The Changeling King

by th3l0stch1ld

The Sea of Memories

The week went on uneventful. No more changelings appeared for a while, but the pod hatched. The adoptive mother, Cielo, named the hatched changeling Sheol. Amor, still thinking that the changelings were too much for Canterlot, felt he needed to look for a new place to start over.

“Amor, we are still weak. We need more time before we can start building.” Chrysalis said to him, still certain that there were more changelings out there. “Twenty-two changelings and two children is no way to start a hive. We need to wait.”

“I know, but we don’t have many choices. We are taking up too much room as it is. Can we really wait any longer?”

“Celestia herself told you we can wait longer. I don’t want to take advantage of her hospitality, I’m surprised she didn’t have me killed for what I did, but we are in no condition to move.”

Amor looked at her, knowing she was right. The hive was weak, but how much longer would Celestia put up with them? “You’re right, but still, I’m going to look around in the area. Since we have a kind of peace with Canterlot, maybe Celestia will allow us to build nearby. That way, we won’t have to move far and we know the area somewhat.”

Chrysalis looked at Amor, slightly irritated, but she knew it wasn’t a bad plan. “Alright, but I think Celestia should know about your plan. She should be willing to agree if it means seeing Purity.”

“Okay, it’s settled, I will look around the area for a new hive after speaking to Celestia.”

Moments later, Amor found himself before Celestia, presenting his plans of moving.

“Princess, if it wouldn’t be asking too much, I think I have an idea for our hive.”

“Go on.”

“I am planning on looking through the areas near the mountain. If I find a place where the changelings would be able to build a new hive, I will come back and notify you. All I’m asking is for permission to build on the land owned by Canterlot.”

“Well depending on the land, you might be able to build. I will give you a map so you know where you are. When the proper land is found, mark it on the map and return to me. I’ll see what I can do from there.”

“That’s perfect. Thank you, princess.” Amor took the map that Celestia handed to him, and he was off to search.

When he got to the ground, Amor looked over the map. “Well, we need a mountainside or a cliff to start with. So that lookes like the best place to start,” he said, staring at an area on the map marked with upside-down V’s, meaning a mountainous area. “If we can build anywhere, it would be there. So if I’m here,” he said, looking at the small area outside of Canterlot on the map, “Then I have to travel north.” He then began trotting to the area he marked.

After two hours of walking, Amor reached the first cliff. “It’s good, but there are too many trees in the area.” He then began walking the side of the mountain, looking for an area best for building.

“Keep going. You’re closer than you think.”

Amor froze in his tracks. He looked back and forth looking for some source to the voice. Was he really hearing it again? It sounded strangely like the voice in his dreams. “I must be going crazy.”

“Oh no you’re not. Keep going.”

There it is again. Should he follow it? “I…I must find the answers.” He soon found himself in a trot, heading in the same direction.

“Keep going.”

Amor pushed on, moving slightly faster.

"Getting closer."

Amor began running, sure he was going to find answers.

“Almost there.”

Amor found himself in a full sprint. Was he really about to get the answers he was promised?

“You may stop. Right here.”

Amor skidded to a stop, nearly leaving a trail behind him. He found himself in a clearing. “Yeah, couldn’t have picked a better spot to get my answers. Running through the heavy woods, and I’m told to stop in the only clearing for miles.”

“Step forward.”

With a sigh, Amor began walking into the center of the clearing. He saw nothing special in the area. There were the trees, the grass, a puddle, the leaves, and the wind. “What am I looking for?”

“Just walk.”

Amor did as instructed, looking around for anything or anypony. The light glimmered off of the puddle nearby, and something caught his eyes. “What was that?” Amor walked up to the puddle and found that it looked slightly different than a normal puddle. Nothing was noticeably different about the puddle, so why did it look so different?

“You are here.”

Amor looked straight out into the woods, confused. “I’m here? I’m at a puddle. I traveled all this time, I was promised all these answers, and I get a puddle?”

“Look at yourself in the reflection. What do you see?”

Amor did as instructed and saw…and saw…his reflection, as expected. “What does this do for me?”

“Look closer.”

Amor got closer to the puddle, but still nothing changed. “This is pointless.” Amor kept staring at his reflection. He was about to turn away, but something wouldn’t let him. Suddenly, something grabbed him. It was a pair of ghostly white hooves, wrapped around his horn and pulling his face into the puddle. He tried fighting back, but since he was sitting when it grabbed him, he had no time to properly stand, and was easily pulled in. He found it was much deeper than he thought it was. His entire body was submerged, and he couldn’t breathe. He blacked out.

