//------------------------------//
// Wash Away the Years 
// Story: The Changeling King 
// by th3l0stch1ld 
//------------------------------//

	Amor looked around the area he was drawn to.  It was actually perfect for the hive.  No trees, the cliffside was right there and was rather wide.  He looked at the map and found where he was.  He circled a large area.  He rolled the map up and began walking.  He began staggering as he moved and his wings were too numb.  He couldn’t fly yet, but as he walked his sight got slightly clearer and clearer.  He finally was able to see straight after ten minutes, but still couldn’t fly.  He wanted to believe what happened to him back there, but the memories he now had, the spell he now knew, they said otherwise.
During his travels he began talking to himself.  “There is only one reason she would have given me that spell, but why did she choose me?  Is it because I am pure by her standards?  Is it because I created an alliance between the changelings and-“  He stopped short at the wretched smell of rotting flesh.  It smelled like it had been sitting in the sun for weeks.  He looked for the source and sadly found it to be a changeling, left to die.
“Poor soul.  I am so sorry.  I should have found you sooner, but I was too late.  You deserve better than this.”  He began digging with his hooves.  He was sore, numb, and lost to emotions, but he dug.  
After hours of digging, his hooves were cut and battered, but he was done.  It was dark, but he didn’t care.  He gently picked up the corpse of the changeling with his spell and set it in the hole.  “May you be guided to your place in the beyond world.”  He then began kicking the loose dirt back in the hole.
By the time he was done, his hooves were packed with dirt and were screaming with pain.  Luckily, he regained the feeling in his wings and hovered the rest of the way back to Canterlot.
“Amor, where have you been.  And what happened to you?”  Chrysalis looked over a dirty and battered Amor.
“I…found another changeling.”
“That’s great!  Where is he?”  She patiently waited for an answer, but his expression said it all.  “Oh.”
“I gave him a somewhat proper burial.”
“I’m sorry.  I know you care about all of them.”
“Please, I don’t want to talk about it.  I just want to take a shower and go to sleep.”
“Of course.  Forget I said anything.”
Amor washed the dirt away.  As he stepped out, drying himself with a towel, he looked in the mirror again.  He was the same as he was last time he looked at himself.  He was tired, worried, stressed, but something was different this time.  He didn’t have the same thoughts towards himself.
“I am at peace with myself.”
He walked into the bedroom to find Chrysalis, already asleep, lying in bed.  Amor clicked the light off and made his way across the room, using only the moonlight to see.  He gently lied down in bed and looked at Chrysalis.  Soon, but not yet.  Amor drifted to sleep with only the thought of purifying her heart, unsure of what it would do.
Amor woke up the next morning, alone in his bed.  Chrysalis was already going on with her day of teaching.  Amor looked out the window, now on the other side of the garden.  It was a beautiful morning, and Amor was ready.  He walked into the throne room, Celestia in her throne.
“Amor, we missed you last night.  What happened?”
“I’d…rather not talk about it.”
“Very well.  Did you find a site for your hive?”
“Yes.  There is a clearing against a cliff that would be perfect for the hive to begin when we are ready.”  He then handed the map to Celestia.  She looked over the map for a few moments, then rolled it up.
“This area seems fine.  There are no current owners of the land, so you may begin building when ready, but I think it would be a good idea to leave Princess Purity here while she is being taught.”
Amor thought for a moment, then came to a conclusion.  “I will have to see what Chrysalis says.  She has more authority than I do.  Either way, I would much rather wait for more changelings, but I don’t see that happening soon.”
“Very well, if there is nothing more to report, you may go.”
Amor wanted to leave, but something told him to say more.  Something deep inside.  “Actually, I have something to report.”
“Yes, is it important?”
“Yes.  You may have a hard time believing me.”
“What is it?”
“Well…I…was having dreams before I left the hive.  They were the reason I left.”
“Yes, Luna told me.”
“Well, I found the pony communicating with me.”
Her eyes widened.  “Really?  Who was it?”
“I don’t know.  She was an angel of some sort, or maybe a guardian.”
“A guardian?  Of what?”
“Memories.”
“I don’t follow.”
“Me neither.”
“What do you mean?”
“I would much rather talk about this in private.”
“Very well.”  She then looked at the guards below her throne.  “You may leave.”
The two guards left the room, and Amor continued.  “Have you heard of the sea of memories?”
“No, I am not familiar with the story.”
“It’s not a story.”
“What do you mean?  You’re making little sense.”
