//------------------------------//
// Fun At Work 
// Story: The Changeling King 
// by th3l0stch1ld 
//------------------------------//

	Amor woke the next day and went straight to work, leaving Chrysalis to sleep.  Walking through the hive, Amor could tell something was wrong.  The hive wasn’t as active as it should be.  The energy being given off by the changelings was weak.  He could tell they were hungry.  Moments later, Amor found himself standing outside the house, admiring his and Chrysalis’s work.  The house was still standing, the first sign that they did well.  When he entered, he was more than pleased.  The walls were hardened and the wax didn’t run.  At this point, the walls were as hard as rock.
He could feel the wax building in his mouth.  He again let his tongue hang, feeling the wax dripping off of it.  Back to work.  Today would be harder, because he was building the ceiling to the first floor, so he would have to build slow, making sure not to put too much on at once before it dried, or else it would collapse.  Amor climbed halfway up the wall before starting to apply the wax.  After applying the first layer, Amor started moving around the wall, only putting the wax on three of them.  It was difficult for Amor to maneuver around on three legs, but he made do.
Chrysalis entered the house moments later, still half asleep.  Her hair was a mess and she had bags under her eyes.  She let out a large yawn and blinked her eyes repeatedly, looking slightly dazed.
“Good morning.”
Chrysalis looked up at Amor, hanging on the wall above her.  “You could have woken me.  I told you I would help.”
“You need to sleep.”
“Yes, but we need to complete this house.”
Amor climbed down the wall and stood in front of Chrysalis.  He could tell she was distracted by something.
“You feel it too, don’t you?”
“The hive is getting hungry.”
“Yes.  But this time, I think I have a plan.”
“And what would that be?”
“Don’t worry about it.”  He wrapped his hoof around her.  “Just know that I have it under control.”
Chrysalis wasn’t sure what he was planning, but she knew she could trust him.  “Alright, but you are not in command anymore.  Make sure you tell Purity.”
“Did you eat breakfast?  How long ago did you wake up?”
“Is it really that obvious?”
Amor let out a chuckle as his horn began to hum.  Chrysalis’s head began to glow as Amor fixed her hair and tail.  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.  You’re still beautiful.”  Chrysalis only turned her head and blushed.  “I’d kiss you, but I’ve already started.”
“Does it matter?”  She then pulled Amor closer and kissed him.  Amor didn’t resist, but when Chrysalis pulled away she let her tongue hang like Amor did, with wax dripping off of it.
“I told you,” Amor said sarcastically.
“What are you talking about?  I’m ready to build.”
Amor smirked.  “I already started.”
“I see that, but I was going to start the stairs.”
“Good idea, I’ll join you.”  Together, Amor and Chrysalis began the stairs, starting with the first one.  They built a large rectangle on the floor against the wall.  When they produced enough to make the first step, Amor sat while it dried, using his magic to hold it in place.  On a small area like this, it was easy, but it would be nearly impossible to hold the ceiling up.  While Amor was holding the step together, Chrysalis sat next to him.
“Do you think we will get done before she gets back?”
“I hope so.  But all we can do is work until she is released from the hospital.”
“Mmhh.  Would I be able to start the second step while you are holding that one?”
“You can, but you will have to hold it together when you are done.”  Chrysalis then walked back to the block of wax, emitting a green aura from Amor’s magic, and began building a slightly shorter one on top, giving Amor time to think.  I hope Celestia would be willing.  If we could work out a deal, maybe we could keep the hive fed.  Amor tends to get lost in his thoughts a lot, and while he pondered on this thought, Chrysalis finished the next step.  Amor finally returned to the world at the sound of Chrysalis sitting down beside him, thrusting against the ground hard enough that a small gust of air shot out from where she sat.
“I think your step has hardened enough to be left alone.”  Amor was hesitant, but he stopped casting his spell.  Sure enough, the step stayed in place, but it wasn’t exactly dry enough to walk on.  Chrysalis was already casting her spell, so Amor started to rise to start his step.  “No.  Please, stay with me.”
“I want to get this done soon.”  Amor began to walk, but stopped when he felt something pulling at his tail.  He turned to see Chrysalis, just like yesterday, with his tail in her mouth, giving him those big eyes again.  Amor could only give a smirk.  “Alright.”  He took his seat next to Chrysalis once more, pulling his tail in front of him.  There was some wax in it, so Amor tried getting it out with his teeth, which only made it worse.  Every time he bit down, more wax from his mouth would get stuck in his tail.  He finally gave up after a few minutes, clumps of wax all through the end of his tail.
“It will come out eventually.”
Amor was about to say something, but Chrysalis leaned her head onto his shoulder, and he forgot what he was going to say.  “Yeeah.”
“You’re thinking about something.  I can tell.”
“What makes you say that?”  Chrysalis only looked at him.  “Okay, I think I have a way to feed our changelings without the whole stealing and attacking thing.”
“And how is that?”
“You will find out soon enough, but first I need to get it passed with Celestia.”
“What are you planning?”
“You’ll see.”
“You know I don’t like it when you keep secrets.”
“Alright.  Maybe we can strike a deal with Celestia, if she gives us some ponies to feed off of, we won’t have to attack.”  Chrysalis stared at him again, this time with a surprised, somewhat shocked look on her face.  “I’m kidding.  You know how much I hate stealing love.  Slavery isn’t much better.”  He pulled Chrysalis close again.
“Not funny.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to-“
“It’s okay.”
“Right.”  Amor put his chin on Chrysalis’s head.  “Forget I said anything.”
Chrysalis replied jokingly.  “What did you say?”  Amor smiled before pulling his head down beside her, wrapping both of his hooves around her.