The Changeling King

by th3l0stch1ld

Be Still My Love

Amor had been lying in on the stone floor of that cell all week, only getting up to eat and defecate. He tried to sleep the week away, but found that it didn’t help. So he thought about the good times, the times when he was with Chrysalis. This, however, did work, for the week flew by and before he knew it, his sentence was over.

The first thing Amor did with his freedom was approach the princess, bow down, and apologize once more for his outburst.

“Amor, you have served your time, you don’t need to apologize anymore.”

“I know, but this incident was just adding on to my stress. I need to make peace with myself this one time.”

“Well I forgive you, and so did Mr. Rain. You don’t need to apologize anymore.”

“Thank you, princess.”

“Not only that, but you have proven yourself. Amor, you are allowed free roam throughout Equestria. I have sent notice to each of the towns and cities, and, after receiving a few criticizing letters in return, I have finally made it noted that you are an ally all of Equestria. My castle is still your home, but you are not obligated to return every day.”

Amor looked up. He didn’t know what to say.

“After all that I have done, you still think I have proven myself?”

“Of course. You have proven yourself more than any had expected.”

“I don’t know what else to say, except, well, thank you, for everything.”

“You are quite welcome. Don’t be out too long, the pegasi have a storm scheduled for today. You are dismissed.”

And with that, Amor was off to explore the area around Canterlot.

He wandered aimlessly through the woods, with no particular destination and nowhere he needed to be. He was wondering for hours, and he eventually lost track of time. Before he knew it, he was miles away from Canterlot and it was raining. Amor went to a nearby cave for cover. Being as close to the city as he was, he wasn’t worried about any wild animals nearby, but that ended up being the last thing on his mind.

Once Amor entered the cave, something felt wrong. He lit up his horn and began traveling deeper into the cave. When he reached the point where he couldn’t see the opening of the cave anymore, he looked to the ground, only to find a small trickle of blood. To most, this would have been passed off as a wounded animal seeking cover, but Amor knew this wasn’t the blood of an animal. It was the blood of a changeling. He followed the small trail to a secluded part of the cave where he found the blood stop. Whoever left this here, they are nearby. Amor looked all through the small chamber he was in, and found nothing but a strange rock against one of the walls. But as he got closer, he realized this wasn’t a rock at all, it was the one behind the trail, and it was his queen, Chrysalis.

Amor rushed to her side as fast as he could. He looked her over. She was hurt badly, only one small open wound, but many bruises, and maybe some broken bones. He watched her for a minute, hoping she would move, but to no avail. Amor’s eyes began to water, he did all he could to fight back tears. One fell on the head of Chrysalis, and her ear flicked. Amor noticed this small movement, and was at slightly more ease, but still worried, for she was badly injured and must have been lying there for a while.

“Chrysalis? Chrysalis, please wake up. Please.”

Her eyes opened slowly. She looked up at Amor and a small smile showed across her face.

“Amor. I knew you would find me. I just knew that somehow…we would be together again.” Her voice was weak, almost a whisper.

“Chrysalis, how hurt are you?”

“I still have the note you left me. It always brought me hope that you would come back.”

“Chrysalis, please, tell me how bad it hurts.”

“I… I can’t walk. I think two of my legs are broken.”

“How long have you been here? When was the last time you had anything to drink?”

She thought a moment. “Two weeks. It’s been two weeks since either.”

Amor thought very hard for a moment. "Can you move all? We need to get you something to drink.”

“It hurts. Maybe you could carry me?”

“I’ll do anything for you, you know that. Now stay still, this may hurt.”

Amor’s horn began to hum, and the auras glow formed around both it and Chrysalis. She slowly lifted off the ground.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! IT HURTS!” Even in her weakened state, she screamed out in pain. Tears started to build up in Amor’s eyes knowing how much pain he just brought her.

“I’m so sorry, but we need to move you, get you to water.”

Amor slowly set Chrysalis on his back, trying to be as gentle as possible. He walked slowly, the rain slowly dropping on their heads. Luckily, a large puddle had formed just outside the cave, so he wouldn’t have to look far to find water. He slowly and gently set Chrysalis down, knowing that she was still in pain. She moaned, but settled as she hit the ground. Amor aided her head closer to the puddle, and she slowly drank. After almost two minutes, she stopped, and Amor brought her back to the mouth of the cave.

Amor knew what he had to do to save her, although she may not agree with what had to be done.

“Chrysalis, I’m going to get help. Don’t worry, I’ll be back soon. Do you trust me?”

“Of course I trust you. You are the only pony I know I can trust.”

“Okay, I’ll be back before nightfall.”

Amor took off, shooting straight for Canterlot. Halfway back, he started flapping his insect-like wings to get up the mountainside. In the rain, he would have to work twice as hard to get up there, but no matter how much it hurt, he knew chrysalis would be in much more pain if he didn’t get to Canterlot, so he pressed on, finally making it over the wall. Once in, he landed, and ran the rest of the way to the castle. He charged through the door, startling Celestia.

