and put an extra burden on him. He walked out of the room, trying to clear his thoughts of everything but what he had to say. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. As he walked, Chrysalis walked up beside him.
“I do not want you to do this alone. You may be giving the speech, but I will stand at your side, always.”
Amor smiled at the queen. No matter what was happening to the hive, if they were alive, content, hungry, starving, or dying, if Chrysalis stood at his side, Amor was happy. When Chrysalis saw him smile, she smiled back at him. It’s good to see he can find any happiness in a time like this. She thought. I just hope the rest of the hive will, too.
As the king and queen walked out on the balcony of the castle, Amor looked out at the many Changelings before him. Thousands, maybe millions of changelings showed up for the speech. Good, he thought. If they all showed up, then we may be able to conserve all the energy we can. All the changelings were murmuring to themselves. When the king was spotted, the murmuring slowed, started to get quiet, then all together stopped. Amor stood tall and began his speech.
“I am glad to see how many of you showed up, for this is an important topic. For as long as any of us can remember, the changeling race has fed off of the love of others to survive. It has been almost two months since our last strike, and we are running on reserves. I am sorry to announce that the famine has set in and is starting to take effect on the hive.”
A light mumbling took place over the crowd. Amor could tell they were starting to worry.
“If we can conserve all the energy we can, we may be able to survive long enough to attack again, refill our reserves, feed long enough to move on. The queen and I are planning the next attack soon, so please stay calm and be patient. We will survive this. We will live to see another day. When the time is right and we find the perfect place to strike, we will attack with caution and speed.”
The hive began to panic. As Amor left the balcony, Chrysalis walked beside him.
“Do you think we will find food fast enough to save them all?”
“We will. I promise you, we will.”
Amor and Chrysalis headed towards the dining hall. Changelings may survive on love, but they still need to eat food, and it has been a long day.