After what felt like hours, Amor awoke. He didn’t want to open his eyes, they felt too heavy. His whole body was numb, so he lied there for a few minutes. First the feeling came back into his legs. He felt around and was surprised by what he felt. Sand. He was lying in sand, and he had no memory of sand anywhere near him. Then the rest of his body came back. He couldn’t feel any sunlight, but then why was it so hot? It felt like he was on top of a volcano. Then finally, he gained the courage to open his eyes. He was looking up at the sky, but the sky wasn’t there. It was night, but there was no moon, no stars, no wind. He turned his head, looking out at the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. He was looking out at an ocean. Something under the water caused it to glow a beautiful reddish orange. Over the water was a rockbridge, naturally created by years of wear.

“Welcome to all the answers of the world.”

Amor shifted his vision to look up somewhat. He saw an angel-like mare. She was literally a glowing white pony with long white hair, and her tail was the same. She had silk wraps hanging off of her body, but they were flowing, along with her hair, as if they were the only thing in this strange place that could catch a breeze.

Amor tried to talk, but his throat was extremely dry. It felt like he hadn’t said a single word for weeks and hasn’t had anything to drink for a day. After five minutes of trying to speak, he finally got his voice back.

“Where am I?”

The angel spoke in a calm voice. “This, is the sea of memories.”

“What happened to me?”

“You’re dead.”

“WHAT!”

The angel giggled. “Just kidding. You are in a state of mind beyond any other.”

“So, I’m imagining this?”

“In some ways yes. But this is where you will find the answers you are looking for. Please rise.”

Amor tried to rise to his feet, but struggled. It was as if he forgot how to stand. He fell over a few times, but finally struggled to his feet.

“What questions do you have?”

“So many. Why do I have a Cutie mark? How did leaving help the hive?”

“One by one, please. So, you want to know about your cutie mark? Step to the edge of the water.”

Amor struggled, but finally made his way to the water’s edge. He looked down at the water.

“Now, let’s start with when you got your cutie mark.”

Suddenly, the water changed in more ways than one. The surface showed Amor under the tree again, looking over his newly gotten cutie mark. It was like watching his memories unfold before him. Suddenly, the picture changed to a young changeling who Amor never knew. She was in a room with an older changeling, who Amor presumed was her mother. The older one was crying, when the younger one cast some kind of spell on her. She then stopped crying, a look of happiness filled her eyes as she hugged the younger changeling. Soon after, she was walking down a road alone, when she saw a mark on her flank. It was much like Amor’s, but instead of a mended heart, it was a full one, not yet broken. She then was attacked by changeling soldiers, and the water faded back to normal.

“What was that?”

The Angel looked at him with a neutral look now in her face. One that Amor thought meant she was saddened. “These are not just your memories. These are the memories of all ponies of the world. If it wasn’t clear to you, they lied to you. You were not the first to have a cutie mark, the first preceded you by almost a century. Being a lowly worker, she was executed for being different. With no one else knowing her spell of happiness, it was lost.”

“But why do I have one? Why just me and not all the changelings?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I would like to bring up a memory from your dark past. Memories of your blackened heart.”

Amor stared at the water, but nothing happened. He waited, but still no picture.

“Figure it out yet?”

“No. Still lost here.”

“You have no dark memories. Your past is clean, filled with good deeds and negative thoughts, but no dark memories. Do you get it yet?”

“Still don’t get it.”

“All changelings have cutie marks, but soon after they appear, they blacken as dark as their hearts. Your heart, however, is pure, so your cutie mark didn’t fade.”

“I think I get it now. But why wasn’t I executed like the other one was?”

“There is a big difference between killing a worker and killing the king. They found it easier to lie to you.”

“Who all knew about it?”

“Only those who were above you. The former king and queen didn’t want to kill you, so they told you that you were the first. No one else ever knew about the young girl.”

“Okay, so then why did I need to leave the hive?”

Suddenly, a picture appeared in the water. It was the night when he and the changeling were planning attacks. When he saw the scene before him, he remembered the night, and the audio played in his head. That is all you want to do is wait! Look at your people and tell me, can they wait any longer?

“Remember that day? Of course you do. Well when he left, he was still extremely angry, especially so when Chrysalis intervened. But he was not the only one.”