Amor let out a sigh, and told the events that happened the day before.  “I was looking for a place to build the hive.  Somehow, the voice started talking to me again.  I followed where it led me, which was to a puddle in the open.  When I got closer, I was dragged into the water, only to find it was not a puddle, but a portal of the mind.”
“I see.  Go on.”
“Well, when I woke up, I found myself on a strange red beach, and an angel floated down in front of me.  She gave me the answers promised, and a little gift.”
“What kind of gift?”
“The memories of a pony.  I can now cast a spell that can purify the hearts of any.  She told me it was the first and last, and that it was lost with his passing.  Have you heard of a pure heart spell?”
Celestia thought, slightly confused.  “No.  the only thing I have heard of with that ability would be the combined abilities of the elements of harmony, and even that is chance.”
“Well, she gave it to me as a gift, and then I awoke.  When I looked over, the puddle began dissolving in some way.”
“I’ve never heard of such a thing, but if you’re telling the truth, you know what you must do.”
“I know, give me time, and I will.”
Amor had nothing he needed to do today, and after yesterday, he would rather walk around the castle.  He walked around, marveling at every sight, and eventually, found himself in the dungeon.  What once was a dark place for all had been turned into a cheerful place for the remaining changelings.  With the lack of crime in Equestria, the cells were never used until the changelings moved in.  Amor walked down the long hall, cells on either side of him, decorated with heirlooms and other things the changelings salvaged from their homes.  Pictures, sculptures, paintings, and other things decorating the stone walls.  Amor noticed one of the changelings wearing a necklace, and Amor remembered something.  He was off.
Ten minutes later, Amor found himself in the jeweler’s shop.  The white stallion looked up at him and smiled.
“You never showed up yesterday.  I didn’t think you were coming back.”
“Sorry, something came up.  Is it ready?”
“Yes, hold on while I get it.”
The jeweler left and reappeared moments later, holding a green pearl necklace.  There were seven pearls, set in a black metal, all spread out equally on a necklace, decorated with spacers made of the same black metal, with carvings up and down each one, obviously done painstakingly by hand.  Amor looked on in amazement at the beautiful creation in front of him.
“And you don’t want anything in return?”
“Of course not.  It was my pleasure creating this.”
“I don’t feel right taking this.”  He then pulled out the bits he found in his room.  “Here, take this.”
“Oh no, that won’t be necessary.”
“Just take it.”  The shop owner did as instructed and took the bits from Amor.
“Thank you.  You are very kind.”
“You deserve it.  This is great work.”
“Thank you.”  Amor took the necklace and left the shop.
He returned to the castle, ready to give Chrysalis her gift, and…help her.  He entered his room and Chrysalis, who was looking out the window, turned to see him.
“There you are.”  She walked to him in a half trot, half limp.
“You’re walking better.”
“Yes.  It’s a little sore, but I’ve been doing better.”
“That’s good to hear.  I got you a gift.”
“Really?  You didn’t have to do that.”
“I know, but you deserve it.”  He then showed her the pearl necklace.  She stared at it in aw, unsure what to say.
“It’s beautiful.”
“It’s made from the pearls off of your throne.”
“I love it.”
Amor put the necklace on Chrysalis, trying to piece together what to say to her about purifying her.
“Chrysalis.”
“Yes?”
“If…if I said…that I could make your heart pure…would you agree?”
“What do you mean?”
“All the things that you have done that could be considered…evil…have been corrupting your heart.  If you could …fix that…would you?”
Chrysalis hesitated for a moment, unsure on how to answer him.  “I… would.  I want to feel bad about the things I have done, but I can’t.  if I could be saved, yes, but I can’t be saved.”
Amor walked closer to Chrysalis and held her tight.  “That was all I wanted to hear.  Hold still.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Just hold still.”  Amor locked his horn with Chrysalis’s, and closed his eyes.  His horns began to glow.  Suddenly, her eyes began to glow just as white and just as bright.  Then, a flash.  Amor’s horn dulled, and so did Chrysalis’s eyes.  She stood there, shocked by what just happened.  She then fell on the ground, crying.
“All those people I hurt.  Celestia, Cadence, Shining Armor, Twilight Sparkles, all our people that I had hurt, killed, just because I wanted to feed.  It’s all my fault.”
Amor knelt down beside her and put a hoof on her chin, gently pulling her head up to look into her eyes.  “I’m here for you.  Share your pain with me.”
She then put her head on his shoulder, still crying.  Amor held her, trying to comfort her.  They stayed there together on the floor for hours, until Chrysalis stopped crying, and fell asleep in Amor’s arms.  After holding her a little longer, he carried her to the bed, pulled the blankets over her, and took his place beside her, where he slept the night away.