“Princess, may I ask a question?”
“Yes, what is it?”
“How long would you say the changelings were in Canterlot?”
Celestia hesitated for a moment.
“Well, from our knowledge, the queen was in for about two days, and the rest of the hive, maybe five minutes tops.”
Good, Amor thought. That means that Chrysalis got her fill, and the others have enough to survive almost a month.
As Celestia and Amor walked, a voice called from around the corner.
“Sister, why do most of the citizens look- oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know we had guests.”
Amor looked on in slight shock.
“Princess Luna!”
“Surprised?”
“Well, I heard rumors of your return, but until now I never entirely believed them.”
Celestia chimed in. “Well, now that you have met each other, Luna, this is Amor, the former changeling king.”
“Changeling? I thought you said they were responsible for the recent attack?”
“Yes, but Amor was absent during the attack. He fled the hive before they attacked Canterlot and had no knowledge of it.”
“And you believe him?”
“I can see it. He means no harm.”
Amor looked on silently. Luna was a midnight blue alicorn, with a mane and tail that looked like a clear night sky. Like Celestia, she wore a crown and small neck piece, but hers were black and depicted the moon. Her cutie mark, as expected, was a crescent moon in a black, starless sky. Well, they are beautiful, I’ll give them that, he thought. But still not as beautiful as Chrysalis. When you love somepony, they become the most beautiful thing in your eyes. “Well then, it is a pleasure to meet you, Amor.”
“The pleasure is all mine.” Amor said with a bow.
With that, Celestia led Amor to his room. They walked down many long hallways, and Amor marveled at every turn. The castle was much bigger than he expected. When they finally reached a small hallway, Celestia stopped, and Amor did as well. The hall ended with a single large door, on either side of the hallway, was another. Celestia opened one of these two doors.
“This will be your room. You may decorate if you would like, but try not to get carried away.”
“Thank you, princess.”
“Now if you would excuse me, I need to prepare a short statement for the citizens here. Please meet me at the balcony in the throne room in one hour. The guards will lead you there.” She finished this last statement while looking at one of the royal guards standing at the staircase.
When the guard realized she was talking to him, he quickly replied. “Yes ma’am.”
“Luna and I will be waiting for you before we make the statement. People are already gathering outside the castle, so it is important we do this soon.”
“Yes, princess, and thank you again.”
As Celestia left, Amor entered the large bedroom. The ceiling rose so high that Amor had room to fly. This, combined with the width and length of the room, gave Amor enough room to do tricks if he wanted to, but he had never felt that urge in his lifetime. It is not something he would find himself doing. The bed sat against the east wall. It was a rather large bed, big enough to fit almost four ponies in. On the opposite side of the room sat a dresser with a mirror above it. Next to the dresser was a small doorway, leading to his own personal bathroom. In the bathroom was as expected, a bath, a sink, and a lavatory that was much nicer than the one in his cell. On the northern wall was a large window, and Amor found himself staring out at the beautiful view of the castle garden. When he was done, he fell in the bed. It was more comfortable than the dirt floor he slept on in the forest, and much more comfortable than the stone floor of the prison cell. He must have dozed off, because before he knew it, the guard was outside his room.
“You. The princess is waiting, we have about ten minutes.”
“Alright, let’s go.”
Amor followed the guard to the throne room of the castle, where he marveled at the large throne against the center of the wall. The guard led Amor through the large door on the opposite side of the room, where Amor saw Celestia and Luna standing on the balcony on the opposite side of the room. He made his way to them, and was stopped by Luna.
“Wait. If the citizens see you immediately, it may cause them to panic.”
“I understand.”
Luna then made her way back to the balcony while Amor waited for his time. A few minutes later, Celestia addressed the crowd.
“Citizens of Canterlot, I thank you for coming out here today. As you all recall, we were recently attacked by the changeling queen and her soldiers.”
When she mentioned this a small uproar took over the crowd, but was quickly quieted with a raise of the princess’s hoof.
“As many of you know, a changeling was found outside of the city recently. I know many of you were expecting this changeling to be executed, but this was not the case. This changeling, Amor, is different from the rest of his kind, and had nothing to do with the attack. I know this comes as a shock to most of you, but this changeling is pure of heart and means us no harm. It is with all due respect that I tell you all that this former king of the changeling hive will be staying at the castle with me and my sister. Do not worry, for the time being, Amor will be under constant guard. Now if he would be kind enough to step forward and address the crowd before us.”
Amor walked forward, trying to figure out what he would say. He had no time to prepare, so he would have to make himself scarce. He looked down at the thousands of ponies before him. Many had looks of fear and anger still in their eyes.
“Hello. As you all heard, I had nothing to do with the recent attack upon Canterlot. I fled the hive a day before the attack and it was with dumb luck that I ended up outside the city when the rest of the changelings were expelled from here. I know many of you were not fond of seeing me when I first set foot in this town, but I am here to tell you now, I forgive you for your behavior upon seeing me, and I am willing to forget what happened earlier. All that I ask is that you treat me as an equal. I thank the princess for letting me stay here in this beautiful city, and I hope that you all start to see that I only wish to be accepted.”
The crowd began to mumble and stir, but Amor was uncertain if this was in anger or if they were worried.
“There you have it. For the time being, Amor will be under constant watch and will not be allowed outside of the castle until he can prove himself. Thank you all for coming, you are now dismissed.”