More scenes appeared before him all at once. In the middle was the original, above it was a changeling watching Amor when he bumped into the servant, angered when he thought Amor picked favorites. Below the original was that same changeling speaking with others, stirring them and causing them to join his opinion. To the left, three changelings walking through the woods after the attack on Canterlot, hearing pleas for help from the queen and hissing in her presence. To the right, a soldier wearing a makeshift crown, leading hundreds of agitated changelings, who were fighting and trying to kill each other.

“When you left the hive, the true sides of all your changelings appeared. Those who were angered by the way you led went savage. The one who was in that tent with you, Hornet, went on to lead these savages. But those who were still true to you were always behind you. Some found you, others are still out there. But they will survive, and eventually, they will find you.”

“So, you thinned out the heard in a way?”

“Not me. These all were events of destiny. I just needed to lead you to make the right decisions.”

“But wait, I’m in a state of mind, aren’t I dreaming? Why can’t Luna find you?”

“This is too deep in your thoughts. At first, you were too far away. I could only contact you in your nightmares by altering them. When you went to search for a new hive location, you stumbled in range.”

“I see. Well, I’ve gotten my answers, how do I get out of here?”

“That is the final test. To leave, you must answer this question truthfully. Do you forgive yourself?”

Something Amor hadn’t thought of for a while. Does he truly believe himself, or is he in denial? How do you answer a question like this? Then, like someone was telling him what to say, the words came out.

“I will never be able to forgive myself for some of the things that I have done. I left my queen, I let her get hurt. But overall, I know now that some of the things that happened were things I had no control over. So to answer your question, yes, I forgive myself for my mistakes.”

“Are you certain?”

“Yes”

“You’re not fighting yourself to say that?”

“I’m certain.”

“Very well. You are at peace with yourself. I will give you one gift before you go.”

Another memory appeared in the water. An elder unicorn, sitting at his desk, was creating a spell. He wrote in his journal, titled ‘Pure of Heart’. Soon after, the unicorn tested his spell on multiple criminals. A dragon, an extremely agitated griffon, and an aggressive changeling. None of them knew why they were there. The unicorn entered and walked to the first cell, the griffon. His horn began to glow and he touched the griffons head with it. With a flash, the griffon closed his eyes. He was no longer trying to escape, he was calm. Next was the changeling. When the unicorn approached, he hissed. The unicorn’s horn began to glow again and touched with the changeling’s. Soon, the changeling was calm again. Next, the dragon, who’s head was tied down. The unicorn approached carefully, his horn glowing again. Once again he touched the dragon’s head, and the dragon was more docile than ever.

“That unicorn created the first ever pure heart spell. Sadly, he died before the spell was ever known. It has been lost, until now.”

A bowl appeared in front of her. The angel then floated down to the water and filled the bowl with the memory played before Amor. She then held the bowl in front of him. “Drink.” As the angel held the bowl to Amor’s lips, he drank the waters, and he remembered things that were not of his memory. Soon, he finished the water. “I have just shared with you the knowledge of someone else’s memory. You now have the ability to cast the pure heart spell, but I must warn you, the spell consumes a lot of energy and will not change someone’s past. Meaning if you use that spell on a changeling, which I know you will, their cutie marks will not reappear.”

“I understand.”

“With that, then, I bid you goodbye.”

Amor awoke again, back in the land of the living. When he got up, he saw the rest of the puddle slowly seep into the earth’s surface. He shook his head and realized that he wasn’t imagining what he saw, for his horn was glowing. It wasn’t the normal changeling glow, his horn simply turned to a blinding white, and slowly faded back to normal.

“I know what I have to do.”

Author's Note:

I know, it was stupid. I couldn’t think of anything better, but I think you will like where this is going if you haven’t figured it out yet.

Comments

[hypnoshadow]

you know its at this point i dropped this story, it was good until that damn pure of heart spell.
teh things like oh you dont want to pe peaceful and conform here let me FIX you
its altering what makes a person,
now if all it does is camn them down im fine with it but that spell rubs me the wrong way.

[Dream Seeker]

3522210 I think that the spell actually just shows them what they did wrong; it gives them morals. It lets them understand what they did wrong, and they forgive themselves.

[Razzy]

Hmm, I'll reserve my judgment for when I've seen how the spell works.

So, wait, Amor got to keep his cutie mark because he has no bad memories? How does that work? And and why bag ponies don't lose theirs.

Chryssie needs her butt stamp!

Cya
Raziel-chan