“Amor! Why do you keep doing that, what did you do this time?”

Amor couldn’t answer her immediately, still trying to catch his breath.

“Amor?”

Finally catching his breath, he answered.

“Princess, I… I found Chrysalis.”

Celestia looked at him, a more serious look in her eyes.

“Where is she.” She demanded.

“She is very hurt.”

Celestia rose to her hooves and walked up to Amor

“Amor. Where is she?”

Amor stood as tall as he could. He was still taller than Celestia, but he knew he wouldn’t win a fight with her, even if he had all of his magic.

“I won’t let you hurt her.”

Celestia hesitated, thinking about the best way to approach this.

“Alright, how about this. I promise you that we will not hurt Chrysalis any more than she is, but she is to be kept in captivity.”

“She needs medical treatment. She has at least two broken legs, and she may be bleeding internally.”

“Alright, anything else.”

Amor thought before answering.

“I want my room moved.”

“To where?”

“To whatever cell Chrysalis is going to be held in.”

“Alright, but she is definitely to have her magic bound. We are going to need to find a way to get her in the city unnoticed.”

Amor thought this problem over for almost ten minutes before he realized the only answer.

“We need two of your most trusted guards. They need to be pegasi, and they need to follow your exact word.”

“Are you certain?”

“Positive. We are going to need them to carry her on some sort of stretcher.”

“Alright, we will leave from the castle balcony.”

“We need to go soon. I promised her I would be back.”

Celestia hurried to gather her two most trusted pegasi. They were quickly briefed on what they were to do, and, with a slight mumble, they were off. Amor led the party, and they stopped before the cave was in sight.

“Stay back here until I give the signal. She won’t be entirely happy to see you, but I may be able to calm her, even if just a little.”

Amor entered the cave and found Chrysalis right where he left her. Her curled around her and gently put his head to her ear.

“Do you trust me? No matter what, do you trust me?”

“Of course, no matter what, I trust you.”

“Alright.” Amor looked to the mouth of the cave. “Alright, come on in.”

Celestia entered with her two guards carrying a large stretcher. Chrysalis, unable to move, just watched as they entered. All Amor could do was try and comfort her.

“It’s okay, I won’t let them hurt you. Just trust me.”

Chrysalis closed her eyes and let out a heavy sigh.

“I trust you.”

Chrysalis was gently set atop the stretcher and taken to the castle, unnoticed by anyone. Medical staff was already waiting for her.

Amor waited anxiously for them to finish, hoping that she would be okay. Almost two hours later, the doctor came out, and Amor rushed towards him, waiting to hear what had become of Chrysalis.

“She won’t be able to move for some time. Her back two legs are broken, the same with some of her ribs, and she was bleeding due to one hit below the ribs. If she stays in bed for a while, she should heal in maybe two or three months. It’s crucial that she stays hydrated.”

A mattress was moved into the cell before Chrysalis. Amor entered, relieved to see that she was going to be okay. She had two casts on her back legs and a bandage wrapped around her waist. Her magic was bound, but a glass of water was placed within her reach. Amor entered slowly, not sure if Chrysalis wanted to see him after bringing Celestia to help. He was relieved to hear otherwise.

“May I come in?”

Chrysalis strained to look up.

“Of course.”

Amor walked into the small cell, and the door was closed behind him. He sat took his seat next to Chrysalis.

“Will you be okay?”

“I’ll be fine, thanks to you. I never would have made it out of that cave if it wasn’t for you.”

“I’m sorry about everything. It’s my fault any of this happened. You never should have gotten hurt.”

“Amor, you left on your own terms. I may not understand them, but I trusted that you had your reasons.”

“No. I left you to feed the hive. I left you with all of my duties, all of my work. I left you alone.”

“Amor, stop. Blaming yourself will not get you anywhere. The past is the past, and what happened, happened. It can’t be helped.”

Amor looked down at Chrysalis. Even now, her eyes brought him comfort. His pain was eased and he was at peace with himself, for Chrysalis forgave him. Amor walked to Chrysalis, wrapped around her, and together they sat.

“Amor.”

“Yes, my queen?”

“Promise me you will never leave me again.”

“I promise. I will always come back. I will keep you safe.”

Together again, they slept the night away, finally finding their other halves once more.

Author's Note:

This chapter was one of my favorites to write, and we all saw this coming eventually.

There have been two bands that I have been part of my life literally since the day I was born. One of these two bands has been a big influence in my life, so it only seemed fitting to name this chapter after their most recent song. When I was looking over this chapter, I was listening to that song, and I’m not going to lie, I almost came to tears. The song: Be Still My Love, by Bush, off of The Sea of Memories album.

Comments

[Razzy]

D'awwww.

Glad to see Chryssie rescued.

Cya
Raziel-chan