//------------------------------//
// The Start of it All 
// Story: The Changeling King 
// by th3l0stch1ld 
//------------------------------//

	“I told you, you must leave the hive.  You must leave.”
Amor realized this was more than a dream.  In his dreams, he never had full control over his body.  He usually just sat back and watched.  But this was different.
“Who are you?  Show yourself!”
“You don’t need to know who I am.  All you need to know is that you must leave.  Now!”
Like last night, Amor flew towards the source of the voice, but he kept flying.  He flew straight into the void.  There was nothing ahead, only darkness.  He kept flying anyways, devoted to finding the culprit.  Eventually he ended up where he was last night.  He heard the final message, and the flames were upon him again.
“You must leave the hive!  Tell nopony about this!”
Again, Amor woke with a start.  What is going on!  Why is this happening? he thought to himself.  This is definitely more than a dream.  Who is that voice?  And why does she want me to leave the hive so bad?  Could she know something that I don’t?  These thoughts kept Amor awake all night.  When Chrysalis awoke, she immediately knew something was wrong.
“Amor, what’s going on?  You look troubled.”
Amor wanted to tell her about his dreams.  He wanted to tell her every detail, every little thing that happened.  But then the last words from his dreams flashed through his head.  Tell nopony about this!  He decided it would be best not to tell her now.
“It’s nothing to worry about.  I’ll be fine.”
For weeks it was the same thing over and over.  He and Chrysalis woke up, continued with their duties, and when he went to sleep, he had the dreams.  He was no closer to discovering who it was trying to communicate with him or why, until one night, the truth was told, and in the process, the start of life changing events.
Amor found himself in the void again, listening to what the voice had to say.
“It is time you know why you must leave.  It is about your cutie mark, and the survival of the changeling race.”
Amor’s eyes widened.  He was filled with curiosity.
“What do you know about my cutie mark?  How is this important to saving the changelings?”
“All will be revealed, but for now, you must find a way to leave, without anypony knowing where you are going.”
“Where am I going?”
“You will learn soon enough.  Now wake up.”
Once again, Amor was engulfed in flames.  He woke slowly, trying to grasp reality again.  He was back in his bed, in his room, next to Chrysalis.  He now knew it was certain.  These dreams did mean something.  Something important.  He must leave the hive as soon as possible.
The day went on as normal.  Amor and Chrysalis awoke.  They went on with their duties and they went to bed.  But this time, Amor gave Chrysalis a hug.  He didn’t let go for a few minutes and finally he looked at her.
“I love you with my entire heart.  Promise me you will never let anything happen to you.”
“Amor, I-“
“Promise me.”
“I…I promise.”
Amor’s behavior started to scare Chrysalis.  He has never acted like this before.  But before she could say anything, Amor gave Chrysalis a kiss, and they were off to bed.  One last kiss, before I go he thought.
Amor waited a few hours before sitting up in the bed.  He looked over at Chrysalis to make sure she was asleep.  Sure enough, she was sleeping soundly.  It was now or never.  Amor looked around the room for a piece of paper and a pencil.  When he finally found one, he wrote a small note to Chrysalis.  He set the note on the table next to her crown, where she was sure to see it.  As he made his way towards the door, he stopped.  He looked back at the queen, who was still asleep, with a large amount of guilt in his heart.  His horn hummed and glowed, and his crown floated across the room.  He placed it atop his head and made his way out the door.  After what felt like an eternity of sneaking past the soldiers throughout the hive, Amor finally made his way out of the hive.  Before leaving for good, he looked back at the hive.
“Goodbye, my queen.  I will miss you, and the farther I will get, the more pain my heart will bring me.”
With those final words, Amor left the hive forever, never looking back again.
Chrysalis awoke the next morning.  Something was wrong.
“Amor, do you feel-“ she cut herself off when she realized he wasn’t in the room, nor was his crown.  All she saw was a small piece of paper next to her own.  She picked it up and was startled by what it said.
	Chrysalis,
I’m sorry it had to be like this.  I just feel it would be better for the hive if I left. If you haven’t realized yet, I hate feeding off of the love of others.  It makes me feel so guilty. I need to find some answers before I ever come back.  I promise you, I will not die while I am out here, but it has to be this way.  Don’t bother looking for me, we both know it will be useless.  Feed our hive.  Feed your hive.
Your love, now and forever,
Amor.
P.S. I remembered my crown this time.  It will remind me of you.
Chrysalis read over the note over and over again, making sure she did not misread any of it.  She felt a wide variety of emotions.  She felt angry, saddened, confused, but most of all, she felt alone and abandoned.  Amor was all she ever cared about.  What will she do without him?  She began to weep, but stopped herself.
“This is a bad time for the hive.  We are in famine and our king has abandoned us.  Abandoned me.  I must stay strong for the hive.”
Chrysalis carried the note with her everywhere she went that day.  She felt so empty without Amor, but carried on her duties.  While planning today, however, Chrysalis got a report that changed everything.
A changeling soldier walked into the room where Chrysalis was looking over the note from Amor again.  He bowed and in a low voice, spoke to the queen.
“My queen, our spies have returned from their routes.”
Chrysalis broke from her thoughts of Amor and looked at the soldier.
“What have you to report?”
“Well, we have no reports from Manehattan or Filydelpia, and we are assuming the worst.  But one of our spies found this.”
The soldier pulled a small slip of paper out from his bag and the queen took it.  As it hovered in front of her, she read it out loud.
“To whom it may concern, we are happy to announce the binding of two souls in holy matrimony.  This is a very special occasion indeed, for this is the marriage of the head of the royal guard, Shining Armor, and the niece of Princess Celestia, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza.  We hope you will join us for this special marriage.”
“My queen, what are your orders?”
Chrysalis thought for a little.  This could be the only chance she will get to feed the hive.
“Where is this Princess Mi Amore Cadenza right now?”
“She is being flown to Canterlot right now.  Reports say she is returning from vacation.”
“Perfect.  Set up an ambush on their path.  I will lead this party myself.  We are to capture everypony and make sure nopony escapes.  That’s an order!”
“Yes, my queen.”
“This could be it, that once in a lifetime chance.” She mumbled to herself.